The Road Less Traveled

Things have been pretty bust at work and I haven't had the chance to write about our winter vacation road trip to New Mexico last December. So here's a recap of some highlights with a few reflections thrown in along the way.

We had 2 weeks off and knew we didn't want to just sit around at home. So it was a choice between driving to Florida (18 hours) to visit old friends, enjoy kosher restaurants, and hit the beach, or driving to New Mexico (13 hours) to see new sights. We decided to try something new and so headed out on a 9 day road trip out west.

Texas is so big that you can never really see it all. But we decided to cut across diagonally through College Station (Aggie Land) and Abilene up to Albuquerque. Staying in Abilene for the night was a must because growing up my mother used to tell us the story of "Let's Not Go To Abilene," about a family that didn't say how they felt and ended up doing something no one wanted. Well, sure enough, Abilene isn't much to write home about, but it was a good pit stop for the night. That was Wednesday.

On Thursday we drove through the oil fields of West Texas, past Lubbock, and eventually arrived in Albuquerque around 5pm Mountain time (1 hour behind Houston). If you want to go Hot Air ballooning December isn't really the best season as it is cold and snowy. The big festival is in October. But we did venture out Friday to ride the Sky Tram up to Sandia Peak, a very tall mountain overlooking the city. It was snowing and freezing, but the views were amazing. Highly recommended. We also shmyed around Old Town Albuquerque to get some souvenirs and see the original town square. After a quiet family Shabbat in the hotel we went to see the Winter lights at the Zoo on Motzaei Shabbat, and then went on a great tiyul Sunday morning to Petroglyph National Park, where you can hike through hills filled with cave drawings from 400-700 years ago. The weather and the views were beautiful and we had a great time. Hiking and just enjoying natural beauty reminded me of being in Israel.

After that we drove an hour north to Santa Fe. I actually have cousins who live in Santa Fe but unfortunately they were out of town. It would have been nice to see them. People rave about Santa Fe, and it is quaint. We liked the Old Town square, and the Art galleries on Canyon road were interesting for a few minutes, but overall it wasn't that exciting. I am sure it is nicer in the warmer seasons.

On Monday we did a day trip to Taos, a Ski Area about 2 hours north. There are two main roads to Taos, the High Road and the Low Road. On the way up we took the High Road (something I try to do in life as often as I can) which had some nice views, but overall it was a long trip. After hanging in Taos for a while we drove about 15 minutes out of town to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, which, at 565 feet tall is the 7th tallest bridge in the country. It's actually pretty cool. You are driving through a valley surrounded by mountains (you are always surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges in Northern New Mexico). And literally out of nowhere you find yourself driving over a bridge that passes over a 500 foot canyon. People stop and take pictures. It's pretty neat. And that's when our adventure got interesting. We decided to ignore the GPS and take the road home that looked most direct. It hooked back around Taos and connected back onto the main highway heading back to Santa Fe. What we discovered too late was that this "road" really was a steep windy road that crept down into the Canyon. The roads were snowy, the turns tight, the drop off the cliff immense. And it was a narrow road that was somehow two way. Also, the sun was starting to set and we did not know how long this road would be, or how hard it would be to drive at night. There were no road lights and very few cars around. Well, it turned out to be incredible. The canyon was gorgeous, and once we made it down to the bottom we were able to follow the Low Road that goes right next to the Rio Grande river for miles. It was very beautiful and memorable.

Bye the way, I haven't mentioned anything about food yet. We have done many long distance road trips before. But never one that lasted 9 days. There were no kosher restaurants along the way. But somehow we managed just fine, including Shabbat. Santa Fe even has a Trader Joes with a very large selection of Kosher products. The interesting part was seeing which parts of the hotel breakfasts we could and could jot eat each morning. Those eggs, pancakes, and hash browns really looked good though. Oh well...

On Tuesday a snow storm was coming so we decided to start heading south a day early. We drove all day Tuesday trying to stay one step ahead of the snow. This time we did not drive home diagonally, but went South 1st and then turned West when we hit Texas. This allowed us to stop in Roswell, NM and visit the UFO museum. There are not really words to describe the kitchiness of this experience, including the guy in the store showing us picture on his cell phone of UFO's he swears has personally seen himself over Roswell, but it was right on the way so we couldn't pass it up. We made it across into Texas a little after dark and stayed in a roadside hotel in Fort Stockton.

When we woke up Wednesday December 31st in Fort Stockton the world was white with snow everywhere, and ice all over the roads. The projected 4 hour drive to San Antonio, ended up taking 9 hours due to the crazy driving conditions. We saw at least 10 overturned cars and trucks and felt our van gliding any time we went over about 40 mph. We were so grateful to finally arrive in San Antonio that night and get out of that car, though we did not get there in time to enjoy a freshly cooked meal in San Antonio's kosher restaurant. Having the fire alarm go off after we got the kids to sleep, and the entire hotel coming down until the fire department arrived was icing on the cake:-)

All in all, it was a really nice trip. We came home exhausted, but excited that we went on a family adventure together. I always feel like I understand the world just a little bit better after exploring places I have never seen before.

I would go back to New Mexico again one day. We did not get to visit Carlsbad Caverns, the White Sand Dunes, Los Alamos, or Bandalier National monument. But you can't do everything at once can you? I would also like to visit Big Bend Park in West Texas one day when it is not cold and snowing.

Post Script: Two weeks later we had our High School Retreat near Austin after which we did another mini road trip in Hill Country. We explored the quaint shopping areas of Wimberly and Fredericksburg, had a great time visiting the LBJ Ranch, and hiked in Peternales Falls State Park. One day I hope to get back near Fredericksburg and hike Enchanted Rock. There is just so much to see and appreciate in this beautiful world of ours.

Questions Are B'Seder

I remember well, as a young child, sitting around the Seder table with my family, a magical feeling in the air, the table set for a royal feast, with Seder Plate, Haggadot, and pillows on which to recline. My father would begin to recite the Haggadah and would call on everyone around the table to take turns reading. We would hide the Afikoman and try our best to stay up late until the end so that we could sing Who Knows One and Chad Gadya. It was all so different and interesting. Of course, as the youngest in my family, my starring role was reciting the Ma Nishtanah questions: Why is this night different than all other nights?

You know, as an educator, questions are at the heart of everything we do. Sometimes we ask our students questions, pushing them to think deeper and trying to pique their curiosity. And other times our students ask us questions. These questions can include everything from “why do we have to learn this?” to “how do we know there is a G-d?” Some people are afraid of questions, seeing them as distracting or perhaps even disrespectful. But if you really think about it you will recognize that questions are at the heart of learning. In Educational circles this is known as Inquiry-Based Learning, and it means very simply that we tend to be more motivated to work hard and learn when we have questions that we want to answer, problems that we want to solve. One of the fun challenges of parenting and teaching is recognizing the unique personalities and learning styles of each child so that we can support their search for meaning and understanding. And maybe that’s the idea behind the Four Children mentioned in the Haggadah. Every child is unique and therefore learns differently. Our job is to help each child, in their own way, develop their curiosity and desire to learn.

This Haggadah represents the 2nd straight year that we as an Upper School have collaborated to make a Haggadah made up of Student Divrei Torah. We asked each student to ask a question and share one approach to answering their question. The answers are insightful and thought provoking, but to be honest, to me a good question is almost always more interesting than a good answer.

In Judaism we have an expression: “שבעים פנים לתורה – There are 70 faces to the Torah.” This means that for any question there are numerous possible approaches, each with its own validity and meaning. The specific answer that speaks to you does not necessarily have to speak to me. But what is important is that we all (adults and children alike) ask questions.

So, on behalf of our wonderful Upper School teachers and students, please enjoy this year’s RMBA Haggadah. And when you are sitting around the table at your Seder, maybe put down the Haggadah every few minutes (after all, it is not just a script to read) and ask the people you are with a question that peeks your interest. The youngest ones may recite the Ma Nishtana, but asking questions is something every one of us should do, on Seder night and throughout our lives.

Chag Sameach!!!

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AIPAC Policy Conference

These next 2 posts are from the last few months, but I am only getting around to posting about them now.

I had the incredible privilege a few weeks ago to chaperon six High School students to Washington D.C. for the AIPAC Policy conference. I came away so impressed by the professionalism of the conference and so inspired by the unity and support of the State of Israel. The Convention Center was literally packed with over 16,000 delegates, including over 3000 students! The many sessions given by experts of all types (including my brother!) were informative and engaging. And the lineup of keynote speakers was incredible!

Among the many speakers I heard over three days were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Czech Republic President Milos Zeman, Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Former Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, US Representative to the United Nations Samantha Powers, US National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Senators Joseph Lieberman, Lindsey Graham, Ben Cardin, Robert Menendez, and Mitch McConnell, Congressmen Kevin McCarthy (House Majority Leader) and Steny Hoyer (House Democratic Whip), and many others. We should not take for granted that we live in a country that gives us the freedom to gather in support of Israel and that supports Israel to the extent that it does.

We also got to hear from Israeli entrepreneurs inventing incredible technologies, Americans and Israelis (both Jewish and non-Jewish) with so many inspiring stories, and the son of the leader of Hamas, known as The Green Prince, who became a spy for Israel.

AIPAC was very focused during the conference on the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran about a nuclear deal. They sent us to Capitol Hill on Tuesday with a clear message to ask our elected officials to vote for bills that would allow congress to review any possible deal, and to bring the message that no deal is better than a bad deal (i.e. a deal that would allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon and to continue funding terror).

It is amazing that just a few months after a major war in Gaza there was very little focus on that. It was almost entirely on Iran. We did get to meet a resident of Sderot who takes exploded Katyusha rockets and turns them into Art. And we heard something amazing about the residents of Sderot, that when the Red Alert siren goes off indicating an incoming missile, the 1st thing they do is not to run to the shelter, but to leave their front doors open for anyone else who may need shelter.

Getting back to the lobbying, we had large groups (we are from Texas after all) visiting our local Congressman, John Culberson, and our two Senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. But my students and I arrived a little early and paid a visit as well to another Houston area Congressman, Al Green, who has been to our school and was helpful a few years ago when our basketball team's playoff game was scheduled on Shabbat. It was kind of him to see us, and it was a powerful lesson for my students to be able to sit in a private meeting (just 5 of us) with the Congressman. In fact, it struck me throughout the conference what a pivotal role young people are playing both within the AIPAC organization and standing up for Israel on the front lines of college campuses.

On a personal note, I had the chance to see many old friends from Rabbinical school and from our years in Boca Raton, including many old students of mine who are now either in High School or College and doing great things. It's an underrated joy to see your students a few years later and to see what fine people they are turning into.

So, I return to Houston inspired and full of ideas about how to develop our Israel Advocacy here at Beren. We have already started laying the groundwork for an Israel Ambassadors club, invited Congressman Culberson to come visit us when he is back in town, and made plans to take students next year not only to the National Policy Conference, but also to the Teen Conference as well. When I see how passionate our students are in support of Medinat Yisrael and see the potential leadership experiences they can play, I am very excited.