Pre-Weaving, Shabbat Shalom!

Israel Blog - Day "-1": I awoke with a start at 8AM, a man on a mission. I arrived early because I wanted the Shabbat experience and I'm feeling "oh-for-one" after our misfortune the previous night. I made my way to Beit Daniel in Tel Aviv, billed as a "progressive reform" congregation and experience. I'd call it a spiritual bullseye. I arrived at 9:15, about twenty minutes before services would begin and played the role of observer to life around me as I had the day before. There would be a Bar Mitzvah today and young Noam was waiting in the lobby with his Ima for the broader family to arrive. My first truly touching moment came a few moments later. A large group arrived, led by a man who just had to be the Bar Mitzvah's uncle (he looked strikingly like the boy's mother). They embraced for a time that suggested to me it had been a while since they had seen each other. And then I heard the uncle utter (in Hebrew) what sounded like "as a little boy." His nephew took several steps back, sprinted and launched himself into his uncle's arms, who swung him around 360 degrees laughing - and crying, as were Mom and all the freshly assembled cousins. I felt like a secret witness to a treasured ritual amongst this family. If I had to return home the very next minute: whole trip - worth it. And we hadn't yet begun to pray...  A beautiful, if clearly unorthodox service followed. I was overdressed in a sportscoat. Jeans and hoodies were the "uniform" of the young man's peers and nary a tie in sight. Cell phones were out, taking pics and videos throughout the service. Casual but earnest, they began with Adon Olam and I felt immediately comfortable. Although entirely in Hebrew, I was able to follow the prayers and Torah service pretty well as many of the tunes were the same as ours. I learned that the congregation had just received a new scroll the prior afternoon and this Shabbat service was the first time they were reading from it! They sang Shecheyanu and danced a good long while with the Torah before returning it to the ark. What a joy it was to be a welcome part of this special day. After lingering a bit at the kiddish and congratulating the celebrating family, I took my leave and walked the four miles back to my hotel. Shabbat came to a close at 5:17 and I joined about a thousand fellow Jews and travelers to watch the sun set on The Mediterranean in Old Jaffa.  Great dinner with Gary and a longtime family friend, Dana Adler who is here with a different group (women's philanthropy) plus a pal of hers from YPO named Amir. He works as a facilitator and resolver of myriad conflicts. Check him out here with the book he's recently had published. It was fascinating to discuss US-Israeli and Israeli-Arab relations with a lifelong citizen of our homeland. And, as it turns out, there were more than a few thought-provoking ideas discussed which could help us in the days ahead. Excited to connect with other members of our "seminar" tomorrow morning in advance of our kickoff tomorrow afternoon. Until then, I'll try to dream about innovative thinking.