Please join me in voting for my friend Ali's dad Mark Brand (of blessed memory) here as a Jewish Federations Jewish Community Hero.
Here's my Michigan friend Rabbi Micah Peltz's profound lessons 10 years later and the inspirational story of the first 9/11 victim, American-Israeli Daniel Levin.
As for me back in the press, this one's off the beaten path: a piece (scroll to page 6) that I wrote for the newsletter of the Jewish Federation of Southern Illinois, Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky.
Thinking South
"It has become vital for Israel to think south." -David Ben-Gurion
So I'm heading down south to Beer Sheva at the end of next month to spend my last semester in grad school at Ben-Gurion University living on campus. As John Hiatt sings in Drive South, "it's hot down where we're going!" So I'll make sure to take full advantage of the pool and volleyball court across the street. Not to worry, I'll also be across the street from my campus (Health Sciences), and five minutes away from the campus synagogue, not to mention the student union and its opportunities for student involvement (look out, Green Campus initiative). Needless to say, I'm ecstatic to be moving to the city of the Seven Wells (direct translation of Beer Sheva), where Abraham watered his sheep and Moses in exile found a bride. David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister and the namesake of my university, said that "Abraham accomplished a consecration of this land (the Negev) to his people, and our work follows in his footsteps...Such a move won't be easy. But it will bring the satisfaction of creation...Israel is a very special place with special demands on everyone who dwells on its soil." I'll be sure to soak up the holy Jerusalem in the meantime--that holiness is especially palpable during the quickly approaching holidays.
Take care folks,
אריק/Eric
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