Blazing Trails of Self Discovery - Ari Abramowitz: The Land of Israel Fellowship

it's really good to see all of you uh it has been really a special week uh here at the farm a special Shabbat uh you know having the Germans out here adds another dimension like Jeremy said to what's happening oh we had a beautiful Britney Live this past week for one of uh the the for the son of Elijah who I guess he's like the head of construction and the maintenance for men here at the farm he named his son Zohar Sade I went up to Jeremy I was like it's like the Bill Smith of Judea it's like such a unique name but here in Judea we're getting all these incredible names it actually means like The Shining glow of the field or the illumination of the field it's a name you don't hear in Brooklyn okay maybe it's because the Subways of Brooklyn don't exactly inspire you like like the the wheat fields of Judea but anyways Zohar said that anyways I couldn't help it being there I was really fully present in the joy but at the same time I was sort of experiencing it Through The Eyes of our German friends who were there despite the complete impossibility of my being able to do that because I'm so different to get my life is so different my experiences so different but I couldn't help but try because not only was it the first circumcision ceremony for most of them if not all of them but to come from where they've come from and at the same time to see the flourishing of authentic Jewish life in Judea and for them to be invited to it for them to feel welcome to it and to be a part of it well it was overwhelming here's actually a little bit of uh the video from that circumcision series anyways it was just it was beautiful I just wanted to give you that little taste I just pulled out the camera for a second I saw Jeremy got like what was that video but anyways then came Shabbat and as with every Shabbat we were preparing to greet the Sabbath Queen in our house of prayer and as as with all the guests who come to visit us at the farm you know we welcomed our German friends to join us inside it's just sort of a reflex it's like an instant and although the service would be in Hebrew there's nothing against uh in Jewish law against having non-jews or foreigners joining us in there so there I was giving a little background uh to the Sabbath and to the House of Prayer to our German friends and sharing some stories and we're you know we were waiting inside for the service to begin and end walks our indigenous Hilltop youth you know some of them were you know our Shepherds and and others are guests and others are just the children of of the families here and they're just so sweet and I just love them so much and as they heard the Germans talking to each other well there was that um tangible sense of discomfort that we talked about last week it happens it comes up you can imagine you know it's shocking that it doesn't happen more than it does um and uh but you know they knew who the Germans were they they knew the back story and uh they've been having increasingly warm encounters with them as they're on the farm but um you know but for them to to walk into our house of prayer to prayer services and to see the Germans and hear the Germans spoken while I think it was too much for them I know it was too much for them um because they told us it was too much for them and we heard them and we understood and we respect it was a little bit hard but this is their home too and um we we felt like it put us in a little bit of a difficult situation but nonetheless both Jeremy and I uh felt like this sensitivity should be honored and respected because we both understood it you know in their place we'd feel exactly the same way and and you know what maybe they were even right I don't even know maybe there was some sort of line that uh that we were crossing that shouldn't have been crossed I worked we're all trying to figure this out so we called out Clemens and Esther and Thomas and shared the situation and their answer just confirmed what I knew in my heart you know I told him the situation and I told him that I hope that they weren't offended and without missing a beat you know it wasn't just what he said of the way he said it you know he he said um he said he said like true love doesn't get offended that's that's what he said true love that right true love doesn't get a defended and they left but before the prayers even began and Jeremy went with them and let a beautiful prayer session for all of them on my balcony and I actually think it was better that way everyone was was so engaged and they were just talking about it throughout the whole meal Jeremy didn't even tell you that everybody loved it now the reason I wanted to include that was because I don't want to paint all of this with the rose-colored glasses there's no template for this there's no protocol there's no precedent for this we're all just figuring this out and they're going to be inevitably they're going to be challenges and confusion and even pain but that's what this is all about you know it's about the pain as much as it's about the joy and I think that's the beauty of it all that's the Journey of of self-discovery and that was a big part of what we discussed had the privilege of Hosting everyone in our home Friday night for the Shabbat meal and you know after welcoming the Shabbat angels and blessing our children and reciting to keep Jewish over the wine which we do every single week and sanctifying the day and they got to experience that we sat down for a feast that my beloved wife Shayna prepared valiantly with Valor because she is which is another song that we sang It's the last 22 verses of the Book of Proverbs that the Jewish husband sings to his wife every uh Shabbat uh evening and so I got to sing that to Shayna as well and everybody hummed along and um and so we had this wonderful meal with these holy guests and as we feasted we went around the table and everybody shared about themselves and their Journeys and where they've come from and how they got to where they are now and really that is the story of Abraham that's the story that begins with this week's Torah portion and that's the story that each and every one of us are experiencing right now and have never stopped experiencing Abraham experienced it and it has continued throughout history God calls out to Abraham which in Hebrew means go unto yourself go unto yourself Abraham was heading on an unknown journey to self-discovery and and all these tests why why all the tests Hashem knows everything right he's the Creator he fashioned each and every one of us in the womb he knows what we're capable of that's true but we don't we don't know what we're capable of we don't have any idea we discover who we are and what we're capable of as we encounter each and every challenge of our lives and every single obstacle and it's the pain and the challenges that that really reveal who we are to the world and then most importantly to ourselves you know we're born with this potential energy I think it's a kinetic energy and then when we act when we journey when we Face our challenges that potential energy is actualized it's Unleashed and it's revealed and it's only then that our light really shines to the world and and that's what I experienced when we sat around the Shabbat table because the tears flowed in each person shared their own Journey from Quran to the promised land literally to the promised land there we were in Judea and how they came from the Black Forest of Germany on their quest of Truth following the word of God and they ended up there at my Shabbat table and each story was one of searching and seeking and yearning and overcoming anyways I wanted to share that with you because it was just so perfect it was perfect for the portion it's perfect for us and it really describes all of us here in this Fellowship