{"id":10629,"date":"2007-03-22T19:01:00","date_gmt":"2007-03-22T19:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/locusts_and_lentils\/"},"modified":"2015-10-25T15:15:11","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T20:15:11","slug":"locusts_and_lentils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/locusts_and_lentils\/","title":{"rendered":"Locusts and Lentils"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image\"<\/div>\n

Rachel just doesn’t get it. I’ve explained it again and again. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A chance to become a part of Jewish history. To not just live as a minority in some other culture’s history, but to make our own. How can someone who feels such a connection to the Jewish people \u2013 and I know Rachel does – turn down the chance to make the desert bloom?<\/p>\n

Rachel straightens her headscarf and heads to the corner of the small room that serves as the kitchen. She angrily throws a pot on the fire and mutters something about needing to make bread but feeling too tired. Maybe in the morning. I resist the temptation to complain about dinner. It will be the fourth time this week that all we\u2019ve had is lentils.<\/p>\n

The streets outside our small house are all abuzz with excitement. It\u2019s early evening. The sky is in the process of going from blue to deep purple. There seems to be something hovering in the air, at an altitude higher than I can make out, but still discernible. I can smell change in the air.<\/p>\n

Most of our friends work at one of the many construction sites in the neighborhood. As they start arriving home from a hard day of labor, there is a sense of hope for the first time in as long as I can remember. But their anticipation is tempered since an even larger group is doing all it can to keep us in check.<\/p>\n

The argument of the nay-sayers is simple and at times deceptively compelling: times are tough, but the devil you do know is better than the devil you don\u2019t. And who is this aliyah emissary anyway? He talks about the need to emigrate, the importance of the endeavor, but he doesn\u2019t speak for everyone. Who appointed him in the first place?<\/p>\n

Still, I\u2019ve made up my mind. I\u2019m going. How long have we dreamed of such a thing? To think that it is within our grasp, in our generation.<\/p>\n

Oh sure, it will be tough. Our standard of living will definitely take a significant step downward.<\/p>\n

Not that it was so great to start with. The taxes have been outrageous. And do you know what it costs to get your kids into a good school these days? You\u2019ve practically got to bribe the headmasters. Kids are actually dropping out of school to go to work…and not because they want to. But what other choice do they have? Do we have?<\/p>\n

And then there are the accommodations: these transit camps the aliyah emissary is talking about don\u2019t sound anywhere near as nice as our small but cozy homes here. The building standards where we\u2019re going are supposed to be primitive by comparison to what we\u2019re used to.<\/p>\n

Not to mention the food. Until things really get up and running, I\u2019ve heard that it\u2019s going to be near impossible to import our favorite stuff from \u201cthe old country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry, they say, the food will be tasty, but it will pretty much be the same thing everyday. Creative use of spice is the key. Sure, I\u2019ve heard that before…<\/p>\n

But still, those are all just creature comforts. What\u2019s important is unity. Togetherness.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, I understand that the people who are already there where we’re going aren\u2019t too keen about sharing their land with a bunch of newcomers. They\u2019ve already informed our leaders that they\u2019ll fight us, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, should we attempt to expropriate any of their property for our own use.<\/p>\n

But what are we supposed to do? We\u2019re looking at genocide here. What, we should just sit quietly and watch as our male-born children are thrown into the river? I don\u2019t care how nice your living room furniture is; it\u2019s just not worth it. Why don\u2019t the world bodies understand that we need a homeland here? This is a matter of survival!<\/p>\n

Hey, what\u2019s that sound? The commotion on the street has died down. That smell I told you about, that there was something way up in the sky? Well, it\u2019s getting a whole lot closer now. Wait\u2026are those\u2026locusts? At this time of year? Man, things are really getting freaky these days. Must be a sign. But from who\u2026or what?<\/p>\n

Well, maybe we\u2019ll find that out too when we leave. I can\u2019t wait. Rachel, she\u2019ll come around, I\u2019m sure of it. This is going to be the adventure of a lifetime!<\/p>\n

\n

Brian Blum is a journalist and entrepreneur based in Jerusalem. He writes the weekly column <\/i>This Normal Life (www.ThisNormalLife.com<\/a>). His latest startup <\/i>Bloggerce (www.bloggerce.com<\/a>) provides online publishing solutions for budding bloggers. Contact him at <\/i>brianblum@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rachel just doesn’t get it. I’ve explained it again and again. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. A chance to become a part of Jewish history. To not just live as a minority in some other culture’s history, but to make our own. How can someone who feels such a connection to the Jewish people \u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":49543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration","category-israel"],"yoast_head":"\nLocusts and Lentils - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How can someone who feels such a connection to the Jewish people \u2013 and I know Rachel does - turn down the chance to make the desert bloom?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/israel\/locusts_and_lentils\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Locusts and Lentils - 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