Comments on A great time... and a missed opportunityTypePad2007-07-08T12:02:10ZDavid Bognerhttps://www.treppenwitz.com/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://www.treppenwitz.com/2007/07/a-great-time-bu/comments/atom.xml/tamar commented on 'A great time... and a missed opportunity'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e55052640588342007-07-15T00:53:30Z2008-02-14T04:51:29Ztamarhttp://www.only-connect.blogspot.comGreat insight into your own preconceptions. Glad you own them. And thank goodness for the cross-cultural relationship your family and...<p>Great insight into your own preconceptions. Glad you own them. And thank goodness for the cross-cultural relationship your family and Imshin's is developing. I engage in interfaith dialogs to help me get over my ignorance, biases, limitations. Engaging with folks beyond our comfort zones is one way to bridge the gaps that perpetuate shared tragedy. My Charedi cousin told me she could not join the Tel Aviv guided tour I had organized for my large family (all modern Orthodox). The dissenting cousin said she couldn't expose her family to the immodest dress style of Tel Aviv people. Since then, I could not cross over the line to her home in Ramat Shlomo. I need to make the effort yet when the situation has built-in preconditions and one side can move in a direction the other side will not, life is hard. If you have suggestions beyond getting over it, I'd love to hear them.</p>rutimizrachi commented on 'A great time... and a missed opportunity'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503edd3e88332007-07-11T11:54:06Z2008-02-14T04:52:01ZrutimizrachiGreat post, David. Your ability to see "the other" from his side of the ideological divide is one of the...<p>Great post, David. Your ability to see "the other" from his side of the ideological divide is one of the reasons I enjoy reading you.</p>
<p>You remind me of an incident that happened in Towson, Maryland. I was wearing a gray sweatshirt-fabric dress, and the black and gray snood that a friend had made to go with it. And I was trying to find the mall. (Understand that Ruti can't find her way out of a paper bag with arrows painted inside.) So I stopped at a gas station to ask directions. A young black male with the most beautiful smile bounded up to my car. "Whatchew lookin' fo', Sistah?" he asked me, very sweetly. My face brightened up with that smile, and that surprisingly warm attitude. I explained, and he gave directions. "You take ca' y'se'f, Sistah!" he said to me, with a truly protective look. I drove to the mall, wishing all young black men could see human beings as family, as this boy seemed to.</p>
<p>At the mall, my day was further brightened by three young twenty-something black males, walking toward me with beautific smiles. "Hey, Sistah!" they said. "How ya doin', Sistah?"</p>
<p>I am a little slow, it is true. But I finally got it. The black snood, with the gray band (and my decidedly Irish-looking face underneath it), made me appear to them as a Catholic nun. </p>
<p>You have to understand the way things are here in Maryland. The hostility between blacks and whites, and maybe particularly between blacks and Jews, is palpable, if not openly expressed. Had I been dressed in a different "costume," those boys may have looked through me, or at me with barely-concealed violence. And I may have passed by them, as I have been trained, without looking them in the eyes, and with an impassive face. At best, we would have all looked passed each other with the traditional "Howya doin'," which is said with the clear inference that an answer is neither expected nor desired.</p>
<p>At that moment, I felt a bit wistful and sad. How I would love to have a grant to study the difference clothing makes! Those young men were all just boys for a few brief minutes. They were someone's lovable sons. For a moment, they were mine.</p>
<p>How beautiful and hopeful it is, when Hashem gives us a brief glimpse of what the world could be. And perhaps it can renew our vigor, when we press our faces upward, begging Him to hurry and give us the clarity we anticipate in the time of Moshiach. Bimhera v'ameinu. <br />
</p>Ruth commented on 'A great time... and a missed opportunity'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e55052677a88342007-07-11T07:46:07Z2008-02-14T04:52:05ZRuthhttp://beer7.wordpress.com/Hi David, Do you realize that you are the exception rather than the norm with regards to Israeli-Arab interaction? The...<p>Hi David,</p>
<p>Do you realize that you are the exception rather than the norm with regards to Israeli-Arab interaction? The place where you live and your workplace make sure that you do not meet Arabs in an easy day to day encounter.</p>
<p>Lot's of Israelis have Arab neighbour (we do) and/or co-workers. </p>CamSavWin commented on 'A great time... and a missed opportunity'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ede7a88332007-07-09T15:36:31Z2008-02-14T04:52:12ZCamSavWinhttp://profile.typekey.com/CamSavWin/I haven't been reading this blog long, but it has provided a wealth of information to me! Not being Jewish,...<p>I haven't been reading this blog long, but it has provided a wealth of information to me! Not being Jewish, and living in a community where Jewish-ness is rarely even noticed or commented upon (I couldn't tell you if any of my co-workers were Jewish, nor would it matter, I think, to any of us), the religious information I've gleaned from this blog is fascinating. And living in a (relatively) boring southern US city, I'm likewise intrigued by the worldview you provide, living where you do. The political and social climate in your region is something very difficult, in my opinion, for Americans to understand. We don't really have a frame of reference. To speak one day of a craving for blueberry coffee and a childlike delight in obtaining some, followed by a post about missed opportunities in Israeli/Arab relations and trips through occupied territory is almost mind-blowing to someone like me. I am learning a great deal through your blog, and other blogs you recommend, and am grateful to learn through them more about the world I and my children live in. The best part is that I'm learning, not from a sterile news source citing events and people I don't recognize, but from people and families living their normal lives. I'm grateful for this opportunity that you definitely have not missed!</p>Elaine commented on 'A great time... and a missed opportunity'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503edc6988332007-07-09T08:51:09Z2008-02-14T04:51:54ZElainehttp://www.aaronsrod.blogspot.com/David, Shalom, I loved this post. That's what makes reading your blog so enjoyable. You care !! You really do,...<p>David,</p>
<p>Shalom, I loved this post. That's what makes reading your blog so enjoyable. You care !! You really do, and it comes through !! I understand very well what you mean about "missed" opportunities, but perhaps your seeing the glass half-empty, instead of the other option, of seeing it half-full. What do I mean by this ???<br />
Well, it's like this, you see a missed opportunity because you resisted and did not engage the kids ?? Maybe showing the Arab kids the positive side of Israeli's wasn't the only opportunity and the greatest opportunity really wasn't missed at all. Maybe the great opportunity was for you to view them from a different prospective ?? You came away from this encounter, thinking a bit differently ?? With a little renewed hope for future generations of Arab and Israeli kids ?? Maybe the opportunity was for you to examine your pre-conceived notions about them and not just the other way around ??? Like you and your family have experienced with your friends from Tel Aviv, both sides seeing things from a new vantage point. So, maybe the opportunity wasn't "lost" after all ??? This is why I love your writing !! It challenges and makes people think !!!</p>
<p>BTW, You've been TAGGED my me over at my blog:</p>
<p>http://aaronsrod.blogspot.com/</p>
<p>Please, when you have a few free minutes, check it out !!</p>
<p>Shalom,<br />
Elaine </p>Irina commented on 'A great time... and a missed opportunity'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503edf6188332007-07-09T03:07:02Z2008-02-14T04:52:20ZIrinahttp://sicat222.blogspot.comDon't beat yourself up over it. For one thing, you've learned a lesson out of it... But secondly, I wouldn't...<p>Don't beat yourself up over it. For one thing, you've learned a lesson out of it... But secondly, I wouldn't necessarily assume that the incident would have been anything more than it was - a couple of minutes chatting with teenagers. I understand that it may be very rare because of the local atmosphere... but at the same time, although tiny incidents sometimes do carry significant consequences... most of the time, they are just small incidents that make up or life. So you shouldn't feel so guilty about squandering an opportunity... Who knows what would have come out of that, but the next time you'll have a chance, perhaps will work out better. Sitting here in NYC, I see all kinds of Jews - very secular, somewhat similar to what people describe as Tel Avivi, moderately religious, veyr religious, left-wing, right-wing, and all shades in between... so while I understand the rift you speak of, for me it's hard to understand why it becomes seen as something mysterious and overwhelming once it happens in Israel.</p>jaime commented on 'A great time... and a missed opportunity'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503ed98f88332007-07-08T17:14:41Z2008-02-14T04:51:23Zjaimehttp://www.sweetooth120.blogspot.comDave, what a touching story. And now for a little tongue in cheek... not that I am counting, but that...<p>Dave, what a touching story.</p>
<p>And now for a little tongue in cheek... not that I am counting, but that is the second time in a week of posts that you choose to use the word "swimmingly". I've never heard the word used before, and thanks to you, I now have a new word added to my vocubulary but it seems such an odd word to describe a get together.</p>
<p>p.s. I have to admit, since reading your blog (3 yrs I think) my vocabulary knowdelge has benefited ... Thanks Dave.</p>Bob commented on 'A great time... and a missed opportunity'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d8341c581e53ef00e5503edc5a88332007-07-08T13:32:58Z2008-02-14T04:51:53ZBobhttp://lostfart.blogspot.com/You were given a gift to see those Arab kids through someone else's eyes, but don't discount your gift to...<p>You were given a gift to see those Arab kids through someone else's eyes, but don't discount your gift to us. Thank you for sharing your view from the frontier.</p>