Miri's+I+Face

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In my project I would like to show how I see Israel in my eyes. Many people live in the holly land of Israel and each one sees Israel in a different way. Each one comes from a different place and has passed different things in his life and that has an impact on how he sees Israel. For my project I decided to interview my next door neighbor Debra Tobben. Debra Tobben is a psychologist and she has helped many people through out the years she has been working. I hope to show the way Debra sees Israel. Debra made aliya to Israel many years ago and it is interesting to see how she sees Israel.



Debra Toben:
 * Miri Goodman ||

=Profile:=

Debra Toben was born and raised in Vermont. She worked in America as a psychologist for several years. She was very successful and had everything she wanted. Nevertheless she had everything she was always looking for something different. "I was always looking for some way to make life more meaningful". Debra has always felt that there is something "beyond what you just see".

Debra decided to take a trip around the world. In addition to having fun Debra tried to find something more meaningful. When she arrived in Israel she felt one can "feel G-d' s presents" here. She started studying about Judaism and "fell in love" with it. "It was so clear that it was truth full", she said. Debra grew up as a Christian. She went to church every Sunday with her family, even though it didn’t speak to her. After leaving home, Debra stopped going to church. When Debra came to Israel she started learning about Judaism and was very interested in the Jewish religion. Following this trip, Debra decided she wanted to convert.

Back in America, her plan for converting was very hard for her to execule because her family and friends were very againts. Debra's family are Lebanese christians and they identify themselves as Arabs. When Debra decided to convert, her family felt she was joining the enemy-the Jews. Many of Debra's friends also opposed her plan. Debra feels there is a lot anti-semitism in the world - people don’t even realize how much. The fact that Debra wanted to be orthodox was also questioned. Her friends didn't understand why she wanted to join such a "archaic religion were women are treated so poorly and women and men are separated all the time?!?". Debra felt it was "that important" to her and decided to convert although her family and friends disagreed, so she could be "closer to G-d".

The whole process of converting was very hard. It is hard to decide to convert and it gets even harder to go through the whole process. The rabbies ask you many questions to see "how serious you are and if you are committed". Even though it was hard going through the process Debra never gave up. Today Debra says that becoming a Jew is like "going from something dead to something filled with light". She feels that through the whole process Hashem gave her strength.

A few years later Debra and her husband Michael, who she met at graduate school ,decided to come and live in Israel. Debra had a few doubts about coming to live in Israel because of her family but Michael was sure he wanted to come. Debra felt she had to "get to a cretin point of feeling with her family before she could break away". They came to Israel to look for a place to live before they make the final decision to come. They came to Efrat and it was "beautiful". So they flew back to America, sold their house and bought a house in Efrat. On her trip she thinks that she had at the back of her mind that "wherever seems like the best place to live is where I'll live". When Debra first came to Israel it wasn’t easy for her to find a job. This made things hard on Debra and her family. After a period of time Debra found a job and things started to fall into place. Today Debra has her own office, many clients and is very successful.

Today, Debra likes to do many different things in her free time. She likes tap dancing, playing darbuka, yoga, video editing, swimming and hiking. What Debra likes most about Israel is the "light". She feels Israel has a different kind of light- a "spiritual light" witch other countries don’t have. She loves the desert because she loves the heat-she is always cold. She loves the fact that Israel has many different kinds of people from all over the world because she loves the "differences in people" and she loves talking to people. She loves the history of our country- when "you feel that you are some place that was always". Debras favorite place in the universe is the Western Wall. Debra likes going to the Dead Sea, she likes "lying around in the mud". She likes anything in nature, the ocean or beach. Debra loves going to Eilat and going snorkeling she feels "looking at those fish and seeing all the different things that Hashem made-it's amazing".

Debra's credo is to be a good person "and that means many different things": Not to take things for granted. Do good things, make a difference. She feels doing her job makes a difference in people's lives. "It is such a bracha to be able to have work that is also a mitzvah".

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= Background =

Conversion: It is written in the Torah in the book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 29 verses,13 and 14, that all the Jewish souls were at the ceremony at Mount Sinai when the Jewish people receive the Torah. "Not with you alone do I seal this covenant and this imprecation, but with whoever is here standing with us today before Hashem, our G-d, and with whoever is not here with us today…." The Stone Artscroll edition of the Bible writes "And with whoever is not here" is interpreted to mean by Rav Bachaye that "all Jewish souls were present at this covenant just as they were at Sinai when the Torah was given. Only the bodies were not yet born." Some of these Jewish souls got separated from the Jewish people for different reasons, but some return many years later. This process of reconnecting with the Jewish nation is very complicated. Although it is complicated these souls are reuniting with their roots.

The first person we learn about who converted in the Bible is Ruth. There is a Megillah named after her in the Bible. Ruth converted and became part of the jewish people. She took care of her mother- in- law, Naomi, and worked in the fields to provide food for her. As a reward for the many wonderful things Ruth did, G-d made her grandson the king of the Jewish nation. Today there are many different organizations who help people who want to convert. When a person wants to convert the Rabbis are obligated to send the person away a few times and try to convince him not to convert. The Rabbis do this to test the person and see how committed he really is. After the person shows the Rabbis he is truly committed, they start the process of converting.

In the Jewish religion there are a few different sectors. Each sector has a different point of view about the Torah and about converting. The orthodox Rabbis will let someone convert only if he is committed to keep the commandments. They also discourage people from converting for reasons of marriage. On the other hand the Reformed Jews will let someone convert even though he will not keep the commandments. When people convert they usually need to change their whole life style. They can't eat whatever they want anymore, need to change their kitchen and mach more. Some people get used to this new lifestyle very quickly but there are others who take longer. Some of the people's families are very hurt if one of their family members decides to convert. Some families even decide to disconnect from the family member. Converts are very brave and strong. They leave a life that is comfortable and not complicated in order to become Jewish.

Ruth collecting wheat in order to provide food for her mother in law and herself. Mount Sinai when the Jews received the Torah.

To read more about Jewish historical background [] to read more about Judaism, Jewish converging and converting to Judaism [|http://www.convertingtojudaism.com]

Bibliography:

Artscroll series-the book of Devarim. By Rabbi nosson Scherman/Rarbbi Zlotowits. General Editors. Page 151 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.orianit//

www.orianit //

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**Literary connection**
לתת: [|**בועז שרעבי**]
 * __ מילים __**** : חמוטל בן זאב **
 * __ לחן __**** : בועז שרעבי **

לתת את הנשמה ואת הלב לתת, לתת כשאתה אוהב ואיך מוצאים את ההבדל שבין לקחת ולקבל עוד תלמד לתת לתת.

לגלות סודות בסתר להתיר את סבך הקשר כשהלב בך נצבט מכל חיוך מכל מבט. אתה נזהר אתה יודע וחוץ ממך איש לא שומע פוסע בין הדקויות וממלא שעות פנויות.

לתת את הנשמה ואת הלב לתת, לתת כשאתה אוהב ואיך מוצאים את ההבדל שבין לקחת ולקבל עוד תלמד לתת לתת.

אתה לומד עם השנים לבנות ביחד בניינים לחיות עם כל השינויים לרקום איתה סיפור חיים ולעבור ימים קשים במצוקות וריגושים תמיד לדעת לוותר ואת הטעם לשמר.

לתת את הנשמה ואת הלב לתת, לתת כשאתה אוהב ואיך מוצאים את ההבדל שבין לקחת ולקבל עוד תלמד לתת לתת.

לראות בתוך הנפילה שיש מקום למחילה תמיד אפשר שוב להתחיל כמו יום חדש כמו כרגיל לתת.

To the soul and heart Give, give when you love. How to find the difference between taking and giving. 'll Learn to give.

Discover secrets loosen what's complicated Your heart aches All smile at all. You're careful, you know And no one can hear what you do. Walking between something thin Filling empty hours.

To the soul and heart Give, give when you love How to find the difference Between taking and giving I'll Learn to give.

You learn through years Together to build buildings Living with all the changes create your life story pass a hard time difficulty and excitements Always know to give up when needed And to save the reason

To the soul and heart Give, give when you love How to find the difference Between taking and giving I'll Learn to give.

Learn that when you fail There is room for forgiveness You can always start again As a new day as usual Give. This song talks about giving. Giving your whole soul for something you believe in. There is a difference between giving and taking and sometimes we don't realize the difference between them. But we will learn. When you make things better you feel satisfaction, and when you make someone smile you feel good as well.

Through the years people learn to build together great things. We learn to live together despite all our differences. Together we build our lives and also go through the hard times. In all these things we still need to learn how to give to others. We need to learn to see that when we fall there is place for forgiveness and to start over from the beginning-like a new day.

The writer is trying to tell us that with out giving and having forgiveness in society we can't live together. Giving is something basic in building a society. The writer said that today the principle of giving has been forgotten. We need to teach the children that giving is something basic and you shouldn’t think only about yourself. Giving helps everyone in many different ways. When you give you don’t only lose you also benefit from it. You also feel good with yourself and also next time when you will need something that person will try to help you. Giving helps build great things in society and even though this principle has been forgotten there is always place for correcting the situation.

I picked this song because I feel that giving is an extremely important element in being a good person. When someone gives someone else it shows that he doesn’t think only about himself. Every person has a chance to give in different ways to others and make a difference. When G-d created the world it was from a desire to give -give to others. Each one of us has a part of G-d in them because we are all his children. This means that each person has some of G-od's features. Therefore Each one of us has a desire in ourselves to give. We live in a small country and every person who makes a difference counts. It shows how important giving is in the Israeli coulter. The Israeli teenagers give 3 whole years of their lives to the country. The solders risk there lives for our country. That is real giving!

=CREATIVE PROJECT= Israel!

The war of independence. Declaration of independence 1948 Jerusalem is chosen to be a capital city 1949. War against Egypt 1956. Eichman's trial. 1961 The Six Day War 1967 The War of Attrition 1969 The Yom Kippwr war 1973

The Israeli army releases the Yonatan Netanyahu The first war in Lebanon 1982 Kidnapped plane from Entebbe who was killed in thatoperation. . 1976

. The Israeli government helps The Israeli president Yitzchak Terror attacks against Israel.2000 The evacuation fromGush Katif. 2005 14,000 Jews come to Israel. Robin is murdered. 1995 1991. The Second Lebanon War. 2006 The war in the Gaza Strip 2009

I chose to do my creative project about Israel, my home and country. Israel has suffered many hard wars in her few years. Many people in the world think that the Jews don’t belong in Israel and that we just make problems. A few settlements have been built in response to terror attacks throughout the years. We, the Jews who live in Israel want to prove to the world that nothing, but nothing will make us surrender. We believe, in all our hearts that G-d promised us this land and we are here to stay. Living in Israel includes difficulties, but we learn to overcome them and become stronger people.

=Reflection:=

 I learned many things about myself during working on this project. I learned that I have a much stronger feeling of connection to Israel than I thought. I was born in Israel and have lived in Israel all my life, but i never really asked myself what __i__ think about Israel. I have heard many times what other people feel about Isreal but never did I ask myself. Through out my life i was always frightened and not confident to write an essay. I learned that if I put a little effort in to it and put my fears aside writing is not so bad and I learned to enjoy it.

=Bibliography=

Artscroll series-the book of Devarim. By Rabbi nosson Scherman/Rarbbi Zlotowits. General Editors. Page 151 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http:www.orianit