Judiasm

One of the interesting aspects of this experience is the high educational level of many of the college students who are participating. One of these is Dan, a student who speaks Hebrew and Arabic. He is from the USA, but can converse with the Jewish natives, and then go over and have breakfast with the Arabs who are working on the tel and converse with them in Arabic. He is an orthodox Jew, and I have enjoyed asking him about Talmudic law. It is amazing to me. The kibbutz is kosher, but not as kosher as Dan. We have meat lunches and dairy dinner. I noticed that Dan had a plastic disposable plate as he stood in line at the dining hall. I asked him why he had brought his own plate. He said that he cannot eat off of a plate that has had dairy and meat both on it. He briefly explained to me the law. If the plate is made of ceramic (something that comes from the earth) and you have eaten meat off of it, you can bury the plate and leave it for 4 days, then unearth it, wash it, and eat a dairy meal off of it. If it is made of metal you must heat it until it is red (right before it begins to melt) then you may use it. - Since Jews are not allowed to work on the Sabboth, many hotels have elevators that stop automatically on every other floor. This way Jews can ride the elevator without having to push a button, which would be working. They may have to get off on the floor above or below the floor they want, but they just walk the stairs to get to their floor. (Walking stairs is not considered working.) * I met an Arab man named Mohammad who speaks passable English. Enjoyed visiting with him. Asked him if he could go with me to show me around Jenin, a large Arab city in the West Bank near us. He said that he would not be allowed through the checkpoint. I later met a young man here in the kibbutz who recently finished his manditory three years of service in the Israeli Defense Force. He was stationed near Jenin, and worked that checkpoint occasionally. I asked him if he could get me through the checkpoint, and perhaps accompany me on a walking tour of the city. He said no, that he would only go into Jenin with other soldiers and in an armored vehicle. -- I may decide to give up on the idea of visiting the occupied territories because it is too dangerous.