“Oh great... It’s shabbat. I forgot.”

I’ve heard these words time and time again over the past 4 or 5 weeks, and I must say, it’s starting to sink in just how interesting the idea of shabbat is.  In professor Mendelsson’s class, we talked about the evolution of Zionism, the “new Jew”, and Tel Aviv as the first “Hebrew” city.  Back in the USofA when I was taking 390 in the spring, these concepts were abstract.  Here, I can put them in context; I can experience them first hand.

From back home, I knew I supported the Jewish part of Israel just as much as the Democratic part.  But having only been here for 10 days on birthright, the feelings of daily life aren’t really that accessible.  This month, it’s been fascinating to dive more into the question of What does a Jewish State look like?  A Jewish majority is definitely a huge part, but by comparing Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and downtown Jerusalem to Mea Shearim and the film school we visited with Professor Mendelsson, it becomes problematic.  Not all Jews are the same, clearly, so how do we express the Jewish nature of the state?

With the national symbols of the nation and/or the state, Israel has managed to unite Jews through their historical bond.  The menorah on many of the symbols harkens back to the days of the Temples, as well as the story of Hanukkah.  The best part is that these appease many of the religious Zionists for obvious reasons, but also the secular because they are historical references to times when Jews were in control or being proactive: two crucial parts of secular Zionism.

Now let’s bring it back to shabbat.  This amazing city just shuts down.  Because of the light-rail and buses not running, taking a taxi is more obnoxious because everyone else is taking taxis too.  While I understand the extremely close connection between the orthodox and shabbat, it seems fascinating to me that this is how the Jewish identity of the state of Israel is expressed.  Sundays in the United States are never such a balagan, so I find it intriguing that in a country with such a small portion of orthodox Jews, and especially in a city with such a high ratio of non-Jews, that Jerusalem is even more of a balagan on Shabbat than Jewish cities like Tel Aviv.