Thursday, October 2, 2008

What I did last summer



As long before promised (I did not forget!) a clip of my derrière on Israeli television. (I would have preferred a face shot, but hey, I was just there to work.)

For the past two summers I have had the privilege to work with an organization in Israel called Livnot U'Lehibanot And, not only did my rear-end make Israeli TV (did you find me? I'm happy to say that they filmed that before I ripped a giant hole precisely in the derrière of those pants) the year before I made it into print media (with all my clothing intact, no less)


Of course, this really isn't about me making Israeli news (as cool as that may be) it's about me doing my very small part to make a difference. It's about tzedakah (which means righteousness or justice in Hebrew and is a perfect thought for this time of year- Rosh Hashanah/ Jewish New Year's) and giving what one is able to give. I just went through the photos- which will hopefully upload in this century- and I have such a sense of pride and accomplishment- not a personal pride or personal accomplishment- but the pride of how well our group- Livnot 203- worked together with the Livnot staff and how much we accomplished- and how much joy we had while doing it. There is truly a beauty that comes from physical labor and creating with your hands- and doing so in a group for the benefit of others- well, let's just say I feel honored to have become a part of Livnot and the wonderful work that they do- that WE do.


And I really do hope to continue to be able to go back and continue to do good works- And I will shamelessly ask you all to contribute! (Since the organization runs solely on donations, and the American dollar is down in relationship to the Israeli shekel- every bit counts and every bit helps- especially right now!)

2 comments:

Meir Paltiel said...

Courtney - great photos and some very special work. Thanks for being part of this!

The Gypsy Queen's Daughter said...

I have to credit Eli with the photos and the newspaper clipping- he gave me a whole CD full of photos last summer when I came to visit. :)