The Finale!

I’ve never been a person to keep a diary, I never thought my days were interesting enough to write them down. I usually just hold onto a good story from the day and put it in the bank for when I need a good anecdote about the monotony of waiting in line at the supermarket and how it reminds me of that one time I did something amazing somewhere less amazing with someone quite ordinary. This blog is the first real attempt I have made to document a series of events and I am really glad that I did. I just reread all of my posts and it’s pretty funny, not because I am a hilarious writer (I am though), but because I am reading between the lines and remembering the context in which I wrote this. I also noticed a change in tone. I didn’t completely lose the sarcastic cynicism but around week 5 I had started to soften, by week 9 I’m not even sure what happened and when it got to week 11 I completely drank the proverbial kool-aid.

I am feeling very reflective and nostalgic as I sit at my gate at JFK waiting to board my flight home and just accept that Tuesday the 26th of November 2019 won’t ever exist for me. I am reflecting on almost 4 months of absolute craziness;

• I rode a bike with a terminal flat wheel and screechy brakes up and down a busy hillside road every day
• I harvested artichoke and kale in the snow
• I marched with over 100 thousand people in New York for climate justice
• I lived in a tent for 3 months including through -10 temperatures,
• I looked after a goat who I then held his head while someone killed him, before I skinned, gutted and then made curry out of him,
• I woke up every morning and saw the most beautiful sunrises over a precious lake,
• I sang songs every morning, during work sessions…while hiking…while eating…while drinking and whenever else someone had the urge

These are just a few of the moments that make me wonder, what the actual f&^% have I done with the last few months of my life? Adamah would have me say, “Transform”, Shalom would say, “Learn and upskill for my job,” my friends would say I got a good deal from work and I messed around in a Jewish hippy wonderland and they would all be right. Seeing the progression of my journey towards the creation of Adamama in Sydney through the words and stories of this blog truly does express a journey with changes, learnings and a lot of silliness as well.

I have learnt a lot getting lost in the woods and I can break it down to a few key points.

Joy- Do all the things you do with a sense of awe, appreciation and happiness. Build a Jewish identity on enjoying being Jewish and all that it comes with.

Love this world- We only have one world, lets not cock it up. Look after our soil, know where and how your food gets to your plate and be an active not passive part of the food cycle.

Where possible, Go Organic!. Its better for you and our planet and it’s usually not a consumerist scam but you should always double check the labels.

Pluralism- If there isn’t a space at the table for everyone then we need to get a bigger table and a more open mind. An inclusive and pluralistic Jewish space is of huge importance when creating educational and cultural environment.

I don’t know everything- That one doesn’t need further explaining because you all already knew that, I just needed to catch up.

And maybe most importantly, I learnt how to cultivate soil and soul. The beautiful and unique collaboration of farm work and Judaism. This one you are going to need to experience yourself when you come down to Adamama for a working bee session on Sunday or a weeknight workshop/talk. Oh, and grow food. I can totally grow food now. Yummy wholesome food. The kind you can eat and not get sick.

I am forever grateful that I got to experience this but it is all for nothing if I cannot share it with my community back home. So I am about to board my flight and in a short 25 hours I will be back in Sydney and the second leg of the Journey begins. I am so excited to help collaborate joyful, awesome, pluralistic, Jewish and environmental magic with anyone who wants to engage.

Thinking of the changing seasons?
Do you question?
Do you count sheep?
Are you an early riser?
Simchat Torah sounded like a blast!
Missed Succot? Check out the blog
Still on the repentance train? Check this out
Concerned about the climate, read this blog
Learn what it means to schlepp here
Catch the Part 3 by heading here
Did you see Part 2? If not click here
What about Part 1? No, check it out here