Acharon, Acharon Ha Viv

When Sonya was the DeLeT fellow in my classroom two years ago, she introduced an expression into the lexicon of our learning community that was not only very helpful then but has proven to be quite enduring.

Acharon, acharon ha viv...

In English it can be roughly translated to "last but not least" and it comes from the Torah. The original story is a beautiful one of love and family and humility and grace, and is not one I will retell now, so you'll just have to trust me. As ancient as it is and as lofty as its origins might seem, it can be used in many everyday school-related circumstances from calling kids to line up for lunch to assigning homework and for many things in between and so it quickly became a mainstay of our vocabulary.

Since I came to Israel in October I have learned more Hebrew than ever before, due in part to my nighttime ulpan class but more attributable to the fact that at the school where I teach English I am immersed in this mysterious, foreign, complicated, beautiful language. It was not until this trip that I heard the expression Sonya taught us used in the real Israeli world--where else? In a school of course.

So acharon, acharon ha viv...it is my last Thursday here, the beginning of what feels heavily in my heart like a string of lasts that is only just beginning: the last day of school, my last Shabbat...the list feels sorrowfully long right now. Seven days from right this instant I will be buckled into my British Airways aisle seat and already soaring west across the Mediterranean. I am doing all I can to stay present, to enjoy every day for what it is and not freak out about the 'acharon'-ness of it all. I wanted to go back, I remind myself...and really, it is the same as when I first got here and wanted to be in California. Last but not least can take awhile, longer in the soul than in the flesh I think. I plan to make the most of the next seven days because I know I will miss it here once I leave to go back home.