Talking Into the Wee Hours of the Night

Mark, Jill, and Martha spent a lot of time together

Except for two nights (one with Ika and his family) and one at El Halev, Mark and I stayed in Rehovot with Jill and her husband Jeff, sons Kobe and Eliav along with their bird, cat, and dog. We would usually return from Talpiot Jerusalem where El Halev is located around midnight. Jill would set the table with some combination of soup, cheese, chocolate, veggie burgers or veggie hot dogs. One night we ate lentil soup that Shoshi had prepared for us; another evening, we added corn muffins that Kobe had fixed.

Although we had already talked about the day’s events on the drive home (around 1 hour), sharing food in Jill and Jeff’s comfortable kitchen always inspired more conversation, insights, and reflections on this fascinating yet unusual work we do. Sometimes Kobe and other times Eliav joined our conversation (Jeff was the smart one who got to bed at a decent hour). I so enjoyed one evening when Kobe was making a point about IMPACT, referring to himself as an “IMPACT instructor-in-law.” Oh, yes, without the support, encouragement, and love of our families it would be a challenge to do this work. Except for short walks Jill took with her sons and early morning conversations with Jeff, IMPACT Israel and hosting Mark and me took almost every hour of the day—I think she did sneak some sleep in there somewhere.

Jill and Mark say hello to Kate and Sam

At some point, each night I would declare, “I’m going to go to bed by 2!” By the last two nights, I was declaring, “I’m going to go to bed by 1!” I was usually the first to go to my room. Jill would often stay up to do some more work and Mark would skype with his wife Kate and son Sam (8 hours time difference). Before I left, Jim and I decided that we would rely on email for the week I was gone, so every day I woke up to an email from Jim and by the time he got up, he would have one back from me. Rachel and I also kept in touch via email.

Yael, Yotam, Mark, Smadar, Nina, and Jill talk about teamwork

Up sometime between 7-9 am, I usually had cereal for breakfast; occasionally Mark or Jill would also prepare eggs. The deal was if they felt like it, they cooked and, regardless of what they did, I would put dishes in the dishwasher. I never emptied the dishwasher but mysteriously it was always empty when it was time to put more dishes into it. We usually left Rehovot sometime between 8-10 am. I never got enough sleep the entire week but the incredible work we all did together kept me going.

Martha and Shoshi

Take-away: This brief step into the work of IMPACT Israel reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut’s concept of karass that he introduced in Cat’s Cradle. From various internet sources, a karass is
• a group of people who work together to do God’s work
• a spontaneously forming group, joined by unpredictable links, that actually gets stuff done
• a group of people linked in a cosmically significant manner, even when superficial linkages are not evident
• a team of people that does God's Will without ever discovering what they are doing
• the notion that there are people all around the world with whom you have an instant connection

Although religious imagery is not how I think of my IMPACT work and I do not think IMPACT instructors are unaware of their connection with each other, for me the notion of karass captures the idea of the instant connection I experience with IMPACT instructors and the feeling that we are engaged in significant work that is bigger than all of us.

Mark and Yisrael