Wow, I am really not doing well at keeping up with this blog! But, at least I have a good reason-- and its not just homework. I have actually been going out and experiencing much of Jerusalem.

A couple weeks ago I went to a Beitar Jerusalem game, which is a local soccer team. Soccer games here are very intense! Beitar Jerusalem is known for their rather offense chants, which include, "Your mother is a whore" and "suicide-bomber" (when a member of Beiter makes a mistake on the field). Alcohol isn't allowed to be sold in the stadium, since the fans are already so rowdy and out of control. We also noticed that at least 95% of the people attending the game were male-- very interesting. Beitar Jerusalem lost horribly to Haifa, but it was a very fun experience!

At the Beitar Jerusalem game

As I mentioned before, Hannukah is approaching, so sufganiyot are appearing all over the place. I have been taking full advantage of this and have had chocolate filled sufganiyot, sprinkle covered ones, caramel ones-- yum! And still so many more to try!

Classmates enjoying their first sufganiyot of the year

Over thanksgiving, my class along with the Rabbinic students from JTS and Ziegler (Conservative Rabbinic schools) who are spending their year in Israel, spent 4 days in the Negev desert in the southern Israel. It was quite an adventure. Our first day we spend the afternoon visiting a community in the Negev, and learning about their different achievements and challenges. We then walked into the desert (a common theme for this trip) and read poetry about nature and got to reflect just being in such a beautiful place. That night we all walked into the desert (see?!) and ate a barbequed dinner around a giant bonfire and sang songs and got to know students on the other programs. 

The next day, Thanksgiving, we were given the option of going on a hike through Park Timna, or a more challenging hike up Har Shlomo. I decided to challenge myself and go on the Har Shlomo hike. Unfortunately, its not so much a hike as a climb/scaling up the mountain at times. There were several times were you pulled yourself up the mountain using a rod sticking out of the rock. And the way down-- let me just say as someone who is afraid of heights this might have been the scariest thing I have ever done. But it was absolutely amazing and so worth it!

Classmates and I on the top of Har Shlomo

Thanksgiving night we had a lovely turkey meal at Kibbutz Ketura, a kibbutz associated with the conservative moment. (JTS and Zeigler students stayed at Kibbutz Ketura while the HUC students stayed at Kibbutz Yahel which is associated with the Reform movement). Unfortunately the next day I wasn't feeling so well, so I stayed in for the day while my classmates visited different eco-green Kibbutz and went to Eilat. 

Saturday, we again walked into the desert for our Shabbat morning services. We walked for about 20 minutes, until you couldn't see any sign of civilization. It was absolutely amazing to be out there, completely surrounded by nature and quiet. I always love outdoor services, and this may have been one of my favorite ones ever. Afterward, we spent the afternoon relaxing on the kibbutz before heading back to Jerusalem. 

Me hagbah'ing (lifting) the Torah during our service

Photo credit to Elle Muhlbaum

I'm approaching my halfway mark for time in Israel, which seems crazy! I've already seen, experienced and learned so much here, and am excited to see where the next half of my adventure here takes me!

Wait, there's life outside of the library?

Wow, its been a long time since I last updated. Let's see if I can remember everything that has been going on since!

I spent 10 wonderful days over Sukkot break in Italy and France with Nate. I had such an amazing time visiting all the museums, seeing all the sites, and eating like a queen. It was a fabulous trip, and such a great way to relax from school and studying.

Nate and I on top of the Duomo in Florence

Cinque Terre, my favorite place in Italy

When I came back to Israel, midterms were in full swing so I have just been go-go-go since returning. Studying for tests, writing papers on type-scenes in the Torah, translating prayers, and learning more Hebrew and grammar- its non-stop and I am loving all of it. Bible has emerged as my favorite class by far. Reading it in Hebrew and really seeing all the nuances of the text, the contradictions and hyperlinks to previous stories, and see how everything I learned growing up really didn't happen quite like that-- I can't get enough of it. I'm excited for winter break when I will have some free time and can do more leisurely reading and translating of the Tanakh. Yes, I have become a Bible nerd.

With all the studying, schoolwork and extra programs, I don't get to spend much time off campus. On Tuesday however, my History of Zionism class was cancelled so a couple classmates and I went to the Old City. Walking through the Old City, I realized being cooped up at school can make me forget what an amazing place I live in. I live 15 minutes walking distance from a 2000 year old city, and can see remnants of the Temple. How awesome is that? I'm going to try and spend more time in the Old City, which is such a magical place, and work more on getting out of the library and just out and around Jerusalem and Israel in general.

Last night I went to see Meir Banai play at the Festival of the Ud. Yes, Israel has a week long musical festival celebrating the Ud instrument. Meir is a really famous musician (from a family of famous musicians I am told) here in Israel and just absolutely wonderful. I have never been so memorized by music, and super exciting, I even understood some of his lyrics!

Now that the High Holidays are behind us, Israel is starting to focus on Hannukah. The between Sukkot and Hannukah dessert of krembo is now in stores, and I am obsessed. Marshmallow cream galloped on top of a cookie all coated in chocolate? Heaven! Also, since Hannukah is now only 5 weeks away, sufganiyot are starting to appear in bakeries around the city. While I haven't ventured out to try any yet, I promise to give you all a full report of all the Sufganiyot I eat while studying here this year!

Hope everyone is doing fabulously and Shabbat Shalom!

Holiday update

Israel is in the midst of its Holiday season. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish High Holy days, ended last week and tonight begins the festival of Succot followed next week by Simchat Torah and Shimeni Atzeret.

It was such a surreal experience to get to spend Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in Israel. All the busses would flash "Lshana Tovah" (To a good year, the Hebrew equivalent of Happy New Year) and you could just tell in the air that something special was happening. It was awesome getting to spend the New Year in Israel, but celebrating Yom Kippur in Jerusalem is an experience unlike any other.

Most importantly, no one drives on Yom Kippur. And I mean no one. The streets are completely empty except for the occasional police car or ambulance. Everyone kept telling me how awesome it was, but its something I could not have understood without being there. As erev (evening) Rosh Hashanah services ended, my classmates and I left Blaustein Synagogue at HUC and filed into the streets. Everyone in Jerusalem walks in the middle of the road on Yom Kippur since there are no cars. Also since there were was no traffic you could hear the city. As I walked to a friends home, I heard the sounds of people praying and singing from synagogues on every block. (yes, synagogues in Jerusalem are like Starbucks in the US, they are on every corner).

As my classmates and I continued to walk in the streets, we came across the most incredible site. In the middle of the intersection of Agron, Rambam, Azza, Keren Hayesod and King George (hopefully listing all these streets will help you realize what a major intersection this is) a large group of students were sitting and singing and praying. As people walked out of synagogue and passed them, they would join their circle and sing with them. Israelis, Americans, visitors, Olim (those who have made Aliyah and moved to Israel), secular, modern orthodox, there were Jews from all over coming to the middle of this intersection and praying together. It was by far the most spiritual moment I have had in Israel yet and the first time I connected spiritually to the land.

The children in Israel love Yom Kippur because they can ride their bikes, scooters, roller blades, etc all over town without any fears of cars. Families come out together just to be in the streets. It really is an experience unlike any other.

As soon as Yom Kippur ended, Sukkahs began going up all around Jerusalem. Its amazing seeing them at every restaurant, and in every open crack between homes. I will not be in Jerusalem for Succot (I am actually in Belgium as I write this post on my way to Italy), but it was great getting to see them all go up. Its just so awesome getting to live and experience the Jewish life that I had only ever read about or seen in movies.

That being said, I am very very excited for my Europe trip. First off, Europe has two big things I have missed dearly since moving to Israel: Starbucks and toilet seat covers. More importantly, I get to spend my first trip to Europe with Nate, which I could not be more excited about. Seriously, yesterday two classmates had to hold me down because I couldn't stop bouncing with excitement during class.

One last important piece of news regarding the Holy Land. In 2006, an Israeli soldier named Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas militants and has been held ever since. They have not allowed the Red Cross to come visit him and check on his conditions and have released very little communication from him since his kidnapping. Last night, the Israeli government reached a deal with Hamas to exchange Gilad for 1,000 Palestinian terrorists currently being held in Israel. The exchange should happen in the next couple of days. I received this news while in the Tel Aviv airport and there has been much mixed reaction. Everyone is happy for Gilad to finally be coming home, but many are worried about the impact of releasing 1000 terrorists from jail. I am choosing to focus on the positive and want to say, Gilad, we are happy you will be home soon.

The role of sermons and synagogues

We just finished celebrating Rosh Hashanah here in Jerusalem (and all over the world of course) and Yom Kippur is just around the corner. Of course as I think of these two Holidays my mind turns to sermons. (Be warned, since I am thinking about sermons which are historically long, I will be writing a long blog post in their honor)

Rosh Hashanah morning, I went to Kol Haneshama, which is a progressive synagogue in town. They are quite large and during the Holidays and chag, are often filled with visitors. It was quite a new experience for me, a Chag (holiday) service in Jerusalem. First thing I learned, no one comes to services on time. I got there right on time and there were maybe 20 people in the entire synagogue. By the time we were halfway through the services, there were at least 200. I was informed that Israelis often skip the basic Shacharit (morning) service and come in time for the good stuff, the service part relating to Rosh Hashanah. I also learned that while in the States we are honored with one long sermon, at this synagogue they like to honor us with 4 (yes four) sermons delivered by communities members. 


Now, all these sermon's were in Hebrew, so I had no clue as to what was being said. Luckily, after the service, one of the temple member's filled me in on the first sermon that was given. The speaker (who I believe was a temple Board member) spoke about the congregations need for more advocacy. Two things he pinpointed were refugees and racism. He spoke about supporting and volunteering at the new Gan (preschool/kindergarten) at HUC which is for refugee and migrant workers children. He then spoke about an experience he had recently had at a Hummus bar in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Talpiyot. It was a new Hummus bar and had received rave reviews, so as a Hummus lover, the speaker went to go check it out. He got there and saw a sign which read, "Kosher Israeli". He asked what that meant and the Hummus Bar owner proudly proclaimed, "We only employees Israelis" (read, no Arabs). The speaker told the owner that he could not frequent a place supported racism and walked out. The speaker then spoke about how congregation members should go to this Hummus bar and tell them that they think this illegal and racist practice is unacceptable. 


After recapping the Sermon for me, several congregation members began to discuss the sermon which lead to a discuss on what is the role of a synagogue? Is it place for advocacy and policy-making and politics? Or is it a community building place? I was fascinated by the conversation and realizing that synagogues in Israel have many of the same problems and concerns as synagogues in States. 


As this conversation continued my mind drifted to where my stance fell. Should sermons be political? Should clergy let their congregant know where they stand on certain issues and more so, give their synagogue as an entity a stance on issues? While I am not in school to become a Rabbi or Cantor, as a Jewish professional I will need to decide the message of the organization I will be working for. 


My mind drifted back to a friend of mine, who's family resigned from our synagogue in Lafayette after a political HHD sermon was given. I don't remember what the Sermon was about, but I remember trying to grapple with the idea-- was it ok for the Rabbi to give a sermon that some people disagreed with? Should the Rabbi stick to their convictions and say what they truly believe, or should they try to appease all the members and give them a safe space to worship in, and speak about their personal beliefs in their private lives? Do these things need to be at odds?


I spent much of the weekend struggling with this question: What is an appropriate sermon to give? What is an appropriate stance for a synagogue to take on certain issues? While I was deep in thought about these, I received an email from Congregation Beth Israel (the temple I was member of in Portland) with Rabbi Cahana's sermons from Rosh Hashanah. Immediately I noticed the title of one of his sermons, "Marriage Equality". With haste, I opened the email and read what Rabbi Cahana had to say. (Instead of making this post even longer and recapping all his thoughts, you can read the sermon here)


Two parts of his sermon really caught my attention in the midst of this sermon crisis I was having. He wrote,
 "But, though I cannot give a legal opinion, I will give a moral 

one: legislating discrimination is just wrong. That is not who we are as a people 

or as a nation. Allowing people to vote for discrimination is wrong."

 and:

"I plan to take up the stand. I plan to speak out. I plan to be plain. My 

conscience, my sense of Jewish Justice and basic fairness, compels me."

Suddenly I realized I had been looking at this all wrong. Its not about being political; its about being Jewish. If my Jewish values compel me to speak about an issue that I see happening that is wrong, then I must speak out about it. It would be wrong and against my morals and what being Jewish means to me to let any sort of wrongdoings occur if I have the ability to speak out against it and rally other people to action. Yes, a synagogue is a place of community-building and worship. But is also a place of Tikkun Olam (fixing the world) and doing what is right. If I know something in my heart is right, then I must do all to strive for that goal. Sure people may disagree with me or even become angry with views expressed, but as a Jew it is important to stand up for what is right. 

Thank you to all the Rabbis, Cantors, and Jewish Professionals who have not been scared to stand up for what is right and are not afraid to ruffle a few feathers if it means ending injustice. I hope that in my professional and personal life I can be like all of you and use the voice and responsibility I have been given to make a difference in the world and work for what is right. 

The HUC Players

Last week was our first week of fall semester, of all those many classes I showed you in my last post. I really enjoy all my classes (much more than I thought I would), which is of course great. The best part of my classes, are my teachers who are all hoots and  half. Here's a little synopsis of the character I get to learn from:

Sima Haruv- Sima teaches my Grammar class, which may be one of my favorite classes. It's all so mathematical and formulaic! Sima is a small Israeli woman, who suffers terrible through our hour and twenty minute class because she isn't allowed to smoke while teaching. To help her get through the period, she always has an unlit cigarette in her hand, which I find oddly adorable. Besides this, she sometimes forgets to use her indoor voice and in the middle of a sentence explaining what type of vowel to use under a stressed syllable she will start shouting at the top of her lungs. If you ask her a question, she runs at full speed towards you. Needless to say, classes are highly entertaining with her.

Rabbi Shelly Donnell- Rabbi Donnell is an older man who wears bowties. It was love at first sight. He is head of religious life here and teaches my Liturgy Discussion class. His sister lives in Portland, so we always have lots to talk about. 

David Levine- David teaches my Second Temple through the Antiquities history class. He is an amazing lecturer as he makes event his very boring sounding class interesting. I haven't gotten to know him to well yet, as this class is taught with all 37 of us in one class, but I get excited for each lecture. 

Chana- (Aka muumuu Chana) She is my Hebrew teacher so I have had her for the past six weeks during Ulpan. She has an amazingly high pitched voice which all the students here love to imitate her yelling down the halls "Kitah A-leph!". She has an incredible sense of humor and whips out hilarious jokes when least expected. She also wears a muumuu every day. 

Joel Duman- I had Joel for Biblical History over the summer and now have him for my Bible class. He has a mustache that rivals possible any other mustache I have ever seen. Whenever someone talks about him everyone else holds up a finger over their lip to signify his mustache. Really, it is something special. 

Dalia- I have only had Dalia once so far for my Liturgy Lecture class (not to be confused with my Liturgy discussion class). She is so knowledgable (as are all my teachers) and makes learning about liturgy so interesting. 

Dave Mendelsson- Oh Dr. Dave-- how do I best put him in words? He is a small British professor and is incredibly educated on all things Israel and Zionist related. I have him for both my History of Zionism class and my Israel Seminar class. He is so entertaining and tells some of the funniest stories. He also carries around a briefcase which makes him seem that much more British. Love it. 

Sally Klein Katz- Sally teaches my Education Seminar class. She reminds me a lot of my mom, so I absolutely adore her. She also lives in perhaps the nicest apartment in Israel and has an amazing view. My goal for the year is to get invited to as many dinners at her house as possible. 

So those are the teachers who make up my life right now (since school and homework are pretty much my life). Now when I write about them in future posts you will know who I am referring to!

Other updates:

-We had a 3 day tiyul to the Galilee this weekend which was amazing (except for the fact that we didn't get to have a weekend at all). We visited all different pioneering communities and kibbutzim, and my favorite part was a visit to the Kinneret Cemetery (Dad, you would have loved it, but no fears, I took many pictures for you!)

-I got a job working twice a week at the school Library in the evenings. My hope is to get a majority of my homework done during this time so I can start having a life outside of the HUC campus. I'm currently working my first shift right now and enjoying it quite a bit!

Hope everyone is doing well back home! 

End of Summer

Our summer session ended last Thursday, so this past week I have had a week off of school, which students have been calling everything from summer vacation to ulpan break to intersession (because yes, school here is just that much like camp).

While many of my classmates opted to travel to nearby countries, I chose to stay in Israel, and for the most part, Jerusalem and do some exploring around here, along with catching up on sleep in preparation for Fall Semester to begin.

Last week I started my break with going to services at Har El, a progressive synagogue here in Jerusalem. Har El was by far the most American-like synagogue I have been too yet. The tunes and customs were all the same as I did back in the good ole USA, and much was in English. I felt cheated in a way at this service; I am in Israel and wanted to experience an Israeli synagogue, not something I have been experiencing and attending for my whole life. However, I know that when I get homesick later and really miss my Beth Israel experiences, I will likely head on back to Har El.

I spent last Shabbat at the Israel Museum with a couple of classmates. I have been to the Israel Museum twice before, once in the archaeology wing for a Biblical History field trip and once in the Sculpture Garden for the Wine Festival. It was so much fun and there is so much to see there! We went to the Jewish history/art section first and got to see torah covers, hannukah lamps, and clothes from Jewish communities all over the world and from all different time periods. The Israel Museum also has recreated some synagogues from countries around the world including Suriname, Italy and India. You get to walk into the room and see what synagogues look like elsewhere. My favorite was Suriname, which was a very white and bright room to show the joy of prayer and had sand on the ground to remind us of the exodus form Egypt!

Other highlights from the Museum included the modern art section, seeing more of the sculpture garden and visiting the dead sea scrolls. One of my favorite exhibits was a movie, which is 24 hours long and shows clips of movies and tv shows that show the time. It has clips from every minute of the day, and all the minutes in the movie match up to the minutes in real life. So if its 10:17, then there will be a clip showing that has a clock at 10:17. Its all about how time is fleeting and how we often take time for granted.

Reconstructed Suriname Synagogue

I also spent a day and a half in Haifa, which is a coastal city north of Tel Aviv. We went to the top of the Bahai Gardens. As my classmate Kenny taught our group, Bahai is a fairly new religion, I believe in the last 200 years. These gardens were magnificent and so gorgeous. I could have stayed there for hours just looking into the nature of it all and thinking about life. We unfortunately got to the gardens too late to walk around them and were only allowed on the top two terraces (the gardens go down a hill and make up I believe 19 terraces). Unfortunately we did not get to spend much time in Haifa, but I definitely plan on going back and visiting the beaches and national parks nearby. 

This break also included my first visit to the Kotel where I went up to the wall. While I have been to the kotel several times so far, I hadn't yet made it to the wall. I have had a fear of the wall, although I'm not sure if that fear was that I would go to the wall and feel nothing or go to the wall and feel a true connection. I didn't think I would go for a couple more months, but my dear friend's aunt was diagnosed with brain tumors and she asked me to put a prayer in the wall for aunt. I went to the Kotel and slowly walked up to the wall. All around me women were deep in prayer, some sitting in chairs, but many all the way up at the wall, with their heads touching the wall. I waited until a spot by the wall opened up and went and said a healing prayer for my friends aunt and all those who are sick and put a note in the wall. 

As I stared at all these religious women around me, I felt... almost guilty. Here are these women, so devout in prayer and so convicted of their faith. The wall means so much to them. And there I am, not sure about not only my feelings regarding this holy place, but also what it means for myself to be a Jew and what prayer means to me. Would my doubts about the place lessen my prayer? Lessen the prayer of those around me? The women's section of the wall is quite small, and I was taking up room touching the wall, and others had to wait for me to leave. Did I deserve to be there if I don't know what the wall means to me? While I waited for my friend to finish up his prayers on the men's side, I thought about this internal struggle I have been feeling in Israel- what connection do I have with Israel, with Judaism here? In the US, I was so sure of my beliefs, but as I have come to Israel, so many questions without answers have popped in my head. I am excited to continue to discover what it means to be  Jew to me, and with it, what my connection is to the wall. While I felt guilty at this visit, I am curious as to what my reaction will be on future visits. 

Stepping away from the philosophical, our fall semester of school starts tomorrow. I am a little nervous as to how I am going to manage my 8 (yes 8!) classes, along with homework, my volunteer internship, seeing Jerusalem and staying sane. In case you are wondering what my fall schedule looks like:

My class schedule

I know with a good attitude and lots of emails/calls/letters from all of you (hint hint) I'll make it through this semester just fine! Hope everyone has a fabulous Labor Day Weekend and a special Mazel Tov to Bryan and Sonia who are getting married this weekend! Wish I could be there!

Stepping out of my comfort zone

Last week I went to Friday night Shabbat Services at Shira Hadasha. I had heard great things about this synagogue, but was very hesitant about attending services there. See, Shira Hadasha is an orthodox synagogue. Men and women sit on opposite sides of the room and are separated by a Mechitza, a barrier between the men and women. Shira Hadasha is not your typical orthodox, however. The Mechitza is a white mainly see through curtain. Women help lead parts of the service, including Kabbalat Shabbat. The women are allowed to say all the prayers, including Kadish. Most interestingly, Shira Hadasha considers their minyan (typically 10 men required to have a service) to be 20 people, 10 men and 10 women. Let me say I am so glad I went.

The services were beautiful, with people singing and praying with such ruach (spirit) and love for their religion. As everyone's voices joined together, I thought this is what Shabbat should be. The services was just so lovely, and I was surprised by how many of the prayers I already knew. While I did lose my place a few times, I easily found it again. I was excited to see women at the service wearing Kippot and Tallis's, if that was their custom (this is not allowed in most Orthodox synagogues) Most surprisingly, I really liked having the Mechitza. As many people know, I am a huge people watcher, and looking up seeing the Mechitza, it would remind me that now my focus should be on my prayer and help guide me back to the service. Shabbat just felt so right at Shira Hadasha. While I will be exploring many synagogues in Jerusalem, I plan on going back their often.

This past week was also the Jerusalem Wine Festival. The Kef (fun) committee at school organized a group outing to the festival on Thursday night. About 15 of my classmates and I went, and it was one of my favorite nights in Jerusalem so far. It was held at the Israel Museum in the sculpture garden which is just beautiful. I am planning on going back next week during our summer break (or intersession as us camp kids are calling it) so I can see the sculpture garden in the daylight (as well as the rest of the Museum). But back to the wine festival, it was 70 shekels to get in (around 20 US dollars) and included unlimited tastes, and worth every cent. There were about 30 wineries from all over Israel, and it was just so much fun trying out all the wines and hanging out with my classmates. I also decided that it would be perfect night to improve my hebrew and decided before getting a wine taste from any place, I would have people teach me Hebrew. I'll be honest and admit in the sober light of the next day I forgot most of it, but I do remember the most important saying I was taught, "?איזה יין שלך הכי טוב" ("Which wine is your favorite").

At the "ahava" (love) sculpture at the Israel Museum

Picture by Elle Muhlbaum

Hanging out with some classmates at the wine festival

Picture by Emma Goldin

Last night, my roommate Elle and I hosted a Shabbat dinner for seven of our classmates (so nine people total). Through a bit of Shabbat magic, we were able to fit everyone at our small kitchen table. It was so much fun, and a great meal including pasta and veggies, zucchini pancakes, garlic asparagus, Israeli salad, pita chips and salatim, desserts and wine (oh the wine!). I really enjoyed spending the day preparing for Shabbat and cooking and cleaning (maybe I will come back to the US domesticated... maybe...). But really, Shabbat is just such an amazing experience in Israel, and I love being able to share it with my classmates and friends. 

A few other odds and ends:

The Shuk. I have finally gotten over my initial fear of the shuk (which is a large outdoor market with many many Israelis screaming out their prices and even more Israelis pushing through the crowd to get to those good prices) and fallen in love with it. The food is so fresh and delicious, and cheap! At one stand yesterday I bought 8 cucumbers, a bunch of tomatoes, several onions, and several bell pepper for 14 shekels (around 4 dollars)! 

As many of you have heard, there was a terrorist attack near Eilat on Thursday. Eilat is the southernmost city in Israel, about 5 hours from Jerusalem. Since this attack, Hamas's militant wing has called off its "truce" (during which they shot hundreds of rockets into Israel anyways). It is a very interesting time to be Israel. I feel very safe currently-- security is up everywhere and I am being very observant and not going on busses for the next bit. 

I want to include one shout out to my Mom, who is having not the best week. Mom- know I love you so much and am sending you a giant cyberhug from Jerusalem. 

Shabbat Shalom everyone!

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

This afternoon I got to go on the coolest Tiyul (field trip). We went to the City of David, which is the city King David built back in around the 10th century BCE. It was pretty cool seeing the ruins and learning more about the history, but the best part was Hezekiah's Tunnel.

Now the City of David is built on a hill, and the water source, the Gihon Spring, is not in the city. That meant to get water, people had to leave the city and go into the valley where they could be attacked. To make it safe to get water, a tunnel was built, Hezekiah's Tunnel. This tunnel is 1,750 feet long through a rock solid mountain. Today, you can hike through the tunnel, which still has water running through it.

7 of us and my teacher, the infamous Professor Joel "Mustache" Duman decided to go on this hike at the end of our Tiyul. It is a pitch black hike that takes about 20-30 minutes through the water-y tunnel. I wasn't sure if I was going to go at first, since I am not a huge fan of enclosed spaces or the dark, but decided to test my limits and I am so glad I did.

Its amazing think that this tunnel was built in the 8th century BCE. I can't imagine the time or work it took to carve out the mountain. Two teams were working on it, one starting from each end, and somehow they managed to meet in the middle. We had so much fun hiking through the water, which at times was almost waist high (but most of the time came up to our calves). The tunnel is very narrow, at times I had to walk sideways.  The ceiling gets very low at times, for much of the walk my classmates were ducking (luckily I was short enough to only have to duck a few times). Also as I said before its pitch black, so you have to bring a flashlight with you to hike it! I'm sure my explanation isn't doing it justice,  but it is by far the coolest thing I have done so far in Jerusalem. Anyone who comes to visit me, be prepared we are going on this hike!

After the hike, two classmates and I took a quick stroll to the Kotel. Again I did not go up to the wall (this time because I was not dressed properly). I hope soon I will be in the right mindset and clothes and be able to pray there. Afterwards we went on a search for a burger, which luckily was a successful expedition (after a few wrong turns made by yours truly first of course).

Hope everyone has a fabulous Shabbat/Weekend! Miss you all!

Hiking through Hezekiah's tunnel

I have been informed that its been several weeks since my last blog post and I need to rectify that. So here it goes:

I am currently in the 4th week of my six week summer class schedule. Hebrew is going about the same as it was before-- grammar is easy, vocab is right on par, and conversation is still killing me. But I am working on it! I'm hoping soon I will be comfortable enough to start using Hebrew menus at restaurants (or at least beginning with a Hebrew menu before asking for the English one).

Cantillation (chanting) is going ok. We have to change from the Torah twice during services this year, and to challenge myself to really work on my cantillation I signed up to read from the Torah in early October. Fingers crossed I can figure out all these trope by then! Most of them are easy to remember, but one of the trope (which tell you how to chant a word) called munach, is pronounced differently depending on the the trope after it. So far we have learned three different ways of chanting munach- I am hoping that that is it!

Not much to say on Biblical History-- Its very interesting, but the readings are very tedious and I am having trouble figuring out what is the big picture.

Education is by far my favorite class. I love my classmates and love love love my teacher, Sally. Last week we had a potluck at Sally's home (which is by far the nicest place I have been to since coming to Jerusalem) and got to know each other and then watched Mr. Holland's Opus. It was just such a fun evening. Yesterday I gave my hour long presentation on John Dewey and education reform ideas (which he wrote about in 1900). I think it went well, and am just so relieved to have it over with!

Moving on from school, living in Jerusalem is great. I don't get to go out as much as I would (darn schoolwork getting in the way) but when I do get to explore the city I love it. A few weeks ago my Biblical History class went to the Israel Museum and we saw artifacts from about 4,000 years ago. Pretty cool in my book. I had really wanted to explore the rest of the Museum, but it was closing by the time our tiyul (field trip) was done. I am hoping to go back soon and see more of the exhibits.

I have also gotten to go to several get together's at classmates places for Havdallah, Shabbat and parties in general. All of these have been great fun and and its so much fun hanging out with my classmates outside of school.

Of course I have also been checking out as many restaurants as my wallet will allow (so not too many, but still some). A few weeks ago I went to the Waffle Bar- which serves Belgian Waffles with all different toppings. I ate a nutella and white chocolate waffle. It was pretty orgasmic.

Yummy waffle bar

Shabbats in Jerusalem continue to be an incredible time. Fridays are filled with people running around the Shuk and supermarkets getting everything they need for Shabbat and then Friday nights and Saturday morning, the city sleeps. There are very few cars out and most restaurants and shops are closed.  A couple weeks ago I got to go to a community dinner called "Jerusalem Challenge Dinner". It was for young adults 20-35 from all over Jerusalem and Israel. Nefesh B'Nefesh (the group you go through to make Aliyah to Israel) helped sponsor the dinner, so there were many recent Olim (immigrants). It was so much fun getting to meet people outside the HUC bubble and hearing stories of how people came to Israel. There is another such dinner in August which I hope to go to. 

Its slowly sinking in that I actually live here...

Warning. This post is being written under the influence of seudah slishit/havdallah wine.

Wow. I have so much to update on I hope I can remember it all! I started summer school this past week. Summer session includes each week: 15 hours of ulpan, 3 hours of biblical history, 1 hour of cantillation, 1.5 hours of t'fillah, 3-5 hours of field trips, and 2 hours of Education. Besides Education which starts Monday, I've started all my classes. Ulpan is interesting. Rather than having the 4-5 normal levels (alef, bet, gimel, dalet, and hey which are the first five letters of the hebrew alphabet), since we have such small classes we are divided into Level 1 (Alef and Bet), Level 2 (High Bet and Gimel),and Level 3 (Dalet and Hey). I am in level 1, which is great for me. I know all the grammar taught (thanks Dorice!), most of the vocab, but can't do conversation to save my life. But my comprehension skills are quickly growing, so yay!  I like ulpan a lot, but 15 hours a week is a bit intense.

Cantillation is learning how to chant Torah. So those of you have had the experience of hearing me sing, or try to do anything musical, will understand how the class and I do not get along. Luckily its only a 6 week class and I'm already done with class one. Education starts this week, which I am super excited about, since thats what I am going to school for! Biblical History is interesting and I like a lot, since history I find very fascinating and easy to learn since its just memorization. We also go on biblical history field trips every week. Last week we went to the Haas Promenade, where we had a view of most of the city, and Ramet Rahel, which is a site of an archealogical dig which found many buildings and pots and such.

School and homework are definitely keeping me busy, but  I have managed to find free time to meet up with friends and hang out. Last Sunday a group of 13 of us went to go see the final Harry Potter. Now seeing a movie in Israel is quite different than seeing a movie in the states. First off, there are assigned seats, so you get to the theatre early so you can all get seats together. We all ended up in the first row, but it was fine since unlike American theatres, the screen is set up higher and much farther back. Also, in Israel movies there is intermission. Yes, like during a play. Exactly halfway through the movie (and no, they don't try to make it at a convenient time) the movie just stops and there is a short (3-4 minute) intermission. Then, as suddenly as the movie stopped, it starts again and everyone scrambles for their seats.

Yesterday most my classmates and I went to spend the day and Shabbat in Tel Aviv, which is a beach city about 45 minutes--hour from Jerusalem. I spent the morning on the beach and playing in the Mediterranean which was AMAZING. Afterwards, a few of us went to lunch/brunch at a superb place called Benedicts and then walked around an art fair. We then headed over to the Mamal Port and ditched the heat in an a/c'ed coffee shop for a while. We then walked over for Kabbalat Services which were held on Mamal Port overlooking the water. It was absolutely amazing. There was so much ruach (spirit) during the service and everyone was so happy to be there. They also sang "What a wonderful world"(which might be my favorite song ever) in Hebrew. And yes, I cried.  It also just amazing me how no matter what kind of mood I am in or how I am feeling, how Friday night services  always calm me down and cheer me up. Afterwards I grabbed dinner with a few friends, then waited for a very long time for our bus, which we later realized was at Mamal Port... only in Jaffo which is 30-45 minutes away from Tel Aviv. So we got back to Jerusalem much later than expected, but it was totally worth it.

This evening, a couple of my classmates invited everyone over for Seudah Slishit (the required third meal during Shabbat day). We alll noshed on leftovers and had a major jam session and sang songs. It was so much fun and just a great way to bring about the end of Shabbat. Later we all met up at a park near my apartment and had a beautiful havdallah with classmates and alumni/random people we picked up along the way.  Then 2 classmates and I walked around the neighborhood of Yemin Moshe. Yemin Moishe is the first Jewish neighborhood built in modern day Jerusalem outside of the Old City. Its all residential and walking, there are no streets or cars. It is absolutely gorgeous and had many small parks. I am so excited to go back and explore and see all the other wonders it has to offer. Even better, its just 2 blocks from my neightborhood.

On a very different side note, several people have asked me about care packages and what I need. While just an email or blog comment would be great, if people do want to send me packages things I would love include:
Kraft Mac and Cheese
Relish (they don't sell it here and my tuna and egg salads are getting lonely!)
Burts Bee's chapstick
Magazines (surprise surprise they are all in hebrew here)
Anything else you might want to send me.

Again all packages and mail go to:
Becka Ross
c/o Hebrew Union College
13 King David Street
Jerusalem, 94101
Israel

Today I had the most incredible day so far. I'm hoping I can describe it accurately, but I'm not sure words can really describe how I'm feeling and what I experienced.

I really wasn't looking forward today- another day of orientation and lectures I don't find incredibly interesting (how many times can we discuss why we are here?) and oh yes, placement tests for Hebrew and Biblical History.

I'll skip over all the mundane things that occurred this morning and skip to after lunch. We had sessions called "Yavne: The Past Isn't What It Used to Be". Instead of being talked at, the professor had us break up into chevruta (small study groups) and discuss some questions looking at both texts he provided and other resources we could find around the library. I loved being able to delve into the texts and stories and really find out what the main points were and what we can learn from them. I was finally getting to learn hands on, which was just amazing. And my group worked really well together and we bounced ideas off of one another, all bringing our different backgrounds and knowledges to figure out what Yavne was and its importance. It just made me so incredibly excited to begin school and learning with my classmates.

That afternoon, we had a program where we were broken in 3 groups and went on walks around the city, ending in a faculty member's home. My group went to Abu Tor with Nancy Lewitt, our head of Student Services. Abu Tor is considered a mixed neighborhood in Jerusalem, although what this means is that while both Arabs and Jews live in the neighborhood, they each stick to their own side of the area. We walked all over and learned about the area's history and saw some incredible views.

View from Abu Tor

After walking around, we went to Nancy's house for snacks and to talk. We got to hear all about her experiences living in this mixed neighborhood during the various intifada's. We had just a incredible discussion about what it means to be Jewish or Arab and about nationality and other topics. I learned so much and it was so great to just be able to ask questions in a welcoming and comfortable setting. Afterwards we sang a niggun (wordless song/chant) and then just all talked and hung out. 

Afterwards, a friend and I decided to head to the Old City so he could take pictures for a homework assignment (we had to take a picture of something that challenged, surprised, or inspired us and write about it). I hadn't yet ben to the Old City, so of course jumped on the chance to go. We climbed up to the Zion gate (many switchbacks-- think the Multnomah Fall hike Portlanders, only on Jerusalem stone in the sweltering heat) and walked around the perimeter of the Old City to get to the Kotel (western wall). Along the way we saw bullet holes in the wall from previous wars. We were able to see gorgeous views of Jerusalem. 

An incredible view of Jerusalem from right outside the Old City

We entered the Old City and walked to the Kotel. Now, I had no idea how I would react. It is an incredible site-- the remaining wall from the second temple. People come and pray at the wall at all hours. There is a lot of controversy around the wall. Men and Women are segregated at the wall, and the Men's area is probably 3 times the size of the women's area. This means that men are able to spread out and pray and get as close to the wall as they want, but women are crowded into a small area and often pushing to get within touching distance of the wall. Women also aren't allowed to read from the Torah at the wall. I hope to write about this more later after I attend a Women of the Wall service (where women gather once a month to pray and read Torah near the wall) I didn't go down to the wall, I decided I wasn't ready for that. I was feeling so many emotions just being so close to it. I wish I could describe how I felt, but its something you just need to experience for yourself. I look forward to spending much more time at the Kotel and figuring out what it means for me personally and my connection to it. 

The Kotel

Afterwards, we just walked around the Old City. Its so interesting, because once you leave the wall, mixed in with the homes and historical sites, are gift shops and pizza joints. Its just such a juxtaposition. 

I am so excited for the rest of the week, and for the rest of the year. Today totally re-energized me and reminded me why I am here. I cannot wait to experience all HUC, Jerusalem and Israel has to offer.

The Old City at night

Settling in and Shabbat

I've been meaning to update for a couple of days, but I have been quite busy. I still haven't conquered the jet lag, and end up taking long naps during the day, which kills a lot of my productive time. Orientation starts tomorrow, so hopefully being on a set schedule will help get me into a routine!

I celebrated my first Shabbat in Jerusalem, which was awesome. A group of us went to Kol Haneshama for Friday night services, which is a progressive temple in Jerusalem. Progressive Judaism I'm told is a mix between reform and conservative. It was a very interesting experience. They do a lot of the prayers silently, including the V'Ahavta and the Amida. I wasn't used to a lot of the tunes, and there were a lot of prayers I didn't know. I'm looking forward to going back there and getting to know the service better.

After services, most of us went to potluck dinners at students homes. My group was about 10 women, and it was so nice to just talk, relax, and eat good food.

Saturday morning I went to services at HUC. I really enjoyed them, and using a siddur I was familiar with (Mishkan T'Filah). I also saw Cantor Korn there, who is the cantor at my parents synagogue back in Lafayette. After services, a group of us realized we hadn't made Shabbas lunch plans, so we all brought our leftovers from out potlucks the night before and had a potluck lunch. Once again, it was just really nice to get to know my classmates and hang out.

Saturday afternoon there was an Alumni program at the school which we were all encouraged to go to. I honestly thought it would be boring, but it was so interesting. The theme was about how to teach Israel to Jews in the diaspora. I was fascinated by everyone's ideas and the discussions that ensued. Later, we all celebrated Havdallah, the end of Shabbat. Havdallah is my favorite time of the week, and it was just so magical being able to celebrate it in Jerusalem.

Afterwards, many of my fellow classmates and I went out to Ben Yehuda, which is a strip filled with restaurants, bars, and shops. The streets were brimming with Birthright groups, summer Israel trip groups, and just so many people. It seemed every 5 steps we took someone else ran into someone they knew. (For the record, my running into people I know count for the week is at 5).

I'm slowly getting acclimated to life in Jerusalem and even more slowly figuring out my way around the city. I really want to just walk around and explore, but its been so hot that it makes it miserable to do so. Hopefully once it cools down this is something I can do.

Miss all of you back in the States!

First day in Jerusalem

My first full day in Israel can be described in one word: hot. I am apparently far to used to the Portland rain and cooler weather. Today was 90, tomorrow is suppose to be hotter-- oy.

My plan to conquer jet lag by screwing up my sleep schedule before coming to Israel apparently did not work. I work up at 5:30am after about 4 hours of sleep. I spent the morning adding all my education classes and homework assignments into my calendar (a rather time consuming task). Because of the time difference I was also able to watch a bit of the Giants game online (nice 14th inning win boys).

I headed to the campus early this morning to check in on campus, get my registration forms, and pick up my phone. Note that I do now have my phone here so feel free to call me!

Sign at the entrance of the campus

Later in the day Elle and I headed to the grocery store so I could have food to eat! It was quite an experience-- I spent much of it staring at pictures on labels and hoping I bought the right thing. Guess I'll find out soon enough!

This afternoon I headed back to the campus (which is a very nice 8 minute stroll from my apartment) for a campus tour. On the way to the tour I ran into my friend Gertz from camp, which was very exciting! The tour was awesome. I didn't realize how big the campus was! I'm pretty sure I'll spend my first few weeks around campus getting lost since its so large (and since I have zero sense of direction).

Afterwards, there was a mixer on campus for us to meet our fellow classmates. It was really great getting to meet everyone and see who I will be spending my next year with. Its a small class,  37 students (last year's class had 65), and thankfully everyone seemed nice. We'll see if I have the same opinion in a few months! After the mixer, I accidently ended up passing out for a few hours and did not make it to a jam session that some fellow classmates were having. I suppose I'll just have to wait until a later time to show my classmates my special music skills. 

A few other random things to note:

There is constantly music playing in the streets outside my window and fireworks going off. Last night I fell asleep to the sounds of a klezmer band playing and this morning listened to people singing to a newly married couple. 

In my apartment all the light switches are outside the room you want to be. So if I want to turn on/off my bedroom light I have to go into the hallway. As you can imagine, this has resulted in me tripping several times. 

Cats are the squirrels of Israel. They are everywhere. So along with the music outside my window, I'm often treated to the sounds of cat fights. 

Some pictures for your enjoyment (happy Mom?):

 The YMCA in Jerusalem. Yes, this is a gym. I'm pretty darn excited to check out the inside.

Entrance to my apartment complex. Soon I'll put up actual pictures of the apartment. 

The Case of the Nearly Stolen Suitcase and other travel adventures

First blog from Israel! Are you excited? Cause I am!

First, before I get to the Israel part, I just need to say what an awesome last couple of weeks I had in Cali and Portland. Giants games, weddings, epic floats, and just hanging out with all my friends.

Both of my flights (Portland to Newark and Newark to Tel Aviv) were fairly uneventful, I just slept for most of them. I even had an empty seat next to me on my flight to Tel Aviv so I could stretch out! Unfortunately, the man in the isle seat slept the whole time and wouldn't wake up, which made it very hard to go to the bathroom. Finally I just started yelling at him, "Sherutim! Sherutim!" (bathroom! bathroom!) and he got the idea and got up. 

I did however learn several things during my 7 hour layover in Newark:

1) Although it sounds like New York, Newark is actually located in New Jersey
2) People in New Jersey really enjoy their leathery skin and having their butts hang out of their short shorts. People from Portland do not enjoy this view as much
3) Newark Airport is taking a stance against technology by not having any accessible outlets to charge electronics

I landed in Tel Aviv around 3:45pm on Wednesday, and easily went through customs and got my bags. I met up with one of my fellow classmates outside of customs in hopes we could ride a sherut (a shared taxi van) together to Jerusalem. Unfortunately since we were going to different parts of Jerusalem we were put on separate sheruts. And here is where my adventure really begins.

There was one other large group of people on my Sherut, an Israeli soldier and his family who were visiting him. The driver dropped them all off then we headed to my apartment. We got there and he was taking out my bags, and handed me two and started to walk away. I asked where my third bag was and he said, "What third bag?". We looked in the back of the sherut and sure enough my bag was gone! Now, this was bad enough, but this was my suitcase with all my underwear! It is not something I could wait for it to be found!

I convinced the sherut driver to take me back to where he dropped off the family before. He showed me which building they walked into, and together we just started knocking on every door! After several doors I found them and my bag. They claim they didn't realize it wasn't their bag-- I'm pretty sure they just wanted all my shoes!

So the driver took me and my bags back to my apartment building. I got there, and realized that none of the doors were numbered, so I didn't know which one was mine. Again, door to door knocking. Luckily the first people home knew Rayna who told them I was coming, and they showed me where I live.

I spent the rest of the night getting to know my roommate Elle and unpacking. We had a fabulous dinner at the coffee shop next to my building. While unpacking, there was live klezmer music playing and children dancing in the streets. It hit me then that I am in Israel. I am here for a year and get to experience a place unlike any other. 

Tomorrow morning I'm off to HUC to get all registered and then time to explore the city! I promise to take pictures for the next blog post!

Moving to Israel!

So from what I can tell, everyone creates a blog for when they go to Israel so here's mine.

 In two and half weeks I will be moving to Israel for the next 11 months to study Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College. I am super excited, although at this point very sad to be leaving behind all my friends and family. I highly encourage you all to come visit me over the next year!

For those who want to get hold of me while I am in Israel:
My Name
c/o Hebrew Union College
13 King David Street
Jerusalem, 94101
ISRAEL
beckadanielle@gmail.com
I will also have a local US number you can call directly to my Israel phone free of charge. As soon as I get that number, I will let you all know!

I'll try hard to keep this updated once I am in Israel so you can all hear about my exciting adventures in Israel!