Chanukah, Part II

The last few days of Chanukah, plus the following two days, have been great.  I’ve lit my chanukiah every night, eaten one fancy sufgania from Roladin (a fantastic bakery!), studied a wide array of topics at the yeshiva, prepared for going to Poland, and planned more of winter break.  Yay!!

Some more details?  I guess I can do that.

Last Shabbat, we had an addition to our usual schedule (light candles, leave for shuls, dinner, tisch, shoko b’sakit (chocolate milk in a bag) and cake breakfast, leave for shuls, lunch, parshat hashavua (discussion on weekly Torah portion), mincha (afternoon prayer service), seudah shlishit (3^rd meal for Shabbat), ma’ariv (evening prayer service), havdallah (service for transitioning from Shabbat to the rest of the week).  This addition was a guided meditation, led by me.  This past summer during Or Tzedek (a Jewish social justice program in which I’ve participated for the past 3 years), we had an activity with someone from the Center for Jewish Mindfulness and meditated.  Then, during Shabbat, one of our madrichot led a guided meditation focused on the 4 letters of G-d’s name and the body.  I took what I remembered from this latter meditation, and wrote a new one.  I taught the meditating techniques to the small group that came, and in the end, everyone had a great experience.

After Shabbat, Julia and I made considerable progress in planning winter break.  I’m getting extremely excited for everything we’re going to do, but there’s still a lot to plan.

Saturday night, it started raining pretty hard, which is great because we haven’t had much rain yet this year.  The rain continued for all of Sunday.  On Sunday, I went to Yad VaShem (the Israeli Holocaust museum).  Walking to the light rail to take me there, I finally saw how important it is for the paths in the streets to be designed as they are: most of the stones are lengthwise going across the width of the path, but in the middle of the path is a line of stones perpendicular to the others, and the path has a slight V-shape, so all of the water flows down the middle row and there is less flooding.  But, there was so much rain, that this couldn’t stop you from getting wet.  I passed a man-hole that was so full of water it was like a whale’s blowhole.

While I tried to find someone to come with me to Yad Vashem (a big group went a week before, and most people had classes or big papers), I am happy to have gone alone.  I was able to speed through the main museum exhibit, walk around to see the all of the monuments, and still have a couple hours in the library.  Two quotes from the museum section stuck out to me.  I feel these two really show how human life should be valued.

“Don’t rush to fight and die…we need to save lives.  It is more important to save Jews than to kill Germans.” ~Tuvia Bielski

“I do not know what a Jew is, we only know what human beings are.” ~Pastor Andre Trocme (August 10, 1942)

In the library, I studied how much Janusz Korczak valued life, as well as his other great values and work.  Anyone can use the archives at Yad Vashem, so I did research on Korczak for my presentation in Poland.  On Monday, I continued to research with Gila (my partner for the presentation) at Hebrew U.  I skimmed through his Ghetto Diary and a parenting book he wrote called Loving Every Child.  He was an amazing person in nearly every way.  As this is already a considerably long post, I’m not going to give the details about his life right now, but please comment if you want to learn more about Korczak in another post.

Sunday night, though I did not think I would, I ended up celebrating Christmas.  With about half of the Kfar track, I went for Chinese food.

Tuesday was an event-filled day.  In the morning, we Nativ yeshiva students went to Yad Lakashish.  Here, elderly individuals (most around age 75-80) have different workshops, including making recycled paper, making things from the paper, painting Jewish items like tallitot and challah covers, metal-works, knitting toys, and ceramics.  We went to visit each workshop and light Chanukah candles for each group and talk a little with the people there.  Then we visited the gift shop to see their final products, and most of us bought gifts to support them.

After this, I had my most Chanukah-y meal: a latke (which was not served with apple sauce or sour cream, like in the U.S., but rather with a pickle) and a sufgania.  For weeks, I have seen the sufganiot of Roladin, but always resisted.  They have sufganiot that you squeeze a small amount of whiskey, vodka, or just chocolate into, sufganiot filled with different creams, and the most common strawberry jelly filled sufganiot.  I got a pistachio cream sufgania, and could not have been happier.  Perhaps this was not the healthiest lunch I could eat, but it was something I had to do.

That night was the last night of Chanukah.  For Erev Nativ, Yossi went over the schedule for the next few weeks, including all of the information on packing we will need.  We have our 2-week break, Israel Experience Week/Poland, a 3-day Israel Today seminar, and a 6-day tiyul (staying overnight at a kibbutz) near Eilat (I’m glad I’m not going to Eilat over break because during the tiyul I’ll have the opportunity to do the water sports I want to do), and then we go to our second semester locations.  For packing, we need to pack up everything we won’t need until we’re at the second semester locations to not see until then, and then have different bags for everything we’ll need before then.  After receiving this information, we walked to the Old City to see a light show, which told the history of Jerusalem.  Walking there, we saw a Chasidic man juggling torches on a unicycle!  It was cool, but I was so tired, I really would have preferred to have been watching a movie in my bed; although, some people absolutely loved the show.

On Wednesday, I went to visit my aunt’s friend who moved to Jerusalem from Milwaukee a few years ago.  When I saw Nativers when coming back to base, I was asked what I had been up to, and I told everyone that I was with “the sweetest old lady of all time,” because that is 100% accurate.  It also turns out that I met her during my first Shabbat on Nativ, because she is the greeter Saturday morning for Moreshet Yisrael (the Conservative shul in our complex).

Finally, last night was the greatest.  I went to Shirat Yerushalayim Hall for my cousin’s wife’s sister’s wedding to babysit my 5 and a half-month-old cousin Sima!  This was the first time I met Sima, and I’m excited to say I met her before my mom did.  She is the most adorable baby!  Twice, she fell asleep in my arms.  It was also great to talk to my cousins a little, but they (especially Tamar, the bride’s sister) were busy dancing, socializing, and doing whatever the bride and groom needed.  I met a few girls my age who last year had the bride as their madricha, but spent most of my time talking with the other babysitters (students of the groom’s mom).  Together we had 5 kids, 3 of whom were born on 3 consecutive days (Sima is the oldest of these 3), but there were a lot of other babies around.  At one point, I went into the dancing section with Sima, along with others with babies, holding paper flowers, and with a sign that said, “If dodas [aunts] were flowers, we’d pick you!”  Babies and weddings are a lot of fun.

Trivia: So what were my yeshiva classes from this past week?  Midrashim on Chanukah, keeping kosher in a non-kosher world, Jewish medical ethics (part I, overview), meaning behind Israeli Chanukah songs, "Broken Tablets, Forgotten Torah, Machloket: The Creative Value of Loss," Jewish medical ethics (part II, beginning of life issues), the “stubborn and rebellious son,” and “Ask the Rosh Yeshiva.”

A Free Pizza Lunch Can be Sad

Shabbat was great.  I stayed at base, which meant the tisch, which I love.  Then I played Monopoly (and won!) and hung out with different groups of friends…but longer than I wanted to because we were locked out of our room. 

I went to the Italian synagogue in the morning, which was interesting; they had different tunes, some added words in prayers, and beautiful Torah trope, but I don’t think I’m going to go there again.  For lunch, I went with other yeshiva Nativers to the apartment of some rabbinical students to celebrate the birthdays of 2 other rabbinical students.  It was a fantastic (dairy!) lunch, but the best part was the sense of community.  We knew most of the guests, and talked and joked with everyone.  We played with the 3 children there (all under the age of 3), and we ate sitting on the floor.  I hope to have a community like this in college and afterward- observant Jewish, casual, friendly, welcoming.  It was such a great afternoon.

Monday, the yeshiva provided lunch for us, as it was our last full day of the semester.  Nativers Becca and Zoe gave a speech on behalf of the Nativers, and others leaving after the semester gave little speeches as well.  All talked about how great of an experience it has been studying Torah lishma (for its own sake), becoming friends with people of different backgrounds, and being part of this community.  While we Nativers are excited for our second semester programs, we’re all going to miss the yeshiva a lot.  Even though the free pizza was delicious, we were unhappy about leaving.  I, and many others, want to come back another time and study there more.

Tuesday morning, my final class of the semester (we do have 2 classes a day most days until Nativ break), was Chumash.  During the semester, we’ve been analyzing Rashi’s commentary, so we did a really cool exercise to further understand commentary.  We each wrote a few sentences answering “What does G-d have to say to humanity today?”  We then traded and drashed (explained) what others wrote.  Some did this like Rashi- taking certain words and specifying/explaining what they really mean.  Some did this more like a midrash, with a story that you really have to think about to understand its relation to the first sentences.  We then worked in chavruta to analyze these.  Finally, we discussed them in class.  It was one of the most interesting, engaging classes we’ve had.

In the afternoon we had different shiurim, with a break for sufganiot (doughnuts).  At sundown, it became Chanukah!  Some of us went to a nursing home to light candles and sing Chanukah songs with the elderly, who were in different levels of awareness.  We talked with some of the Hebrew-speaking residents, but couldn’t say much to the Russian or Yiddish-speakers.  While many people showed no reaction to our presence, many still understood why we were there.  We could also see how much our presence meant to a lot of people.  It was a great experience.

Then that night, each track lit candles together with the chanukiot we made the previous week.  Then we met together, where all those participating in Secret Santa exchanged gifts (I got dinosaur mazes and chocolate!).  But the highlight of the evening was a trivia game.  We sat at tables with dreidles, just to play with.  Then we had trivia questions, each for points to compete with the other teams.  There were also some challenges, like using a squirt gun to extinguish a chanukiah (which did not work) and a sufgania eating contest.  It was fun, plus we got sufganiot at the end.

After this, all of Kfar met on our balcony for a surprise Madrichim Appreciation.  We wrote new words to our “Too Far Kfar” song about them, and gave them gifts.  That night we also wrote letters of appreciation on Post-Its to be stuck on their doors Wednesday morning.

Wednesday, we had a shiur about Bat Sheva and then our final Zionism class.  That night, a large group of us went to Hebrew U for opening night of Les Mis!  Three Nativers are in the cast, one of whom is a lead.  I had low expectations, but the show was actually fantastic!  The music is beautiful and the performers were great.  I really want to see the full show, as in, not the abridged student version.

Now, it is Thursday afternoon, and I’ve had far too many active hours.  I woke up at 5:15 to go with three friends to the Kotel for sunrise.  It’s so peaceful in the Old City at this time.  Then I came back to my room and did a lot of planning for break.  I went for a run, then went out for lunch and some errands with Mia, and later, I may go on a chanukiot tour. 

Anyway, 2 days down, 6 more to go.  Chanukah Sameach!!

Trivia: Where can one find the story of Chanukah?  The actual story can be found in the Apocrypha in the book Maccabees (someone remind me, is it Maccabees I, II, or both?).  The story about oil remaining aflame for 8 days is in the Talmud in Masechet Shabbat.

Two of My Favorite Places, Plus General Update

(in reverse order because it seems to me better rhetoric)

For Erev Nativ a week and a half ago, the Kfarmers went to our Madrich Ira’s parents’ home, just outside of Jerusalem, for dinner.  It was great to have a home cooked meal, a yummy vegetarian option with protein, and meet the ones who made Ira the crazy man he is.  We talked about concerns people have making aliyah (moving to Israel).  This is something that I’d guess at least 88 of the 90 Nativers have thought about, at least to some extent.  First Rachel talked about what she has been thinking, because she is strongly considering aliyah.  Then Ira’s dad talked about how he was first in the IDF and then wanted to make aliyah.  This was followed by Ira’s mom talking about how for a long time, living in Israel was difficult, but she came to love it.  We asked questions and got to think about this issue many more dimensions.

Wednesday, I had my first mishap taking a bus.  I got on the 19 to go to Hebrew U to meet Gila, with whom I’m doing a presentation about Janusz Korczak when in Poland.  The issue was that this bus wasn’t really going there.  After an hour and a half, the bus returned to the general area of Beit Nativ (it was then going to go on the route to HU), but there wasn’t the time we needed to research.  Still, that night I started some basic research, but it probably would have been better if I had gone to the right bus stop and gotten to HU in about 30 min to do better work.

Thursday was Turkey Cookie Day!!!  Every year at Thanksgiving, my family has Turkey Cookies (thanks to my Aunt Trudy).  This delicious concoction is made of an Oreo, candy corn, a Hershey’s kiss, a piece of chocolate, 2 M&Ms, a little piece of Twizzler, and chocolate frosting to glue everything together.  My parents sent me a package with these ingredients, and I made Turkey Cookies in the hall with friends.  (Less exciting, but later that night I went to the Israel Museum, free for Chamshushalayim [Thursday nights in December, a lot of museums and other places in Jerusalem are free], but I really just wanted to see the Qumran scrolls, but this exhibit was closed.)

making Turkey Cookies!!

Friday, I went to Roz’s Minyan in Nachlaot.  The atmosphere here is incredible, and I loved the service, full of many tunes I had never heard. There wasn’t space for everyone in the actual room, but we squeezed as many in as possible.  I loved it, but I think Yakar might be my favorite place for Kab Shab.  After services, I had a delicious vegetarian dinner with Terri, Mia, Deena, and Deena’s parents who are visiting for a couple weeks.

Sunday, in my Talmud class, we took a break from Masechet Brachot to study the very few sources on Chanukah.

This past Tuesday, Rabbi Aaron Alexander, Dean of Admissions from Ziegler, came to speak to use about Chanukah.  This included looking at a text we covered the dai Aaron Alexander, Dean of Admissions from Ziegler, came to speak to use about Chanukah.  This included looking at a text we covered the day before in my Talmud class, and me telling him that his wife is the daughter of my rabbi from home.  It was fun.  Then we Nativers went to make our own chanukiot (menorahs for Chanukah), which I obviously did not enjoy the craft aspect and thus made the simplest menorah possible.  I did, however, enjoy showing off my artsiness in my menorah and looking like a dinosaur in a picture.

I'm blurry and look dinosaur-like

On Thursday, I went to Ramat Eshkol to visit the granddaughters, Shula and Rina, and great-grandchildren, Esther Tova and Akiva, of a couple from my shul at home.  This was a lot of fun.  Even though Esther Tova was really quiet and shy around me for a while, having just awakened from a nap, it wasn’t long before she wanted me to sit next to her when we got pizza.  I love little kids! 

Favorite Places:

1.      Ben Yehuda Street: This famous street is full of falafel restaurants, bakeries, ice cream/froyo places, and Judaica shops.  To me, its main attractions are the stranger, less known things.  For instance, almost every night, there’s a woman playing harp.  Different people will play different instruments, including ultra-Orthodox men playing jazz sax or harmonica.  Once or twice, I a Korean choir was performing.  One night an art group did a fashion show, and a couple times I’ve seen huge bubbles floating around.

2.      Gan Soccer- I don’t know if this is the actual name…I typically call it “the park all the way down Ramban.”  I often come here when I run.  There are fields where you often see people playing football, and occasionally, American football.  There’s a children’s playground, an area of exercise machines where you the resistance is your own body weight, and a lot of open grassy areas where families or school groups will have picnics.  Here I’ve seen people doing different martial arts exercises and poses.  Twice, I’ve seen someone juggling.  If when you reach the park, you take the runners’/bikers’ path to the left, you leave all of this, and enter a beautiful piece of land, full of trees and hills and rocks.  It’s so peaceful.

Trivia: What am I doing for dinner tonight?  Staying at base so I can go to the tisch.  Can’t remember the last time I did that. 

What a Weekend!

Thursday night, I went with Julia to babysit her aunt’s friends’ kids.  This meant we made sure nothing happened to the 2 sleeping kids, and after about a half hour, the 3 sleeping kids.  We then watched the end of Planet of the Apes and a few episodes of The Amanda Show (possibly one of my favorite shows from 1^st grade, and still legitimately funny). 

Friday, I got ready to go to Modi’in for Shabbat (and then around 2:30, went to Modi’in).  This was a closed Shabbat, but the Yerucham track went to Yerucham, the Karmielevators went to a town near Karmiel, and the Kfarmers went to Modi’in to spend Shabbat with host families from Yossi’s shul.  I was housed with Mia, and we are absolutely sure we won the best family.

Why were they the best family?  1) They told us from the beginning to feel at home and they were easygoing.  2) They soon proved to all be really nice, both parents and the 6 and 9 year old girls.  3) Knowing Mia and I were vegetarians, we had dairy meals.  4) According to the father, the girls are usually really shy, but quickly opened up around Mia and me.  5) Shabbos afternoon, a cheetah started running around. 

We were late for a lot of things because we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave their house.  We were also probably the only Kfarmers to neither nap nor attempt to nap, but this is because we preferred to play with the kids and let the parents sleep.  They were just the best, and we plan on visiting again later in the year.

When we returned to Jerusalem after Shabbat, we hung around waiting for pizza that was supposed to be there for us.  We started a new puzzle and some of us did some spontaneous Israeli dancing.  It was great, chill, Kfar time.

A couple hours later the others returned (they were much father from Jerusalem than us).  A bunch of people were hanging out in my room.  Around 10:30 I left my room to watch a movie with a couple people a floor below, and when I returned to my room, I found that my roommates had covered the wall by my bed with pictures.

Since then, I’ve had one night of about 6 hours of sleep, one night of about 10 hours of sleep, and two more free pizza dinners.  I know, epitome of good health.

Trivia: What are the 5 combat units of the Israeli Defense Forces? Golani, Givati, Tzanchanim, Kfir, Nachal.

Yom Chamishi, Yom Shishi, and so on

Yom Chamishi means "Fifth Day," and this refers to what most of you readers would call Wednesday night and Thursday.   Yom Shishi, "6th Day" follows Yom Chamishi until Shabbat.

Last Yom Chamishi, during the Wednesday night part, I went with Deena to the Science Museum.  It was a bit of a walk, but overall a lot of fun.  Did we learn anything?  For that we would have needed more focus and drive, but we had a good time seeing what there was to see, playing what there was to play, and manipulating what there was to manipulate.

Thursday was a normal day of school.  But afterward we all got dressed up as if it were Shabbos(ish) for the Thanksgiving festivities.  All of the Kfar girls were going in and out of each others rooms, borrowing clothes and just talking.  The thing is, that this started at 5:30, when it was already Yom Shishi.  So whatever.

Leah, Suzanne, and me: the best roommates of all time

 

We met in Moreshet Yisrael, the synagogue that is part of our complex, accompanied by Bogrei Nativ (alumni) who live in Israel, their families, and the families of some current Nativer- over 200 people all together.  Yossi talked about the program, how it has changed over the years.  The Nativ A Capella group performed two songs.  There was a great video, put together by a few Nativers, describing our year. 

We went back to the main building for dinner.  On the way, we noticed tables set up with envelopes, each with a name.  We all received letters from our parents!  This was exciting, especially as this was a time that many Nativers were a little homesick.

Then we had dinner.  As a vegetarian, I wasn't very bothered by Israelis not knowing how to cook turkeys, but many other people were when raw pieces of meat were put on their plates.  But other than this issue, dinner was great!  Vegetarians got spungy tofu and really great stuffing.  The sweet potatoes were better than usual (yet still in a weird sauce).  The cranberries were fantastic except for the fact that they ran out so all I got was a little bit of the mush.  We had pumpkin and apple pies for dessert.  There is so much I'm forgetting to tell, but this was a lot of fun.


After dinner we Nativers met up again.  We went to the auditorium for another video, this one just for us, and I must say, hilarious!  It was full of pictures, many of which I recognized as my own.  Then we went to "cupcake decorate," which meant we had muffins (cupcakes practically don't exist in Israel :( ), chocolate spread (frosting would be ridiculous), twizzler pieces, cookies, and sprinkles.  Many people made their muffins look like turkeys...I was not one of those people.


After this, some of us went to watch Thanksgiving episodes of The Simpsons and How I Met Your Mother, two of our favorite shows, but many of us agree we should have had Friends episodes.  And with this, the night was over.


On Friday, I went for a run, went to the shuk, and got ready for Shabbat.  That night I went to Yakar and was hosted for dinner with Pam by some strangers.  We had a great meal with 4 generations of a very nice family.  They were Americans who had moved to Israel, so the apartment smelled like an American Shabbos.  I ate fresh challah, a yummy squash soup, and roasted vegetables (honestly one of my favorite foods!), which was a nice change from the Israeli-style that I've eaten for the past 3 months.  Although, most of the time, I played with the little kids.


Saturday, I went with Julia and Mia to Mayanot to meet Marne (who hosted us for the first day of Rosh Hashana) for lunch.  At shul, I saw a girl Noa who I went to Ramah with, and during the kiddush I talked to her (for the first time in nearly 4.5 years) for a little.  Also, this was a small shul, but there were 6 or 7 other people wearing the tallis I had...a little strange for me.  Lunch was delicious and fun.  With walking, davening, and eating, we were gone from base for a total of 8 straight hours.  It was fantastic.


Last night, Erev Nativ was amazing!  I was very reminded of BBYO, which was nice.  We split up by sex.  We girls first went into a small room and reflected (in 2 meanings of the word) with Rachel.  We laughed when Suzanne gave an activity away by yelling out "Hey, this is Jill's!" (referring to my mirror, as we reflected over our reflections), but were mostly serious, and overall had a nice bonding experience.


Then we went for an activity with Ira.  We had to do different exercises (squats, pushups, crunches, and suicides).  For this, we talked a lot more with each other (instead of to the group) and laughed pretty much the whole time.  Ira explained to us how physical activity is a great way to bond because you have to encourage your friends to keep going. 


We went back to Rachel and discussed if we think either activity was better bonding, whether guys and girls bond differently, whether it would have been different if we did these activities with the guys, and what we can do to bond as a whole group more.  Rachel and Ira decided that we would have as stereotypical "girl" and "boy" activities as possible, so we concluded with chocolate fondue while the guys concluded with non-alcoholic beer and salami.  This was a fantastic program.


Trivia: What is one of my new favorite things to do when I have some free time?  Look at pictures of food.

So Much Bread

Sorry for going 2 weeks without a post.  I’ve simply been living life and not keeping track of what I’m doing.  Yesterday, I looked back upon the last 2 weeks, so here are some interesting things, not in chronological order.

I’ve had meetings to prepare for going to Poland in January. We’re learning events during the Holocaust and past life in Poland. Three of my grandparents had one parent who came to the U.S. from Poland, and I’ve asked them where my family used to live and for any other information they may have.

I donated blood.  I had been meaning to for a while.  It was different from donating in the U.S.- there are many fewer questions and they make you drink water or juice while donating.

One Friday night, I went to Kol Rina with a few friends, and we got hosted for dinner by a woman, Simcha, who brings many people to her home every Shabbat.  They spoke mostly Hebrew, so we didn’t talk much except to each other.  More people kept on coming as dinner went on.  Different people gave divrei Torah.  And there was a ton of bread!  First, there was some bread for motzi.  Then more bread.  Then more bread.  It was passed around the table, left on plates, and one challah was cut.  There were homemade breads, grainy breads, burnt-ish breads, white breads.  So much bread!!!

Another Friday night I went to a Sephardi synagogue for what turned out to be one of the shortest services ever!  It was interesting how instead of everyone singing most things, one person would read for everyone.

I went to Roz’s minyan for the past two Shabbat mornings (one because I quickly discovered I did not want to stay in Yeshurun).  The atmosphere there is incredible!  You can tell that everyone truly wants to be there.

I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out with friends in my building, watching funny videos and playing with bouncy balls.  It’s a lot of fun.

I got sweatpants of 25 shekels! 

One Erev Nativ we Kfarmers had individuality-unity programming.  For part of it we ran around in the park putting paint handprints on each other.  It was fun, but a very underdeveloped program (we did not learn anything about individuality or unity from this, but our madrichim liked to say we did).  After this, Barry, Deena, and I went for a run covered in paint.

This past Erev Nativ we watched “Trembling Before G-D” with the Karmielevators.  This is a documentary about the struggles of Orthodox Jewish homosexuals in halacha (law) and life in their communities in general.  It was very interesting.

I found out that my Aunt Trudy is friends with my friend Sarah’s parents.  I love Jewish Geography and can’t wait for how great I will be able to play this game after Nativ.

Trivia: SO MUCH BREAD

Pterodactyl-Off

I am the ultimate pterodactyl!!  Many of you are aware of the wide array of noises I make, such as "the guinea pig" and other squeaks, "awkward dinosaur" (imagine garbage disposal + fish), and several unnamed clicks and growls.  If you are aware of these, you are also probably aware that the most beloved sound is "the pterodactyl."  It has awed and confused many a listener, and I have yet to meet another individual who can both make this noise and is willing to do so in public.  Last night, while surprising Nativers with an assortment of these noises, assistant director Maya tells me she can be a pterodactyl.  Obviously, we decide to have a pterodactyl-off.

Maya goes first, exhaling and vocalizing a Jurassic sound while moving her hands in a pterodactic style.  I find this quite a cute display and prepare to show her how I am more prehistoric than she.  My hindrance (often the case when people expect me to produce this sound) is laughter, but after a minute I pull myself together.  I take one deep, relaxing breath and exhale.  Then as I inhale again I produce my [in]famous screech.  Immediately, Maya says, "You win."  I am the ultimate pterodactyl.  I am full of pride for the remainder of the evening.  [Maya and I also decided to join forces for future competitions.]

To further update you readers...

I am continuing to learn about Israel's political situation, the history of Zionism, what time to say the Shema (and tangential discussions in Masechet Brachot [a book of Talmud]), Heschel's ideas about rationality and spirituality, what is written in ketubot (marriage documents), selections from Deuteronomy, and conversational Hebrew.  (Mia, if you are still checking, I know this paragraph is not grammatically correct, but it was so much easier to write it this way.)

The past few days have wonderfully been full of free meals, including tonight when I went to a learn-with-rabbinical students class.  Julia, other Conservative Yeshiva students, and another woman met at Hebrew U for a fun session, led by a couple Ziegler students.  We had an activity to demonstrate the development and topicality of rabbinic texts over several generations and studied a daf (page) of Talmud concerning the strengths of pieces of nature, man, emotions and actions, and tzedaka (justice/charity).  Julia and I plan on getting more Nativers to come for the following Wednesdays.

I think I have officially decided to stay in Israel during break and see more of the country that I do not have time to see on open weekends.  I will hopefully travel Europe for a few weeks some summer between years of college.

Trivia: The pterodactyl-off may be my greatest accomplishment to date.

More Than Being in Jerusalem

Last Friday, I woke up early in the morning to get to breakfast right when it opened with Mia, Maddy, and Deena.  Why would we do such a thing on the one day we can sleep late?  To catch an early bus to Tel Aviv, of course!  We went to Tel Aviv, staying at the apartment of Maddy’s friend from home, and had an incredible weekend.  On Friday, we decided to forget our plan of going to museums to instead walk around.  We found ourselves walking to Yaffo (we were in the south end of Tel Aviv anyway), stopping to appreciate street art along the way.  We gazed at the Mediterranean Sea, ate at a restaurant where all of the waiters were deaf (great food and a lot of fun because we had dry erase boards at the table; a couple days a week they have a blind restaurant open where you eat in pitch black; they also have a theatre group of the deaf and blind), and wandered into an art gallery. 

street art in Tel Aviv

For Shabbat, we did Kab Shab and maariv together at the beach, then ate the food we brought- challah, peanut butter, cheese, and a chocolate croissant.  We had a sang a little before birkat, and we did BBYO post-birkat singing (yai-da-dai…what do horses eat? HAY! Yai-da-dai…, David Melech Yisrael + abba/ima, kein/lo, etc.)  It wasn’t our plan, but we were asleep around 10 pm.  In the morning we went to The Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv, but we left after Torah reading because we felt very disconnected at this shul.  Then we went to the beach, where we played in the waves and read in the sun.

I did not go to Tel Aviv for this purpose, but when there I found myself learning about who I am and what I want in life.  I don’t know if it was because I felt more independent than when in Jerusalem where I have school and Nativ programs or if it was because I was in the edgy, artsy south Tel Aviv, but this weekend meant a lot to me.  I realized, I do like cities, just not “downtowns”; I now don’t think I’ll mind being in Boston for 4 years.  I don’t like being a tourist, and while I want to go back to see museums, I think I get a better sense of where I am and enjoy traveling more by just walking around. 

So what are the implications of this?  I don’t know what I want to do during winter break.  The independence in traveling was so great that I feel I should take advantage of my opportunity to go to Spain or Italy for a relatively cheap price.  But could I have a comparably good experience traveling around cities in Israel?  And I know I want to go hiking for at least a few days.  What to do?  I should be able to do any two things with my 12-day break.  Help me decide!

Sunday was my birthday, and it was possibly my best birthday yet.  First of all, I got my Nativ 31 shirt that day (as did everyone else).  2^nd, I got a letter from my parents full of balloons in the mail.  3^rd, I received literally a million hugs (yes, Julia, literally).  4^th, Masa (an organization that has over 200 programs (including Nativ) for spending a significant amount of time in Israel) chose this day to have an Idan Raichel concert for all of their programs.  Even though I feel like I have permanent ear damage, the concert was a lot of fun (but I don’t see myself going to another concert of music I don’t really like being played too loudly to appreciate it…probably ever).

I don't know who the guy in plaid is, but the rest of us are Nativers, having fun at the concert.

On Tuesday, Erev Nativ was Stever Wernick, CEO of USCJ, speaking to us about the trends in the Jewish community and his goals.  There is a shift from synagogues to building-less kehillot (communities).  We discussed this means, and what should be done about it. 

Wednesday was a lot of fun.  After classes, I went for a run.  Then I went to the shuk and did some other shopping on Yaffo (the street, not the city by Tel Aviv) with Zach and Julia.  Then that night I just hung out in my room, laughing a lot, with a bunch of friends.  My final activity for the evening was looking at snorgtees.com and thinkgeek.com with Sarah, indulging our nerdiness with ideas like watches in binary, duct tape as a toolkit, and a wide array of science puns.

Thursday was the beginning of our Conservative Judaism Seminar.  Jules Gutin, the head of USY, came and talked to us, mostly looking at the results of a Nativ survey which asked questions about our formal Jewish education and Jewish youth groups.  Today and tomorrow he’s leading discussions with us by track.  It’s really cool how most USYers know Jules personally.  He comes to visit regions and summer programs to get to know the participants.  It’s not like this in BBYO, but this is sort of what international presidents do.

Just before getting on my computer to finish typing this, I came into my room after being out for a couple hours to find my bed covered in the balloons my parents had sent.  Apparently today is my birthday, too.

Trivia: Sigmund Freud and Theodore Herzl lived on the same street in Vienna [thank you for the correction, Mom], but at different times.

Shabbat Shalom!

Pictures Added

Sorry for the delay, but I have inserted pictures into the following posts.  If you want to see them, I'd suggest looking at "Jerusalem: What a Place," "Getting Ready for Rosh Hashanah," and "I Guess Most of This Has to Do With Sukkot."  I also apologize for undoing paragraph breaks- I see the posts differently when editing.

Soon, I'll post about more recent Nativ life, including spending the weekend in Tel Aviv with 3 friends and attending an Idan Raichel concert.

Simcha

After spending it in Israel, Simchat Torah may be my favorite holiday.  It’s not because of food, which is what I love about Pesach (in fact, I barely made it to meals during the chag).  It’s not about relaxing, like Rosh Hashana (I was barely in my room).  Simchat Torah means the joy of the Torah, and it’s about having fun and being excited about Torah. 

For the night of the chag, I went to Shira Chadasha with a large group of Nativers.  The spirit was incredible here.  The women’s side had 3 Torot (plural of Torah), one in each of 3 circles.  We danced in and around the circles, singing at the tops of our lungs.  I held a Torah for part of one hakafa (There are 7 hakafot at night and 7 in the morning.  Hakafot are when we bring out the Torot to be danced with).   We reluctantly left around the 3^rd hakafa in order to eat at Beit Nativ (but they started birkat [grace after meals] shortly after we arrived). 

After dinner, I went with a different group to Roz’s Minyan, a minyan that I had pretty much forgotten about since its mention to us nearly 2 months ago.  We were led by the madricha Adi, and I didn’t understand why she rushed there as she did until we arrived.  Shira Chadasha was great, but this was a completely new level.  On the women’s side, we were in one big circle, but a lot of people were jumping and dancing individually or in smaller groups.  Everyone was so energetic, so excited.  Two women were doing cartwheels.  It was an amazing experience.

In the morning, I had the plan to go with Becca first to Roz’s, then to Yakar, and then to different shuls along Emek Refaim (ending at Shira Chadasha).  What happened is we get to near Roz’s, but we didn’t know exactly where it is (it was dark when I was there before) and everyone we ask also did not know, so we head back to base to get some food.  We go to Shira Chadasha, find they have finished hakafot, and go to Kedem where they are still doing hakafot.  I didn’t like hakafot at Kedem, so I leave and look for different shuls up Emek.  Everywhere I pass is done with hakafot and either has a kiddush or shiur (class) at that time, so I go back to Shira Chadasha, at this point upset about the morning (especially because the last night was so great). 

I get to Shira Chadasha during Torah reading.  They have split up into 4 or 5 different groups so everyone that wanted an aliya could get one.  After Torah, there is a kiddush outside, followed by the rest of the service.  We read the end of D’varim (Deuteronomy), and then the beginning of B’reishit (Genesis) to complete and begin the yearly cycle of Torah reading.  The other unique part of this service is the prayer for rain. 

I stayed until the end of the service.  I hoped that I would be able to find someone to host me for lunch, but people really only take in random strangers on Shabbat.  So I went back to base, again when everyone else was finishing their meal.

I decided I needed to go to the Old City.  I hadn’t been there since Jerusalem course, which was far too long ago.  I wandered around, surprised at how it was just as touristy as any other day, and went to the Kotel. 

We davened maariv as Nativ, ate dinner, and then went to a nearby park for Hakafot Shneut (2^nd Hakafot).  The chag was over, but this does not cease the celebration of Torah.  Upon entering the park, my friend Julia and I claimed a large concrete square and protected it from other Nativers.  (This really means we yelled, “Get off our square!” when friends came up to us.)  People sold snacks and toys (a few Nativers purchased light sabers), and it felt like a carnival for a while.  Then hakafot began.   Some people danced with Torot on a stage, but most of us danced in our own circles, lines, and clusters.  I did my favorite dance move (*cough* the only one I know *cough cough*), “the flail,” and got friends to flail with me.  About 30 Nativers did the Electric Slide during one or two hakafot.  I may have been upset that morning, but this was so much fun that I nearly forgot.  These hakafot went for a few hours, but neither the fun nor my energy decreased.

OUR SQUARE

10 Nativ guys, a safe distance from our square

Friday, the excitement of the chag was over, but my joy continued.  I boarded a bus to Kibbutz Tirat Tzvi.  After hiking for 3 days, then jumping and dancing for a day, sitting in a comfortable seat for 2 hours felt amazing. I came to the kibbutz to visit a friend from home’s family for Shabbat.  I met 4 generations of Shmuelis, ate great food (even as a vegetarian at a place where the main business is meat processing), and played with adorable little kids.  The family spoke mostly in English, but I was able to follow some of what was said in Hebrew, and they all helped me practice (especially the 2 and 3 year old kids).  Everyone was so nice, and I plan on visiting again later in the year.

I got a ride back to Jerusalem after Shabbat with a family with 5 kids and David Shmueli.  I learned more Hebrew from and taught English and Spanish to these kids.

Sunday, instead of getting right back into Yeshiva classes, we went to the Kotel tunnels.  We had a tour under the Wall to see remains of streets and rooms and artifacts of the different eras.  We then ate delicious falafel and were done for the day around 2 PM.

Monday, instead of Talmud class, we had a shiur about the use of computers in Yeshiva study and fact vs. meaning.  But for the afternoon, we were back to our normal schedule.  That night we watched Finding Nemo in Hebrew!

Yesterday, I went with Mia to the Sea of Spa store right by Beit Nativ to get our rish eaten by fish.  Yes, as everyone walking by sees, they have tanks of fish and for a small monetary price you can sit down and put your bare feet in the tanks to allow the fish to eat away your dead skin.  Some say it tickles, some say it’s uncomfortable, I say it’s soothing and relaxing.  But maybe only worth doing once.

Trivia: Today, it rained.  Only a little, but we all know this is the beginning of months full of precipitation.

I Guess Most of This Has to Do With Sukkot

[I apologize for poor writing.  I'm tired]

11/10: No classes, so went with a group to Israel Museum (really cool place with artifacts from many cultures as far back as possible, art, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and showing “The Clock”).  Didn’t get to see everything, so I hope to go back soon.

Erev Nativ (every Tuesday is “Nativ Night,” we have some sort of program all together): Rabbi Joel Roth talked to us about how he feels the Conservative movement is the most legitimate movement in Judaism today.  He felt very strongly, and I agreed with much of what he said (such as his heavy emphasis on halachic pluralism).  He compared Jewish tradition to a chess board: the pieces can be moved in a certain way, but it’s all coming from the same setup.  He believes a glass dome descended upon the chess board a couple hundred years ago in the Orthodox world, freezing the pieces in place, but in the Conservative movement the pieces are still moved.  An interesting analogy, but I am hesitant to accept it as valid.  While he was here, I realized that though I had recognized that some Nativers came from modern Orthodox backgrounds I had thought everyone here was pretty much Conservative, but now I see that there are actually a lot of Nativers identifying as Orthodox.  Just interesting.

After Erev Nativ we had some announcements.  Of greatest interest was that relating to the release of Gilad Shalit.  After over 5 years in hostage, this Israeli soldier will be returned to his country as Israel releases 1000 terrorists.  At first it seemed that everyone here was overjoyed (which I understand) at the prospect of the return of Gilad.  Most Nativers, as well as other people in Jerusalem, walked to where Gilad’s parents have been camped out in front of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s home (which happens to be down the street from Beit Nativ).  But I am more concerned about the release of 1000 terrorists.  Won’t this lead to more deaths?  More murders?  I know Gilad does not deserve his current treatment, that people all over Israel and all over the world have been praying for his return, but that does not make his life more valuable than any other.  This deal does have the potential for giving Israel good PR, but also giving Palestinians good PR, so it is hard to say which will be stronger in the UN debates.

12/10: In the morning we split up into our tracks for text studies led by the Yeshiva students of each track.  With Elan, Louis, and Mia, I provided texts and led discussion over all that the 4 species of lulav and etrog may represent.  I must say, we were surprised at how well the text study went because (1) we had about 2 minutes to prepare and (2) people actually participated, actually studied the texts as we asked them to!  Then we traveled as Nativ to HaShuk Arbaat Haminim, The Lulav and Etrog Market.  We got to pick our own palm, willow, myrtle, and citron (stupid word), and I bought a set together with Mia and Deena.  We haggled for lower prices and got a nice set to use during the holiday for under 60 shekel.  That night was the first night of Sukkot.  For the first time ever, I slept in a sukkah, which was surprisingly nice, especially as I slept between smelly blankets that I found on the floor in my hallway (though I must say they smelled better after Zoe dropped her orange juice onto me).

Inside one of our sukkot

In a sukka, wishing a happy holiday

In the shuk

13/10: I went to Shira Chadasha for services.  There I happened to see my roommate Suzanne with her mom (here family came for the holiday and Suzanne stayed at the hotel with them so I didn’t know she would be there).  After services, I went with my friend Pam to her cousin’s house for a wonderful dairy lunch.

14/10: The most exciting event this day was finding a hat for 10 shekel.

15/10: I went to the Sephardi synagogue in Yemin Moshe (a nearby neighborhood) for services, had a delicious Kiddush, and unable to bring myself to try to get hosted for lunch, I went to the Ashkenazi synagogue where I knew I’d find Nativers.  There, I ended up eating another Kiddush (this shul is known for its Kiddush).  We came back and somehow I found myself eating a bit of the Moreshet Yisrael (the shul between our Beit Nativ buildings) Kiddush.  After lunch (I really only ate a bit of cholent and some vegetables) I napped in my room for 3 hours, which took me to the end of Shabbat.

I then started packing for the 3-day Desert Survival tiyul (hike) we were to leave early Sunday morning for.

16/10: Up at 5:25, I do last minute packing and head downstairs for the bus to take us south to the Negev.  I think Yerucham went to a synagogue in Be’er Sheva, and Kfar and Karmiel went to a hostel for services and breakfast.  The food was pretty much what we get at base, but a lot better.  We reloaded buses and a little while later arrived at the edge of the desert.  We put our night packs (with clothes, toiletries, tallit and siddur, etc.) in a cage to be attached to a jeep to meet us at our campsite that night.  Then we set off for the hike.  We were led by Nadav, our guide, and trailed by Esther, our medic.  (Description and reflection of hike below.) 

so beautiful

That evening, we reach our first campsite and are told to get a pad thing (so the rocks below us are not too jagged), sleeping bag, and our night packs and set up our “beds” while we still have some light.  But I don’t see my night pack.  I look in the pile again.  I ask everyone if they might have taken it.  I look with Rachel everywhere on the campsite.  It is nowhere to be found.  The assumption is that my bag flew off of the cage.  The company in charge of bringing our things to and from the campsite had someone drive back to look for it, but could not find it.  (He did bring back socks, toothbrush, and toothpaste for me.)  But I love the people on Kfar who helped me out by lending me clothes.

17/10: The next day when we reached our campsite, my bag still had not been found, but they also had underwear, deodorant, and shirts for me for the last day.  So my bag is lost somewhere in the desert, left to fend for itself.  Nativ and that company will work things out so I am reimbursed for all that was lost, but no money and no thing can take the place of the BBYO Tefillat HaDerech (traveler’s prayer) keychain I received at my last convention, the tallit I got for my bat mitzvah, or the tallis bag my mom made for me.

18/10: We finish our hike, have lunch, and take a bus back home, just a few hours after Gilad returned home too. 

Tiyul: We had 3 days in the desert, and it was not enough.  The tiyul was 3 days of climbing up and down mountains, 3 days of nature peeing, 3 days of singing, 3 days of learning about plants and animals and rocks in the desert, 3 days of the best “Too Far Kfar” bonding.  Everything was so beautiful, and my pictures do it no justice.  Sometimes it was tiring, sometimes our feet hurt from blisters, but the feeling of being on top of a mountain was more than worth it.

hiking up!

To me, the first day was the hardest.  We arrived about an hour late, so we were a bit rushed and very much not used to the hiking.  The second day we had all day to hike (we woke up before sunrise, left not too long after sunrise, and arrived at the campsite as it was just starting to get dark) and we had the shortest distance to hike, so we took frequent breaks to learn about plants we passed (one that makes a soap, one that flies dislike, one that will explode in water [or Jake’s mouth] to release its seeds as a last effort to continue its genes, etc.), rocks and fossils, and animals.  We also had a 3 hour break for lunch and napping/hanging out.  The last day we had a bit more time than the first day, but to travel the greatest distance (about 9 miles, for a 3-day total of 20 miles, going approximately halfway across Israel at its widest point).

hiking is tiring

At the end of hiking the first two days (because the last day we left the desert), we would get yummy soup when we arrived at the camp before eating dinner.  Dinner was surprisingly delicious, and the first day the vegetarian alternative was the best I’d eaten in a long time.  We had a campfire and would sing non-typical campfire songs, and most people slept under the stars.  In the morning, we had a pre-breakfast of cookies, peanut butter, and chocolate spread.  After davening we had official breakfast, including Kariot, the greatest Israeli cereal.

Our group had an amazing time.  We all feel much closer to each other, and the few people with whom I had rarely spoken before I now consider friends.  We all legitimately like each other, and we have been reassured that we will be fine without our Karmiel and Yerucham friends 2^nd semester.  In fact, when we were at the far end of the same campsite as Yerucham one night and when we had lunch in the same place as Karmiel the last day, we felt no desire to be with them at all.  We know that we are the best track.  (When we were back at base and talked to the other tracks more, we were honestly surprised that they had a lot of fun, too.)

Most of Kfar.  We love each other!!  And two guys in the back are playing baseball with a rock.

Many of us would like to have continued the tiyul for another day or two or three, including me.  I am still unsure what I want to do during my 2 week break in January.  I might (depending on my Hebrew level) do Magen David Adom (“MADA,” Israeli Red Cross) training for the first week, and then I’ll be a volunteer paramedic about 1 day a week while at Kfar.  Whether or not I do MADA, I will have time that I want to be free in Israel.  Part of me wants to go to cities I haven’t seen (as I have yet to take advantage of my free weekends this way), and part of me wants to just hike more, probably in the north, because I know this is something I’d love to do more.  So help me out- what should I do?

Trivia: How did most girls deal with their hair during tiyul? Braids.  Why was this not so great for me? (1) My roommates decided that my hair must be braided from now on, never again in a ponytail. (2) That isn’t going to work, Suzanne and Leah, you saw how my hair fell out of my braid all the time, sticking out horizontally from under my hat.

Don't Pee in a Shofar

Yom Kippur: the Day of Atonement, the most popular Jewish fast day, the favorite holiday of only one person I know.  This year, Yom Kippur was much more than repenting for sins of the past year.

My Yom Kippur experiences began Thursday night with Nativ classes.  I chose to attend a text study of Kol Nidrei (the opening Yom Kippur service in which we ask for annulment of vows) and a study of Al Chet (a passage in which we ask for forgiveness for many different kinds of sins).  In the first, I learned that there is actually no purpose to Kol Nidrei because it is not truly a beit din (court) and does not follow the actual ordained rules for the annulment of vows; however, all Jews everywhere still do it.  In the second, we discussed what a community was and why Al Chet is of communal sins, not personal.  Both were very interesting.

On Friday we had an early lunch, followed by mincha together.  Some Nativers had gone earlier in the morning to do (or maybe just see) kapparot, a tradition in which one will swing a chicken around his/her head to transfer his/her sins to the chicken, which will then be slaughtered and given to a poor family.  In the afternoon, I did kapparot (for the first time!) but with money (not a chicken, also acceptable) designated for tzedaka.  After this, we ate our last meal for before the fast, followed by getting dressed for Yom Kippur.

While my roommates and I were getting dressed in the traditional all white clothing, we had a realization: we have the best roommates.  We all not only get along but actually like each other, and we think we are the only room of all of Nativ (or at least of girls in our track) to not have any even moderately serious problems.

Around 4:30, I left with a group to Shira Chadasha for Kol Nidrei and maariv services.  We girls had to sit outside (they have a side door on the women’s section to extend the sanctuary outside a bit) because all of the seats were reserved. Unfortunately, we could not hear well, so everyone except me left to go to Kedem (a nearby Conservative shul) or to the Great Synagogue.  I decided to stay there because I knew I at least somewhat liked this service, so I went inside and stood in the back for the 2 hour service. It was a nice service, but my legs hurt by the end of it.

After services, we walk back to Beit Nativ to find that a Nativ tradition has started without us!  Already, Nativers were sitting in a big circle in the middle of the busy intersection right next to our buildings, singing as if it were a Shabbat tisch (I guess it was Shabbat, but Nativers do this every year).  But not only is it Nativ- passersby would come and join and watch and sing.  (At one point we realized we had pretty much become a tourist attraction, too.)  The “tisch” was a lot of fun, but I was not surprised to hear that our director said it was the worst Nativ Yom Kippur tisch she had been to.

Did I mention how it was completely acceptable for us to be in the street?  There are almost no cars on the streets of Jerusalem- much because there is nowhere to go as everything is closed.  They even turn off the street lights.  We left a path for ambulances and police cars, and that was pretty much it.  During the day we would just walk in the street, avoiding collisions with bikes.

Saturday had an interesting beginning. Many of us had a plan to wake up around 4:45 to leave for Yedidya, a synagogue in Talpiot that was apparently amazing, at 5 to go to their early service at 5:45 to be back at Beit Nativ for a longer nap gap. We had a chain of waking people up to avoid setting alarms.  Overall, good plan.  I wake up in the morning to Mia coming into my room saying, “Jill, I’m so sorry.  My alarm didn’t go off, but it’s 5:30 now.  At least we can go with the group leaving at 6.”  So first I’m a little upset because I thought Hannah was supposed to wake me up, but whatever, not a big deal.  I wake up my roommates because they want to go to the leaving-at-6 service, but they make the wise decision to not get out of bed.  I get dressed and go downstairs to make sure I don’t miss the group leaving at 6.  But here I can see a clock.  It’s 2:50.  I look at the other clock.  2:50. OK.  I go back upstairs, having decided I should try to sleep for 2 hours.  Mia’s in the hall, worried about having sent me into the world at 2:50 as she has realized that her clock was somehow set about 3 hours ahead.  We go back to bed, and 2 hours later she summons me (though I don’t think I slept at all) to get ready at a more appropriate time.  I learn that the responsibility of waking me had been transferred from Hannah to Mia (I had been very confused), and we make our way to Yedidya.

Services there were nice, but perhaps not worth waking up so early.  Hard to say, not having seen other services.  They were over at 11:30, which was later than we expected, so we would only have a couple hours to nap before getting ready for mincha and neila services, which started at most places around 3:15.  But of course, I do not sleep.  I lay in my bed and try, but fail. 

I went to Yakar with Deena for the afternoon, which was fine, but not as great as I had hoped.  A lot of Nativers went to the Kotel and either loved it or thought it was nothing special.  After neila, we left, did our own Havdalah because it was already 5:52, and speed-walked to Beit Nativ to break the fast.

This was not a bad Yom Kippur at all.  I did not get too hungry.  I did not feel dehydrated.  I did not get headaches.  I did not feel too weak to move around.  I don’t understand because I didn’t sleep much; had a cough (which I’ve had for a few days); and must have lost energy and water through singing, walking 45 minutes to and from one synagogue, and going up and down 3 flights of stairs around 6 times when at home I would have no such activity.  Overall fantastic, at least by Yom Kippur standards.

Sunday, two sukkot were built between the old and new buildings.  Nativers decorated them, and I’m eager to finally have the opportunity to sleep in one.  I’m getting excited for Sukkot!

Trivia: Why is this blog titled as it is?  I studied in my Talmud class that while one may put water or wine in a shofar (apparently to make the sound smoother), urine (or “mei raglaim,” which one may translate as “leg water”) may not be put in a shofar because it would be disrespectful. Who knew?

My 1 3-Day Chag

The year 5772 has begun.  With it, I have heard the shofar, davened at 4 synagogues plus with Kehilat Nativ, slept too little, and eaten excessive pastries.  I think this is a good start to the year.

In Israel, Rosh Hashana is the only 2-day chag, and with Shabbat right after, it’s essentially a 3-day chag.  Outside Israel, there will be 2 more 3-day chags for the beginning and end of Sukkot.  As much fun as a 3-day chag is, it’s a lot of work and we eat too much food.

So how was Rosh Hashana?  Pretty amazing.  To begin, we davened as Nativ (plus a few guests like our director Yossi’s family), with Yossi leading maariv.  Then we had a dinner of not great food, making me miss home a bit.  Also, for some reason, half of the fish heads we had at the table (a symbol to be a head, not a tail) congregated near me…that was fun.  But after dinner, I stayed up late hanging out with people around Beit Nativ, what I have found to be one of my favorite things to do hear at any time.  (Also noteworthy: this night we established that many of us were Harry Potter characters [I’m Hermione!] and we made plans to watch AVPS.  Never have I disliked the lack of electricity during chag and Shabbat more because we knew we’d have to wait 3 days!)

Thursday morning, I had a fairly long walk to Mayanot (a Conservative synagogue in Talpiot), but with a group of friends, it was not bad at all.  I loved the service at Mayanot- it was very similar to home, but shorter (as all Israeli services are when you don’t bother with things like calling page numbers) and with a few new tunes (many of which I liked, but I do greatly prefer our tunes at home for “Hayom harat olam” and “Areshet sifateinu”).  There were a lot of really cute kids running and crawling around.  Also, the best thing, something I we all decided we should bring back to our shuls at the U.S., was that after Torah service we went outside for a Kiddush, which meant a lot of delicious food and just a nice break to move around and talk for a little before the dvar (sermon).

After services, we (Julia, Mia, and me) went to Marne’s apartment to get food to take to her friend Suzanna’s house.  Well, first we stuck around for a while as Marne was a baal tekiah (shofar blower) and let anyone who wanted to blow her shofar.  We then walked to Suzanna’s for lunch with a total of 14 people.  There we had a lot of great vegetarian food!  After this, I decided to eat as few Shabbat and chag meals at Beit Nativ as possible.  It was a lot of fun talking with everyone and playing with Marne and Suzanna’s 6 year old daughters.  We Nativers would have loved to stay longer, but we left around 4:45 to get back to Beit Nativ at a reasonable time.

At Beit Nativ, we davened mincha at Moreshet Yisrael.  I then left to go to Barbara’s (a yeshiva student) home for dinner.  This meal included me, Barbara, her husband, her son and daughter (both in their early twenties), and her daughter’s friend.  Her daughter is also a vegetarian, so again I had really great food.

I came back to Beit Nativ and again stayed up later than I should have for the time I had to wake up for services in the morning.  I ended up going to Shira Chadasha, which was great!  Much better than the last time I was there.  I love their way of being orthodox and egalitarian.  This service included more new tunes and a lot of singing in general.  We also had kiddush after Torah service here, which not only led to me finding Marzipan rugelach, but I talked with a fellow yeshiva student who happened to be there and we found we were going to the same place for lunch!  We may have arrived late because Shira Chadasha services go later than most other places, but there was no way we could have willingly left this service early.  Lunch at Vered’s was great and, thankfully, light (at least as vegetarian).  I could not eat another big meal.

Again, I stayed well into the afternoon, with little time to rest before Shabbat.  We had mincha and maariv at Moreshet Yisrael, and then I went with 2 Nativers (a different Julia and Aliya) and some others to Rabbi Epstein of the yeshiva’s home for dinner.  This was also a lot of fun, and of course we had great food.  Because a couple people were tired, we did only a little singing before benching and returning to Beit Nativ, but when we got back Julia and I had our own little tisch because we needed to sing more.  Once again, I stayed up late talking with different people.

Shabbos morning I went to Yakar, which was great.  It remains one of my favorite shuls.  We had a kiddush and shiurim before Torah reading.  I went to the English shiur about “Do you pray guilty?”  In the afternoon, I found myself able to nap for a little, but not as much as needed.  Overall it was a relaxing Shabbos.  It was great to be back for more than sleeping and time when I should have been sleeping.

There are still quite a few shuls that I want to attend at least once, plus I want to see some Sephardi services.  I keep on thinking I should do that next week, but that’ll be Yom Kippur.  I’m not sure where I want to go for Yom Kippur, but I think I want to go somewhere I know I like, so it will probably be Shira Chadasha or Yakar, as Mayanot is a bit far of a walk for fasting.

Trivia: What is the translation of kaparah? Atonement.  What is the origin of this English word?  At one, from the days when “one” was pronounced as it is spelled.