Week one of classes is over. I already have lots of homework but I'm more motivated to do it than I was during my undergraduate. Does that mean I actually like my classes? Perish the thought!
On Thursday afternoon, I had a little down time between a morning lecture and an afternoon lecture/tour south of Jerusalem to see some sites. I got together with a few students to explore the Old City with one goal in mind: the Dome of the Rock.
The Dome of the Rock is a site of contention. To the Jews, it is perhaps one of the locations of the Holy of Holies--one of the most important items of the Second Temple. Only the Chief Rabbi of the time of the Second Temple could enter the presence of the Holy of Holies, and ONLY on Yom Kippur. The Dome of the Rock is also supposedly the location where Abraham was supposed to sacrifice Issac.
To Islam, this is the place where Muhammad ascended to heaven and is its third holiest place in the world after Mecca and Medina. Similarly, this is where they believe Abraham was supposed to sacrifice Ishmael.
Today, the plaza of the Dome of the Rock, which includes the Al Aqsa mosque, is under the Israeli government control who in turn give the authority to the Palestinian waqf, or religious authority. Under the decree of the waqf, only Muslims may enter the Dome of the Rock, but anyone is allowed to enter Plaza. However, guests may not show signs of affection, must be appropriately dressed, and a number of other strict regulations. Since one of the girls in our group was wearing shorts, she was not allowed to enter unless she purchased a sarong or something to cover her legs.
There is an incredible difference seeing the Dome of the Rock so close versus in a picture. It is massive. The dome is a bright gold and shines miles and miles away. The exterior contains lots of calligraphic Arabic--probably passages from the Koran. I would upload my pictures, but my internet is just too slow and it takes too long. I'll have to remember to bring my computer to the HUC where it's much faster.
After the Dome, we went to a delicious hummus place, Restaurant Lina, in the Old City. It was seriously the best hummus I've ever had in my life. Sooooo sweet. Usually, one does not use the word "sweet" with hummus, but that was the best description the bunch of us could come up with. We had a few types of salads and delicious, fresh pita bread to go with it. Wonderful lunch. If you come to visit me, I'll take you there. You'll never be able to eat hummus ever again because it will pale in comparison.
After the Dome, we decided to make it a full day in the city and go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is one of the holiest sites of Christianity, containing one of the supposed final resting places of Jesus as well as the last several stations of the Cross. First of all, the church, built in the 1st millenium, has the beauty of a modern city with the mosaics, the golden decorations, the various altars of the different Christian denominations, as well as the religious art from all over the world. One could feel the spirit of the pilgrims as they prostrated themselves on the stone where Jesus was washed.
To close our full afternoon, we went to the Kotel. Phew I was so tired and overheated. It was an amazing day.
As a quick shoutout, I want you all to take a look at the blog of my new friend, Kat. She is a photographer finishing studies in Istanbul who came to visit a classmate here in Jerusalem. She is a riot and calls things as it is. Also, her pictures are absolutely beautiful. Please support her and make some purchases.
Link:http://katrussellphotography.wordpress.com/
"Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" translates to "Jerusalem of Gold." This is one of the most beautiful songs in the world. Written by Naomi Shemer, the song commemorates the reunification of Jerusalem after the 1967 War.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
While We're Here In Hebrew School...
This was the greatest Shabbat I've ever experienced. Our class did Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday evening outside on the lawn that faces the Old City. Just as the siren went off signalling the beginning of Shabbat, there was a beautiful breeze. It went through the palm trees, everyone's spirit, and made me cry. I don't think I've ever felt more connected to the spirit of Shabbat before. All my classmates noticed my big smile and body language the whole time. Simply marvelous.
Today was the first day of class. The summer session is only three classes: Ulpan (for learning Hebrew), Cantillation (for learning how to read Torah melodically), and Biblical History. Every Sunday is pure Ulpan with exception of morning prayers and a few breaks. It was a rough day; I was placed in the most advanced level which at first I thought was above me. However, based on the conversations with the class and that I understood almost everything the teacher said the first time, I think this will be a good fit. I am also prepared to do whatever extra work will be needed in order to keep my placement in this class. Hopefully I'll get some sort of assessment from the teacher soon so we can figure out how I will benefit from the Ulpan setting.
My class contains the students who have lived in Israel for long periods of time and those who primarily studied Hebrew in temple and at college. Some people had very advanced levels of grammar and vocabulary while others slightly less advanced. At first, I was very nervous about this class because I thought I was best suited for the middle level class. Our teacher's name is Osnat, and she has been very very patient with us. I'm looking forward to this year.
With my computer battery here, finally, my still unnamed computer can finally travel with me to classes. Probably not for Hebrew--I still like taking notes on paper in a foreign language. Of course, that means SCHOOL SUPPLY SHOPPING! This has been one of my favorite parts of the year for as long as I can remember. One major plus about Israel: EVERYTHING is made for leftys, since the writing is right to left! The downside is that the sheets of paper, notebooks, etc. is all bigger than the standard US pages. Also, the binders only have two rings, so the hole punchers have to be ones that only punch two. I guess I'll just learn to deal with that.
OK, friends. Time for homework. Catch you later!
"While We're Here in Hebrew School" is one of the beginning verses of the famous Debbie Friedman song, "The Aleph Bet Song."
Today was the first day of class. The summer session is only three classes: Ulpan (for learning Hebrew), Cantillation (for learning how to read Torah melodically), and Biblical History. Every Sunday is pure Ulpan with exception of morning prayers and a few breaks. It was a rough day; I was placed in the most advanced level which at first I thought was above me. However, based on the conversations with the class and that I understood almost everything the teacher said the first time, I think this will be a good fit. I am also prepared to do whatever extra work will be needed in order to keep my placement in this class. Hopefully I'll get some sort of assessment from the teacher soon so we can figure out how I will benefit from the Ulpan setting.
My class contains the students who have lived in Israel for long periods of time and those who primarily studied Hebrew in temple and at college. Some people had very advanced levels of grammar and vocabulary while others slightly less advanced. At first, I was very nervous about this class because I thought I was best suited for the middle level class. Our teacher's name is Osnat, and she has been very very patient with us. I'm looking forward to this year.
With my computer battery here, finally, my still unnamed computer can finally travel with me to classes. Probably not for Hebrew--I still like taking notes on paper in a foreign language. Of course, that means SCHOOL SUPPLY SHOPPING! This has been one of my favorite parts of the year for as long as I can remember. One major plus about Israel: EVERYTHING is made for leftys, since the writing is right to left! The downside is that the sheets of paper, notebooks, etc. is all bigger than the standard US pages. Also, the binders only have two rings, so the hole punchers have to be ones that only punch two. I guess I'll just learn to deal with that.
OK, friends. Time for homework. Catch you later!
"While We're Here in Hebrew School" is one of the beginning verses of the famous Debbie Friedman song, "The Aleph Bet Song."
Friday, July 15, 2011
Dancing With Myself
Hello, compadres. Welcome to another edition of Kenny's blog.
Orientation has been quite an eye opener. Yesterday we did an icebreaker that could be summarized as "how do you feel about yourself in Israel?" Numbers 1-10 were on the walls, and after particular questions or statements were said, we stood near the number that corresponded with how ____ we felt about the particular topic or idea. The questions included, "How comfortable do you feel with Hebrew? "How did you like the intern's D'var from that day?" "How strongly do you rate your skills right now at this moment if you were put into a pulpit?" and so forth. It was not only interesting for myself to see how I rated myself, but also to see how the rest of the class feels. While some people demonstrated more confidence in specific issues, like Hebrew, getting used to the Israeli culture, and so forth, the general thing I noticed is that my class is well aware that we have quite a long way to go in order to become Jewish professionals. The other great thing about this exercise is that we can learn from those who are more confident in specific skills and help our classmates who are less confident in their own.
Orientation Week ended on Thursday with a special Shabbat coming up this weekend. Three really great parts of the Orientation occurred off-campus. On Wednesday afternoon, we divided up and visited the houses and areas of a number of the faculty. I went to Abu Tor where Nancy Lewitt, the Head of Student Services, resides. We were joined by faculty members Cantor Evan Kent and Rabbi Don Goor who also shared their experiences living in a mixed area with Arabs and Jews. The few of us on this particular trip were amazed by the mix of the cultures in certain areas like the park where the children play together, and yet the separation of the neighborhoods often by one side of the street versus the other. From Ms. Lewitt's house we had a terrific few of the entire area, and were not too far from a terrific few of the Old City. It was a wonderful expereience, and Ms. Lewitt made delicious cookies. I also found out where the road to Bethlehem is, so it looks like I got Christmas plans!
Second fun off-campus adventure: on Thursday we were split off into groups to explore neighborhoods on our own and ask the local people about their neighborhoods. I was sent to Musrara/Morasha. This neighborhood is also mixed, but this is more as a result of the 1948 war where some of the Arab population fled and some stayed. Due to its proximity to the armistice lines, it was a no-man's land where only the poor tended to live. Now that it's completely surrounded by Israel, it's a beautiful residential area. There were a few things I saw with my group that interested me. First, there was a street named "Black Panthers Street" named in honor of the Mizrachi Jews, Jews from Arab countries, who sought more freedoms and to get more exposure to their problems. Across the street was "'They're Not Nice' Alley" with a picture of Golda Meir painted on a tile next to the sign. Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister from 1969-1975. Golda Meir met a delegation of these young people and felt they weren't nice people. These street signs are a statement about the generation gaps.
The third fun off-campus trip was called "Yerushalayim Sheli," or "My Jerusalem." Friends of the HUC offered to lead trips to various parts of the city to show something interesting that perhaps a tourbook would not. My trip began with a nice dinner followed by a trip to the Israel Museum. We looked at some of the art, particularly the Judaic rooms. They had a few galleries of some transported sanctuaries from all over the world: Suriname, India, and Venice. It was great how these rooms were set-up and one could easily see the individual Jewish cultures from the world. After this gallery, we went to a dance party at the museum. Yes, a dance party. The catch was every one had a headset, so it was a silent dance party. While we danced, occasionally we took our headphones off and were startled by the quiet movements of the dancers. Sometimes if it were a song worth singing, you could hear the dancers singing along to no music. It reminds me of the silent rave they had at Rutgers a few years back. At one point, we started doing the Electric Slide (doing it wrong, I might add) and got a lot of the Israelis to join us. We had such a great time and stayed until the after midnight.
Israel Museum at night!
Shabbat is on its way, and that means I have food shopping to do. Have a good one!
"Dancing With Myself" was originated by Generation X in 1980. The band included Billy Idol, who rereleased and remixed the song in 1981 to success.
Orientation has been quite an eye opener. Yesterday we did an icebreaker that could be summarized as "how do you feel about yourself in Israel?" Numbers 1-10 were on the walls, and after particular questions or statements were said, we stood near the number that corresponded with how ____ we felt about the particular topic or idea. The questions included, "How comfortable do you feel with Hebrew? "How did you like the intern's D'var from that day?" "How strongly do you rate your skills right now at this moment if you were put into a pulpit?" and so forth. It was not only interesting for myself to see how I rated myself, but also to see how the rest of the class feels. While some people demonstrated more confidence in specific issues, like Hebrew, getting used to the Israeli culture, and so forth, the general thing I noticed is that my class is well aware that we have quite a long way to go in order to become Jewish professionals. The other great thing about this exercise is that we can learn from those who are more confident in specific skills and help our classmates who are less confident in their own.
Orientation Week ended on Thursday with a special Shabbat coming up this weekend. Three really great parts of the Orientation occurred off-campus. On Wednesday afternoon, we divided up and visited the houses and areas of a number of the faculty. I went to Abu Tor where Nancy Lewitt, the Head of Student Services, resides. We were joined by faculty members Cantor Evan Kent and Rabbi Don Goor who also shared their experiences living in a mixed area with Arabs and Jews. The few of us on this particular trip were amazed by the mix of the cultures in certain areas like the park where the children play together, and yet the separation of the neighborhoods often by one side of the street versus the other. From Ms. Lewitt's house we had a terrific few of the entire area, and were not too far from a terrific few of the Old City. It was a wonderful expereience, and Ms. Lewitt made delicious cookies. I also found out where the road to Bethlehem is, so it looks like I got Christmas plans!
Second fun off-campus adventure: on Thursday we were split off into groups to explore neighborhoods on our own and ask the local people about their neighborhoods. I was sent to Musrara/Morasha. This neighborhood is also mixed, but this is more as a result of the 1948 war where some of the Arab population fled and some stayed. Due to its proximity to the armistice lines, it was a no-man's land where only the poor tended to live. Now that it's completely surrounded by Israel, it's a beautiful residential area. There were a few things I saw with my group that interested me. First, there was a street named "Black Panthers Street" named in honor of the Mizrachi Jews, Jews from Arab countries, who sought more freedoms and to get more exposure to their problems. Across the street was "'They're Not Nice' Alley" with a picture of Golda Meir painted on a tile next to the sign. Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister from 1969-1975. Golda Meir met a delegation of these young people and felt they weren't nice people. These street signs are a statement about the generation gaps.
The third fun off-campus trip was called "Yerushalayim Sheli," or "My Jerusalem." Friends of the HUC offered to lead trips to various parts of the city to show something interesting that perhaps a tourbook would not. My trip began with a nice dinner followed by a trip to the Israel Museum. We looked at some of the art, particularly the Judaic rooms. They had a few galleries of some transported sanctuaries from all over the world: Suriname, India, and Venice. It was great how these rooms were set-up and one could easily see the individual Jewish cultures from the world. After this gallery, we went to a dance party at the museum. Yes, a dance party. The catch was every one had a headset, so it was a silent dance party. While we danced, occasionally we took our headphones off and were startled by the quiet movements of the dancers. Sometimes if it were a song worth singing, you could hear the dancers singing along to no music. It reminds me of the silent rave they had at Rutgers a few years back. At one point, we started doing the Electric Slide (doing it wrong, I might add) and got a lot of the Israelis to join us. We had such a great time and stayed until the after midnight.
Israel Museum at night!
Shabbat is on its way, and that means I have food shopping to do. Have a good one!
"Dancing With Myself" was originated by Generation X in 1980. The band included Billy Idol, who rereleased and remixed the song in 1981 to success.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Heavy
Orientation began yesterday, and I have been a Student Cantor for two days. The general consensus among the students was that orientation meant we were students. When's lunch again?
As with any typical orientation, there have been "get-to-know-yous" and icebreakers and the likes. I was fully prepared for the adjective+name game, "Kaleidoscopic Kenny," or the fruit/vegetable+name "Key Lime Kenny," and so forth, but these icebreakers challenged us. One focus group was about what moments or stepping stones led us to deciding to attend the HUC. For the second, we had to name three guests we'd bring to Shabbat dinner, dead or alive (Claudius, Judy Garland, Alan Turtletaub, my great-uncle). The third was about what we would do with the free time resulting from a teacher's sudden absence. The fourth was about prayers or Jewish customs that inspire us. I won't provide answers for all of them now, but you may feel free to message me for more information.
Today we had a series of nice discussions with movers and shakers within the HUC/URJ world. Brief acronym summary: HUC=Hebrew Union College, my school. URJ=Union of Reform Judaism, or the umbrella group for the Reform Jews of North America. Among the speakers today were Rabbi Dr. Richard Marmur, the HUC's Vice President of Academic Affairs, Rabbi Naamah Kelman, the Dean of the HUC Jerusalem Campus, Dr. David Mendelssohn, a scholar and leader of the Israel Studies at HUC in Jerusalem, and the President-Elect of the URJ, Rick Jacobs. I cannot possibly summarize all their brilliant statements, but I wish to impart some of their words of wisdom:
There are 613 flavors of Judaism here in Jerusalem. Experience them all!
Hebrew is the link to Jewish culture. Secular or religious, the concepts of the Jewish culture are imbedded in all Israelis.
Life is what you make of it. You will get many opportunities to study people, to learn with a friend, to take a trip somewhere. If you explore these options, you will get the most out of this year.
We can foster a love even with self-critical analysis.
There always is a feeling of mishpocha (family) among Israelis.
Now I'll share one quick story. One of the discussions in the groups brought the idea that now, in 2011/5771, we are able to go to Israel to study, to visit family and friends, to tour the entire nation, to eat the foods, and to pray. These are relatively new phenomena of life in Israel. I immediately thought of my family, my great-grandparents, my great-great grandparents, and my ancestors who for generations never even left their shtetls in East Europe. Those who did went to America because they could not go to Palestine. To my knowledge, I am the first person in my family who has visited Israel more than once. More uplifting, by being here a year, I will have the longest span of time in the Promised Land out of my family for probably scores of generations. I haven't fully wrapped my head around this concept.
Rabbi Zwieback, the head of the Year-In-Israel, brought up the concept of digging through grandfather's basement and finding treasures, thereby building connections with a family's past. Almost ten years ago, we went through my great-uncle's, Alan Turtletaub, house to find various things that belonged to my father or that which other relatives wanted. Among the things were found was a box of letters and information about my grandmother, Alan's sister, who I never met since she died when my father was young. We also found post cards and love letters of Alan and his future wife, Beatrice. The last thing is something that was bestowed upon me by Alan's son--his tallit. I'm not sure how many years it sat in that closet on the second floor, but it now gets frequent use. It was presented to me on the honor of my Bar Mitzvah and joined me in my journey to Israel.
Sorry for the sob story moments. It's been a heavy day.
Sidebar: I'm keeping an album of the Cats of Israel "Chatuley Yisrael." It will absolutely be on Facebook, but I might also post it on Flickr or whatever online photo album sites are good these days. Watch out for a link.
"Heavy" comes from Dreamgirls.
As with any typical orientation, there have been "get-to-know-yous" and icebreakers and the likes. I was fully prepared for the adjective+name game, "Kaleidoscopic Kenny," or the fruit/vegetable+name "Key Lime Kenny," and so forth, but these icebreakers challenged us. One focus group was about what moments or stepping stones led us to deciding to attend the HUC. For the second, we had to name three guests we'd bring to Shabbat dinner, dead or alive (Claudius, Judy Garland, Alan Turtletaub, my great-uncle). The third was about what we would do with the free time resulting from a teacher's sudden absence. The fourth was about prayers or Jewish customs that inspire us. I won't provide answers for all of them now, but you may feel free to message me for more information.
Today we had a series of nice discussions with movers and shakers within the HUC/URJ world. Brief acronym summary: HUC=Hebrew Union College, my school. URJ=Union of Reform Judaism, or the umbrella group for the Reform Jews of North America. Among the speakers today were Rabbi Dr. Richard Marmur, the HUC's Vice President of Academic Affairs, Rabbi Naamah Kelman, the Dean of the HUC Jerusalem Campus, Dr. David Mendelssohn, a scholar and leader of the Israel Studies at HUC in Jerusalem, and the President-Elect of the URJ, Rick Jacobs. I cannot possibly summarize all their brilliant statements, but I wish to impart some of their words of wisdom:
There are 613 flavors of Judaism here in Jerusalem. Experience them all!
Hebrew is the link to Jewish culture. Secular or religious, the concepts of the Jewish culture are imbedded in all Israelis.
Life is what you make of it. You will get many opportunities to study people, to learn with a friend, to take a trip somewhere. If you explore these options, you will get the most out of this year.
We can foster a love even with self-critical analysis.
There always is a feeling of mishpocha (family) among Israelis.
Now I'll share one quick story. One of the discussions in the groups brought the idea that now, in 2011/5771, we are able to go to Israel to study, to visit family and friends, to tour the entire nation, to eat the foods, and to pray. These are relatively new phenomena of life in Israel. I immediately thought of my family, my great-grandparents, my great-great grandparents, and my ancestors who for generations never even left their shtetls in East Europe. Those who did went to America because they could not go to Palestine. To my knowledge, I am the first person in my family who has visited Israel more than once. More uplifting, by being here a year, I will have the longest span of time in the Promised Land out of my family for probably scores of generations. I haven't fully wrapped my head around this concept.
Rabbi Zwieback, the head of the Year-In-Israel, brought up the concept of digging through grandfather's basement and finding treasures, thereby building connections with a family's past. Almost ten years ago, we went through my great-uncle's, Alan Turtletaub, house to find various things that belonged to my father or that which other relatives wanted. Among the things were found was a box of letters and information about my grandmother, Alan's sister, who I never met since she died when my father was young. We also found post cards and love letters of Alan and his future wife, Beatrice. The last thing is something that was bestowed upon me by Alan's son--his tallit. I'm not sure how many years it sat in that closet on the second floor, but it now gets frequent use. It was presented to me on the honor of my Bar Mitzvah and joined me in my journey to Israel.
Sorry for the sob story moments. It's been a heavy day.
Sidebar: I'm keeping an album of the Cats of Israel "Chatuley Yisrael." It will absolutely be on Facebook, but I might also post it on Flickr or whatever online photo album sites are good these days. Watch out for a link.
"Heavy" comes from Dreamgirls.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Shavua Tov
Havdallah is wonderful. It marks the end of Shabbat, the beginning of the new week, and shows the change of time. During Shabbat, we reflect on what happened during the week--good and bad.
What happened to me? I made more friends from my class, made a terrific pasta salad, explored more parts of Jerusalem, finished registering officially as an HUC student, and too many other experiences for me to possibly find time to blog about.
What is going to happen this week? I'm soon to enter my third week in Jerusalem, which is still quite an amazing thing. While I have adjusted to many things about Israel, such as the community recycling bins for plastic only, thinking about money in terms of shekels, there will be more do to. I figure this will happen once classes officially start.
Tomorrow I begin Orientation, or as one scholar at the HUC Havdallah learning activity suggested "Dis-orientation." This will begin the biggest adjustment yet: learning to be an HUC student. I've been a Rutgers student, a Temple Sholom student, a Michaels student, a Rutgers Prep student, and so on and so forth, but I have yet to be a bona fide HUC student. What further adjustments do I need to make? First, the classes start at 8:30 AM. OK, I can put up with that. Next, this is a giant campus spanning two continents, four campuses, and different time zones. This adjustment might be easy since I'm used to a massive campus where each part seems like a different time zone (cough cough Rutgers). Then there's the coursework. I know how to study for a test or prepare for a lecture, but this will be different. My career will be tied up to everything I do. I need to take this seriously. No matter how good a student any one is, this is going to be the hardest task to overcome.
Big shout out to the interns for being amazing and helpful during these few weeks before Orientation. Thanks, Leslie, Daniel, and Amy! It will be such a pleasure to work with them one day since they are already terrific collaborators.
Another massive shout out to Nancy Lewitt, Helen Linden, Rabbi Yoshi, Rabbi Kelman, and all the amazing people who helped to put everything together over the last few months. I'll probably repeat these names with similar praises over the next few months, so you might as well get to know them now.
Nancy Lewitt is the Head of Student Services at the Jerusalem campus. Our introduction to her was, "Any questions, just speak to Nancy." Indeed, this is the case. A classmate needed baking soda, and Nancy came through!
Helen Linden is the dutiful Administrative Assistant who is beyond charming and helpful. I forsee many times where I'll be in her office to deal with the various HUC bureaucracies
Rabbi Josh "Yoshi" Zweiback is the Head of the Year-In-Israel program at the HUC and a very exciting and inspring person at that.
Dean Rabbi Naamah Kelman is the Dean of the Jerusalem campus and overseer of everything. EVERYTHING.
To this list I'm sure I will add all my wonderful classmates, other teachers and administrators, and friends.
It really bothers me that this blog doesn't like when I add pictures. Boo.
What happened to me? I made more friends from my class, made a terrific pasta salad, explored more parts of Jerusalem, finished registering officially as an HUC student, and too many other experiences for me to possibly find time to blog about.
What is going to happen this week? I'm soon to enter my third week in Jerusalem, which is still quite an amazing thing. While I have adjusted to many things about Israel, such as the community recycling bins for plastic only, thinking about money in terms of shekels, there will be more do to. I figure this will happen once classes officially start.
Tomorrow I begin Orientation, or as one scholar at the HUC Havdallah learning activity suggested "Dis-orientation." This will begin the biggest adjustment yet: learning to be an HUC student. I've been a Rutgers student, a Temple Sholom student, a Michaels student, a Rutgers Prep student, and so on and so forth, but I have yet to be a bona fide HUC student. What further adjustments do I need to make? First, the classes start at 8:30 AM. OK, I can put up with that. Next, this is a giant campus spanning two continents, four campuses, and different time zones. This adjustment might be easy since I'm used to a massive campus where each part seems like a different time zone (cough cough Rutgers). Then there's the coursework. I know how to study for a test or prepare for a lecture, but this will be different. My career will be tied up to everything I do. I need to take this seriously. No matter how good a student any one is, this is going to be the hardest task to overcome.
Big shout out to the interns for being amazing and helpful during these few weeks before Orientation. Thanks, Leslie, Daniel, and Amy! It will be such a pleasure to work with them one day since they are already terrific collaborators.
Another massive shout out to Nancy Lewitt, Helen Linden, Rabbi Yoshi, Rabbi Kelman, and all the amazing people who helped to put everything together over the last few months. I'll probably repeat these names with similar praises over the next few months, so you might as well get to know them now.
Nancy Lewitt is the Head of Student Services at the Jerusalem campus. Our introduction to her was, "Any questions, just speak to Nancy." Indeed, this is the case. A classmate needed baking soda, and Nancy came through!
Helen Linden is the dutiful Administrative Assistant who is beyond charming and helpful. I forsee many times where I'll be in her office to deal with the various HUC bureaucracies
Rabbi Josh "Yoshi" Zweiback is the Head of the Year-In-Israel program at the HUC and a very exciting and inspring person at that.
Dean Rabbi Naamah Kelman is the Dean of the Jerusalem campus and overseer of everything. EVERYTHING.
To this list I'm sure I will add all my wonderful classmates, other teachers and administrators, and friends.
It really bothers me that this blog doesn't like when I add pictures. Boo.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Ozi v'zimrat yah
Sunday marked Rosh Chodesh--the first day of a new month. Traditionally, additional prayers are added to mark the occasion and the Torah is read. One would not expect to use Rosh Chodesh as a soapbox, but Israel has found a way. This is a story of intrigue, frustration, and fear. :)
Brief setup: the Western Wall/Kotel is a major pilgrimmage site for Jews. It is among the little that remains of the Second Temple. Just like in Orthodox and Traditional synagogues, there is a division between the men and women by a wall called a m'chitzah. At the Kotel, the men's side is significantly bigger. The women's side is quite small, usually overpacked right at the wall itself, and the women are not allowed to pray out loud. There is a lot of security and police at the Kotel, making it probably one of the safest large open spaces in Israel.
According to their website, womenofthewall.co.il, in 1988 a mixture of non-demoninational women met together to pray at the Western Wall/Kotel. Any one who chose wore a tallit/prayer shawl. All was well until the Torah scroll was unwrapped. One of the religious women on that side of the m'chitzah made a fuss, prompting the major dispute among the Haredi Jews--ultra-Orthodox--, the Israeli Supreme Court, and this organization, the Women of the Wall. Is it allowed by religious law, halacha, for women to read from the Torah? Can they wear tefillin and talitot. Fast forward a few years, the court system officially declared that women cannot read Torah at the Kotel under criminal offense with a seven-year imprisonment as punishment. The Women of the Wall still meets every month and a number of major holidays, but reads Torah in a different area.
Of course, the Ultra-Orthodox men are still not happy. Attempting to disrupt the flow of the service, many will throw chairs over the m'chitzah. Others will stand on chairs and yell at the women over the m'chitzah. The Women of the Wall finally has police protection, and there have been fewer major incidents, with exception of a number of arrests. Most famously, one of the major leaders of the Women of the Wall, Anat Hoffman, was arrested in July 2010 and resisted arrest by holding tight to the Torah she was carrying.
OK, enough set-up. A number of students from the HUC decided to go and witness the spectacle that is the Women of the Wall. The ladies of the group prayed on the women's side and were able to get the full experience. We menfolk stayed on the men's side and had a very different experience.
I don't pray on a regular basis with a m'chitzah, and when I do I'm on the side where all the action happens. It was strange being on the side trying to press my ear up to the m'chitzah and figure out what was going on. Anyway, the Haredi men were having their own fun. Seeing a bunch of men standing in solidarity with the women, one Haredi got very excited and headed toward us with a chair in his hands. The police very swiftly stopped him as he got the chair off the ground. Other Haredi men rushed toward him and almost seemed to talk him out of doing something terrible. He calmed down and wasn't a problem. Maybe ten minutes later, a man got on a chair and started shouting at the women, and then decided to harangue the men. He kept his distance and only made gestures at us, but it was still an amazing sight. During Hallel, one of the traditional parts added in honor of Rosh Chodesh, a minyan of Haredim met and started reciting their prayers so loudly as to drown out the sounds of the women. I'm still a young'un, but I was taught that childlike behavior from an adult is obnoxious. Thanks, Mom and Dad.
For a fun time, go to Youtube and look up "Women of the Wall." You can see videos of men throwing chairs and shouting at the women. Fun.
By the time of the Torah service, the procession from the Kotel began to the place where we read Torah. It felt like it was miles away, but perhaps this was just me anticipating history and legend. The Torah service was like a regular Torah service, gasp, and nothing unusual happened. However, I still felt a sense of being a part of something bigger than me or the people around me. This is something to believe in--freedom for all.
Incidently, Happy Fourth of July, all!
The HUC students and a number of the leaders of our program met at Liberty Bell Park (with a full replica Liberty Bell) to have a little BBQ. We had delicious food, played games with the Arabic children, and got to know one another. Good times had by all.
This week, the rest of the students will arrive in Israel. Those already here will continue to hang out, explore the city, and have a good time. The schoolwork is imminent though we would like to delay it.
"Ozi v'zimrat yah" comes from Exodus 15:2 at the crossing of the sea and Psalm 118:14 set by Rabbi Shefa Gold. This song was chanted during the procession from the Kotel to site for the reading of the Torah.
Brief setup: the Western Wall/Kotel is a major pilgrimmage site for Jews. It is among the little that remains of the Second Temple. Just like in Orthodox and Traditional synagogues, there is a division between the men and women by a wall called a m'chitzah. At the Kotel, the men's side is significantly bigger. The women's side is quite small, usually overpacked right at the wall itself, and the women are not allowed to pray out loud. There is a lot of security and police at the Kotel, making it probably one of the safest large open spaces in Israel.
According to their website, womenofthewall.co.il, in 1988 a mixture of non-demoninational women met together to pray at the Western Wall/Kotel. Any one who chose wore a tallit/prayer shawl. All was well until the Torah scroll was unwrapped. One of the religious women on that side of the m'chitzah made a fuss, prompting the major dispute among the Haredi Jews--ultra-Orthodox--, the Israeli Supreme Court, and this organization, the Women of the Wall. Is it allowed by religious law, halacha, for women to read from the Torah? Can they wear tefillin and talitot. Fast forward a few years, the court system officially declared that women cannot read Torah at the Kotel under criminal offense with a seven-year imprisonment as punishment. The Women of the Wall still meets every month and a number of major holidays, but reads Torah in a different area.
Of course, the Ultra-Orthodox men are still not happy. Attempting to disrupt the flow of the service, many will throw chairs over the m'chitzah. Others will stand on chairs and yell at the women over the m'chitzah. The Women of the Wall finally has police protection, and there have been fewer major incidents, with exception of a number of arrests. Most famously, one of the major leaders of the Women of the Wall, Anat Hoffman, was arrested in July 2010 and resisted arrest by holding tight to the Torah she was carrying.
OK, enough set-up. A number of students from the HUC decided to go and witness the spectacle that is the Women of the Wall. The ladies of the group prayed on the women's side and were able to get the full experience. We menfolk stayed on the men's side and had a very different experience.
I don't pray on a regular basis with a m'chitzah, and when I do I'm on the side where all the action happens. It was strange being on the side trying to press my ear up to the m'chitzah and figure out what was going on. Anyway, the Haredi men were having their own fun. Seeing a bunch of men standing in solidarity with the women, one Haredi got very excited and headed toward us with a chair in his hands. The police very swiftly stopped him as he got the chair off the ground. Other Haredi men rushed toward him and almost seemed to talk him out of doing something terrible. He calmed down and wasn't a problem. Maybe ten minutes later, a man got on a chair and started shouting at the women, and then decided to harangue the men. He kept his distance and only made gestures at us, but it was still an amazing sight. During Hallel, one of the traditional parts added in honor of Rosh Chodesh, a minyan of Haredim met and started reciting their prayers so loudly as to drown out the sounds of the women. I'm still a young'un, but I was taught that childlike behavior from an adult is obnoxious. Thanks, Mom and Dad.
For a fun time, go to Youtube and look up "Women of the Wall." You can see videos of men throwing chairs and shouting at the women. Fun.
By the time of the Torah service, the procession from the Kotel began to the place where we read Torah. It felt like it was miles away, but perhaps this was just me anticipating history and legend. The Torah service was like a regular Torah service, gasp, and nothing unusual happened. However, I still felt a sense of being a part of something bigger than me or the people around me. This is something to believe in--freedom for all.
Incidently, Happy Fourth of July, all!
The HUC students and a number of the leaders of our program met at Liberty Bell Park (with a full replica Liberty Bell) to have a little BBQ. We had delicious food, played games with the Arabic children, and got to know one another. Good times had by all.
This week, the rest of the students will arrive in Israel. Those already here will continue to hang out, explore the city, and have a good time. The schoolwork is imminent though we would like to delay it.
"Ozi v'zimrat yah" comes from Exodus 15:2 at the crossing of the sea and Psalm 118:14 set by Rabbi Shefa Gold. This song was chanted during the procession from the Kotel to site for the reading of the Torah.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Shabbat Shalom (Hey!)
Hello, friends, loved ones, Romans, countrymen, cherubs, monkeys, and others!
This was my first Shabbat in Israel this year. Shabbat here is very different than in other places. First, the stores are closed by the early afternoon on Friday. In America, we're turning into 24/7 shopping fanatics. Second, the roads are nearly silent with exception of families walking to shul. In America, there's always traffic. Always. Especially in New Jersey. Third, every one feels the spirit of Shabbat here. Who knows with the US?
I had a delicious Shabbos dinner with a lady who I met over the last few days, Yocheved. She is the widow of a Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) professor. She made inquiries about having her old master's thesis typed up, and I decided to take on this project. Yocheved also invited two friends from her home temple in New York, one of whom is a volunteer in the Israeli Army, and her neighbor and long time friend, a well-educated Ethiopian Christian. The five of us chatted about everything from politics to history to Shabbatot of the past. What a truly delightful evening. We did not attend a service which bummed me a little, but there will be plenty of chances in the future.
For the Saturday morning service, I went to the HUC's service meeting up with most of my classmates. It was a very musical service led by two faculty members. Among the many guests at our service were a number of touring groups, teen tours, and a delegation from a temple in Baltimore. I realized that one of the men leading one of the groups was MY tour leader from my Birthright trip three years ago! Avi and I reconnected, and he had a laugh when I showed him his copy of the itinerary with his notes which I keep to this day in my talit bag.
After the service, the other students and I went out for a nice luncheon at the YMCA across the street. We were expecting a buffet featuring bacon, but the buffet closed. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time, and debated making this a regular tradition after HUC services on Saturday.
Since nearly everything was closed on Saturday, my options were to go back to my apartment and relax or fry in the sun. So, I made the difficult decision to watch Fantasia and do some things around the apartment.
In the evening, my classmate had a little show at an English comedy club. There were four comics: Benjie, some other guy who wasn't funny, Michael (my classmate), and the headliner, Hani. With exception of the guy who wasn't funny, they were all quite hilarious. Benjie talked about his time making aliyah and moving to Israel, Michael made humorous observations about proprieties, and Hani talked a little of this and a little of that. It was nice for Michael to do in Israel something he really enjoyed back in the States. I think it was even better since he had a great turnout from his classmates.
Overall, we're a pretty supportive bunch. I grant you, we don't have classwork yet, we don't have millions of errands to do in town other than food shopping, and we're still enthralled by the uniqueness of Jerusalem, but we all seem to want to be with each other! I was talking to one student about possibly seeing a production of Carousel playing at the theatre of the HUC featuring one of the professors, and there's been such a great interest by everyone in the class! I have such a great feeling about this year.
"Shabbat Shalom (Hey!)" is a popular Shabbat song. It has also been called "Bim Bam."
This was my first Shabbat in Israel this year. Shabbat here is very different than in other places. First, the stores are closed by the early afternoon on Friday. In America, we're turning into 24/7 shopping fanatics. Second, the roads are nearly silent with exception of families walking to shul. In America, there's always traffic. Always. Especially in New Jersey. Third, every one feels the spirit of Shabbat here. Who knows with the US?
I had a delicious Shabbos dinner with a lady who I met over the last few days, Yocheved. She is the widow of a Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) professor. She made inquiries about having her old master's thesis typed up, and I decided to take on this project. Yocheved also invited two friends from her home temple in New York, one of whom is a volunteer in the Israeli Army, and her neighbor and long time friend, a well-educated Ethiopian Christian. The five of us chatted about everything from politics to history to Shabbatot of the past. What a truly delightful evening. We did not attend a service which bummed me a little, but there will be plenty of chances in the future.
For the Saturday morning service, I went to the HUC's service meeting up with most of my classmates. It was a very musical service led by two faculty members. Among the many guests at our service were a number of touring groups, teen tours, and a delegation from a temple in Baltimore. I realized that one of the men leading one of the groups was MY tour leader from my Birthright trip three years ago! Avi and I reconnected, and he had a laugh when I showed him his copy of the itinerary with his notes which I keep to this day in my talit bag.
After the service, the other students and I went out for a nice luncheon at the YMCA across the street. We were expecting a buffet featuring bacon, but the buffet closed. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time, and debated making this a regular tradition after HUC services on Saturday.
Since nearly everything was closed on Saturday, my options were to go back to my apartment and relax or fry in the sun. So, I made the difficult decision to watch Fantasia and do some things around the apartment.
In the evening, my classmate had a little show at an English comedy club. There were four comics: Benjie, some other guy who wasn't funny, Michael (my classmate), and the headliner, Hani. With exception of the guy who wasn't funny, they were all quite hilarious. Benjie talked about his time making aliyah and moving to Israel, Michael made humorous observations about proprieties, and Hani talked a little of this and a little of that. It was nice for Michael to do in Israel something he really enjoyed back in the States. I think it was even better since he had a great turnout from his classmates.
Overall, we're a pretty supportive bunch. I grant you, we don't have classwork yet, we don't have millions of errands to do in town other than food shopping, and we're still enthralled by the uniqueness of Jerusalem, but we all seem to want to be with each other! I was talking to one student about possibly seeing a production of Carousel playing at the theatre of the HUC featuring one of the professors, and there's been such a great interest by everyone in the class! I have such a great feeling about this year.
"Shabbat Shalom (Hey!)" is a popular Shabbat song. It has also been called "Bim Bam."
Friday, July 1, 2011
This House is Freakin' Sweet
Hello, all. What another bright, sunny day here in the great city of Jerusalem. Time to unpack the sunscreen that was the in bag that showed up yesterday. And, a few hours later, time to reapply. Oh the joys of being fair-skinned, blue-eyed, gorgeous, funny...oops slipped into dating profile mode :)
First, my other bag showed up! I now have my nice button-down shirts, long pants, and a few other necessities. Now that I'm here in one piece, I can feel a lot better about moving to a new country.
Second, my apartment is on Yabetz, which is this adorable little alley close to Yaffo, Ben Yehuda, King George, and not too far from the shuk. I'm also about 15 minutes away from the HUC which is excellent. There are only two problems: practically no furnishing and I'm at least a half hour away from most of my classmates. These are problems that are easily taken care of--I'll get some used furniture, and I love walking.
One of my roomates :)
It's a good thing I love walking since I've done quite a lot of that in the last few days. Yesterday, more students from my class arrived and did the tour of the HUC. I joined them in a tour of the area surrounding HUC. Last time I was in Israel with Birthright, every part of Jerusalem seemed so far away from each other. From the HUC, I basically hop over to the King David Hotel, hop skip to the Old City, and hop skip jump to the shuk. My walking has made it easier to know my way around the city, but I still carry a tourist map just in case.
Yesterday, I went with my classmate, Marc, to the Old City for his first time. We decided not to go to the Kotel because I felt underdressed. This trip represents Marc's first time in Israel at all. It was so great to see how big his eyes were. It reminded me intensely about my own first time three years ago. Of course, my eyes are still quite big as I take it all in. The two of us came the conclusion that we don't want to let the excitement of Jerusalem and Israel subside and lose its specialness.
Today was the shopping / shuk adventure. I still have a little bit of food shopping to do to last me for Shabbat, but I got some well needed fruits. I got a smallish bag of a few apricots and a few plums for about 5 shekels! Mind you, these aren't the big gezunta apricots and plums like in the states, but they're simply divine. In fact, I had a cherry from the shuk today while deciding if I wanted them today, and it was the best cherry of my life. With the really good prices and excellent quality produce, I can't go wrong! Although, I have been told that if I don't eat some of it right away it will go bad. So...no melons unless I have a party.
To see some of the things people buy on Shabbat, here's a fun learning "game":
http://www.zigzagworld.com/shopping/
It's Friday here, and Shabbat is imminent. Everyone was out shopping for Shabbat--getting fruit, meat, wine, challot, vegetables, and so forth. One of the most famous store of the shuk is Marzipan with perhaps the most famous challot and rugalah in Jerusalem. The place was too packed when I was there, so I decided not to get a challah this time. Next Shabbat.
I sign off with this:
The pictures aren't cooperating with me right now, so I will add more to this post as well as future ones.
Good Shabbos / Shabbat Shalom!
"This House is Freakin' Sweet" is from "Family Guy". This is a parody of "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" from Annie.
First, my other bag showed up! I now have my nice button-down shirts, long pants, and a few other necessities. Now that I'm here in one piece, I can feel a lot better about moving to a new country.
Second, my apartment is on Yabetz, which is this adorable little alley close to Yaffo, Ben Yehuda, King George, and not too far from the shuk. I'm also about 15 minutes away from the HUC which is excellent. There are only two problems: practically no furnishing and I'm at least a half hour away from most of my classmates. These are problems that are easily taken care of--I'll get some used furniture, and I love walking.
It's a good thing I love walking since I've done quite a lot of that in the last few days. Yesterday, more students from my class arrived and did the tour of the HUC. I joined them in a tour of the area surrounding HUC. Last time I was in Israel with Birthright, every part of Jerusalem seemed so far away from each other. From the HUC, I basically hop over to the King David Hotel, hop skip to the Old City, and hop skip jump to the shuk. My walking has made it easier to know my way around the city, but I still carry a tourist map just in case.
Yesterday, I went with my classmate, Marc, to the Old City for his first time. We decided not to go to the Kotel because I felt underdressed. This trip represents Marc's first time in Israel at all. It was so great to see how big his eyes were. It reminded me intensely about my own first time three years ago. Of course, my eyes are still quite big as I take it all in. The two of us came the conclusion that we don't want to let the excitement of Jerusalem and Israel subside and lose its specialness.
Today was the shopping / shuk adventure. I still have a little bit of food shopping to do to last me for Shabbat, but I got some well needed fruits. I got a smallish bag of a few apricots and a few plums for about 5 shekels! Mind you, these aren't the big gezunta apricots and plums like in the states, but they're simply divine. In fact, I had a cherry from the shuk today while deciding if I wanted them today, and it was the best cherry of my life. With the really good prices and excellent quality produce, I can't go wrong! Although, I have been told that if I don't eat some of it right away it will go bad. So...no melons unless I have a party.
To see some of the things people buy on Shabbat, here's a fun learning "game":
http://www.zigzagworld.com/shopping/
It's Friday here, and Shabbat is imminent. Everyone was out shopping for Shabbat--getting fruit, meat, wine, challot, vegetables, and so forth. One of the most famous store of the shuk is Marzipan with perhaps the most famous challot and rugalah in Jerusalem. The place was too packed when I was there, so I decided not to get a challah this time. Next Shabbat.
I sign off with this:
The pictures aren't cooperating with me right now, so I will add more to this post as well as future ones.
Good Shabbos / Shabbat Shalom!
"This House is Freakin' Sweet" is from "Family Guy". This is a parody of "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" from Annie.
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