Pesach Project!

Want to get a last minute Tax Deduction for 2009? Make a TAX DEDUCTABLE DONATION to the Pesach Project today!!!!! Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, but I still have a long way to go to reach my goal!

Go to www.pesachproject.com and donate now! Don't forget to put my name in the comments section so I receive credit for your generous donation!

Happy New Year!!!

Retail Therapy and friendly Israelis

Recently a friend and I made a list of what we love about Israel. It started as a way to help us remember what we like about Israel when we are having rough days, and it has become a really fun way to be conscious about experiences living here. I had a wonderful afternoon of shopping for Chanukah presents, and came up with one great thing for the list- friendly Israelis. So in case you are wondering what a very stressed Rabbinical student does to relax (and get things done) here is a recap of my fabulous afternoon!

I got to school at about 7:15 this morning to do a practice Biblical Grammar test (got them all right..yay!), and officially started classes at 8:30. We refer to sundays as a "grammar marathon" because we start the day with Biblical Grammar, and then have a period of Hebrew, and then Bible- lots of Hebrew, and lots of Grammar! We have 15 minutes between each of these classes, and a lunch break at the end. Sundays are my easiest day because I am done at 1:30 and have a break until 4 when I leave for my community service. Today, my brain was very tired so I decided to do some Chanukah shopping that I had been putting off. And this is where my day got very interesting and very fun, and also a great way to practice my Hebrew!

First I went to the bank to cash a check, and of course the bank was not open. For some reason, banks are open only very weird hours here- an hour here an hour there, at random times throughout the day.

I continued on my way and entered a kippah shop where I had a lovely conversation with the attendant all about different colors and styles of kippot that different kinds of people wear. You can often tell someone's political ideology in Israel based on the style of their kippah and the way they wear it.

The next stop was a Judaica store where the attendant is a religious man, who knows Rabbi David (Gingy) Wilfond, the director of admissions for HUC in Jerusalem. Yedidiya (the attendant) and I had a really nice time talking to him. His topic of choice was a shock to me- religious pluralism in Jerusalem! He was very happy and supportive of my decision to become a Rabbi, and he even said that Rabbi Wilfond should be appointed the chief rabbi of Jerusalem- I couldn't agree more!

The next store was my favorite- it's a puzzle store that I absolutely love to go to and play with all the toys. And today the owner's mother and brand new baby niece were visiting from America! while the owner of the store helped me pick out presents and then wrapped them, I got to talk to this adorable baby and her grandmother! There's no better feeling than a really cute baby smiling and laughing! It's also really fun to talk to babies in Hebrew, especially since they dont' care if I make a mistake! It reminded me how much I miss my nieces and nephew back home!

On the way home I stopped by a restaurant on the first floor of my apartment building. The man recognized me and we started talking about his travels in the United States (most Israelis travel extensively in the States after their army service) and it turns out that he lived in Scottsdale for several years! We talked about our favorite restaurants and places to hang out- such a small world!

Anyway, I know this may not seem like such an exciting day to someone in America, but it was such an accomplishment for me to spend an afternoon shopping and conversing in Hebrew with all of these people. Especially to have conversations not just about the objects at the store, but real life conversations in Hebrew! Some days in class it is hard to see that my Hebrew is improving, but it is days like this that I know I am here for a reason and that I am learning a lot.

And 2 weeks from today I will be waking up in America to see my family and friends! I can't wait! But until then...it's study study study for my finals!

Help Me, Help Jews!

Have you ever wondered how you can help Jews in the Former Soviet Union? Guess What! Now is your chance! As you may have read in a previous blog post, I am going to the Former Soviet Union for Pesach! but...I NEED YOUR HELP! I need to raise $2500 to make the trip and help pay for Seders for these communities.

And I'm not the only one who thinks this trip is important! Watch the video below to see Rabbi David Ellenson, President of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religiou, talk about how important this trip is!


and then go to www.pesachproject.com to donate now! And don't forget to put my name in the comments section!


(credit for the video goes to Molly Plotnik and Bess Wohlner of mollyandbessonmoshehess.com)

Chanukah O Chanukah!

Happy Chanukah!

I had a realization today that I have not heard a single Christmas song or seen any Christmas decorations yet this year. Instead, it's Chanukah season here in Israel! Don't get me wrong, the High Holy Days in Israel were pretty cool, but I have to admit- Chanukah is awesome here! There are Chanukah decorations everywhere! And Chanukah music on the radios! And Chanukiyot in the stores! And Chanukah decorations, gelt, and candy at the markets! About a week ago, they affixed light up chanukiyot to most of the lamp poles in Jerusalem, and there are huge Chanukiyot on random streets that are lit every night. For the first night of Chanukah I made Latkes (thanks mom!) and we had a lovely night of Latke and dreidel. And another fabulous thing about Chanukah in Israel are the sufganiyot, or donuts filled with delicious goodies. in America it seems to be mostly just Jelly and chocolate. But there is a bakery here that has 11 options, including banana-chocolate (my favorite), dulce de leche, melon, etc. Delicious!

A Chanukiyah on the street!Chanukiyot in the store windows!

Table set up outside the market with ChanukahGoodies!

D'var Torah!

Phew it has been a busy month! I began November very busy working on my first D'var Torah in Rabbinical School. I have written several Divrei Torah over the past few years, but this was my first chance to work one on one with Rabbis and Torah Scholars, and it was really fun . Aside from that, I have been working hard in all of my classes, getting all of the end of semester assignments finished and then it's time for finals! I'm also still really enjoying my time studying at the Hartman Institute: we have studied topics such as zohar, and mishnah, and we are now moving onto "israel as a Jewish State: theory and practice" with scholars such as Melila Hellner-Eshed, Micah Goodman, and Ariel Picard. Also, we have been having a great time in our Israel Seminar class! A couple weeks ago, Etgar Keret came and spoke with us! If you don't know who Etgar Keret is, I'd strongly recommend looking him up and reading some of his stories, he has also been featured on This American Life.

In other news, my mom came to visit me! We had a really amazing time together, it was wonderful to share my life here with my mom, and especially since it was her first visit to Israel. I have started to become very comfortable here, and it was really cool to see it through her first time experience. I don't have any pictures, but as soon as my mom send me some I will post a few!

Also, I'm posting a copy of my d'var torah below for those who are interested:
Imagine if the opening of the Amidah, a prayer which we all say at least once a week together in Thursday’s shacharit, included this line: ברוך אתה יי אלהינו ואלהי אבותינו אלהי אברהם אלהי יצחק אלהי יעקב ואלהי עשו...
I know that this seems at first to be a rather strange idea but a careful reading of parasha Toldot might very well lead us to conclude that Esau deserves to be included in the category of the patriarchs. However, the Rabbis have painted a very different picture of Esau after Biblical times. Richard Elliott Friedman, a contemporary Torah Scholar who published a new commentary on the Torah in 2001, makes this argument in his commentary by saying, “numerous attempts have been made to denigrate Esau in midrash and even in current biblical interpretation. It is not justified according to the text. The motive is understandable: Jacob’s behavior in the matters of the birthright and the blessing is an embarrassment. Even small children express surprise at what this patriarch does to his brother, and his father. The Torah itself neither denigrates Esau nor justifies Jacob. On the contrary, one of the great qualities of the Tanach is precisely that none of its heroes is perfect.” What are we to learn from the characterization of Jacob and Esau in the Tanach, and from their Rabbinic interpretation?

The rivalry between Esau and Jacob begins while they are still in Rebecca’s womb; in Genesis 25 we read that “the children struggled in her womb, and she said, ‘if so, why do I exist?”( 25:22). When Rebecca’s twins are born, Esau comes first and is described as “red, like a hairy mantle all over” (25.25). The description of Esau’s appearance at birth has been explained in many ways. Most commentators suggest that his red and hairy appearance foreshadows his angry and resentful condition. His hairy appearance plays a crucial role in the later part of the narrative. As we progress through the story, we learn of Esau’s naïveté as a young man, when he exchanges his birthright for bread and lentil stew from his brother Jacob.
Later in the narrative, Rebecca tells Jacob to trick his father into offering him a blessing, by dressing in his brother’s clothing and pretending to be Esau. All the while Esau is doing as his father has requested to prepare himself to receive the blessing. Jacob takes advantage of his father’s blindness and lies to his face: Isaac asks “are you really my son Esau?” and Jacob answers “I am” (27: 24). When Esau returns to his father to receive the blessing we read: וַיֹּאמֶר עֵשָׂו אֶל-אָבִיו, הַבְרָכָה אַחַת הִוא-לְךָ אָבִי--בָּרְכֵנִי גַם-אָנִי, אָבִי; וַיִּשָּׂא עֵשָׂו קֹלוֹ, וַיֵּבְךְּ. Esau bursts into wild and bitter sobbing, and pleads to his father for a blessing saying, do you only have one blessing father? Bless ME too father. And he lifted up his voice, and he wept. This reaction does not sound to me like a wild and ravenous human being, but rather a man who has been hurt and robbed of something meaningful and special to him. His first reaction is not to scorn his brother, but rather to plead to his father. Isaac answers Esau by saying that “your brother came with deceipt and took away your blessing” (27:35).

A faithful reading of the text so far is of a positive image of Esau, portraying him as a victim of Jacob and Rebecca’s deception. Several parashot down the line in vayishlach, Jacob and Esau meet again after many years of separation. Jacob expects Esau to kill him, and instead, in a move of great growth and maturity, Esau embraces Jacob and kisses him. Esau demonstrates nothing but kindness to Jacob, and yet Jacob deceives Esau once again by lying to him about his next point in his journey. According to the story, Esau had every right to hate his brother, yet he has only love for Jacob after their years of separation. Once again this is a very positive image of Esau, one which we can certainly learn from.

Esau’s story is that of a good and moral man, who in his own life rises to become a great nation. However, after years of rabbinic interpretation, Esau is not remembered in this way. What can we learn from Esau’s life and how he is remembered - and how can we apply this example to our own lives? Esau had control over how he behaved during his life, but he did not have control over how others perceived and interpreted his actions. We face the same challenge in our own lives. No matter how good our actions and intentions, they are not always perceived or remembered in the way in which we would like. No matter how good and moral we are, it is important for us to understand that the way we are seen by others is not entirely in our hands. We can learn from Esau that it is important to be merciful and forgiving, as he is deceived by those closest to him, yet still finds it in his heart to love them. We learn an equally important lesson from Jacob our forefather. On the one hand, Jacob can be remembered as a deceiving trickster, on the other hand we can also remember him as a clever and smart man who did what he thought was necessary to ensure the future of his people. In the story of Jacob and Esau, Esau acts valiantly while surrounded by deception and bad influences, while Jacob uses his intelligence and foresight to make sure that his small tribe will thrive-which is something I think we can all be thankful for!. These two stories both hold powerful meaning for us and for the choices we make – but to take Esau without Jacob, or Jacob without Esau, would be to neglect an important aspect of what this parashah is trying to teach us about our relationships. We have the choice every day about how we can treat others, and how we can react to the way they treat us.

I am not necessarily planning on calling on the Reform Movement to amend its next edition of MIshkan Tefilah to include Esau as one of the patriarchs. However, I think that we must be more sensitive to Esau’s good qualities and attributes, rather than to dismiss him because of what the text doesn’t tell us. The Rabbis have a concept that they describe as judging everybody “לפנים משורת הדין”. I think that concept is wonderfully presented to us in the story of Esau, as well as in our everyday lives. This concept is of judging everybody fairly and as generously as possible. We must judge both Esau and Jacob לפנים משורת הדין. That is to say, we must resist the temptation to label’s Esau’s naïveté and trustworthy-ness as stupidity, and not let the surface impressions and the Rabbinic interpretation detract from our understanding of Esau. It is important also to judge Jacob fairly, and not automatically praise him because of the Rabbinic interpretation.

As we move forward in our own Jewish practice and in our careers, may we remember Esau not only as the negative image that is presented by the Rabbis, but rather as the vulnerable, naïve, young boy who cries and pleads to his father for a blessing that has been taken from him by his brother and mother. And may we be inspired by Esau to have the strength and courage to not let superficial impressions tarnish our ability and desire to truly get to know ourselves and one another.

Pesach in the Former Soviet Union!

I have Exciting News!

I will be travelling with several of my HUC classmates to the Former Soviet Union to lead Passover Seders, song sessions, and everything that it takes to help them celebrate Pesach! This program has proven to be a meaningful experience for HUC Students, and without us, these communities in the FSU would not be able to celebrate Pesach. But we need YOUR HELP! We provide EVERYTHING the communities need for a Pesach Seder, including FOOD, SEDER PLATE, and all the goodies! Please DONATE TODAY! Even a small gift will go far in these communities.
VISIT THE WEBSITE AND DONATE TODAY!
www.pesachproject.com

It's been a while!

As you probably gathered from my last post on my academic schedule, HUC has been keeping us pretty busy here in Jerusalem! I'm going to give some highlights of what we have done in the past few weeks (in no particular order)

-Visit to the Menachem Begin Center. Menachem Begin was elected as the Prime Minister in 1977 and, whether or not Israelis like him, he was a prominent figure in Israeli Politics long before then. For more information on Begin, visit this website: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/begin.html

-Visit to the Numonyx Fabrication Plant in Southern Israel. Numonyx is part of the Intel Campus and they create memory products for electronic devices such as cell phones. It was realy cool being on the Intel Campus- we all commented on how it really felt like being in America! For more information on what numonyx does, visit their website! http://www.numonyx.com/en-US/Pages/default.aspx

-Visit to the 2nd Temple Period Jerusalem model at the Israel Museum. This was super cool! It's a to scale model of the entire Old City of Jerusalem as it stood in the 2nd temple period. Here's a picture:

-Kabbalat Shabbat Service led by two of my classmates. We have a morning shacharit service every Thurdsay which is led by students. I always enjoy when our class gets together for these services, and it was especially nice to have a Kabbalat Shabbat service together! We also had a really tasty potluck dinner afterwards- lots of recipe swapping!

Ok those are just a few of the things I can remember from the top of my head. Other than that, I am loving my classes, and also my time at the Hartman Institute. I am sure I will have a lot more to write next week after my Mom's visit!

Classes

Classes have been in Session for a while now so I think it's time to tell you all about what I'm learning!

Hebrew
Ok there's not much I can say about Hebrew. We have Hebrew 4 days a week for 1.5 hours (3 hours on Tuesdays, how lucky). It's a lot of verb drills, newspaper reading, vocabulary learning, and talking. I have to say that my favorite day of the week is news day because we read real Israeli newspapers and listen to the real news- we have a lot of help from our teacher, but it's fun to be reading what the Israelis read!

Classical Grammar
I love our teacher, but this is a reinforcement of what I learned in Dave McCreery's class (Hi Dave!) in college. It's nice to have a class where I feel confident and on top of everything.

Tanach (Bible)
Basically my favorite thing to do, 4.5 hours a week. We go through the text in Hebrew, translate, and discuss the nuances in Hebrew and in the larger Biblical context. It's a blast.

Ancient History- 2nd Temple Period
A continuation of the 1st Temple Period archaeology class we had over the summer. Basically a lecture class, the title speaks for itself.

Liturgy
Taught by a Rabbi who works with the Shalom Hartman Institute and who comes with rave reviews. It's a fun class where we go through the Israeli Prayerbook "Rinat Yisrael" and translate and discuss the prayer service. One of the goals of the course is that we will be able to pick up any prayerbook and feel comfortable with it. I am definitely looking forward to learning the ins and outs of the siddur.

Modern Zionist History
With the lovely Paul Liptz whom I met when he was in Portland last year lecturing for the Federation's Community Relation's Council. This class is fascinationg, especially since before this year I have learned basically nothing about modern Israel Zionist History.

Israel Seminar
In this class, we learn about Modern Israeli History and Society by taking Tiyyuliim (field trips) around Israel. A very fun way to learn about Israel outside of the classroom, but still with the direction of Dave Mendelsson.

In addition to 7 classes at HUC, I am also taking voice lessons with the lovely Sonia Nizny (a Significant Other of a Cantorial Student). It has been a nice creative outlet for the stress of living in Israel and studying almost nonstop.

I'm also starting a Rabbinic Students Seminar with the Shalom Hartman Institute! I haven't started yet, but here is the basic concept. Rabbinic students from different movements get together to study texts such as the Zohar and also to discuss various topics such as "the soul of the sinner: from chet to geulah". Needless to say it should be a fascinating and challenging opportunity. It's also led by Rabbi Bill Berk, formerly of Temple Chai in Phoenix, Arizona!

I'm also busy writing my first HUC D'var Torah on parsaha Toldot- if you'd like to give me any insights, they are all welcome!

So if you all are wondering why I don't write as often, this post should give you a better idea of what is keeping me busy over here.

I hope everyone Stateside is doing well!

Aharei HaHagim

Israelis have a saying אחרי החגים that means "after the holidays" and I never quite understood it until living in Israel for the holidays. Basically everything stops during the months of September and the beginning of October, and as soon as Simchat Torah is over in October, everything picks back up again in full force. It is quite a strange phenomena and while it was nice to have experienced it, I am glad that everything is up and running again! This also means that I have not blogged in ages, but hopefully I will be able to get back into the swing of things again.

My High Holy Day experience was incredible, I have written A LOT about it, but it was much too wordy to post on a blog, if you are interested in reading let me know and I can send it to you!
We had a 10 day break during Sukkot and my boyfriend Jason came all the way from Portland to visit! It was a wonderful and relaxing vacation, and I'm posting some pictures below.







My first meal in a Sukkah! Nearly every restaurant in Jerusalem turned its patio, or the walkway in front of the restaurant, into a sukkah! This is Jason and I eating at an asian restaurant











We went up to Haifa for a couple of days and had a wonderful trip! This is Jason and I on the Mediterranean right before sunset.

I posted pictures from the Baha'i Gardens in my post about my first trip to Haifa, so here's a non-scenic picture of Jason and I at the Gardens!

(ps, contrary to what you may think, the Trailblazers did not actually pay Jason to wear their shirts every day in Israel...)

We went to the Kotel!

School has been back in session for a couple of weeks now, and boy is it busy! I am taking 8 courses plus a program at the Hartman Institute where I get together with Rabbinic Students from the other movements to study Texts every week. Look for more posts about my classes!

It's beginning to look at lot like Rosh Hashanah

Shana Tova!

Well the time has finally arrived to put on our fanciest clothes (which in Israel means clean crocs and a fancy top), bake our favorite sweet apple recipes, break out the nice china, and spend 2 full days in Synagogue. That's right, it's Rosh Hashanah!

If you think preparing for the Hagim (Holy Days) in America is cool, try doing it in Jerusalem! Think of it in terms of Christmas in the wintery states in America. About 2 months before the holiday the santas and decorations start appearing, people start saying merry christmas in their cheeriest voices, the music appears on the radio, and then boom. It's Christmas. I wrote a post at the beginning of the month of Elul and said that Rosh Chodesh Elul (the first day of Elul) begins the month long preparations for the High Holy Days. We heard the Shofar blown every morning, we went to Selichot services, and people started wishing each other a Shana Tova (a good year) on the streets. In certain places in America, we are lucky if someone on the streets even knows what Rosh Hashanah is. In Jerusalem, it's a standard greeting at grocery stores, the gas station, even to a stranger on the bus. It is hard to ignore the Rosh Hashanah spirit!

This year, Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat which makes it extra fun becase we get to add in some of the special Shabbat prayers, but also less fun because we do not hear the Shofar on the first day because it is against Jewish Law to sound the shofar (a musical instrument) on Shabbat. I took a little walk up my street Emek Refaim to see what kind of last minute preparations were going on. The grocery stores were all busting with people who had forgotten a jar of honey, or a bottle of wine, or whatever they were cooking for this festive meal. outside the stores are tables set up by people selling gift baskets filled with apples, honey, wine, and other sweet things- all of the baskets adored with labels wishing people a "shana tova" or "chag sameach". All of the boutique Judaica stores had tables outside selling pomegranante candlesticks and honey jars. Even in our own building I can smell the various meals being prepared- briscuit, kugel, cholent, baked apples and honey.

Jerusalem during Rosh Hashanah is a wonderful place to experience. I'm sure I will have plenty more to say after 2 days of services and quiet streets. But for now, I am wishing you all a happy, healthy, and sweet New Year!

A Sign outside a popular restaurant called "Little Italy"

a box of chocolates with a "Shana Tova" greeting on the box!

A Sign in the window of a clothing store that says "Chag Sameach" meaning Happy Holy Day

a poster on the side of a building that says "shana tova"

In my family we always joke that while we are eating one meal, we are already planning the next. Well in Israel, the same goes for Holy Days. Before Celebrating Rosh Hashanah, people are already looking towards Sukkot. This sign just cracked me up.

Milah Monday

Word #1
ספרים
Meaning: Books
Pronounced: se-far-im
Sentence: On my first days of class this week, I bought a lot of new ספרים.

Word #2
שיעורים
Meaning: Lessons
Pronounced: she-oor-im
Sentence: Every day we have a lot of different שיעורים on subjects like Hebrew, Tanach, Liturgy, and more!

Word #3
שיעורי בית
Meaning: Homework- Literally "lessons at home"
Pronounced: she-oor-ey Ba-yit
Sentence: Taking 8 classes each semester means I have a lot of שיעורי בית every night.

3 days in the Golan and Galilee

This week all of the first year students went on a Tiyyul to Northern Israel. The theme of our week was "In Search of the New Jew" and we spoke a lot about the 3 big waves of immigration to Israel beginning before the State was established.

The first stop on our Journey was a city called Zichron Yaakov which was one of the first settlement cities in Israel during the First Aliyah in 1881 (for more info on the First Aliyah- here's the wiki site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Aliyah). We spoke about their difficulties in turning that region of Israel from a swamp land into a viable and thriving place for people to live. For more information about Zichron Yaakov, visit this website: http://www.gemsinisrael.com/e_article000004384.htm. It is now a very quaint city with shops and restaurants, I would definitely recommend that if you are in Israel to visit Zichron Yaakov!

We left Zichron Yaakov for the springs in Sachne. While most of Israel is dessert, the Galilee and Golan areas have much more running water and springs. Sachne is a beautiful site with cold water springs and waterfalls. We spent a lovely afternoon swimming in the springs and enjoying the cool weather and water!

In the evening we met with our Modern Israeli History teachers Paul and Jeremy. Jeremy showed us clips of movies about several different periods in Israel History during the major immigration periods. These discussions were very interesting to me and I am looking forward to learning more about Modern Israel history during this year. Israel is a very old place, and at the same time it is a very new place. The ways in which it is ancient are mostly obvious. However, it can be difficult to see Israel as a new country, especially when we spend so much time in Jerusalem which hasn't changed all that much in a while. During our sessions on this Tiyyul, we spoke about the "New Jew" and the Aliyot (immigrations) to Israel which happened BEFORE it became a state in 1948. Before these immigrations Israel was barren and swampy, and the first settlers worked the lands to make it liveable and beautiful as it is today. This Tiyyul helped me to understand the work that went into creating the Modern State of Israel, which helps to explain the pride that Israelis feel for the land itself.

In the morning on Day 2 we travelled to Tel Hai, which was another early settlement town. Tel Hai is in the Upper Galilee in an area disputed between Israel and Syria. There is a very interesting story about a battle that took place at Tel Hai which left 8 Settlers Dead including the famous Soldier Joseph Trumpledore. For more information, here's the wiki site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Hai. At the end of the battle, the Settlement was burned to the ground, but archaeologists have reconstructed it as a National Monument to the first Settlers of Modern Israel. Below is a picture inside the Settlement.

After Tel Hai we visited the city of Metullah, which is the northernmost city in Israel at the border between Israel and Lebanon. At this stop we spoke about the security issues in Northern Israel and the Golan Heights. Today, these borders are relatively quiet, and I was surprised to see that at this point in the border in Lebanon there is not even a fence or border crossing. However, there is not a peace agreement between the two countries and nobody is allowed to cross these borders. The picture below is taken from Metullah, and it is looking into Lebanon. Looks like a fun place to visit, I hear the food is fantastic! I hope that one day soon a peace agreement will allow people to travel between these two great countries.

We departed Metullah for the Golan Heights and the Israel-Syria border. While only a 15 minute drive, the landscape of the Upper Galilee and The Golan Heights could not be more different. The Golan Heights are beautiful and almost Pacific Northwest-esque with thick green trees and a lot of wind. So much media attention is given to the conflict in the West Bank and Gaza, that it is sometimes easy to forget that the Golan Heights has also been a heavily disputed area. The borders were redrawn in 1973 after the war, and while the border is quiet today, there are many remnants of war in this area. We sat in an old Syrian Army Bunker and heard the story of Eli Cohen, an Israeli spy who helped Israel during the war by reporting on the location of Syrian troops in The Golan. Our teacher, Paul Liptz, told us stories about his army service in the Golan and Upper Galilee during the War. He told us one story about a mine field he encountered: a cow walking a few meters in front of him stepped on a mine which exploded at which point Paul and his fellow soldiers realized they were standing in a live mine field and they had to walk very carefully to safety, not knowing which step may be their last. These mine fields still decorate the Syria/Israel Border in the Golan Heights, although they are well marked today.

A tank left over from the war. Now it is a chilling reminder of the war and the conflict that still exists.

A sign blocking off a mine field- we saw a lot of these signs and barbed wire fences blocking off the fields.

On day 3 we visited Tel Dan, one of the most archaeological sites in Israel. We had the distinct pleasure of spending the day at Tel Dan with David Ilan, our professor and one of the archaeologists who conducts excavations at the site that has been excavated by HUC for a long time. Tel Dan was a very interesting site to visit because it shows an entire city including a Temple for worship and sacrifices. Most recently at Tel Dan, they have uncovered a gate dating to the Bronze Age that they are calling "Abraham's Gate" because it is mentioned during Abraham's travels in the Torah. Below is a picture of the gate. Archaeologists are still deciding the vailidity of whether or not Abraham stood here, but it is pretty cool to think that I could have stood at that same place where Abraham stood!

After visiting the archaeological site at Tel Dan, we walked through what has been made into a nature reserve. It is a beautiful and lush area with running spring water! For about 15 minutes, I felt as though I was back in the Pacific Northwest in Marshal Park!

Milah Monday!

This week's words are related to the recent change in temperature in Jerusalem!

Word #1
מזג אוויר
Pronounced: Mezeg Avir
Sentence: This week, there has been a change in the מזג אוויר in Jerusalem.

Word #2
חם
Pronounced: Cham
Sentenced: Usually, it is very חם in Jerusalem.

Word #3
סתיו
Pronounced: stahm
Sentenced: The מזג אוויר in Jerusalem this week changed from חם to פחות חם (less hot), I hope it's a sign that סתיו is here.

Haifa

This past week we have been on vacation between Summer Hebrew Ulpan and the Fall academic semester, and it couldn't have come at a better time! I already wrote a bit about our camping trip in the Jerusalem foothills, which was a great way to start my vacation. On Sunday, some friends and I decided to go to Haifa (a city about 2 hours north of Jerusalem and on the coast) for the night. Haifa is known for being a very secular city, meaning not very many kosher restaurants, etc. Basically Haifa is the opposite of Jerusalem, and it was the perfect place to go on vacation.

Usually when travelling between cities in Israel we take either a sheirut (10 person taxi) or the bus. The bus is the cheapest way to travel but the central bus station is a balagan (chaotic mess)and can be very difficult to navigate. Plus, you have to deal with the scary driving on Israel highways. For this trip, we traveled by train, and it was a great experience! this was my first time on a train besides the mini-trains at the railroad park by my parents' house. There are trains between jerusalem/tel aviv/haifa every half hour or so. The train station is very easy to navigate and the trains themselves are much nicer- there is air conditioning, comfortable seats, a bathroom, and you can get up and walk around. It took about an hour longer to get to Haifa, but we put Planet Earth on our laptop and had a blast!

We arrived in Haifa in the afternoon and headed straight to the beach. All due respect to the beautiful Oregon Coast, the Haifa beach is amazing. The weather was perfect, not too hot or humid, and the water was beautiful. I channeled my father for a couple of hours letting the waves bang against me and push me around the water, soaking up the warm saltwater and sand. We had dinner at a restaurant right on the beach, and I was able to snap a few pictures of the beautiful sunset.

After dinner, we made our way to the top of Haifa where we heard there is an incredible view of the city and the bay. It turns out, they are right about the view. It was so beautiful! People there say that the view of Haifa at night rivals the view of San Francisco at night, and I can see where they get that idea from. From Haifa you can see into Northern Israel cities as well as the bay on the Mediterranean sea, definitely a sight to behold.

The next day we made plans to see the Baha'i Gardens. I'm not an expert on the Baha'i Gardens, so if you'd like to learn more about their history, go to this website: http://www.ganbahai.org.il/en/. and I strongly suggest that you do read up on the Gardens, it is fascinating! It is very interesting for me that the strongest religious presence as far as land/property in Haifa, is not Jewish, but Baha'i. The Gardens start at the top of Haifa, and there are 17 (I think, it could actually be 19) beautiful terraces going down the hill. From the top of the Gardens, you can see most of the city and the coast. Here are some pictures!

After the Baha'i Gardens we were supposed to get back on the Train and head home, but we were having such a good time that we decided to stay another night in Haifa! We mostly relaxed the rest of the day at the hotel and the beach! It was a fantastic vacation!

Hiking and Camping in the Jerusalem Foothills

**Still having formatting issues. Sorry again!

This past Shabbat, I joined a group of HUC students and former HUC professor to hike and camp in the Jerusalem foothills. We spent Friday afternoon on a couple of different hikes, camped out friday night, and hiked most of the day on Saturday. it was a fabulous weekend and a great way to see more of Israel!

The view from the beginning of our first hike!






















Our group uncovering hidden mosaics in a Crusader Temple. Ok, so the mosaics had already been discovered, but in order to protect them archaeologists cover them with sand.














Our campsite!
























There was a gorgeous sunset. multiply the beauty in this picture by about a million!

Inside an ancient cave used to house pigeons!

Another Beautiful View in Israel

Milah Monday!

Special Milah Monday Vacation Edition!

First word is a picture:

Pronounced: Mah-loan

Meaning: Hotel

Sentence: This is a picture of the sign outside our מלון in Haifa!

Word # 2

רכבל

Pronounced: rah-che-val

Meaning: one of those cable cars that goes up in the sky

Sentence: When in Haifa, we went on a רכבל to see the beautiful city from the sky.

Biblical Archaeology Tiyyul #2

***DISCLAIMER. I cannot figure out why the spacing on my posts with pictures keeps getting messed up, so I apologize for that. If anyone is a blogger expert and knows how to fix this, let me know!

Last week my Biblical Archaeology class went on another Tiyyul to Megiddo and Ceasaria.



Unfortunately, in pictures Megiddo just looks like a pile of rocks so it was hard to capture how cool it really was. So here is a picture of me at Megiddo.




This picture is for everyone who made a donation to the Jewish National Fund for my bat mitzvah. Those trees were planted by the JNF!

Caesaria goes down as one of the most beautiful places I have seen. The water was so blue!

This one is for my mom! a heart Mosaic floor in Caesaria.

A view from inside the city of Caesaria. Not too shabby.

Elul has arrived

The month of Elul is the month that precedes the High Holy Days. In the Sephardic Tradition, a daily prayer service is held before sunrise during Elul called Selichot. In the Ashkenazic Tradition, selichot is held on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. Basically speaking, Selichot and Elul get us ready for the High Holy Days by getting us in the right mindset to seriously evaluate our year and our relationship with others and with Gd.



In America, Elul seems to be more like a week than a month. However, in Jerusalem, it is difficult not to feel the spirit of Elul every day. At HUC, Rabbi David Wilfond has been blowing shofar every day for students along with several HUC Rabbinical Students who are taking part in this wonderful tradition. The first time I heard the shofar blown this year was a powerful experience, and there is something very meaningful about hearing it every morning.



This morning, we had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Sephardic Selichot service. Now remember how I said that it must take place before sunrise? I may be a morning person, but I think waking at 4am for a 5:30 service was a bit too early. However, I am grateful to have had the experience to Daven in a Sephardic Synagogue for the first time! When we left home to head to synagogue, we heard various communities around us praying and blowing the shofar, it was a pretty cool experience.

All feminist issues aside (davening at an orthodox synagogue is a difficult experience for me, more on that later) it was a great experience.

Shanah Tovah!

Milah Monday

Due to technical difficulties with my blog, posts are a couple days behind. Also, I am foregoing Temunah Tuesday this week because all I've done is sit in class and study. But next week is vacation so there are sure to be some great pictures!

And now to Milah Monday!

Word/Phrase #1
צריך שניים לטנגו
Pronounced: Tza-rikh she-neye-yim le-tango
Meaning: It takes two to tango!
Sentence: Ok well it is already a sentence. And I think it's pretty awesome that the phrase has been translated into hebrew.

Word #2
מזגן
Pronounced: Mahz-gahn
Meaning: Air Conditioning
Sentence: This has been a very hot week in Israel. I am grateful that my apartment has מזגן.

Biblical Archaeology Tiyyul

This week in our Biblical Archaeology class we went on Tiyyul to two archaeological sites: Tel Tzafit and Tel Lachish.

The first stop was Tel Tsafit, which has been identified as the ancient city of Gat. This was a really cool site, it's one of the five Phillistine cities in Israel. The rest of which are much closer to the coast. In Modern times, the city was inhabited by a Palestinian village prior to 1948. When they left, their stone houses were still intact. A wonderful example of how history quite literally builds upon itself.

In 2005, archaeologists discovered a shard with writing on it with letters similar to those that make up "goliath". While this does not absolutely prove the existence of Goliath, archaeolgists hypothesize that Goliath lived in Gat.

This picture is a view of Gat from the top of Tel Tzafit. For more information, check out Tel Tzafit's wiki site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gath_(city)


This is Tel Lachish which was most recently excavated only a few weeks ago. It doesn't look like much from this shot, but that hill is several layers of important history! pretty cool for a nerd like me.

This is the entrance gate to the city of Lachish. I have to admit, a lot of times when we visit these sites, it all looks like just a pile of rocks to me. Tel Lachish was the first place it "clicked" for me. With just a little bit of imagination, I felt like I was standing in this ancient city. I walked up the pathway that its citizens walked on, I stood in the houses that they lived in, I hiked the summit to their meeting places.

In the distance in this picture is one of the lookout towers at Lachish. in the foreground is 1 of three guard posts right inside the gates. (don't quote me on that...it was a long day in the sun, but I'm pretty sure that's what they were). An interesting fact about the Lachish excavation: the archaeologist only excavated half of these guard posts- he left the rest for future generations of archaeologists who will undoubtedly have better tools and testing techniques. How cool is that!

Milah Monday

Word #1
חניון
Meaning: Parking Lot
Pronunciation: cha-ni-yon
Sentence: This past Shabbat, the Haredim staged a very loud and angry protest against a חניוןopened on Shabbat so that people can visit the Old City.
**note- I looked it up, there are no rules against protesting on Shabbat. apparently protests do not count as work.

Word #2
חבילה
Plural: חבילות (pronounced cha-vi-lot)
Meaning: Package
Pronunciation: cha-vi-lah
Sentence: I love getting חבילות! The last couple of weeks I have gotten חבילות from my friends and family for my birthday, and it is so wonderful receiving mail from back home.

Word #3
גלויה
Plural: גלויות (pronounced glu-yot)
Meaning: Postcard
Pronunciation: glu-yah
Sentence: Last Shabbat, I wrote about a billion גלויות and sent them to family and friends back home. If I do not have your address, send it to me and I will make sure to send you a גלויה.

City of David

Last week, my Biblical Archaeology class went on a tiyyul (basically a fieldtrip) to the ancient city of David. One of my favorite things about living in Jerusalem is that an ancient location like this is only about a 5 minute walk from where I go to school. We walked through Gehennah, which has a lot of folklore attached to it from Biblical times- namely where the Pagans would do child sacrifices. most recently it was a slum until the City of Jerusalem turned it into a park. We then walked the ramparts of Jerusalem, on the walls of the old city of Jerusalem, on the same stones that have been walked on for many many years by our ancestors. The City of David was excavated (and is still being excavated) by a woman who believes she has uncovered David's Palace. Where, according to tradition, he looked down into the valley and saw Bat Sheba bathing on her roof. Whether or not this story historically took place, it was pretty amazing to be standing on or near that place.

In the City of David, as in most of Jerusalem and Israel, the modern city has been built over the ancient ruins. In this picture, towards the bottom is the City of David, but all you can see are the modern houses built right on top of the ancient city. This is actually how most ruins in Israel are found: someone wants to develop the land, and when their bulldozer hits a Tell (a site where several ancient civilization ruins are found right on top of each other, it looks like a hill) and according to Israeli law- all archaeological sites must be excavated and the findings must be given to the antiquities department. But people waste no time building over sites. Also in this picture, if you look very closely up near the top of the hill, you can see the United Nations Middle East Headquarters!

I have often mentioned in this blog that I do not like to take pictures of some sites because it is so difficult to accurately portray its beauty. And this picture is a great example of that. It is an example of either a terraced wall from the Late Bronze Age or a stepped-stone wall from the Early Iron Age (4 hours of lecture is a lot..I have a hard time remembering it all). Basically it is a fortified wall at the edge of what was supposedly the Palace, in order to keep the right people in, and the wrong people out. And yes, I know it just looks like a pile of rocks, but it used to be a thriving city I promise. OR some really strong people decided to play tricks on us and put all these rocks together and pretend it was important. the Jury is still out.

This picture is actually pretty cool. At first glance it looks like another pile of rocks. However, if you look closely, you can see a horizontal line in the rocks that stands out from the rest between what look like cement square structures. This is the destruction layer from when the Second Temple was destroyed. It is so amazing for me to see things like this. An entire section of History so important to the Jewish People, in a meter tall pile of rocks. This picture is also an excellent demonstration of the juxtaposition of Old Jerusalem with Modern Jerusalem. The ancient City of David on the bottom, including what may be the ruins of the Palace of David Himself, and a house built right on top of it. I also have the utmost respect for archaeologists who can look at these piles of rocks, and put the pieces together that teach us so much about our History.

A big issue back in David's day was water. Particularly in Jerusalem, where there really is very little water. Even today, most of the water for Jerusalem comes all the way from the Kinneret in Northern Israel. Back in the day, they dug an impressive well to gather water from below. The Gihon Spring was the major source of water for the City of David. However, the spring was in teh Gihon Valley which technically was outside the city walls. Let me remind you that Jerusalem is VERY Hilly. Imagine for a second carrying several buckets full of water at a 100% incline in the 120 degree (farenheit) temperature, many times a day. The ancient Israelites were not stupid, they put in place several ways to solve this problem. Including the Siloam Channel, many reservoirs including the Siloam Pool which is still in the Gihon Valley (not used for that purpose anymore), and most importantly Hezekiah's Tunnel. On our Tiyyul, we descended into Warren's Shaft which was dug to allow residents of the City of David to access the water during war times when they could not go outside city walls. I do not have any pictures of the shaft or tunnel, because I spent the entire time trying not to have a claustrophobia attack! The tunnel was small enough that every extremity was touching rock even when I held them close to my body. Our group opted out of the Hezekiah Tunnel tour, because water still flows through the tunnel and is thigh-deep. But if you are ever in Jerusalem, that tour comes highly recommended. I've included a picture from the website of Warren's Shaft. Also, if you are interested in learning more about the City of David, visit this website: http://cityofdavid.org.il/about_eng.asp

Temunah Tuesday!

Temunah Tuesday is on Wednesday again this week- my apologies. Rabbinical School is busy!

this is a sign at a construction site that says "thank you for your patience" (See milah monday for the word for patience). If any of you have spent time in Israel or with Israelis, you will understand why I think this is so hilarious. Israelis are notoriously patience-less.

A Great Miracle Happened Here!

Ok, maybe it's not a miracle, but still very exciting to see. Compostable tableware at a restaurant!

Some friends and I ate lunch at a new sandwich shop on King David Street called Ariela- if you are in the area, stop by. It's a cute little outdoor restaurant run by a family. And when I say run by a family, I mean the 8 year old son took our order. Yay Israel. The food was fabulous, and everything was compostable. for a few minutes, I actually felt like I was in Portland again.

Ok that's it for Temunah Tuesday this week. But I am going to post another entry today on our City of David trip which will also have lots of pictures!

Milah Monday!

Happy Monday!

Word of the Day #1

שפעת חזירים
Meaning: Swine Flu (literally "Pigs Flu")
Pronounced: Sha-fa-at cha-zir-im (at least I think that's how it's pronounced, I've only seen it in writing in the newspapers here, never actually heard it said on the streets.)
Sentence: As of this week, 5 Israelis have died as a result of שפעת חזירים.
Interesting Fact: Pig is not Kosher and is not readily available in Jerusalem. Ok that's not the interesting fact. But here it is- The Israeli government wanted to rename the swine flu שפעת מקסיקנית , or The Mexican Flu. However, due to protests from the Mexican government, the name has stayed the same.

Word of the Day #2
סובלנות
Meaning: Tolerance
Pronounced: sov-la-noot
**not to be confused with last week's word סבלנות which means patience. Yes, this is why I spent 5 hours a day in Hebrew class, to be frustrated by the very subtle nuances of the Hebrew language.
I have posted this word in honor of a recent incident that ocurred in Tel Aviv two weeks ago. A Saturday night, a gunman entered a center for Gay teens and opened fire, killing 2 and injuring many more. It was a very very tragic attack, and the gunman is still at large. The Center in Tel Aviv was a safe haven for gay teens in Israel, and it is heartwrenching to think that such a tragic event took place there. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the survivors and their families, as well as the GLBTS community of Israel.

Temunah Tuesday

Retail Therapy Edition!

My new violin! I walked into the store (the equivalent of Milano's Music in America) and said 'give me the best violin you have'. The man handed this to me, and said that will be 800 shekels. which is 200 dollars about. I feel like I am in elementary school again, but it feels great to play again! I haven't thought of a name for this one yet....but I'm open to suggestions.

My new Water Bladder and Hiking Pack! It is a 3 liter bladder with a drinking hose, and the pack holds a ton, but it's still slim and light. We are starting a hiking group, and I cannot wait to break in my new pack!

A birthday present from my sister. It says "I carried a watermelon" and if you cannot tell me what movie that quote is from, we need to seriously reevaluate our friendship.

And Sof Sof (finally)! I have officially been placed at the HUC-JIR Stateside Campus in Los Angeles, California! Once back in the states, I will be spending 4 years studying in beautiful and sunny LA!