In Joshua's Shoes: Then The Army Stopped Us

A few weeks ago I joined a group of volunteers from Rabbis for Human Rights to help farmers in the Occupied Territories harvest olives. My experience was posted on TCJewfolk.com or follow the direct link at Then The Army Stopped Us.

I have many other posts at their website. You can find everything in my archive page.

Shameless Plug for Apple pt.1

This is part 1 because I'm sure I will be a shameless shill for more Apple products in the future. But I love their products and I decided I wanted to write about it.

Now that we have the ground rules covered let me tell you about the best iPhone/iTouch app I've purchased. I don't remember exactly what it cost to buy. I can guarantee it cost less than $5.00. The amount of money I have spent on flash cards and note cards in the last 4 years I have been studying Hebrew, I have spent a good deal more than $5.

This application lets you make sets of flash cards with up to three sides. There is a way to use pictures and even sounds for study aides, but I have not tried that yet. There are settings to run the cards ordered or random, and there is even a function that allows you to tell it if you got the word/question correct or not. If you were wrong, it is possible to have it repeat until you get them all. Then, you can pick the other side to start from.

Honestly, this is one of the best purchases I've made on my iPod since I bought it almost two years ago. I need to give a huge shout out to Sharon for telling me about this program. It's a great study tool. And unfortunately (לרוע המזל as I have learned while practicing words for my next exam), since I have my iPod with me at almost all times I can run words whenever I'm waiting for someone or something. Talk about productivity?!?!?

Not only can you create your flash cards on your iPod or iPhone itself, but you can also create them on your computer and upload them to the server. Then you can put them on your phone or iPod. You can also share the deck name or deck code with other people who have the app and they can use the cards you've made!

The app is called Flashcards Deluxe. To me it was worth the less than $5 I spent on it. If you're going to download it make sure you have the right app by looking at the icon you can find at this website, http://www.orangeorapple.com/Flashcards/Default.aspx

Occupy My Mind

A large chunk of my family started doing one of those, "15 random songs from your iTunes library" notes on Facebook. Since I'm looking for a way to occupy my mind for a little bit, I decided to do one on here.

The first 15 songs, on random, that came up on my iTunes are;

Artist, Song Title, Album Title

blink-182, Apple Shampoo, Dude Ranch

The Beatles, For No One, Revolver

The Offspring, Gotta Get Away, Smash

Led Zeppelin, The Lemon Song, Led Zeppelin II

Spacehog, I Want To Live, The Hogyssey

Godsmack, Voodoo, Godsmack

The Arctic Monkeys, Brainstorm, Favorite Worst Nightmare

weezer, Dope Nose, maladroit

Synergia, Lekchbek Otakch, Tzoakim Al Ahavah

Dispatch, Prince of Spades, Who Are We Living For?

The Beach Boys, I Get Around, All Summer Long

Sublime, Caress Me Down, Sublime

Third Eye Blind, How's It Going To Be, A Collection

Fuel, Empty Spaces, Something Like Human

Flogging Molly, The Ol' Beggars Bush, Swagger

I'm not sure what the point of this is, but I found some songs I hadn't listened to in a long time...

Just Too Far Away

Although Jerusalem is great, and school is fantastic (even though I'm working on the last of the midterms due later this week). There are some things that are just impossible to deal with being so far away. I know that things happen and there is nothing that I can do about it. Even if I was back in Minneapolis, there is little I would be able to do help. Yet I keep thinking about the fact that if I were home, at least I would be home. If I were in the States, at least I would be closer to home and that would be comforting.

Then there is the side of me that looks for the message in every situation. Maybe I am supposed to learn something from the difficulties that are going on back home. I've always had this mentality that I can help resolve almost any situation. Don't take it literally, but if you've seen Pulp Fiction, I've always wanted to be that guy you can call when you need help with something and I would have the answer. Or for those Lord of the Rings nerds, I have this picture in my head that I will be like Gandalf and know exactly the right thing to do in every situation. I'm learning that I can't fix everything. In fact, there are situations in life you have absolutely no control over.

Let me say that again, there are things that you have absolutely NO control over.

I did receive a little inspiration from back home, a little Bob Marley sung in by my adorable little cousins. Yep, it's helping me too.

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun.
Three little birds,
Pitch by my doorstep,
Singin' sweet songs,
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou"

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Ride for Reform

Earlier this week I went to the first meeting for the Ride for Reform, the bike ride I am doing next spring. I'm really excited to be getting started on this. Then reality started to set it, I only have a few months to get ready for the ride.

They have posted the route on their website, and it doesn't look that intense, but I've never rode this far on back to back days before. But other than that, I think I can get my legs into shape to take care of that. Tomorrow I'm planing on joining Dan and Leah, and maybe others, on the road to take a little ride to the Jerusalem Forrest.

The route this year starts in Modiin, if you're familiar with the Channukah Story, it is said to have taken place here. By the end of five days we will be finishing at Masada and the Dead Sea. So I guess I have a way to get down there this year, it's just going to be on a bike and not a bus!

I am worried about one thing though, fundraising. I've never done fundraising for myself before. We're kicking it all off by having a bake sale on Sunday to see what we can start raising together. Adding in to my wariness is that I need to do this all from Israel with little "actual" contact with people in the states. I know this is the digital age, but I would feel more comfortable doing this face to face. ?מה לעשות (Mah La'asot). What to do?

If you are a facebook user, I have created a community page. Please follow along there as I post about my progress. I will probably be putting more on that page than on here.

But what organization is this fundraising going towards? The Ride4Reform collects donations that benefit the IMPJ (Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism). Reform Judaism in Israel is very different from back in the USA. The communities are smaller and there are not a ton of them. Part of the issue is that they are at a disadvantage because so many people in Israel see what many call Orthodoxy as the only way to be observant.

The IMPJ is the Israeli version of the URJ that helps support these communities, helps them with outreach and putting out information about being involved in the Progressive Movement here. They also support youth activities and so much more. This is an incredibly important cause to me, especially in light of some of the issues with the "Rotem Conversion Bill" that was in the forefront this summer. I am really excited to help the IMPJ and to have a lot of fun riding across Israel to do it.

If you're looking for more information about the IMPJ, you can visit the IMPJ website.

There is also plenty of information on the web about the Rotem Bill that still has not been defeated in the K'nesset.

One Long Day

One thing I have found fascinating about Jerusalem is the fact that there are tons or arts activities, often. There is an Arts/Jazz event off Emek Rafayim that happened a few times each week this summer, there was the two week Art Fair and concert series near the Sultan's Pool and tons of others that I've missed.

Last night there was an arts fair on Emek Rafayim. They closed down a few blocks of the street and people set up booths all over the place. Personally, I didn't do any shopping at the booths selling earrings or scarves (surprise surprise). However, I was very much engaged by the various street performances. We stopped to watch some really cool fire dancers and some performance troupes putting on a few shows. We stopped to listen to a band performing, which was completed with a sweet fiddle solo, and paused to watch a "monkey" climbing around a tree.

I wish I had some pictures, but my camera is broken... bummer.

Tuesday was a really long day, and it was good to unwind after that.

In the morning, my Hebrew class took a little trip to one of the old neighborhoods in Jerusalem. It was one of the earliest ones to be built outside the walls of the old city. Today it is just off the edge of Ben Yehudah Street. There were some really cool buildings including the Ticho House, two Synagogues right across the street from each other, the old hospital that became Hadassa before Hadassa was moved across the city, Rav Kook's apartment building and many more awesome places. It was one of the first times I was able to spend time looking at the history of the area instead of running around trying to find a restaurant to meet people.

After the normal Biblical Grammar class we had a large group project. In my History of the Zionist Movement class we have been looking at Russian Zionism around the turn of the 20th Century. We were all assigned different parties to be apart of and prepare a song, posters, a speech and questions to challenge the other parties. Dressed up in costume we conducted a mock Duma. I was very skeptical at the start of the process, but it was really fun by the end.

Almost everyone embraced the project and it was pretty hilarious to hear some of the period-appropriate slurs being shouted at each other during the speeches and the question section. Someone in my group even had the great idea to bribe the party leaders and the other attendees of the Duma. The challenge was getting this all together in less than a week.

Yesterday was a pretty good day!

3 Hours in the Library

Yesterday I spent three hours in the library doing research. Not the same research that I had been doing for five years at the University of Minnesota with my nose deep in history books. Instead, by the end of the first two hours, I had a stack of five different editions of Torah translations, three different commentaries on the Torah portion and I had picked up and put down a handful to a half-dozen other commentaries, Midrash and more that I decided were not useful to my purposes.

What do I have to show for all of this work? More than two pages worth of notes and a bunch of different ideas about what I want to talk about. Now comes the hard part. Reducing all of this material into a 500-word D'var Torah. For those unfamiliar with this term, a D'var Torah is basically a short sermon but focuses more on the portion of the week and some of the commentaries related to it.

Much like making a sauce (something I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to do), you have to reduce and reduce and reduce until you get to the solid result. The advice I was given by my advisor is that this exercise is mostly about the process, and less about the product, although the product is important.

So my task for the next week? Make it relevant, and be ready to edit it.

The bottom line? This is so much fun! I could honestly have spent all day in the library doing this, but there are classes to get to.

Speaking of classes, back to homework.

In Joshua's Shoes: A Refresher

At first I was concerned that something had gone wrong with my post that I sent in to TCJewfolk. Usually they go up on Thursday, and when I checked before I went to bed, it still wasn't up. Since I had other things on my mind, I just went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, I had an email from one of the editors telling me that I had been held over a day and they are going to post it on Friday as a featured post!

The title doesn't give it away, but last week the Israeli Rabbinic Program held their ordination. It was incredible. They was just something amazing about the ceremony, the setting, everything. Please check it out at this link, In Joshua's Shoes: A Refresher. Their website is great and has blogs written by a variety of people around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Feel compelled to browse around TCJewfolk too.

I want to add a little nugget that I didn't mention in the post, there is this communal clapping thing that happens in Israel. It starts out as an "American" applause, sounding spontaneous. A few seconds into it, the clapping settles down into a rhythm and everyone claps on the same beat. It was strange to hear.

In Israel Seminar on Wednesday, someone asked one of our teachers about it. This Israeli phenomenon is a good thing. It is another way the the community shows that they are together. The communal response shows their appreciation. I'm not sure how I feel about it, it still felt strange.

Before I sign off I want to throw in one last shameless plug. One of my great friends from college (kind of an important person in my life) is writing for TCJewfolk too. Check out her author page here, or her blog, Tenaciously Yours.

Okay plugs are over, and so is this week! Shabbat Shalom!

So THIS is Rabbinic School

Last was almost our first normal week in a long time, maybe all year. We still had Sunday off which was great to get some time to have a life outside of school and Holy Days. This was also one of the first times in a while that I have absolutely loved all of the classes and homework assignments.

We are still working through a variety of different sections of Rabbinic Literature. I can't even express how much fun it was for me to be picking apart texts and looking for meaning in the translations I come up with. I have found a great study partner for that class too. We usually get together to just work on translating and trying to come up with a translation and meaning of the text. that way when we get to the larger class (by larger I mean 12 -16 people), we work with other people and the whole class to piece it together with help from our instructor. Great!

Biblical Grammar is actually starting to make sense to me. It's not that I can actually remember how to use correct pronunciation of words while I am reading or speaking, but the concept makes a lot of sense. There are actual reasons for why words are said the way that they are. It is really cool to see how the language opens up when you take it apart from a logical point of attack.

All of the history classes are awesome. We are putting things together. I am starting to see a clear picture. Kind of. One thing that I am starting to understand is that we need to look even more at the various traditions in the area and how it was put together to present a semblance of a whole story. All of the information is wonderful to learn and it is really cool to see some of the stories presented in archeological evidence. Three classes come together for this topic. It is awesome!

The last class that I have been really enjoying is Bible. I should actually call the class Biblical Criticism, but we haven't gotten into the actual nit-picking yet. We are doing a lot of translation and a lot of questioning of other peoples' translations. It has become clear that when you make a translation, you are making an ideological or even theological statement about what the text says. It may be boring to some people, but I find it fascinating.

I Read Torah!

It has been a very long time since I have read from the Torah for a service. I could be wrong, but it may have been since June 13, 1998. Why do I know this exact date? Because that was the date of my Bar Mitzvah. I don't think that I have read since then.

I've been working a little bit on the portion that I read for the last two or three weeks, but I finally put some serious effort in starting last week. All I can say is that it was a lot of fun to work towards that again. There were a few tricky parts that I needed to try to remember, and from what I have heard, I pretty much nailed it this morning. I know there were a few vowels that I pronounced to short, but aside from that, bam!

But I didn't just need to read/chant today. One skill that HUC-JIR wants us to learn how to do is to translate the Hebrew into English. It is really important to be able to read and translate the text since a many Jews in today's world do not understand Biblical Hebrew. This was actually the part of reading today that I was most worried about. There were some words that I needed to translate as a concept that were not the easiest to convey in a few words of English.

I think that went well too. I'm really glad I got one of those taken care of early in the year, we are required to chant twice during the school year, and I can't wait until I get the chance to do it again.

Not too much else has been going on this week. A lot of school and that's about it. Tomorrow is the ordination of the Israeli Rabbinic program. I'm excited to see how that goes. It will be all in Hebrew and I hope I can understand what is happening.

Sometimes I Wish I Had a Tail

I know you Minnesotans reading this will think that I’m making this up, but I never thought I would miss the mosquitoes of the suburbs. Yeah, yeah, I know they’re a pain in summer, but until you are around these flies, oh geeze.

I don’t know what it is about me, but I seem to attract the flies around here. We’ve been taking a bunch of field trips and walks around the area and I can’t seem to escape them. They jump at my legs, they flay in my face. The only thing I can think of is that I want to have a tail.

Not in the Avatar sense, more in the sense that, like a horse, I would love to be able to flick these pesky flies away and not need to stop what I’m doing.

The problem with the flies is that they are faster that mosquitoes and they know you’re trying to swat them. So they take off and come back three seconds later to land on my legs again. And I’m still waiting for the satisfaction of squishing one.

Tiyyul to The Golan and Kineret

For the last three days I was on a little trip up to the north of Israel on a study trip. We focused a lot on what it mean to be a pioneer in the early part of the 1900's and even today when things like the Moshavim and Kibbutzim are struggling. We also learned about the reasons that these parts of the north are so crucial to Israel as a state for their safety. I'm going to write another blog later focusing on some of the politics associated with the trip, Rabin's Yartzeit (the anniversary of his death on the Jewish Calendar) and on the peace process. The focus of this post is more on what we did.

On the first day we actually got to leave Israel and go into Jordan. We were looking at the hydro-electric power plant that was build on the border between the two countries. The plant worked for a while, but in the end it fell apart. Very interesting though to see the different attempts at building the country.

We also checked out a moshav, like a kibbutz but everyone can have their own property, to learn about their history. In Kriat Shmoneh and Tel Hai we looked at some of the hard work that other pioneers had to do to set up their roots in different places on the outskirts of Israel. Interestingly, only about 8% of jobs are located in this periphery of the country.

One of the coolest places we visited was Tel Dan. The beautiful park reminded me of home so much. I really want to go for a hike somewhere with forests here. The was a rushing river and lots of trees. Man I miss Minnesota sometimes. In Tel Dan there is an excavation site where archeologists have found an ancient Israelite Temple. By Israelite I mean the Kingdom of Israel that existed after Solomon's successor caused a massive civil war and split the kingdom into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

In the tel there is evidence of a temple that is a smaller version of the one that is in Jerusalem. It has space for an altar for sacrifices and is set up as a place for the people of Israel (the ones I was talking about earlier) to visit during the year. But the big find there is the arch that was been dated to the time that we think the patriarchs (Abraham and so on) were alive. This would have been the city of Laish and it was really cool to see the restoration of the mud-brick arch.

One of the nights we got to go on a night safari in the Hula Valley. Unfortunately we didn't see to many animals there. There was some kind of a cat that we couldn't identify, crabs, frogs, cranes and something that looked like a muskrat. Wednesday night finished with a bonfire and song session. I hadn't planned on playing anything, but Yoshi had brought the drum along so I volunteered to play with the song leaders. I really need to buy my own here sometime soon.

At one point in the trip we had the option to either go to the Naot shop on a kibbutz up north, or to go to the Golan Heights and look into Syria. I chose the Golan, which was a good idea for me. It was awesome to look towards Syria and Lebanon at the same time from up there. On the way up there were some really statues that were made of shrapnel and scrap metal. There are remnants of when the Bental post was used in military operations, and we got to learn some about the history of the place.

Towards the end of the trip we also got to hear about a really interesting group called Ayilim. They are a group of students at Tel Hai University that live in the community of K'riat Sh'moneh. They try to work to rebuild the community that was really run down and since they are near borders, they have been hit by bombs, especially during the 2006 war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. They are a very interesting group that seems to being doing a lot for the community they are living in, and there are other communities throughout the country.

That's all for now. I will be writing a blog about this trip for TCJewfolk with a different focus. Be sure to check it out there when I get that up and running.

Trumah Project - Parallel Lives

As a part of our Year in Israel Program, we are all asked to take part in something called a Trumah project. Some of them involve volunteering to spend time in other communities, and others involve raising money for other causes. One of the projects that I am taking a part in is called, Parallel Lives.

The gist of the program is that we are spending time with Israeli Soldiers and learning about their lives as young Jews in Israel. We also will get a chance to share with them, what it means to be a Reform Jew from America (although some of our participants are from other countries as well).

A few weeks ago, we had our first meeting and got to know the majority of the Israeli participants. It was a really nice program that we got to talk with them about where we are in life. A common theme that we shared with them was that for the next few years, we don’t have a large amount of choice.

I know I will be in school for the next five years, maybe six, and at the end of that time I will hopefully be setting up what could be the rest of my life. Many of the soldiers shared a similar point of view. We’re all in transition and we hope to know who we are at the end of it.

I am really excited to get to know the soldiers better and think this could be an opportunity to build some good friendships. I’m also excited to work with one of my classmates and some of the soldiers to write a program. It should be a lot of fun!

I did hint that I am working on another trumah project this year. Expect an announcement when I need to actually start the fundraising aspect of it. In the spring I will be riding a large swath of road in Israel as a part of the Ride for Reform. This is the reason why I bought a bike earlier this year (you can read the blog about my Orange Dreamcycle). It will be a lot of fun getting to ride a long ride and this project will raise money that will go to helping progressive movements in Israel.

My Father Was A Wandering Aramean

To anyone who has been at a Passover Seder, this phrase should sound familiar. It is a piece of text that we read every year. The image is supposed to help us think about all of the travels and wanderings that the Torah describes our ancestors taking part in. Sometimes I want to join them.

I grew up camping a decent number of times with my family and as a part of my wonderful teenage rebellion decided that I was too cool to keep doing that. That was not the best decision I’ve made and I’m realizing that I really want to get out into the wilderness a little bit.

I’m writing this while riding the bus towards our tiyyul to the north of Israel. As we are passing through the desert, I’m not sure which one, I can see the hills of Jordan off to one side and all I can think about is how cool it would be to wander off into the hills for a day or two.

I wrote about the little hike I took with some of my friends while we were in Haifa, you can read the story at this link at TCJewfolk. I really want to get out and do another one. During one of our discussions, another one of my classmates this year said that she misses the openness of Canada and how it is so easy to get out and wander in wide-open spaces.

Our group leader told us that there are some really nice places to hike just outside Jerusalem. Another one of my classmates went out to hike for a little while on the National Trail that actually cuts into Jerusalem. I don’t know which way I want to go. Maybe I’ll have the chance to do both. The bottom line is that I really need to get out and wander. Maybe sleep out under the stars, or maybe I just need to walk a few hours out until I decide to turn around and come back. Hey, it could make a really cool experience to write about.

Until then, I will keep looking out into the hills and wait to go for a hike.

JNF Dinner

A few weeks ago we all received an email that there would be a Jewish National Fund President's Mission that wanted some people from HUC to lead a short service and bring some Shabbat Ruach to the beginning of their trip.

After some preparation, last night was the dinner. It was a lot of fun getting ready to play some songs with Susie, one of the cantorial students. We were really excited to show off some of what we can do. When we got there, it was not exactly what I expected to see. The large hall was set up with about 20 seats for the people here on the mission. We started with some blessings and some songs and after dinner we lead Birkat HaMazon and a few short songs. Unfortunately we didn't get to use everything we prepared but the dinner was fantastic.

At the newly renovated 28 King David Reception Hall (they don't have a link I can find yet) we got to join the members of the mission for their 5 Course Gourmet Meal. The meat and chicken were spectacular. There was almost no need to chew the meat course it was so tender and flavorful. The 2nd course of lamb and vegetables in a pastry was so delicious as well. I didn't have a chance to have desert, but Susie was in love with it. This was probably one of the best meals I've had here, but I would expect nothing less.

The conversation was also great! The people around the table were large donors to the JNF and they were here to visit sites that they have helped fund. These people were so passionate about helping establish the legal purchase of the land of Israel. The man I was sitting next to said that the JNF actually has purchased the second largest quantity of land, second only to the State of Israel itself.

I had a lot of fun getting to meet some of these people that were here and I hope they have a great mission checking out all of the great places that Israel has to offer.

There was also something else that I liked about dinner. The group was a diverse cross-section of Jewish practice. Being here at the Reform Seminary there is one consistent message and line of thought that we discuss. Although we sometime like to point out how diverse our program is, there is a larger variety of opinions and beliefs in Judaism. Yes, this applies to the Reform Movement as well. It was very refreshing to talk to people that are not in seminary. Being in our little bubble, it is easy to forget that there are congregants that we will be hoping to lead in a few short years.

All in all, this was a great shabbat dinner and I'm really glad I had the chance to step outside the HUC box I was in the the three days earlier.

Almost Four Years Ago

The last time I was in Israel was almost four years ago on Birthright, Taglit. For those that are unfamiliar, Taglit Trips are organized trips to Israel for young Jews between 18 and 26 who have never been to Israel on an organized program. The tours provide an opportunity to see the country. If you are at all interested in these trips, check out the Birthright Website. I will also take a moment shill for the company I traveled with, Oranim. I had a great trip with them. Check out their site as well.

Why am I bringing this up?
That's a great question. Thank you for asking it.

On our three day Tiyyul to the north of Israel this week, we stopped at the Kinneret Cemetery. This cemetery is the final resting place of many of Israel's Pioneers and important Zionists. This was also a site that we visited when I was here on Taglit. From the edge of the cemetery I took one of my favorite pictures from that trip. And while we were there this last time, I tried as hard as I could to get a similar picture, but this time with lush vegetation growing all over the place and not a cloud in the sky. Check out the pictures here and see how it turned out.


January 2007

October 2010

Where Did My Freetime Go?

I used to be really good about putting up a blog almost daily. But then reality has set in. I’m just not going to have that much time this year. The amount of reading and studying this year is going to require, it is unrealistic that I will be able to spend the requisite amount of time to put up little journals. So what have I been up to the last week or so?

A lot of school. I’m not kidding, it’s been a lot of school work and studying. Yeah, I’ve been getting out a little bit, but not that much. I don’t have many interesting stories to share right now. The biggest news is that I decided to join the YMCA.

In Hebrew, you don’t say each letter in the abbreviation, so I didn’t join a Y.M.C.A., I actually joined the Yimkah. It reminds me a lot of the JCC in Saint Louis Park. Small, some good machines, but not a lot of them. There is a 25-meter pool and a basketball court as well. The best part is that it is on my way home from school. Instead of not exercising at all, I am going to make a concerted effort to get in there and move some weights around. I think it will help blow off some of the stress I’m feeling with all of the coursework.

I’ve also started buying a Newsweek every Friday. I’ve been going to a grocery store near my house every Friday morning. On the way home I pass a newsstand that has a bunch of English papers and magazines. I’ve been feeling really disconnected from world news, so I think this will help me keep tabs on what is going on in the world.

Unfortunately I think some of my favorite podcasts are going to be going on the back burner, maybe permanently. I just don’t have the time to listen to them and there are many more important things I can listen to so I can stay up on the world news. Sorry KFAN. Anybody form Minneapolis know of some good news sources (not the Strib online) that I can read so I can still follow the sports that I love?

It’s still friggin hot!

I was talking to the security guard at school and he said that this weather is abnormal. This week the weather has been back in the low to middle 30’s. My conversion numbers are off, but I think 38 is equivalent to 100? Someone better at math and science care to help me out with this?

I guess normally the weather has started to cool off at this point in the fall, and we have had a few days with some rain. But I didn’t expect to still be sweating through my Under Armor t-shirts in the middle of October.

Sorry about the length of this post, there will also be a few more coming quickly in the next few days. We’ve had a long ride up to the Keneret (Sea of Galilee), so I’ve had the chance to put a lot of words onto “paper”.

Field Trips!

One of the really cool parts about studying in Israel this year is the closeness to history. One of my classes this semester is about Biblical History and the hidden component to this class are the field trips. Since the last time I blogged (I know it's been a while) we have had two siyyurim (field trips). The first one with this class was to visit the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to look at their archeology section of the museum.

The brand new museum was incredible and I can't wait to go back, because apparently it has some really cool modern art. Instead of just checking out what was on display, we were also directed to look at what message they were trying to show us. It is very clear that the Israel Museum wanted us to focus on the development of the Canaanite culture that existed in this land and then the "revelation" that came with the Israelites.

The museum also tries to outline the development of culture to show that the Israelites were the next rational step in the development of society. Although I don't know enough to make a fully informed decision about this yet, this is an interesting message they are delivering.

The message is very different from that one that is delivered at the museum we visited just outside Tel Aviv. The Haaretz Yisrael Museum on Tel Qasile tries to show us what life could have been like in the area during a time contemporaneous with the Philistines. There are ruins of a "temple" and a large gallery of pottery and other finds from the site. This museum wants to show the interaction between cultures in the area. When we walked away from this museum, the thought is not that all of civilization leads to the Israelites, but the Israelite group coexisted with other people in the area. Very interesting field trips.

Then there is the class that is very siyyur based. In Israel Seminar we have gone to Tel Aviv to tour the "New Jewish CIty". It was an interesting perspective to walk around the city with a tour guide to see the layout and the way the city was built. I didn't know it at the time, but we had coffee at an historic coffee shop, Tamar. Apparently this was an icon of Tel Aviv and not to mention served some incredible espresso. I was all ready to taint it with sugar and milk until I sipped it. Perfect!

Our second siyyur was around the neighborhood Rehavia. A very upscale, flourishing neighborhood during the British Mandate Period. I don't live very far from Rehavia and it was awesome to hear some of the history that happened literally 10 minutes from my front door.

I can't stay up too late to write much more, we leave tomorrow for Tiyyul. We're going up north and I don't know exactly where were headed, but I know we will be staying next to the Kinnerit. I'm really excited. We actually get a full weekend (Saturday and Sunday) this week. So I will get some pictures and blogs up about what's been going on here. Now that we're in the meat 'n p'taters of the school year, I'm realizing there is no way that I can keep up with the almost daily updates.

For now,
Shalom,

Kids and Israelis

The HUC-JIR Year In Israel Program is not the only group of people that use the space here in Jerusalem. There is an Israeli Rabbinic Program and a Gan (Preschool/Kindergarden) that are on campus too.

The Israeli school year started back at the beginning of September and we've had tons of little kids on campus since then. They're really cute. It always makes me smile to see how excited they are to be going to school. It was kinda funny last week though. I had arrived to school early and was getting a cup of coffee in the Moadon and there was this very little boy who clearly wanted to get something from the shop, but they clerks couldn't see him.

I asked him, in Hebrew, what he wanted to order. There was a minor problem though. In his very shy, high pitched voice, I had no idea what he was asking for. When it was apparent that I didn't understand him, he looked at me like I was crazy. I finally asked a passing classmate to help. It turns out the words I couldn't understand were, Mayim Ta'im (Flavored Water). But then he didn't have enough money, so of course I helped him out.

Although I have a hard time understanding the kids, it always puts a smile on my face to see them with their parents in the mornings.

Then, Yesterday was the first day of the IRP (Israeli Rabbinic Program). Another 20 something students showed up on campus to start their studies this year. It was really cool to see them all coming back from a summer off. A first observation, the IRP students are in a much different stage in life. I haven't talked to many of them (but I hope to soon), but they seem to be older. Not old, but older, as in, not just a few months to a few years out of college.

I'm guessing that they have a very different life experience and I can't wait to learn from them.

With all of the schools back in session, it's great to see all the different people on campus right now.

Kita Gimel Here I Come

I know I promised something about our little Tiyyulim, but I thought this would be good to write about quickly as I haven't put anything up in a few days.

I've been having a tough time in my Hebrew Class, Kita Dalet (4th class). I've been spending an inordinate amount of time working on Hebrew itself and not on other assignments, or staying up way too late to work on Hebrew. Over the week last week I though I should see about moving down a lever to Kita Gimmel. After checking it out for the last few days, I'm going to stay in that class. I really liked the harder class, but in order to keep my sanity and maybe get a little sleep every night, I thought it would be best. I'm bummed to not have the same classmates and teacher, but I also like my new teacher and there isn't a person at HUC Jerusalem that I don't like.

All in all, I think this was a good move. I don't walk out of class feeling stressed out anymore and I'm still learning things. It's the tricks to understanding some of the nuances that I hope will be picked up here.

Unfortunately I joined a class that has a test two days after I joined it. Back to homework.

Lila Tov,