Driving in Israel

I first went in to rent a car fro Avis. A very good experience and if you are in need of a car, check them out. To my surprise, the automatic transmission on the Chevy we picked up also had tiptronic. I know how to drive a manual, and I understand the concept of the tiptronic. However, I had never driven a car with one. It took me more than a few tries to figure out exactly how to use it and in the end, I was glad to discover how to get the car into drive and stay automatic instead of this "new-fangeled" transmission.

That wasn't the end of the driving issues though. If you've never been to Jerusalem, I don't think I can begin to explain what goes on here as far as traffic. The traffic lights change from green, to yellow, to red, to yellow and back to green. This is so you can have your car in gear and already moving before the light changes. The result is a lot of honking when people are a little slow.

Driving here is also a lot like walking. You just need to go for it. People are very good about using their breaks to stop, but they are not so good at using things like turn signals or letting someone into a lane. Complicating the diving issue even more was the fact that the street signs, while marked somewhat well for pedestrians, are of little to no help for drivers. They are tiny and often blocked by traffic control signs or by advertisements.

The roads here do some strange things too. They sometimes add lanes and then take them away. Israel is also not immune to road construction. All of these things added into the difficulty I had trying to get us out of Jerusalem to head to the Dead Sea and Masada.

I got us lost twice in the city. Well, not really lost because I knew where I was. We were more lost in the fact that I couldn't get us where we wanted to go. I only take the blame for one of these two instances. One was due to poorly marked roads and me not having great directions (thanks Google). The other time was an issue of me not being in the right lane. That one was my bad. As it turns out, if you ask someone for directions they will give you very detailed ones. But this was not enough.

After I had returned to my car, the man followed me to give me better directions that he had thought of since we talked 20 seconds earlier. These worked really well. The third time is the charm.

Once we were on the highway, it was pretty easy to get where we needed to go. We made our way to the Dead Sea (look for another post soon about that part of the trip), and finally on to Masada.

This is where I got us lost again.

We were planning on staying at the Masada Youth Hostel and Guest House. When I was looking for directions, I could only find bus routes and an address that told me Masada. I put this into Google Maps, copied down the directions and hoped all would be well.

WRONG!

I knew that there are two sides to Masada. What I didn't know was that we were staying on the side closer to the Dead Sea. This was something that escaped me in my directions. So instead of having a very short journey, I took us far south, into and through Arad, back into the desert and to Masada. When we got there, the man at the security barrier told us that we were on the wrong side and had to go back.

When we reached Arad for the second time, we pulled over on the side of the road. Luckily there was an open internet hotspot that we could log on to. Kaitlin helped me find the right address and we charted our own course back through the desert to our hostel for the night. We arrived only an hour later than we had planned and two-and-a-half hours after we could have arrived.

Where We Were Supposed To Be
Where We Ended Up

The drive home was far less eventful. It took us about an hour or so to get back to Jerusalem. Reentering the city is a lot easier than leaving it. Maybe it's not that Jerusalem has such a hold on you. It might be that it's just impossible to find your way out!

It was a great trip though. I really enjoyed getting to spend time in the car with Kaitlin. The experiences were great too.

Another post will come soon that will tell you all about the Dead Sea and Masada.

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.

Rosh HaNikrah

This is coming in very late, I know. I hadn't had the chance to sit down and write out everything from Rosh HaNikrah. For those of you that don't know me very well I am a little bit obsessed with water. Lakes or rivers or whatever body of water. I could just sit and listen to the water lap at the shore of anything for hours on end.

In the north, at the border between Lebanon and Israel, there is a special place where the mountains literally run into the sea. The way that the water works slowly at the rock has created some of the most beautiful grottos I have even seen. As we first descended into the grottos, we came to an observation point that you can see into the bright turquoise water. In the dark of the grotto you can barely see the color of the water, but you can still see the bottom. Then as you stare out into the open water, the vibrant greens and blues pierce into the darkness with the help of the sun.



As I meandered through the grottos there was a place that the water was still slowly working it's way through the rock formation still. I stood for about 10 minutes watching the tide rise and fall through the hole that was slowly being bored through rocks. I really could have watched the tide rush through for hours.










Further through the grottos I stepped out into a bright light. In the distance I could just make out the shapes of islands in the distance, along with the Navy Ships patrolling the water. Looking back up the sharp angle of the mountain, I could see hundreds of flint-stones and fossils jutting out in their dark color contrasting to the bright white of the rock.



The scorching sun was soothed as I walked around the edge of the "open to the public" area with a strong, cool breeze. Coming out of a musty grotto into the sun, the breeze felt incredible on my face. Fighting the glare of the sun, I wanted to look out onto the sea and not leave. But I was not the only person there, and we needed to head back to Acho.

As we got back into the car, I couldn't help but notice the contrast between the rough rock and the lush green Kibbutz within 1km of the border. The stark contrast between the end of the line and harvestable land sticks out in my mind. I'm not exactly sure why I was so hung up on this. There was just something impressive about how much people were able to get out of the space so close to nothingness.

Last Day of Vacation

Well, I'm sitting in the dining area of our vacation house getting ready to head back to Jerusalem. I thought it would be a good time to quickly say how great Haifa is. I really enjoy the atmosphere here. For those of you familiar with parts of Minnesota, there is a Duluth-esque vibe. Only based on the the fact that the city basically falls off a mountain into the sea. It's almost impossible to get anywhere without a car or taxi because it's a very round about hike to get you up the hill.

But you overlook the Mediterranean Sea and it is beautiful. The water in the sea is so warm with a riptide that tugs at you when you stand in the water. Yesterday we went for a short hike down to the beach (more about that coming on a much later post) and spent a good few hours just relaxing.

I could see myself living here. I'm not planning on making Aliyah, but if I were to move here, it would be to Haifa. The city just has a great mix of everything and although it is thoroughly modern, there is still a religious presence here. I also love the fact that the Jews and non-Jews work together and from what we saw, there was no overt aggression between the groups.

It was Allie's birthday so we went out for dinner at a Pan-Asian Restaurant called Giraffe which was really good. I had a great spicy dish called Spicy Philippine Dish. Not quite sure what exactly was in it, but it was really tasty and a little on the spicy side. Perfect.

I don't have time to fully reflect on Rosh HaNikrah (you will see pictures in a moment), but when I have the chance to, there will be a long, detailed description of that amazing place. It will come as an addendum to this chapter of the year.

I will put the closing lines to this chapter as such;

Summer ulpan was a very good way to get accustomed to living in Israel. I've started to get the feel for the cycle of the day in Jerusalem. Israeli Bureaucracy is very fun (sarcasm alert). In the end, it was a pretty painless process to get my student visa. I will need make time to cook, to shop and to do many other things to have a relaxed year, but it's starting to take great shape.

Vacation was very necessary. It was great to spend time with this group of friends and I had a very relaxed few days and got to experience some great places.



Pictures -


Inside the Beha'i Gardens, Looking back towards the top


The Beha'i Gardens with the city of Haifa in the background


The lower Beha'i Gardens


Panorama of Rosh HaNikrah, Click the picture to enlarge it


Water swelling in the Grotto at Rosh HaNikrah. Low Light - bad quality


White Cliff at Rosh HaNikrah


Border Crossing into Lebanon at Rosh HaNikrah


El Jazzar Mosque at Akko, Panorama, click to enlarge.


Fortress Wall at Akko

Beha'i Gardens & Shabbat in Haifa

Today was a pretty good day. We took some time to get going in the morning and finally headed out the door to check out the Beha'i gardens in Haifa. Again expect pictures when I get back to Jerusalem. The internet connection is pretty terrible here and I don't want to mess around with loading any pictures.

The gardens were amazing. They are set up with a beautiful symmetry with the exception of a circle of cypress tress near the tomb that houses the first prophet of the Beha'i faith. There is this incredible running water and picture perfect greens. It really makes me want to go hit some balls around a golf course. The flowers were beautiful and there is almost nothing better that I have been able to see in one place.

We also got to learn about the faith a little. It sounds interesting and it was pretty cool to experience it.

After we got back home, which was a very long and stressful process for me, we got ready to go to services at Or Chadash. A few of us decided to brave the heat and walk the whole way there. Although the directions I found online were not perfect, was able to get find the road we wanted and we showed up at services.

Their T'fillah was great! It reminded me a lot of the services back home. If only it wasn't so far away from Jerusalem. The Rabbi invited all of us on the Bimah to sing Mi Chamocha and play with tambourines for the entire community. I really had a great time at services there.

After Kiddush, the Rabbi split us up into groups of two and sent us with congregants to have dinner. Dusty and I went with one congregant who started off by asking if we were in a hurry because we were going twenty minutes out of Haifa to meet up with a large group of his friends that were getting together. It was a lot of fun.

First of all, the food was great. Really, everything was tasty. There were salads, fish, chicken, beef and I don't even know what else. It was so full. Then they brought out the desert spread. Wow. I didn't think the food could be much better, but it was a great way to finish off the night.

Then there was the conversation. I would like to say that I understood everything that went on, but my Hebrew is not that good yet. I was pretty confident that I understood the majority of what they people we were sitting with said. They spoke mostly in English, but when they spoke Hebrew I could mostly follow what was going on. The conversations were great too. We touched on a lot of really cool topics. We talked about Arab-Israeli stuff, Army service and I don't really remember everything. It was just very refreshing to talk to people outside of the HUC bubble.

We talked a little bit about being religious or secular. Dusty had an interesting talk with our host on the drive back to Haifa from Kriat Tivon. Honestly, this was one of the best parts of the trip so far.

On the down side, I'm missing the Minnesota State Fair this week and I'm starting to go a little crazy. Good night and shabbat shalom.

Tel Aviv

After a very long week of class a bunch of us were headed up to Tel Aviv. One of the Israeli Rabbinical Students is a part of a community near Tel Aviv that leads Kabbalat Shabbat services at the Port during the summer. I had a fantastic experience at services, but that will come to the end of this post. In the morning we caught at Shirut to Tel Aviv. When we got there Ashley took us towards an art fair that is on the street every Friday during the summer. Brian A and I decided to check out the food Shuk before looking at the art.

That was a great idea since it was covered near the food Shuk. We found a great place to grab Falafel. It was pretty cheap and really good. There was a great Charif (spicy) sauce that he put in with our falafel and when they're made fresh as you order, it's hard to beat that taste. After a quick perusal through the art section, we decided to grab a coke and play some backgammon before meeting up with the women we came up with.

When we met up with them we went to chill on the beach. First of all, the beach was burning hot. Not just the sun on our backs, but also the sand. I guess there was a reason that they have the spouts of water near the beach. You're supposed to spray off your feet before you step on the sand. That helps get to your towel without frying the soles of your feet. A little bit of sunscreen and we were off to the water. I hadn't swam in the sea since last summer on Long Island and I have to say that was really different than the Mediterranean. The waves were awesome to float in and I know I had a great time just chilling in the water.

We spend a good three hours on the beach just relaxing, playing backgammon and every once in a while hopping in the water. I learned an important lesson though. Just because it feels like you put sunscreen on your back doesn't mean it actually rubbed into your skin. Ouch. I definitely didn't get enough on enough times. The good thing is that although I burned, it already doesn't hurt and I'm expecting some nice tan to show through in a few days.

A small group of us that were there walked down to the port to check out services. We were a little late, but it was worth it. Listening to a large group of people singing and praying together on the shores of the sea was fantastic. I know there were some other people in our group that didn't have as good of an experience. I think part of why it was so great for us at the back was that there was a small group of HUC students (April, Brian, Dana, Dusty, Gila, Ricky and April's wife Emily) clearly praying together at the back as we could hear the music from the leaders at the front lead a very large group of people. Some were singing and dancing, some praying and others just being a part of the services at sunset. I really liked some of the melodies they used and even heard for the first time that I heard someone sing "What a Wonderful World" in Hebrew. I am still looking for the lyrics in Hebrew, so if anyone knows where I can find them online that would be fantastic.

After T'fillah we hung around the port for a while. I really enjoyed watching another of the students' daughter run around and play. We saw a ton of people just our and being together. This was a very different shabbat experience than what we have back in Jerusalem. Tel Aviv was still bustling as we left the city. When we returned to Jerusalem it was quiet. Almost silent. I really want to go back up sometime to experience that Kabbalat Shabbat again. Look at the pictures below for a small sampling of what I was able to shoot. As always, there will shortly be updates on my facebook account.

It has been a great end to the first week of class and now there is homework to do today since class is tomorrow morning. I can't wait for Havdallah again tonight.

L'Shalom!


Sunset over the Mediterranean Sea during Kabbalat Shabbat Services



A large group of people dancing during some of the prayers


This sunset was amazing!

No Place Like Jerusalem

An interesting part of our Year In Israel Program is that on Thursdays during Ulpan we have the chance to learn information about Israel and Jerusalem. Yesterday we got to pick a group and explore a certain part of Jerusalem. Some people were in the group that got to explore Jerusalem with an art student, some people toured with Rabbis for Human Rights and went into east Jerusalem and many other options.

The group I was in got to learn about urban planning with someone that works for the municipality. He had a cool opportunity to check out a working, scale model of Jerusalem that had literally the entire city with new projects and planned projects placed to see how they would affect the skyline and sight lines. While Benny, our guide, was showing us the model, he also talked to us about some of the history of the city. It was really interesting how close to the Biblical narrative he told us about, but at the same time it was much more anthropological and made a lot of sense the way he was describing it.

Matter of fact would be a great way to describe the rest of the day. After leaving the municipality, we got a very cool walking tour of Jerusalem with Benny explaining so of the utilitarian uses for each of the building. He explained that some of the buildings were built in certain places because they effected how the numerous wars were fought in the city. Some buildings were built to a certain height to obstruct the views in case of sniper fire. Other buildings were destroyed to use as a blockade to stop convoys, after war they were built up and used for the same purpose in later wars.

We made our way into the old city and down the the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This place is a allegory for the entire city. Built as a level on another level, the deeper you get into the church, the older it gets. At the same time, many different groups had different claims to different parts of the church. They each get a certain part of the building that they all find important. They also turned the keys over to a Muslim authority to be in charge of the keys to the church. We need to find a way to use that working model for the rest of the city and not just the church.

After being in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher we want to a Hospice building because it had a fantastic view of the city. Look for pictures on facebook later in the weekend. It was fantastic to look on the whole city. Especially when Benny was pointing out places that technically were illegally built on. Although everyone knows that it is against the law, it is just let go because the situation is frustrating and there are so many competing groups fighting for space. As we were on the building, a bunch of local people were setting off fireworks. The teenagers are done with school now and they were setting off fireworks to blow off steam and also to annoy anyone in the old city. I loved learning about the city this way, it was a much different view of Jerusalem.

When we got back together as a large group we heard a lot about what the other groups had done. We all seemed to have a great chance to learn a lot about the city we are living in now. I don't think we would have had the opportunity to do this outside our Year in Israel Program. The day got rather long as we had a speaker afterwards. The organization she was talking about was very cool and I want to see about working with them as part of the Trumah Project we are going to be a part of, it was just very hard to listen to after the draining morning. All in all, it was a very solid start to this first weekend of being a graduate/rabbinic student.

That's all for now, I need to run to catch a bus to Tel Aviv for services on the beach!

Shabbat Shalom M'Yerushalayim,