I've done checklists before. Enough times to know that I might not get everything on this list finished. But that isn't going to stop me at all. A few of my friends started a list of things to do before we return to the states. I slimmed down the list that we made together down to the things that I really want to do. I'm going to start trying to take things off this list as soon as possible.
Here's to experiencing Israel before I go home!
1. Beach Weekend in Haifa/Eilat
2. Camping/hiking somewhere up North
3. Israeli food-themed potluck Shabbat dinner
4. Group ride on the light rail
5. Museum on the Seam
6. Biblical Zoo
7. Caesaria
8. Wine tasting somewhere
9. Full Day Ein Gedi Hike
10. Attend Israeli Soccer Match
11. Visit Tzfat.
12. Play Shoots and Ladders on the board in the park on Azza
13. See Hadag Nahash perform
14. Bike/Hike trials around Jerusalem
15. Walk Via Dolorosa
16. Day Trip to Abu Ghosh
17. Latrun
18. Tel Aviv Museums: Diaspora and Rabin
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
A Gift
While I love many of the professors that I have had this year, there are a few that I have really enjoyed learning from. On Thursday at the beginning of my Late Antiquity History and Rabbinic Literature lecture, our teacher started talking about services that morning and talked about certain prayers. He brought a copy of Nishmat Kol Chai from Siddur Sim Shalom and talked about the beautiful poem that precedes it in Sim Shalom.
I'm on a mission to write my own melody for it, the poem is incredible.
Then he told us that he had one more gift to share with us. After a few seconds to compose himself he started singing a niggun. Slow, quiet, mournful and beautiful. It took more than 5 minutes to sing through the entire prayer, and it was one of the best moments of the entire school year.
Some of my classmates made recordings of him singing, and my goal is to try to learn this melody and find a way to use it in services. The words in Sim Shalom are slightly different than we have in the Reform Movement's Mishkan T'fillah, so it is going to take a little work to make sure the melody still fits with the words we have, but it is worth the work. It was one of the most incredible things I've heard.
I'm on a mission to write my own melody for it, the poem is incredible.
Then he told us that he had one more gift to share with us. After a few seconds to compose himself he started singing a niggun. Slow, quiet, mournful and beautiful. It took more than 5 minutes to sing through the entire prayer, and it was one of the best moments of the entire school year.
Some of my classmates made recordings of him singing, and my goal is to try to learn this melody and find a way to use it in services. The words in Sim Shalom are slightly different than we have in the Reform Movement's Mishkan T'fillah, so it is going to take a little work to make sure the melody still fits with the words we have, but it is worth the work. It was one of the most incredible things I've heard.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The Rhythm of the Seasons
It's baaaaack!
I've jumped the gun a few times and said that summer is here. Probably because I've just wanted it to happen so badly. But after a few days in a row, I'm pretty confidant that I can say we're done with the damp cold of winter, working our way through the last of the spring showers and on to early summer here in Jerusalem.
I said before that Spring here isn't the same as springtime back home, and I really miss parts of the Minnesota thaw. Being here, I've gained a much better understanding of the concept of Jewish time. The seasons are demonstrated in the Jewish calendar and we're about to get to Passover and celebrate the onset of Spring.
The last week has been warm during the day and pretty nice for most of the time. Then there is the evening, chilly and a little windy, yet nothing terrible. I finally broke out my summer uniform (thanks Allie), because the last three days have been absolutely amazing! The sandals have come out which means I'm really close to not wearing shoes anymore and that means it might be time to finally buy some Na'ot that I've been waiting for since it got cold.
Spring is here! I've been doing some cleaning and the windows are open.
Summer is close by and I think it's about time to put the heater away and take down the fans!
I've jumped the gun a few times and said that summer is here. Probably because I've just wanted it to happen so badly. But after a few days in a row, I'm pretty confidant that I can say we're done with the damp cold of winter, working our way through the last of the spring showers and on to early summer here in Jerusalem.
I said before that Spring here isn't the same as springtime back home, and I really miss parts of the Minnesota thaw. Being here, I've gained a much better understanding of the concept of Jewish time. The seasons are demonstrated in the Jewish calendar and we're about to get to Passover and celebrate the onset of Spring.
The last week has been warm during the day and pretty nice for most of the time. Then there is the evening, chilly and a little windy, yet nothing terrible. I finally broke out my summer uniform (thanks Allie), because the last three days have been absolutely amazing! The sandals have come out which means I'm really close to not wearing shoes anymore and that means it might be time to finally buy some Na'ot that I've been waiting for since it got cold.
Spring is here! I've been doing some cleaning and the windows are open.
Summer is close by and I think it's about time to put the heater away and take down the fans!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Homesick, For Real This Time
Well, it took 9 months, but I realized today that I'm ready to go home. It's not that I don't like being here in Jerusalem, although there are obvious problems, complaints and grievances that come with living in a new country and starting a new career as a student at the same time. I realized it today while I was working on a midterm and listening to a podcast of my favorite talk radio station.
It's getting to me that I'm a day behind the news cycle back home. Things happen and I just don't know about them until sometime the next day. It doesn't help that my newspapers have all decided to start charging to read them online.
Another factor is that it's baseball season. I was really excited last week to go to Mike's Place -a restaurant/pub that is a nice little slice of Americana, although way too loud for my taste- to watch the first game of the baseball season. But after the Yankees/Tigers game was finished, ESPN America decided that Americans throughout the world want to watch taking heads talk about NASCAR... That's what the America's population around the world wants to see on MLB opening day?! A day where there are baseball games starting all day from 1:00 Eastern until the late games start at 7:00 Pacific time, and ESPN puts on NASCAR?!
Since the Twins aren't a team that will show up on channels here, I caved in and bought the MLB.TV package that lets me watch games in real time, archived or in shortened highlight reels. But it's not the same. I just finished writing a midterm, and it's about 7 o'clock, about the right time to put on the ball game, right? Wrong. I can watch a replay, but it's not the same.
Israel doesn't have a winter like we do back home. The cold is miserable here because the buildings aren't insulated well (trust me, it's worth it for the summer), but I missed the real winter. The 3 foot high snowdrifts at the end of my driveway, the nuisance of putting on an undershirt, t-shirt, sweater, jacket, hat and gloves just to walk to my car in the morning, having to leave my home 10 minutes before I want to leave so my car can warm up and not make strange noises. Sounds miserable, but I miss that.
I miss it even more now that we're having this transition from winter (read: rainy and cold) to spring (read: rainy, hot during the day, cold as soon as the sun goes down). Back home it would be warm, but the weather would be a change from what it was last week, and every day would be getting warmer and warmer. The snow would be melting and it would smell like spring.
Spring has a smell and I miss it. I'm hoping our nice long break for passover will help and I can stop missing home so much, but I'm pretty homesick right now.
*PS - Mom and Grandma, I know you read this, but don't think I'm asking you to send me anything. I probably won't get it before I come home.
It's getting to me that I'm a day behind the news cycle back home. Things happen and I just don't know about them until sometime the next day. It doesn't help that my newspapers have all decided to start charging to read them online.
Another factor is that it's baseball season. I was really excited last week to go to Mike's Place -a restaurant/pub that is a nice little slice of Americana, although way too loud for my taste- to watch the first game of the baseball season. But after the Yankees/Tigers game was finished, ESPN America decided that Americans throughout the world want to watch taking heads talk about NASCAR... That's what the America's population around the world wants to see on MLB opening day?! A day where there are baseball games starting all day from 1:00 Eastern until the late games start at 7:00 Pacific time, and ESPN puts on NASCAR?!
Since the Twins aren't a team that will show up on channels here, I caved in and bought the MLB.TV package that lets me watch games in real time, archived or in shortened highlight reels. But it's not the same. I just finished writing a midterm, and it's about 7 o'clock, about the right time to put on the ball game, right? Wrong. I can watch a replay, but it's not the same.
Israel doesn't have a winter like we do back home. The cold is miserable here because the buildings aren't insulated well (trust me, it's worth it for the summer), but I missed the real winter. The 3 foot high snowdrifts at the end of my driveway, the nuisance of putting on an undershirt, t-shirt, sweater, jacket, hat and gloves just to walk to my car in the morning, having to leave my home 10 minutes before I want to leave so my car can warm up and not make strange noises. Sounds miserable, but I miss that.
I miss it even more now that we're having this transition from winter (read: rainy and cold) to spring (read: rainy, hot during the day, cold as soon as the sun goes down). Back home it would be warm, but the weather would be a change from what it was last week, and every day would be getting warmer and warmer. The snow would be melting and it would smell like spring.
Spring has a smell and I miss it. I'm hoping our nice long break for passover will help and I can stop missing home so much, but I'm pretty homesick right now.
*PS - Mom and Grandma, I know you read this, but don't think I'm asking you to send me anything. I probably won't get it before I come home.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Hot Spiced Wine
A few weeks ago I went to a shabbat dinner at Kibbutz Gezer. The amazing family that we ate with made a really tasty drink for us to have at the start of dinner. It was really good. I asked for their recipe, but didn't get an exact one from them.
I had a very small group of people for dinner last week and decided to give it a shot.
In a large pot I placed,
Sweet Red Wine - .75 liters
Dry Red Wine - 1 liter
Sugar - 12 tsp
Cinnamon - 3 small sticks
Clementine Rind - .5 of a clementine
Bring the wine to a boil, stirring intermittently at the beginning to get the sugar to dissolve.
Boil it for 5 - 15 minutes. Most of the alcohol should boil out, but you need to taste the wine to know if the taste is right for you.
Filter the rind and cinnamon out or serve it with a ladle.
I think I did a pretty good job this time. I can't wait to make it again!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Bartering for a Drum
I needed to get a drum this year. These things are for sale everywhere around the Old City and I really don't like the plastic and metal drum that we have at school. I had a little time to spend before going to the Jerusalem Food Festival on Wednesday.
Brian and I went to shop around a bit.
My strategy for bartering requires knowing a bit about the value of the item in the first place. So I checked at a few shops on the main street to see what they would quote me. Without even trying, one guy worked his price from 150 down to 100 sheckels. For similar drums I was quoted as much as 400 NIS (for those keeping score at home I had heard anywhere from $28 - $112.
We finally found another shop that had a few of them for sale. I started looking at what he had and found a few that I wanted to buy. When I asked for prices, he wouldn't give me one until I picked one that I wanted.
I finally decided on one and here is where the fun began.
(This isn't direct quotes, but the gist of the exchange)
Salesman: 200 sheckels, but a special price for you. 170 sheckels.
Me: Really?! This is two pieces, it's not very good. This other one is the same and is broken. I will pay you 70 sheckels.
Salesman: This is a good drum! For 70 sheckels is a small one that you bring back for kids. This is a real drum. 120 sheckels.
Me: That's way too much money. I can spend 75 sheckels.
Salesman: No, no, no! 100 sheckels.
Me: The most I can spend is 80 sheckels.
Salesman: That's not enough. 90 sheckels.
Me: 90 sheckels? Not low enough.
At this point I turned and walked out of the shop. Slowly making my out, I could hear the guy coming out of his shop telling me to wait. I said to Avner, "Tell me if he comes out of the shop after me."
Brian said that the guy was coming out. I turned around and as the salesman was waving saying, "Come back, come back, come back."
I walked back to his shop and he said, "Okay, okay."
Just to make sure we were agreeing on my price, I repeated, "80 sheckels?
Salesman: Okay. Yes. 80 sheckels.
I thought I did a pretty good job with that one, until he started cracking jokes with me as we were exchanging money. I'm pretty sure that I paid more than it was worth, but I'm happy with the price that I paid for the drum.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Jerusalem Food Festival
On Monday we got an email from one of our staff members about an Old City Food Festival. I had to go.
Starting at the Jaffa Gate Plaza there were about a dozen different food booths selling everything from Kubeh (something like a corn dog but with a meat-ball inside instead) and stuffed grape leaves to candied nuts and olive oils. The city was packed with people trying all of the different foods available.
The four quarters of the city had different foods that were intended to represent the different cultures in the old city.
I tried a sugared, candied walnut thing in the Armenian Quarter. There were other things there, but I wasn't really ready to have a real meal that early in the night. I walked around with some friends for a few hours and we tried a bunch of different things.
At the Austrian Hospice, in the Christian Quarter, I split an apfelstrudel while we sat on the roof of the hospice. While we were ordering we listened to a string trio. It was a nice little taste of Europe in Jerusalem.
Near the Damascus Gate, there was no food, but live music. Some people singing in Arabic and some people dancing. There was a food market, but it was really similar to everything you can buy in the shuk. Nothing too impressive there.
Just off the Cardo was a recreation of a 2nd Temple Period Market (536ish BCE - 135ish CE). The kids' arts and crafts looked like they would have been a great way to entertain ourselves for a little while. But we were hungry and wanted to get some real food.
The Hurva Synagogue Square had the most booths selling real food. Moroccan Doughnuts, Kubeh, Soups, Chicken and Rice with different flavorings, Crepes, Popcorn and I don't even remember what else we could find. So much food and so many people. It was a great atmosphere to be in, especially as the live music was wrapping up for the night.
When I went the second day, I had a stuffed peppers, grape leaves and kubeh at the Jaffa Gate. We didn't explore nearly as much this night, but we spent a lot of time listening to a live performance. The band was pretty good and one of our instructors showed up to listen as well. It was a lot of fun and just one of the random things that pop up around here.
Starting at the Jaffa Gate Plaza there were about a dozen different food booths selling everything from Kubeh (something like a corn dog but with a meat-ball inside instead) and stuffed grape leaves to candied nuts and olive oils. The city was packed with people trying all of the different foods available.
The four quarters of the city had different foods that were intended to represent the different cultures in the old city.
I tried a sugared, candied walnut thing in the Armenian Quarter. There were other things there, but I wasn't really ready to have a real meal that early in the night. I walked around with some friends for a few hours and we tried a bunch of different things.
At the Austrian Hospice, in the Christian Quarter, I split an apfelstrudel while we sat on the roof of the hospice. While we were ordering we listened to a string trio. It was a nice little taste of Europe in Jerusalem.
Near the Damascus Gate, there was no food, but live music. Some people singing in Arabic and some people dancing. There was a food market, but it was really similar to everything you can buy in the shuk. Nothing too impressive there.
Just off the Cardo was a recreation of a 2nd Temple Period Market (536ish BCE - 135ish CE). The kids' arts and crafts looked like they would have been a great way to entertain ourselves for a little while. But we were hungry and wanted to get some real food.
The Hurva Synagogue Square had the most booths selling real food. Moroccan Doughnuts, Kubeh, Soups, Chicken and Rice with different flavorings, Crepes, Popcorn and I don't even remember what else we could find. So much food and so many people. It was a great atmosphere to be in, especially as the live music was wrapping up for the night.
When I went the second day, I had a stuffed peppers, grape leaves and kubeh at the Jaffa Gate. We didn't explore nearly as much this night, but we spent a lot of time listening to a live performance. The band was pretty good and one of our instructors showed up to listen as well. It was a lot of fun and just one of the random things that pop up around here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)