In the words of Nativ 31

Sunday- 20/11

I finished my Anti-Semitism book report! It wasn’t that hard in the end. I just needed to muster up the self-discipline to sit down and finish it. I also started studying for my Hebrew midterm on Monday. It was a productive night. I also napped a lot. Pretty standard midterm week affairs.We had another Poland meeting, since our usual time on Thursday would be taken up by Thanksgiving. We did a matching activity, where we were given a term, place or person and had to match them with the definition or their biography. It was surprisingly educational. As usual, I realized how little I know on the subject.

Monday-21/11

I had my Hebrew midterm; totally rocked it. Talmud class was wonderful as always. SivanS. and I pretty much got ourselves invited (slash invited ourselves…) for Shabbat dinner at some point. He was fine with it so at some point that’s gonna be the best dinner ever.We had our first ACTUAL football game. It was a slaughter. As in, Nativ made one touchdown and the other team made four. But we got “jerseys”! They’re actually just maroon t-shirts but they have Nativ on the front, numbers (got my lucky number 17) and sponsors on the back. They’re pretty great. I was really disappointed in how I played during and after the game- I didn’t catch a single pass and I was beating myself up about it. I ran back from Kraft Stadium, which is past Gan Sacher, about a 30 minute walk mostly uphill. It was hard but I’ve gotten a lot better at running since I started football. Running made me feel better but I was still not in the mood to be around people. I caught up on a couple episodes of the League and went to bed.

More Than Being in Jerusalem

Last Friday, I woke up early in the morning to get to breakfast right when it opened with Mia, Maddy, and Deena.  Why would we do such a thing on the one day we can sleep late?  To catch an early bus to Tel Aviv, of course!  We went to Tel Aviv, staying at the apartment of Maddy’s friend from home, and had an incredible weekend.  On Friday, we decided to forget our plan of going to museums to instead walk around.  We found ourselves walking to Yaffo (we were in the south end of Tel Aviv anyway), stopping to appreciate street art along the way.  We gazed at the Mediterranean Sea, ate at a restaurant where all of the waiters were deaf (great food and a lot of fun because we had dry erase boards at the table; a couple days a week they have a blind restaurant open where you eat in pitch black; they also have a theatre group of the deaf and blind), and wandered into an art gallery.  For Shabbat, we did Kab Shab and maariv together at the beach, then ate the food we brought- challah, peanut butter, cheese, and a chocolate croissant.  We had a sang a little before birkat, and we did post-birkat singing (yai-da-dai…what do horses eat? HAY! Yai-da-dai…, David Melech Yisrael + abba/ima, kein/lo, etc.)  It wasn’t our plan, but we were asleep around 10 pm.  In the morning we went to The Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv, but we left after Torah reading because we felt very disconnected at this shul.  Then we went to the beach, where we played in the waves and read in the sun.

I did not go to Tel Aviv for this purpose, but when there I found myself learning about who I am and what I want in life.  I don’t know if it was because I felt more independent than when in Jerusalem where I have school and Nativ programs or if it was because I was in the edgy, artsy south Tel Aviv, but this weekend meant a lot to me.  I realized, I do like cities, just not “downtowns”; I now don’t think I’ll mind being in Boston for 4 years.  I don’t like being a tourist, and while I want to go back to see museums, I think I get a better sense of where I am and enjoy traveling more by just walking around.

 
So what are the implications of this?  I don’t know what I want to do during winter break.  The independence in traveling was so great that I feel I should take advantage of my opportunity to go to Spain or Italy for a relatively cheap price.  But could I have a comparably good experience traveling around cities in Israel?  And I know I want to go hiking for at least a few days.  What to do?  I should be able to do any two things with my 12-day break.  Help me decide!
Sunday was my birthday, and it was possibly my best birthday yet.  First of all, I got my Nativ 31 shirt that day (as did everyone else).  2nd, I got a letter from my parents full of balloons in the mail.  3rd, I received literally a million hugs (yes, Julia, literally).  4th, Masa (an organization that has over 200 programs (including Nativ) for spending a significant amount of time in Israel) chose this day to have an Idan Raichel concert for all of their programs.  Even though I feel like I have permanent ear damage, the concert was a lot of fun (but I don’t see myself going to another concert of music I don’t really like being played too loudly to appreciate it…probably ever).

Pre Rosh Hashanah Fun – 9/28

Minimester is over! And today I checked my grades and saw that I got an A in my Hebrew class (the other wasn’t posted yet), which means I am moving on to Hebrew Level Bet for the regular semester!
Monday after the exam, we had lots of time just to relax on base.  That evening we had a rotation of Rosh Hashanah lessons with different staff.  Each was on some different aspect of Rosh Hashanah.  I went to one about the Kabalistic/ Mystical interpretation of the holiday, one in which we went over the Machzor (high holiday prayer book) in order to help us know what was going on in services, and another about the symbolic elements of Rosh Hashanah.  There is a definite feeling of preparation in the air here, and this was a really nice way to get us into that mindset.  

After dinner Monday night, each track had their own fun evening program and bonding time.  My track (the Track Formerly Known as Kibbutz) played a live version of the game Angry Birds using water balloons to knock down cardboard box targets.  We were divided into teams to play, and it was really entertaining to watch who on each team was a good target hitter and who wasn’t.  After the game we made s’mores, which is not something that you find in Israel, especially since they don’t sell graham crackers here.  Our smores were made with tea biscuits, but it was still a nice taste from home.  
Tuesday I woke up at 4 am to go on a ‘Slichot Tour’ around Jerusalem.  Slichot is a set of prayers said in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah- Ashkenazim begin the Saturday Night before, and Sephardim say slichot the entire month of Elul, in the mornings.  A group of 7 of us, including our staff Ira went to two different Sephardic shuls to observe their slichot traditions- we had intended to go to more, but it ended up that we eventually were walking around in between when people do Slichot- either around 4:30 am or 6:30 am.  The two shuls we did go to were quite interesting, but very different from each other.  The first was the shul of the Jewish community of Aleppo.  Their shul had a really beautiful mural on the wall with the names of the 12 tribes.  The second shul was a Turkish shul.  The melody at this shul was really pretty, and here we saw the Sephardic way of leading services- there was no one leader, instead people would decide to lead small sections of the service.  
Tuesday all of Nativ had a really fun day out and about.  In the morning we went to a water park in Holon, near Tel Aviv.  Water parks are also something you don’t really find in Israel, especially since there is a water shortage.  My Israeli staff Ira explained to me that the water parks remain open because there is a shortage, not a crisis, and if the situation were to get bad enough the water park would close.  
This water park had quite a few slides, but only two sections of slides would be open at once, either in an effort to save water or hire fewer lifeguards.  The park wasn’t crowded, so that wasn’t much of an issue.  
After the water park we went to watch a taping and be the audience of The Voice Israel.  The show was really good, with lots of good acts that I’m probably not supposed to talk about since the show doesn’t air until December.  The judges were famous Israeli artists (that I had never heard of), but they also performed for the audience, which was very cool.  The taping did take a lot longer than expected, so we did not get back to base until really late.  We still had our orientation for the fall semester, which starts on Sunday.  Fall semester is different than minimester because we do not eat as many meals at Beit Nativ, instead we are given stipend money to buy/make our own food.  It is going to be nice to eat something else besides the food we are given on base, but difficult to cook without a real stove or oven!  The regular semester is going to be more about independence, and I can’t wait to explore more of Jerusalem in my non class time.  

November 11 2011

Life in israel is constantly inspiring and exciting. There is always something happening around me and so much to learn here. I am always searching for the inspiration. Here are some experiences that I've had that I want to share. 
This past week was not too eventful. We began yeshiva again and went on a tour of the kotel tunnels.  I had done it before, it took a long time, was interesting, but was also very dragged out. After doing it once, the second time was nothing too exciting. Yeshiva is back into regular schedule, which was much needed but also difficult. It is hard to study all day. Thankfully I have organized it so that I am taking classes that I am interested in and I am also doing a lot of volunteering.   Thursday night I felt frustrated with certain things and decided to take a walk. I started to think and discover personal philosophies that I had never thought of. I reflected and meditated on my life, which is so unusual for me. I knew that I needed to get away from base. I got to the kotel and ended up Davening one of the most spiritual arvits I will ever pray in my life. I almost started to cry and just felt the presence of God all around me. I had been thinking about how Israel and Judaism are two things that truly define me and are some of the most important things to me in this world. It made me feel so proud and happy to be here and so confused about what I really want for my future.   Friday night I needed to go back to the kotel for kabbalat shabbat. My friend Ari Brodkey and I joined a group of soldiers who did a beautiful and energetic service. That night Jeremy Pappas (who was my rosh edah in magshimim and in alonim) hosted a meal for all of us that were in Israel. It was nice to hang out with other Canadians/camp people. We had a great time and all enjoyed Jeremy's cozy apartment. That night I went with Jake Levine and Jake Aronson to practice basketball at gan hapa'amon. We all improved and are improving significantly over the course of this program. The three of us then came back and built a fort and brought our beds into it. We felt like little kids again and slept in the fort for the whole night.  The next morning I slept in, but woke up because a bunch of us from yeshiva had organized going somewhere for a meal. We walked over to a woman named Bonnie's apartment. She told us the story of how she made aliyah, what she does at USCJ and encouraged us to make aliyah when we are younger if that is the dream because it becomes more  difficult as you get older. She was a great cook and she was babysitting a bunny that we played with. We then came back to base and relaxed for a bit.  That night we were going to nachla'ot with a friend from yeshiva who is a rabbinical student. She actually studies at this yeshiva called yeshivat simchat shlomo, which is a very carlebach yeshiva. The rosh yeshiva hosts shalosh sheudes meals every week and we were welcomed. We sat at this beautifully set table with great food. We sang zmirot and had a very meaningful time. Havdllah was especially unique and a really great experience. It was very cool. The rabbi is actually going on tour and will be in Toronto. His name is Rabbi Shlomo Katz.  Sunday night we went to a masa event for over three thousand out of the ten thousand masa participants. Our madrich, Simeon was actually featured as a representative of masa. I got to see my friend Brandon Pearl, who I will be seeing again this Thursday. I also bumped into a bunch of CHAT kids. 

thanksgiving… and a rap star

I apologize for the lack of blog posts recently! I have a lot to cover, but it’s all exciting stuff. first of all, I was lucky enough to work a babysitting job recently! a rabbinical student who studies at the conservative yeshiva here at the fuchsberg center (and is also in my yeshiva hebrew class) asked me to babysit for his daughter last thursday evening. of course, i accepted! i took a bus to emek refaim, a main street in the german colony of jerusalem, just about ten minutes away from where i live. once off the bus, i used my map-navigation skills (which truly involved a lot of pedestrian help) to find the family’s apartment. luckily, all of the israeli neighbors i ran into were friendly and helpful, and our hebrew conversations were within my understanding. i eventually found the apartment. deena, the young girl i babysat, was put to bed before her parents left. i spent the evening relaxing, reading, and watching TV shows on my computer. it was an easy job, but it felt great to be doing something i would normally do at home. truly, my life in jerusalem is transitioning more everyday to feel like my average, daily routine. it’s wonderful!

The next morning, my friends maya, julia, sivan, and i took a bus to jerusalem’s largest shopping center, malkha mall. we spent the morning shopping, walking around the mall, and eating at the food court. i had been to the mall on my previous trips to israel, but it was fun to go without a tour group with a time limit and a meeting place. i didn’t buy too much, but it was a successful morning anyway. plus, julia and i shared a delicious broccoli quiche at the food court, which was a treat!that night, for shabbat, a big group of friends and i went to scott’s apartment, who is a previous USY-advisor and current rabbinical student in jerusalem. sivan, jake aronson, louis, jake levine, zoe, elan, becca, maya, and i walked the short way to his house. there we met scott’s roommate chaim, who is also a rabbinical student here. they were friendly, welcoming, and hilarious. since we were such a large group, zoe and louis led us in a kabbalat shabbat service in the living room. all of us sang loudly and enthusiastically, in the shabbat tunes that i especially love. it was an awesome prayer experience, which doesn’t happen very often for me. we were clapping and harmonizing. it reminded me a lot of the service i love at the yakar synagogue in jerusalem.