Summer Session = DONE!

So now that our summer session has come to a close, I thought it a good time to write a new post, something I haven't done in the last month and a half throughout the entirety of our summer session. This 6-week mini semester was comprised of a 4 day per week Ulpan (of which I was placed into Kitah Gimel, which is the 3rd highest class out of 4), a one afternoon per week Torah Cantillation class (which I passed out of), and a 1 day per week Biblical History class. I feel now, after 6 weeks, much more comfortable with my Hebrew, and even got a pedicure the other day from a lady who only spoke hebrew - and we had a conversation for a long time! The picture to the right is of our Kitah Gimel class on our last day with our teacher Zohara - she is FABULOUS!!! And, I got an A (or a pass, because all of our classes are just pass/fail... but an A is good!)

The Biblical History class has been a whole other story. What I thought would be a very fascinating and interesting class in which we would learn about Israel using the text in the Bible, turned into an Introduction to Archaeology in Israel class... something in which I have absolutely no interest. We had 3 lecture classes and 3 tiyul (field trip) classes, where we traveled to the City of David, Lachish, Gat, Meggido, Mt. Carmel Caves and Caesaria. Our Final Exam for that class is next week, so we'll see what happens!

Lots of other fun things happened during the last 6 weeks while they weren't keeping us busy at school (though that was most of our time). We have been bike riding two mornings a week around Jerusalem with a group of anywhere between 8-12 other people. We are training for the 5-day, 50km per day, ride March 14-18, 2010. This ride is called the Ride for Reform and it raises money for the Israeli Movement of Progressive Judaism (IMPJ). You will all be getting information on it when we officially start fundraising :-). The picture on the left above is from last week's ride when we reached the top of Yad Kennedy (the memorial for President Kennedy at the top of a mountain - go us!).

Our class attended services at different progressive (Reform in Israel) synagogues during this summer session, including a Shabbat at Har El and a shabbat at Kol Haneshama. The picture on the right is a photo of our class at Har El before services.

The Jerusalem Wine Festival occurs every summer at the Israel Museum outside in their sculpture garden. We went on the last night this year and sampled wine from approximately 30 different winereries, and left with 3 bottles of wine we LOVED - it was a truly spectacular event, spent with our classmates on a beautiful Jerusalem evening.

We've gone twice this summer to a special community in Tel Aviv for Kabbalat Shabbat. This "congregation" meets every Friday during the summer on the namal (pier) in Tel Aviv. There, 500ish people from all different backgrounds gather to sing, dance, and pray together to bring in Shabbat as the sun sets over the Mediterranean Sea. The picture to the left is of Yoni, Me, Eric, Hannah and Andrew as we were getting ready for services there.

Yoni and I celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary on August 17th! He planned a whole surprise day for me around Jerusalem, beginning with brunch at the Manta Ray (a beautiful restaurant right on the water in Tel Aviv), spa time including a massage at a spa in Zichron Ya'akov, and dinner at a fabulous sushi restaurant on the namal (pier) at sunset in Caesaria. Overall, it was a spectacular day and was so nice to be together outside of Jerusalem for a change!

Other than that, we've been celebrating birthdays, having fun evening programs (a talent show, etc. - sort of like camp), seen a couple movies (Harry Potter 6 and "On the way to the wedding, we stopped in Vegas" - also known a The Hangover) and just getting to know Jerusalem. We've formed a nice group of friends and spend most of our time with a small group of people, most of whom are coming back to LA with us next year. Oh, forgot to mention - WE'RE COMING TO LA NEXT YEAR!!! That was an exciting day! The picture to the right was the moment after we found out that we were all going to Los Angeles for the rest of our schooling (Rachel, Jon, Yoni, Me, Andrew and Hannah).

Today starts our Summer vacation (a whole 10 DAYS!). We're leaving Sunday with Hannah and Andrew (pictured above) to a 2-cabin little place that we rented for 3 nights - each with a private Jacuzzi and shared pool - so excited! Then a few more days of vacation before our Fall Semester begins with two intensive days of learning about the High Holy Days and a 3-day tiyul (field trip) to the North). Will write more when we return!

Old City, Bowling, Tel Aviv and more!

Fireworks and singing are two things that happen often in Israel, though are rarely associated with the celebrating of American Independence Day. Last Saturday evening, the first-year students of HUC gathered in the garden on campus for some BBQ and eventually some nice American folk-song singing led by myself and fellow Rabbinical student/songleader Andrew Terkel. We ended with Havdallah and thus concluded our second Shabbat here in Israel and our first of many holidays from home to be celebrated differently this year in Israel.

Sunday is a week day here in Israel, and thus began our second full week here in Israel. After our tour of the HUC campus, a group of 10 of us decided to tour the Old City of Jerusalem and get lost in it's walls. While we didn't necessarily get lost, we did have a nice adventure, learning the ins and outs of some of the places in which our own history lives on today, and ending our adventure at the Kotel (the Western Wall, the last remaining wall of the old Temple). I've been many a time, and though each experience is different, it's a place to which I enjoy returning over and over again.

We have spent the last 2.5 weeks as a class trying to keep ourselves entertained while awaiting the start of classes. One might think we're crazy, that there are so many things to do in Jerusalem and we are so lucky that we are here, how could we ever be bored?? It is DEFINITELY possible. So, this past Monday evening, a small group of us (30 or so) decided to try out bowling in Jerusalem. Not only was the bowling alley painted as though an American flag had layered its walls, it was a great setting to get to know one another in a casual, fun place and to have a good time and get away from the normal night scene of Americans on Ben Yehuda Street. Team #2 from bowling night is pictured here to the right. From right to left (Israeli style): Yoni, Me, Hannah, Andrew and Rachel.

Tuesday was a truly SPECTACULAR day. In our needs to escape the Jerusalem craziness for a day, a group of 9 of us took a trip to the beach in Tel Aviv. We had lunch at an Israeli restaurant right on the beach, and then from lunchtime until sunset, we relaxed on the beach, tanned, read, swam, got stung by jelly fish, played card games and other games.

Bess (from Kansas City) built her first ever sandcastle (sort of), pictured with us to the left. (from left to right: Molly, Rachel, Hannah, Bess, Yoni, Jeremy, Me, and Andrew)

We ended the evening with pizza and a cloudy but beautiful sunset on the Mediterranean Sea, and hopped on the bus home, relaxed, rejuvenated, and excited again about living in the fabulous city of Jerusalem for the next 10.5 months.

We celebrated a classmates birthday (and Sasha's birthday as well for sure!) on Wednesday and Thursday with dinner (twice) and drinks in downtown Jerusalem. On Thursday, the HUC interns led a tour along the Ramparts Walk, a walk along the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem (that's a picture of HUC in the distance from the walk - it's the building with the glass pyramid on the top). And yesterday, after welcoming Shabbat for the 3rd week in a row at Kol Haneshama, a progressive synagogue in Jerusalem, we took 5 of our HUC friends to the Regev's home and had a wonderful Shabbat dinner there with Garri and Liron (who is back in Israel for 2 weeks!).

Shabbat services this morning at HUC provided a wonderful, comforting experience in the place we are going to call home for the next year.

Orientation begins this Tuesday, and Ulpan a week from tomorrow. So for now, I say Shabbat Shalom m'Yerushalayim (Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem)... next time, I'll be one day away from officially starting Rabbinical School!

We have arrived!!!

We have arrived!! After filling our 4 overweight suitcases to the brim, lots of goodbye tears, missing our first flight, chaperoning 22 NFTY EIE summer session teens and 24 hours of travel, we arrived at Tel Aviv airport to smiling faces and the place we would call home for the next 11 months to come.

Aside from our one fabulous day at the spa courtesy of Garri, we have spent the last week and a day exploring Jerusalem and getting to know our classmates. More and more people continue to arrive on a daily basis, and what started as a group of about 12-15 people when we first arrived is now somewhere around 30 wonderful people.

We spent our first Shabbat with Yoni's family and friends. We attended services both at HUC and Kol Haneshama, and had many a meal to reunite us with family and friends here.

This past week has gone by in a blur, but some highlights include visiting my favorite waffle restaurant Babettes, large dinners with many of our classmates, and a David Broza concert with the walls of the Old City as a backdrop. This is a picture after the concert of me and Yoni with our friends Andrew and Bess (both fellow Rabbinical School students).

We moved into our new apartment in Jerusalem on Thursday - VERY EXCITING!! It's a not-so-large two-bedroom apartment with two cozy beds, wall-to-wall carpeting, a bathroom with a counter (very important), a washing machine, a cute living room in which we have displayed many pictures from home, a small kitchen with PLENTY of dishes and other supplies to make us feel at home for the year, and a vase on our dining room table already filled with beautiful purple flowers from the man up the street (I assume we'll be visiting him on a regular basis). We have a 20 minute or less walk to school, and our friends all live within a 20 minute walk as well. We are still in the stages of unpacking and setting it all up, but I will post pictures as soon as it looks like home.

Here we are outside of our new apt on move-in day!


Shabbat last night was wonderful. 15 of the HUC students here so far gathered at Kol Haneshama for services, and then returned back to a dinner hosted at Andrew, Matt and Kelly's apartment. Overall, there were about 20 people there, and it was wonderful to have a place to gather and get to know each other. There was a great mix of rabbinic, cantorial and education students, and because we haven't received our placements for the next 4 years, everyone is just getting to know each other as a whole group, which is prooving to be a wonderful experience!

Today is the 4th of July, and though it is one of our family's favorite holidays, I haven't been home in years to celebrate it because of camp. We are having a BBQ with the HUC crowd hosted by the interns later today at HUC - it's nice to be able to celebrate the holiday in a foreign country which is slowly becoming not so foreign.

That's it for now! Running off to Shabbat lunch with friends. Happy 4th of July and Shabbat Shalom to one and all!

One quick change to Information

One quick change to the information below - the cell phone numbers are correct, just with the wrong names. So if you wish to call us on those numbers, just switch them.
Hope to see you here!

Shabbat Shalom to one and all from Jerusalem!

Contact Info in Jerusalem

After some hiccups at the airport this morning, we are safely on our way to New York, and then on to Israel.

Our contact information for the year is as follows:
Address:
15 Harav Berlin
Apt. 6
Jerusalem ISRAEL

Home Phone: 310.601.7601 (it's an American number - just dial direct like you would any other number in the US)

Lara's Cell Phone: 310.598.2194

Yoni's Cell Phone: 310.598.1702

If calling, please call the home phone first.

We hope that you all have a spectacular year - we very much look forward to hearing your stories and adventures, and will share ours as well as we continue on this journey. And if you can make it to Israel, please be in touch with us - we would LOVE to see you there!

Next Year in Jerusalem

I've been admittied to the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in the Rabbinical Program. I've passed my Hebrew Test. I've received my Year-in-Israel book and my Financial Aid forms. Does this mean that I'm actually moving to Israel this summer??

It seems fitting that this first post be made during Passover. It finally hit me that I was going to be moving to Israel in July to start my Rabbinical School journey as we sat in the Passover and exclaimed, "Next Year in Jerusalem!" While everyone took that opportunity to look our direction with smiles, knowing that for some of us, saying that statement was in fact true, it hit me that next Passover, I would be in Jerusalem, having a different experience, something new to look forward to.

I've had many new beginnings in my life. Maybe that's why I dislike and shy away from change. I've moved quite a few times since I was a young girl, and have traveled many journeys throughout my life that have taken me to new places, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Yet this new beginning is something that I've been waiting for since the time of my Bat Mitzvah, and it seems both surreal and daunting to me that it has finally arrived.

We're beginning to face reality to make this change: we've started looking for an apartment in Jerusalem, have read the 74-page Year-in-Israel Handbook, and have started to say goodbye to Cleveland. We don't know at this point where we'll land after Israel, and though Cleveland isn't my favorite place in the world, it is the only place that Yoni and I have ever lived together, so in that way, it gives me a strange feeling to say goodbye.

This blog is a way for me to stay connected at home and to reach the few who would like to follow me on this journey. I promise to keep you posted as often as possible with pictures and stories, and hope that you'll keep in touch as well with whatever is going in your lives.

L'shanah Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim!