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!