In all the time I've spent in Jerusalem, I've never been here for Tisha B'av. Unlike a lot of students in my class, this day isn't anything new to me. I used to observe while growing up at camp (when fasting was in some ways just a way to stand out from the crowd). At Kutz, I worked with the other Meitav fellows to put together a whole program on ( Read more... )

Today in ulpan (week 2 has begun and I'm not dead yet -- that's a good sign) my teacher asked us to discuss a verse from Genesis. It quickly got complicated, as we tried to express our thoughts about what it means to be created B'tzelem Eloheim -- it can be a hard task in English, so imagine how difficult it is in Hebrew! We then looked at two ( Read more... )

Today marked the first of our Jersalem Day Tiyuls. We met at HUC nice and early in the boker, and hopped on buses for the short drive to the Tayelet. After some really nice services looking out toward the Old City, we split into our groups for some learning. Gingy gave us a great overview of the landscape and we had the opportunity to meander our ( Read more... )

This week has been pretty intense. From ulpan to Israeli bureaucracy to planning for Tisha B'Av, I've been really busy and have been mapping out in my head what I wanted to write about. I had it all planned, and you were going to hear all about how frustrating trying to pay property taxes has been. Tonight, however, my slate has been wiped ( Read more... )

Ulpan started this morning, and even though I was so nervous during Tfillah that I thought I might throw up or pass out, things were actually quite fine. I like our teacher and the class, amazingly enough, seems to be at a good level for me. The other people in the class are really great, and so far we're all pretty into it. Tonight a bunch of us ( Read more... )

mmm...I really love Shabbat. Really. A lot. This week, we wrapped up our orientation time with Shabbat largely at HUC. Friday evening, Saturday morning and Havdalah were all spent at HUC, while Marc and I got to have Shabbat afternoon all to ourselves. Friday night services at HUC were high-quality. The community at HUC is great, because unlike at ( Read more... )

Today we had a bit of a HUC myths&facts session, where different students had the opportunity to dispel (and sometimes confirm) various rumors about HUC. Then we split up by campus, and I was pretty pleased with the crop that will end up at HUC New York. Talking about living in New York was cool, but its weird to be thinking about next year when ( Read more... )

Last night, we started "official orientation." Thus far, things have been mostly standard. We stood in a circle in the courtyard outside the library and did some fairly standard getting to know you activities. Then we sang the Shehechiyanu, and surprise, surprise, I got a little weepy. Services this morning were nice, and also ended with the ( Read more... )

It's been almost a week since Marc and I arrived here in the Land of our Ancestors, and so far things are pretty great. Our Israir flight was mostly uneventful (minus some delays leaving NYC, and some very excited NCSYers and NFTYites who shared the plane with us). When we arrived in Jerusalem, our landlord met us in the apartment and gave us a ( Read more... )

ok. Its official. I'm back from Israel and this journal no longer needs to be used to keep the world (at least, that part of the world interested in my life) updated on my shenanigans. So, I've decided its time to make this journal friends only. Sorry Mom, but that does mean you can't read it any more. You'll have to get your news the old fashioned ( Read more... )