Reunited and it feels so good!

This is a big tourist time in Israel, mainly because of Taglit Birthright Israel, a program that allows Jewish young adults who have never been on a peer trip to Israel to come to the holy land for 10 days for free.  I had been counting down the days until Julia, one of my closest friends, was coming to Israel as she was staffing the Cornell Hillel Birthright trip joined with the University of Wisconsin.  She wasn't going to have much free time so I asked about joining her for Shabbat when she and her group would be at a hotel in Jerusalem.  My dear friend Ruth on my program also had a friend who would be staffing a Hillel Birthright.  Ruth had the same idea as me and wanted to stay at the hotel.  Ruth sent some emails to the higher ups (she used to work for Hillel), and got it approved for us to join the group.  Turns out Julia and Ruth's friend Lisa were rooming together.  Shall we say slumber party?


Earlier in the week I noticed on facebook that another friend of mine, Adam, was going to be in Israel on a Birthright trip.  Adam and I go way back to high school (he went to camp with one of my best friends Becky) and he was even my prom date!  We exchanged numbers and planned to meet up when he got to Jerusalem.  Friday afternoon I ventured to the shuk (market) where all the Birthright groups would be visiting.  Normally, I avoid the shuk on Friday as it is very crowded with everyone doing last minute shopping before Shabbat.  However I wanted to see Adam and Julia so I braved it.  First I met up with Adam.  It was great to see him (it had been a few years I think).  We caught up quickly, I met a few other people on his trip, and then I led him to Aroma Cafe so he could grab something to eat quickly.  He had to be back with his group so we decided to meet up Saturday night if possible.  


Then I met up with Julia!  It was so awesome to see her!  Julia and I wanted burekas so I said "Here hold my backpack, I'm going in!"  I pushed my way through this narrow area filled to the brim with people and got us some burekas (not without getting hit in the head with warm tongs by a man who was being a typical pushy Israeli- he did apologize though).  After making it out alive, I helped Julia pick out lots of junk food for her group's Oneg Shabbat that night at this awesome discount shop in the shuk.  We parted and I met up with Ruth and Lisa.  Ruth and I made it to the hotel and settled in.  Luckily Julia and Lisa had a suite!  I caught up with Julia a bit.  While she was telling me about an event that she and my other close friends Robin, Danielle, and Joanna attended a few weeks ago, I began to cry.  Picturing them all having fun, amusing experiences together in NYC without me made me really sad.  I kind of wished I could go home sooner rather than be without them for almost 2 more months...

Julia & I in our Shabbat best

I went to Reform services because Julia was helping to lead.  At Shabbat dinner, I met the Cornell students and had fun hearing about their majors and such.  We discussed Dr. Maas's Psych 101, Clara Dickson Hall, & and lots of other Cornell topics. After dinner I sat in on the group's conversation about their visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, and their overall reflections on their trip so far.  A lot of thoughts were going through my head during this discussion.  Some of you may or may not know that I haven't been having the best time here.  Unfortunately many aspects of time here are not living up to the high expectations I may have set.  I have had struggles within my internship(s) and haven't felt like I've had many opportunities to use my skills as much as I'd like to which has led to me being worried about getting a good job when I come back to NYC.  Some things in my program are a bit disorganized and therefore add to my stress and my Hebrew classes have not really helped me progress to where I want to be.  Also, I love the people on my program, but I didn't expect it to be made up of so many people who are in relationships.  I haven't had much success in dating over the years and told myself I would not stress out about that during my time in Israel.  I was finally doing something I had wanted to do for a long time and this was going to be a time to focus on ME.  However it's very difficult not to think about this when as I said I am surrounded by people in relationships.  Lastly, I did not expect to miss my friends and family and life in NYC as much as I do...  So here I am sitting with a bunch of college students who for many this was their first time in Israel.  Julia asked them each to share what memory they will take away from the trip so far.  Many of them said they will always remember the moment they first arrived in Jerusalem.  Then it hit me.  I'm in JERUSALEM!  JERUSALEM!  People wait their entires lives and do not get the chance to come to Jerusalem and here I am living here, in the holiest city in the world for the Jewish people, a beautiful place full of history, life, memories, etc.   This is an opportunity of a lifetime and I've been taking it for granted.  So I told myself to stop being so bitter and enjoy the rest of my experience here, despite the struggles.  Wow, thanks Cornell (and U of Wisc.) birthright for knocking some sense into me.

The next day, Adam Daum and Alex Shapero, Cornellians I haven't seen in ages, came to join us.  Adam has made aliyah and is serving in the Israeli Defense Force.  Alex was staffing another birthright group.

Cornell Hillel Alumni: Adam, Alex, Julia, & Me

Later, Dan Yagudin, who used to work for Cornell Hillel when I was a student, came to visit.  Dan now lives in Haifa and works for the University of Haifa Hillel.  Coincidentally, Dan and Ruth staffed a birthright trip together a few years ago and Ruth has been trying to see him since we've been in Israel.  Yay for Hillel to bring everyone together! 

Me, Dan Yagudin, & Julia!

After hanging out for the day with everyone and then joining a lovely Havdallah ceremony  to end Shabbat on the roof of the hotel, Ruth, Dan, & I cabbed back to our apartment to get ready to go out to Ben Yehudah Street.  Ben Yehudah Street is the main drag in center city Jerusalem and all the birthright groups get set loose there for a few hours.  I joined Julia who was meeting up with her friend Megan for dinner.  Previously I met Megan, a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary here for her year in Israel, through Ruth and even attended Megan's New Year's Eve party.  As it turns out, Julia knows Megan because Megan was the rabbinic intern at Cornell Hillel for the year's High Holidays.  Gotta love these small world Jewish geography discoveries!  We had dinner at Cafe Rimon which I hadn't been to before.  Julia and I shared two delicious dishes.  

Hanging out on Ben Yehudah Street

As we were finishing up, Adam called to tell me that he was here with his group. 

Me & Adam on Ben Yehudah Street (we pondered doing a prom pose but stuck with this one)

I met up with him and his friends on their way to find some food.  I suggested some places and we decided on Cafe Rimon!  This time we sat on the meat side (yes this restaurant serves both meat and dairy but has separate seating and menus) but I didn't have a second meal in case you were wondering.  I enjoyed telling Adam and his fellow birthright-ers about my time in Israel and some of the things I've learned about the way of life here-both good and not so good.  Julia stopped by to say goodbye.  I of course started crying again because I really do miss life in NYC and tried to convince her to extend her trip after the birthright program is over.  Ruth joined us when she was done meeting up with the bazillion people she knew here on birthright.  Adam and his friends went to meet their group, and Ruth and I went home thoroughly satisfied with our reunion of sorts. 

Randoms

Here's an update on some more of what I've been up to the past few months:


-Visited the Supreme Court and Knesset (Israeli Parliament).

Small court room at Supreme Court

-Went to the Jerusalem Bird Observatory

Josh setting a bird free after the guy at the observatory tagged and documented the bird

The bird observatory tracks the birds that get caught in a net (not harmful) and have found that birds come to the same exact spot each year during their migration.  

-Attended my friend Sari's Bat Mitzvah.  She didn't have one growing up so this was her first time reading Torah.  She's a Cantorial student at Hebrew Union College.

-Saw Play It Again, a movie shown in the Eco Film Festival at the Jerusalem Cinemateque.  Here's the trailer:

Seeing this film made me realize how much technology has really taken over our lives, especially that of children and teenagers.  Though I myself am guilty of constantly being on the computer, phone, sending text messages, etc., all of this had not really consumed my life so much when I was younger.  I read books and spent time outside whether at day camp or girl scout camp, or just riding my bike around the neighborhood.  I even remember when using a typewriter to write a paper in elementary school was a big deal.  Now schools require kids to use a computer for their assignments.  Also, I only recently joined the world of smartphones when I bought my Blackberry in May (though I don't use it here in Israel).  I see how technology has affected youth these days.  At Crossroads, where I am interning, there is an extensive library of English books.  Since I started working there in October, I only saw 1 kid reading a book.  The rest are more into watching TV and using the computers for email, facebook, and youtube.  Just something to think about...

-Visited Ajami, a neighborhood in Jaffa/Yafo (outside of Tel Aviv).  Learned about the conflicts there by watching the movie of the same name.  This neighborhood is made up of Christians, Muslim, and Jews.  We had a tour led by classmates of Nir (our program coordinator).  One of his classmates was Jewish and the other was Muslim so we got both perspectives on life in Ajami.  We were supposed to meet the main character from the movie (the movie starred actual residents of Ajami who weren't actors) but we didn't have time to see him.  While grabbing a bite to eat in Old Yafo, I found an amusing ice cream label: 

Apparently there's a new ice cream flavor in town... SNEAKERS!

-I've been taking a weekly Israeli Cinema class.  I've watched lots of great movies and at the end I will list them all.  

-I've been attending classes on various topics in Judaism.  Rachel Goldberg is our educator and she is amazing!  She has a wonderful way of relaying all of the information to us.  I'll share some of what I've learned towards the end of the program.

 

Rebranding Israel

Back in November, we visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and were given a presentation on Israel's new branding campaign.  When you think of a country, you usually associate it with a particular word, for example France=Romance.  Israel is now being associated with the phrase "Creative Energy."  

Even Madonna uses the word energy when describing how she feels in Israel!

We were shown the videos of a focus group used to assess people's perceptions of Israel.  Unfortunately many people feel that Israel is a constant war zone with ugly buildings.  They have no idea that Israel is a thriving, developed, modern country.  Many people don't know all of the technology that was developed here in Israel.  There was even a shout-out to Israel in a recent Glee episode:

Here is a list of awesome Facts about Israel for you to enjoy!

Lending a Hand

So it's Winter Break and I wanted to do something productive.  Yesterday, I went to Carmei Ha'ir, check out their website, a soup kitchen near the Machane Yehudah Shuk here in Jerusalem.  My friend Ruth volunteers there every week so I thought I'd tag along.  It was very cool to help out.  This soup kitchen is unique in that it has more of a restaurant feel than a soup kitchen.  We serve the patrons and ask them which meal they want rather than having them come through a serving line.  I started off helping to set the tables with silverware and a bowl of soup at each seat.  Then as people came in I asked them which main dish they wanted- meat or kuba.  Kuba is an iraqi food usually something like a breaded beef pattie but this version was vegetarian.  Every person got vegetables and spaghetti as well.  Some people had special requests such as no pasta or no vegetables.  As people left, I helped clear the tables, took the used plates and utensils to the person doing  the dishes, and prepped the tables for new people.  When the crowd died down, I helped clean up everything.  I had a great time, was able to practice my Hebrew, and received many Todah Rabahs (Thank Yous).  Hopefully I'll have some time to go back a few times before I leave Israel.

Speaking of volunteering, back in November, our group took part in a project of Leket Yisrael, Israel's national food bank organization.  They take leftover food from bar mitzvahs, weddings, bakeries, etc. as well as extra produce from farms all over Israel and distribute them to soup kitchens and other social service organizations that provide food to people in need.  Leket לקט is a word found in the bible to describe the tradition of leaving extras for the poor when gleaning your fields: "When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings." (Deuteronomy 24:19)

Leket Yisrael, one of their huge trucks to transport food

Our group was taken to a farm in Rehovot and assigned the task of picking oranges.  Basically, farmers aren't always able to pick all of their fruits and vegetables in time before they go bad, so this farmer has Leket assist and then they have access to the extra produce.  I paired up with my friend Ruth and we tried to pick as many oranges as we could find.  We filled up cartons and dumped them into a huge vat.  I had a lot of fun doing this.  Don't be fooled, these are indeed oranges.  Apparently due to the water shortage in Israel, the orange do not actually turn orange.  However, I can attest that they were indeed delicious oranges.  (We were allowed to taste some.)  Our group picked a total of 500 kilos of oranges (about 1100 pounds) which were then put in food packages for about 250 families I believe!  All of that in less than an hour of picking!

getting all up in the tree to pick those oranges

one of the many cartons we filled

For more information about the places I mentioned above or to make a donation, feel free to check out their websites:
Carmei Ha'ir Soup Kitchen
Leket Yisrael

Happy Chanukah! !חנוכה שמח

Chanukah in Israel has been one of the things I've been looking forward to the most.  Every December, I have found myself surrounded by a lot of Christmas decorations, hearing Christmas songs on the radio and in every store, and being wished a Merry Christmas.  No offense to all of my friends who celebrate Christmas and/or enjoy the Christmas atmosphere... but it has truly been nice to be surrounded by Chanukah instead.  Here is a glimpse of how I celebrated the holiday in Jerusalem.

On the first night of Chanukah, a bunch of us gathered in our apartment lobby and lit Chanukiyot (hebrew for Menorahs) together.

Those little tin menorahs were donated to us by a man in Tzfat.  He sent us back to Jerusalem with 25 of them, including boxes of candles!

It is tradition to eat food made with oil to remember the miracle of the Chanukah (there was only enough oil to last 1 day but it lasted 8 days).  Doughnuts are a popular Chanukah treat.  Here in Israel they are called Sufganiyot and they are EVERYWHERE!  One evening, Olivia, Shai, and I ventured to Ne'eman bakery for my very first Sufganiya!

Jelly-filled and Chocolate filled

My first bite of a sufganiya! (it was quite a disappointment as there wasn't any jelly inside)

Everywhere I looked, there were chanukiyot.  Menorahs like one were pretty much placed on every street corner!

Lit up menorahs were hung from every lamppost in the city center!

On the 6th night, Danit, Carolyn, Denise, Dina, & I went for some sufganiyot at Rolladin in Mamilla mall.  They only had 2 flavors left- pistachio and sweet popcorn.  Denise and I shared a sweet popcorn one but I wasn't such a fan of it- a little too buttery tasting for me.  We then went to the Jaffa Gate in the Old City and were met by this beautiful blue Chanukiyah.

Carolyn, Dina, & I walked around town while Denise and Danit went to the kotel.  In Kikar Safra, we came upon this enormous Chanukiah.

Trying to make it look like I'm holding the base of the Chanukiya

On the 7th night, our group took our usual Tuesday siyur (trip/tour) but we waited until the evening.  We were guided through the neighborhood of Nachlaot where we saw many many homes with their Chanukiyot outside.  It is Jewish tradition to put your menorahs in the windows for everyone to see.  Here in Israel (and probably in other Jewish neighborhoods all over the world), people put their Chanukiyot in boxes so they can be placed outside.  Notice that this Chanukiya does not use candles, instead oil is used to replicate what our ancestors used to light the Menorah.

So many menorahs!  

For the last night, I decided to fry up some cheese latkes.  Potato latkes (pancakes) are more commonly eaten on Chanukah, but this is a recipe that my mom has made for years.  No matter how many times I try, they still do not look or taste as good as my mommy's latkes.  My friends here all said they were delicious though so I guess my effort was a success.

I cannot take credit for this awesome picture of my delicious latke.  Twas the work of PJ Edelman,

Once again we all gathered to light the Chanukiyot together.  It's always a little sad when the 8th night comes around because we now have to wait a whole year (well a Jewish year) until we see the beautiful lights of the Chanukiya once again.  I hope you all had a wonderful light-filled Chanukah!

  

Don't be fooled by the lack of pictures documenting my sufganiyot consumption.  During these 8 days, I ate many more than I'd like to admit...

11/8/10: Women of the Wall נשות הכותל

Early last month, I got up at the crack of dawn to celebrate Rosh Chodesh with Women of the Wall/ נשות הכותל (Nashot HaKotel).  Rosh Chodesh, the first day of each Hebrew month, coincides with the New Moon.  We are commanded to recognize it as we would other festivals.  Women of the Wall is an organization of women who "strive to achieve the right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall (Kotel) in Jerusalem, Israel."  The Western Wall is a holy site for Jewish people but collective prayer on the women's side is frowned upon.  As their website explains, "On December 4th 2001, bill number 1924 was voted on and became law in the Knesset.  The bill is an amendment to the Holy sites Law of 1967 and reads, 'No ceremony shall be held in the Wall’s women’s section.  That includes reading from a Torah, blowing the ram’s horn, wearing prayer shawls or phylacteries.  Violators shall be imprisoned for seven years.'  Some women have been arrested in the past, but this has not stopped the group from continuing their monthly ritual of praying at the wall.


Ruth and I met up with her friend Steven and his roommate and the four of us walked about 45 minutes to the Old City.  Once at the wall, we parted from the guys to go to our respective sides.  Though the service was conducted on the women's side, there were many men there to support the group and they came up to the mechitza (barrier between the sides) to participate in our service.  I put on my tallit (prayer shawl) that I brought with me to Israel but had not yet used here as most of the synagogues I'd been going to were on the Orthodox end of the spectrum of Judaism where women do not wear tallit.   Overall the service was uneventful (as in no one got arrested).  There were plenty of security guards and many photographers.  The only disruption came from a man who was standing on a chair, yelling.  I could not understand what he was saying but I had a feeling it involved unpleasantries and was directed towards us.  I later found out I was correct.  

the group of women standing in front of me

After the Shacharit service we paraded, while singing, to another section of the Western Wall where Torah reading is allowed.  This section does not have separate sections for men and women and it is where many congregations go for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.  

Getting the Torah ready for the reading

Hagbah- lifting the Torah

Something else interesting from their website:
"In Hebrew, the word for women is nashim. Since – im is generally a masculine plural ending and -ot is generally the feminine plural ending, nashim is an exception to the linguistic rule. We chose to use nashot, similar to the way some American feminist have chosen to use womyn (for woman) and wimmin (for women). It is a pro-female assertion that seeks to remove the linguistic dependency of the word woman or women on the word man or men, since unfortunately these female words have largely and historically been characterized as a “derivative” of the male, a statement which has social implications."


I'm looking forward to joining the Women of the Wall again this month!

11/2/10: Zichron Ya'akov

At the beginning of November, our group visited Zichron Ya'akov, one of the first settlements of Jewish Pioneers in Israel.  We went to Ramat Hanadiv gardens, saw the grave of Baron Edward James de Rothschild, founder of the settlement, visited a museum about the 1st Aliyah (group of people moving to Israel), and had lunch in a cute shopping center area.  

Danit & Me at Ramat Hanadiv

Almost died when I saw this... but I think it's actually pretty common as bus drivers need their beauty sleep too

Chinese Food menu... amusing to see pork written in Hebrew (literal translation is white meat)

After lunch, we visited Tishbi Winery where we toured and tasted delicious wines.  I pretended to remember things I learned in the Wines course I took Senior year at Cornell.  

Sharing my wine expertise... 

We ended our trip with a hike along the shore of the Dor Habonim beach and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Soooo pretty

Awesome bed of seashells instead of sand

Every Sunset in Israel is AMAZING