Tisha B'Av in Jerusalem

On Wednesday night I attended the Tisha B’Av service run by the Conservative Movement at the Robinson’s Arch area alongside the Kotel. I walked over with the group which included Iris and Mike Lav who are also studying Hebrew at the CY this summer. We had our picture taken as we passed the Tifereth Israel Road sign as we discussed the bulletin board that used to hold pictures from everyone who went to Jerusalem and posed by this sign.
The service was a lovely egalitarian service and there were people there from all over the world. It was a very moving service, made more so, by the location. Looking around and seeing the remains of the destruction of the Temple while listening to Eicha was an awesome experience! I noticed many others who seem to have the same reaction as they looked around in awe while listening to the reading.

Blog Activity:Look on the internet or ask your parents to explain what Robinson's Arch is and why that site made the Eicha reading so meaningful.

A really funny thing happened as I was preparing for the service. We were told to bring our own siddur and our own copy of Eicha. I had brought a Siddur with me and a Tanakh, however, as I was translating something from Hebrew using my Ipod Touch I started wondering if there was ‘an app for that’. Sure enough there was a Siddur application AND a Tanakh application that I downloaded to my Ipod. This was one of the best things I did since the Ipod lights up and I did not have to shlep the siddur or Tanakh to the old city and I had a nice clear copy of Eicha to follow along that was very well lit. There really is an ‘app for that!’ I was absolutely amazed at how easy and quick it was to find.

Second Week

The second week of classes also went very quickly. The ulpan class is moving rapidly and we were happy to go back into a bigger classroom. On Tuesdsay, after the Legacy Heritage meeting I had the opportunity to have coffee with Sally Klein-Katz, who in addition to being one of those in charge of the Legacy Heritage program, is also a lay leader at Kol HaNeshama in Baka. She is very involved with her community and we had arranged to get together after our Legacy group meeting, because she had mentioned some of the initiatives her congregation was taking in order to help build community. Sally was very generous with her time and information and there are some ideas we can definitely implement at Tifereth Israel. I also shared some of the things we do and she was very impressed with what she heard.

We had coffee at the ‘Cup of Joe’ by the Inbal hotel and this worked out perfectly because afterwards I had planned to meet a friend from my ulpan class at the Inbal hotel across the street where they have a lovely courtyard that on Tuesday and Thursday evenings has a jazz group playing. After our meeting I walked across the street to the Inbal, and had a very nice dinner while we went over our Hebrew work. While walking home after dinner I saw Steve Kerbel, education director of B’nai Tzedek. I should also mention that while having dinner at Caffit on Emek Rafaim on Monday night I ran into Shaiel Yitzchak, son of Linda and Razi, and Rena Fruchter. Emek Rafaim seems definitely to be the place to meet fellow DC Jewish educators!

Shabbat

There are many options for davening on Shabbat and this week I went to Shirah Chadasha on Friday evening. The service is semi-egalitarian with a mechitza and following the service we went to dinner at a fellow student’s house that was very close to the synagogue. The service was nice and the dinner was delicious. Renee and Karen who were out hosts had taken advantage of one of the myriad of take-out places set up for Shabbat and purchased many choices for our dinner. This is something that is very different from home. Rather than a ‘traditional’ Friday night chicken dinner, Shabbat meals here seem to be more diverse as there are so many more options for food.

On Shabbat morning, we davened at Yakar. The service was very nice and they offer their d’var torah between Shacharit and Musaf, before the Torah reading. They actually offered two drashot, one in English in one room and in Hebrew in another. The speaker was very interesting and there seemed to be many English speakers there, we ran into some fellow students there as well. Yakar also has a mechitza, it is a front back mechitza rather than one that divides the room in half sideways.

Blog Activity: Learn what a mechitza is and discuss if it matters in what direction the mechitza is located.

A Very Busy 1st Week

The first week really flew by, in addition to attending classes I also attended the Barbara Wachs memorial lecture on Tuesday evening at Yedidya. Rabbi David Golinkin, Rosh of the Schecter Institute of Jewish studies, spoke about Israel today. The title of his talk was ‘Heavenly or Earthly: Will the Real Israel Please Stand Up.’ Through the use of texts as well as work by contemporary authors he showed how Israel fits into both categories as well as discussed some of Israel’s contemporary problems.

This was the week after the riots by the Haredim surrounding the medical treatment of a young boy who was removed from his home and whose mother was accused of abuse. Rabbi Golinkin of course mentioned these incidents in terms of contemporary Jerusalem and how people live here today.

It was a very interesting talk and I ran into Rabbi Gary Creditor from Temple Beth-El of Richmond and his family as we were leaving. They are also in Jerusalem for a few weeks.

In addition, this week, the Yeshiva brought in Danny Siegel to speak during our Wednesday lunch period. I also ran into Danny while having coffee on Emek Refa’im on Thursday. Running into people you know is a typical ‘Israel experience’ but never stops being a pleasant surprise.

I am posting pictures of some of the signs I see on my way to class each day.

Blog Activity: See if you can figure out the name of the store across the street from the Yeshiva. What type of store is it? What else do you notice about these signs?

Classroom Photos

Here are the classroom pictures. Don't forget to look for the Caravan.

Classes Begin

In Israel, Sundays are like Mondays in the states. Everything is open, and it really יום ראשון. Blog Activity-what does this mean?
We needed to be at CY (Conservative Yeshiva) by 7:30 at which time there were announcements for all participants in the classes, shacharit services were held and then we were given the final list of classes including our ulpan classes.
My class schedule is as follows:
9-12:30- Ulpan
12:30-1:40-Lunch
Mincha
2 -3:45 Midrash -Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays
2 -3:45 Psalms -Mondays and Wednesdays
4- 5:30 Engaging with Israel-Sundays
4 -5:30 Contemporary Halacha-Mondays and Wednesdays
4 -5:30 Legacy Heritage Workshop-Tuesdays
4- 5:30 Parshat Hashavua on Fridays

We get homework every night in Ulpan but not in any of the other classes.
The Conservative Yeshiva have a very nice campus but the classes meet in 'found spaces.' I am posting some pictures of the Yeshiva campus and classrooms and one of one of the caravan, where my ulpan class met for four days.
Blog activity: Which picture do you think is the Caravan? What is an Ulpan class??

Shabbat in Jerusalem

Shabbat in Jerusalem was very nice, peaceful and relaxing. Although I found it very interesting that there are many more cars on the street than I was expecting and I was actually woken up early in the morning by someone blowing their horn! I certainly didn't expect that in Jerusalem!

Motzei Shabbat I took the girls to the The Night Spectacular at the Tower of David. The show has no narration and is not meant to be a comprehensive history lesson. Instead, viewers are treated to a colorful series of moving images that turn the massive walls, arches, towers, turrets and archaeological ruins into lifelike depictions of events that took place over the millennia, right where we were. The show does not provide a full history of Jerusalem however, the images are very powerful and we all really enjoyed it.

Blog Activity: Look online to learn about The Tower of David, what did you find most interesting? Draw your own picture of the tower and hand it in for a prize.

After the show we went to Ben Yehuda street for the girls to do some shopping. It was unbelievably crowded! I have never seen it like that, it looked like Times Square in New York on a Saturday night. It was great to see so many groups of young people there enjoying their summer programs in Israel. I spoke to some of the teens and they were from all the major groups-USY, NFTY, BBYO and Birthright. There were also some European groups there from France and Denmark. Myriam ran into a friend from the Habonim program who had spent the weekend at Beit Shemesh and was shopping with her aunt.

MBI Weekend and the Program Begins

Friday, July 17 was the official start of my program as well as the beginning of the free weekend for Myriam's Habonim Dror Program. I needed to pick her up at the bus at 10:30 and be to the Conservative Yeshiva by 12:30. This is doable IF the bus isn't late--what are the odds of THAT happening?? Sure enough, the Habonim Bus arrived at 11:15 and I had my flatmate tell the Yeshiva that I might be a few minutes late to the luncheon.

Blog Activity: The name of the place where I met the bus is on the sign in the picture-what is it in Hebrew and English?

Myriam brought some friends with her for the weekend and luckily they all had rolling suitcases. My flat is about a 40 minute walk from the bus and the girls were really tired when we got there. On the way to the flat we stopped for food at the corner take out. Like many in Jerusalem this one offers many choices of pre-made food for Shabbat. They display the food around the room in large containers and the girls had a good time picking different types of food to try. After we got back to the flat and they rested for a little while I walked them back to Emek Refa'im where they were going to have lunch and visit the shops and Friday flea market while I went to the Yeshiva.

At the Yeshiva, they were just getting started with introductions and lunch. We heard about the classes being offered and I met the other participants who had received a Legacy Heritage Fellowship. There are 22 of us in this program and throughout the three weeks we will have the opportunity to meet together as well as attend the classes at the Conservative Yeshiva. These classes are open to anyone who wants to study in Jerusalem. Every morning they offer three hours of Ulpan and in the afternoon there are text classes such as midrash, halacha, psalms, etc. The orientation ended at about 3:30 pm which gave us just about enough time to go home, get changed and come back to the Fuchsberg Center for Kabbalat Shabbat services and dinner.

When we got back to the flat, the girls were there chilling and checking their emails, something they hadn't been able to do while on their trip. We all got changed and walked back to the Fuchsberg Center and attended Moreshet Yisrael for services and then we went into the guest house for dinner. After dinner we walked back to the flat, it takes about thirty five minutes each way, and everyone was exhausted and went to sleep. The girls fell asleep before we even went to bed!

Blog Activity: What is the name of the synagogue located at the Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem? See if you can find a picture of it online.

Zippori

Zippori used to be the center of Jewish religious and spiritual life in the Galilee and remains of a 6th century synagogue have been uncovered in the lower section of the city. When you visit Zippori you can see what has been uncovered and admire the beautiful mosaic floor that was uncovered. A special gift will be given to any child who makes a Jewish Mosaic picture (this can be done out of paper) and brings it in to school to show me.

The mosaic floor in Zippori is divided into seven parts. Near the entrance there is a scene showing the angels visiting Sarah. The next section shows the binding of Isaac. There is a large Zodiac with the names of the months written in Hebrew. Helios sits in the middle, in his sun chariot. The last section shows two lions flanking a wreath, their paws resting on the head of an ox.
The most interesting are the central sections of the mosaic. One shows the "tamid" sacrifice, the showbread, and the basket of first fruits form the Temple in Jerusalem. Also shown are a building facade, probably representing the Temple, incense shovels, shofars, and the seven-branched menorah from the Temple. Another section shows Aaron dressed in priestly robes preparing to offer sacrifices of oil, flour, a bull and a lamb.

Tiberias

Tiberias is really beautiful so I have added some pictures here of Tiberias as well. Can you name the water that you see in the picture?

An Israel Opportunity

There are so many opportunities to learn and study in Jerusalem that I am always overwhelmed by how many choices I have and I try to take advantage of as many as possible! One of these opportunities arose on Thursday. My flatmate was signed up to attend a tiyul with Matan, an Orthodox Women's Yeshiva. The trip was going to Tiberias, Tzippori and the Dona Gracia house/hotel in Tiberias. She had signed up before arriving and when I expressed interest she called to see if there was still room. There wasn't but they said I could come to the school and see if maybe someone would not show up. Since I was up I decided to walk over with Julie and see what happened, and I was lucky and one person did not show and I got to go on the trip!

I would call the trip a 'text tour' because we looked at source material about Tiberias and Zippori while touring the sites.

The Dona Gracia house was very interesting, it is a hotel that has interactive exhibits about her. The Amsalem family of Tiberias, a veteran family in Tiberias, decided to initiate and contribute to the establishment of this museum which will serve as "Casa Dona Gracia". This is a unique cultural institute which set its goal to emphasize the involvement and centrality of women in human history in general and that of the Jewish nation in particular, by glorifying the image and actions of the 16th century Jewish leader Dona Gracia, or in her Jewish name Hanna Nassi.This, in order to note her role in saving the Jewish refugees from Spain and Portugal and dedication of her wealth and fabulous richness to the realization of her dream to build a safe refuge for her Jewish brethren in the holy city of Tiberias in the Land of Israel. We even got to dress up in period clothing! I believe there is a great children't book about her in the Mollie L. Berch library, check it out!

Settling In

On Wednesday I woke up and unpacked, the flat we are staying in is nice and it is in the Katamon area of Jerusalem. I am walking distance from just about everywhere, but then again, most places in Jerusalem are walking distance from just about everywhere!

I am posting some pictures of the flat for you to see. How many of the rooms can you name in hebrew? Look up the hebrew word for kitchen and tell me what it is when I return, for your prize.

Dinner Time!

Julie was waiting for me when I arrived at the flat and we took a walk up to Emek Refa'im for dinner. We ate at a fleish restaurant and it was a thrill to have so many kosher restaurants from which to choose!

The pictures on this post show some of the sites we saw while walking to Emek Refa'im.

Student Activity:

Find Emek Refa'im on a map of Jerusalem and tell me what other neighborhoods it is near for a prize.

Here are some more pictures of what I saw when landing in Israel. A special prize to the child who can tell me where in Israel the airport is located!

Arriving in Israel

For some reason I always forget how long the trip to Israel is, and I'm always suprised by how long it takes. It's not until I get here that I think, oh yeah, I remember how much I hate that flight now! The cheapest flight I could find was on Iberia airline which connected to an El Al flight in Spain. Although the flight from Dulles to Spain was crowded the flight to Israel was not and I could stretch out and get some rest. I left Dulles Airport in Virginia at 8:30 at night and arrived in Israel the next day at 6 PM Israeli time. All in all, I was traveling for about 15 hours including the transfer in Spain, not my idea of fun!
When I arrived at the airport I got my luggage and located a
שרות to take me to my flat. (Any student who can tell me what I took to the flat will earn an Israeli candy bar when I return.) I am sharing the flat with Julie Gilbert Ben Avram, a women who works as a youth director at Westchester Jewish Community Center. She is also here on a Legacy Heritage Fellowship and we met via the group list serve.

Blogging from Israel

Sue Catler had an idea that it would be fun for the families of Tifereth Israel to be able to read about my trip to Israel this summer through a blog. Although I've never written a blog before, I thought about it and decided it was a great idea! I am learning and doing so much and this gives me a great opportunity to share what I'm doing in the hopes of encouraging others to experience life in Israel either vicariously through my blog or to come try it for yourself! We have many Tifereth Israel members who are very knowledgeable about living in Israel and have lived here for longer periods of time. However, I am a great example of a fearless American who has not lived here before and I arrived with a great sense of adventure and the desire to experience as much of Israel as possible while taking classes, studying, and learning during a very short time. I don't kid myself into believing that I'm going to be able to understand or learn everything I would want to about the country in one short month, however, I do know that in one short month, I will leave here knowing much more than when I arrived!