Too Darn Hot

The heat index in Jerusalem today is 44.6º Celsius. That's a little over 112º Fahrenheit!! And as is the case with most apartments in Jerusalem, there's no air conditioning. My apartment is constructed mostly out of stone, which usually keeps things pretty cool. But not today, oh no. I'm sitting around in my gym shorts and sweating just from the exercise of typing. =/

Cold showers help for about 5 minutes. Then you start sweating again. Drinking ice water seems to help to some degree. I would leave my place in search of somewhere with air conditioning, but that would entail going outside. Trapped. Inside.

Oh well, at least I like my apartment. I did pull a page out of my childhood and put some grapes in the freezer. Hopefully soon they'll be ready to eat and will go to work on cooling me off from the inside out. It makes me wonder though, how different life must have been before air conditioning! At least, on most occasions, I can retreat to someone else's apartment, or a cafe, or school where there is (usually) air conditioning -- how tough it must have been when no where had air conditioning. I guess this is a nice slice of perspective courtesy of biblicaly hot weather. Thank you?

Dear Bloomington, want to trade weather?

Tel Aviv

Part I - Tel Aviv: So Hard to Leave

Tel Aviv is a great place to visit for the weekend. Great food, beautiful beaches, and beautiful people. Tel Aviv also was voted one of the world's top 10 beach cities by National Geographic. http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/top-10/beach-cities-photos/

From their website: "Call it Miami Beach on the Med. Tel Aviv is the Dionysian counterpart to religious Jerusalem. In the “bubble,” as it’s known for its inhabitants’ tendency to tune out regional skirmishes, some restaurants, discos, and clubs are open until dawn. By day, the scene shifts to the city’s promenade and eight miles (13 kilometers) of beach literally steps from town. Head to wide and sandy Gordon Beach to sit in a seaside café or take a dip in the saltwater pool."

I've been a couple times now and wanted to post some pictures for people to enjoy.

Here's us walking down the beach

This guy walks around and takes your food and drink order and then delivers food right to you

An unusually dressed ice cream vendor

Enjoying some Mediterranean snacks

My friend Mike and me


Sunset over the Mediterranean

Here's a video panorama of this particular beach

This guy is a sheirut driver. A sheirut (literally meaning "service") is a group taxi/minibus and they travel various intercity routes for unbelievably low prices. To get from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, about 45 minutes away, is only 24 shekels, or about $6. The sheiruts all line up outside the bus station and the drivers just yell out where they're going. You climb in, wait for the minibus to get full and off you go! They are regulated by a private company though, so don't worry. I'm not just jumping in some random minibus!

Part II - Toto, I've a feeling...

So I went back to Tel Aviv on a separate occasion: sadly, my ipod touch screen died. Or rather I should say, the back light died. I could still use the ipod, just only in direct lighting and even then, only barely. Good thing I bought the extended warranty, right? Oops, the closest Apple store is in Italy. Life never lets these things be simple for me it seems.

So, in Israel there is a certified reseller, iDigital. iDigital it turns out will honor the Apple Care extended warranty (confirmed by a US Apple telephone rep) but the closest store is in Tel Aviv. Hey, i figure this is my chance to go back to Tel Aviv and relax on the beach. I make an appointment and the technician says, no problem we'll get you a new one right away. By right away he meant a minimum of 10 days because they had to ship my old ipod to Europe to see if it could be fixed. If not I could get a replacement. So, I sign various forms to make sure everything is legitimate and while my ipod prepares for a trip to Italy, or wherever, I decide to find the beach Mike and I went to the other week.

So I start walking south and west, since the Dizengoff mall is somewhat on the north side of Tel Aviv. The bus station, where I would eventually need to catch a sheirut home was also south, I knew. I hit coastline and figured I must be close to the nice beach. The view is amazing and even though it's terribly hot, the breeze is perfect. I stop every now and then to sit on a bench and just take in the beautiful views. I keep walking. I decide to take my flip-flops off and walk with my feet in the water. I walk and I walk, but I don't see the beach I'm looking for with the nice umbrellas and everything.

Eventually I decide I've gone far enough and just sit and relax on the beach. I take a little nap. I wake up to the sound of people playing that crazy game with the paddles and the small ball (see the Haifa beach post from June). It's getting toward evening so I decide to catch a cab back to the bus station. It must be pretty cheap fare after all I figure, since I walked all this way south I must be pretty close to the bust station.

I flag down a cab and ask him what his opening bid is for a ride to the bus station (standard procedure here is to haggle for cab fare). He gives me a strange look and although I'm paraphrasing, says something like, "What bus station? There's no bus station." And I'm like, ok maybe he thinks I'm talking about intercity buses. I say, "the central bus station, I need to catch a sheirut back to Jerusalem." He replies, "Well for that you'd have to go to Tel Aviv. There are no sheiruts in Bat Yam."

Quick Israel geography lesson: Bat Yam is a city to the south of Tel Aviv.

So, it turns out between the sun clouding my judgment and just enjoying the walk, I apparently walked about six miles too far south. The beach I was looking for (I later found out) was only a short walk north of where I started. Live and learn, right? Rather than pay the cab driver a week's salary for a ride back to Tel Aviv, I decided to walk. I made it home safe and sound later that night. Just very, very tired. Oh, with a world class farmer's tan.

Hey Soul Sisters

Just a quick anecdote: I woke up at 6 am this morning to, well, do what you do when you wake up at 6 am. Through the bathroom window I heard a group of nuns singing their morning blessings, "Hallelujah, hallelujah!" It was like having a cheering section. I went back to bed thinking what a special place this is.

The Banter Is Back

Oh, hi! Um, we'll I'm relieved you're still checking up on the blog despite my recent inactivity. I'll work on that. I'll have to do some jumping around chronologically and work backwards to catch everyone up, but at least this way I'll have plenty to post about.

I've gotten a number of questions about leading services (my favorite, "did the first one kill you, you never posted after that..."). I actually haven't led any services since that first one. Actually, we don't officially start leading services until next month, roughly. So it was a bit of a fluke and a combination of me arriving in Jerusalem super early and last year's students having already left. So I'll be sure to keep everyone posted (honest!) once that gets going for real.

In the meantime let me tell you all about Tisha B'Av and what it was like in the old city here in Jerusalem. Tisha B'Av literally means "the ninth of Av." Av being one of the months in the Jewish calendar, a lunar calendar that runs parallel with the ecclesiastical calendar. This infamous 9th day of Av is sort of the Jewish equivalent of Friday the 13th but with less superstition, and no Hollywood blockbusters.

Terrible things that have happened on the 9th of Av throughout history:
(Or at least retroactively having been attributed to the 9th of Av)
Courtesy of wikipedia and my memory...

In ancient times:

• According to the book of Numbers, chapters 13 and 14, Moses sent 12 spies out to observe the land of Canaan. Ten of the twelve spies didn't have good things to report about the future home of the Israelites when they returned. The majority report caused everyone to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "Promised Land." For this, (despairing despite God's assurances that everything would be alright) they were punished. Thus ensues 40 odd years of desert wandering. Because of this lack of faith, God decreed that for all generations this date would henceforth be one of crying and misfortune.
• The First Temple built by King Solomon and the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE and the Judeans were sent into the Babylonian exile.
• The Second Temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land.
  
• The Romans crushed Bar Kokhba's revolt and destoyed the city of Betar, killing over 100,000 Jews, in 132 CE.
• Following the Roman siege of Jerusalem, Roman commander Turnus Rufus plowed the site of the Temple and the surrounding area, in 133 CE.

In (relatively) modern times:

• The First Crusade was declared by Pope Urban II in 1095, killing 10,000 Jews in its first month and destroying Jewish communities in France and the Rhineland.
• Jews were expelled from England in 1290.
• Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492.
• On Tisha B'Av 1914 (August 1, 1914), World War I broke out, causing unprecedented devastation across Europe and set the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.
• On the eve of Tisha B'Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.
• The Jewish community center in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 86 and wounding 300 others, on Monday July 18, 1994, the 10th of Av.

What one does to observe Tisha B'Av (sundown to sundown):
(All restrictions are waived for any medical conditions)

• No eating or drinking from
  
• No washing or bathing
• No application of creams or oils
• No wearing of leather shoes
• No marital relations
• No studying Torah (scripture) except for Lamentations, Job, etc...
• Avoid work (we still had class...) :(

Here in Israel almost everything was closed. Restaurants, theaters, you name it. One really has to plan one's grocery shopping in advance here! It's also the tradition here to go to the "Kotel" or Wailing/Western Wall here in Jerusalem since it symbolizes all that remains of the great Second Temple.

Solomon's Temple was built on the site (the Temple Mount) in the 10th century BCE and was destroyed, as we've already discussed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was completed and dedicated in 516 BCE. In around 19 BCE Herod the Great began a massive expansion project on the Temple Mount. He artificially expanded the area which resulted in an enlarged platform. Today's Western Wall formed part of the retaining perimeter wall of this platform. Again, Herod's Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire, along with the rest of Jerusalem, in 70 CE.

So when in Rom... I mean, Jerusalem...

So of course I went to the wall. From what I gathered people go to the wall for two reasons on Tisha B'Av. One, of course to commemorate the destruction of the temples and to read the book of Lamentations. But, two, to celebrate that the Jewish people are once again allowed to pray openly in Jerusalem, at the wall, under their own sovereignty. So there is a peculiar bitter-sweetness to be had.

Here's a video panorama while standing next to the wall.



You can see that almost everyone is reading and/or studying from the book of Lamentations ("Eicha" in Hebrew). The large group in the corner was at times reading in a call and response pattern with a leader which is traditional for Lamentations, representing the call and response of the Jewish people with God. Ok, moving on ... you're probably just looking at the pictures anyway. :)

A view from a distance


I don't know if you can tell from the video, but there is an "inside" portion to the western wall next to the corner. I went in to see what was going on in there. It was full of other groups praying, each sitting around a rabbi or teacher and studying.

The view as I was leaving the inside portion

More people


I thought this was especially cool. Israel is a very politically intense place. Not only from pressures and sources outside the country but from various factions, VERY heterogeneous factions, within the country. One of the polar opposites that is often the source of heated debate is the relationship between Israel's ultra orthodox population, the "Haredim" who are exempt from military service and are often accused of sapping resources from the government, and soldiers, typically secular 18-21 year olds. Here you can see soldiers and them studying and praying side by side.

It reminds me that even though there are many different types of Jews (reform, conservative, orthodox, ultra-orthodox, reconstructionist, secular, post-denominational, Chabadnicks, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, etc etc etc) we are all a family. Family members don't always get along, they fight, argue, even go without speaking at times, and I suppose that's ok sometimes. But no matter what, you're always family, always connected.

Ok, well, as they say in Hebrew, "zehu," that's it. For now at least. I'm in my second week of Ulpan, 3 hours and 45 minutes a day of intensive Hebrew, four days a week for a total of six weeks. And we start at 8:30 am. Who thought that was a good idea?! Really, why not just push it back to 9 am? Oh well, so it's off to bed for me. Until next time!

My First Service

I officially led my first service as a cantorial student! Yesterday morning, two Israeli rabbinical students and I led services in the Murstein Synagogue on HUC's campus. There was a special delegation on campus this week and they wanted some extra musical "umph" this week in particular. My friend Rachel (who just completed her first year in the cantorial program here) was up for the opportunity first but her flight out of the country was a day too early. So, between Rachel's recommendation and the school's recommendation, (apparently it pays to get here 6 weeks early!) it became my opportunity. It was a great experience working with the Israeli rabbinic students to build the service. Tati is from Argentina and Uri is from Brazil so the conversation often drifted between Spanish, English, and Hebrew, but we all managed somehow!
Unfortunately, I came down with a cold or something on Friday afternoon. It started very abruptly and probably as a result of not getting much rest the past .... month. Yea. Friday night was the worst of it and I was worried I wouldn't be well enough to help lead services in the morning. Ten hours of sleep seemed to help a little bit. I gathered my remaining strength and luckily HUC is only a 12 minute walk from my apartment. Fortunate for me it wasn't too hot out at 8:30 in the morning and I made it there in 20 minutes.
Once the service was under way, it was smooth sailing. The multicultural make up of the service organizers made for a beautiful service I thought - tunes from South America, the United States, Israel, something new and something familiar for everyone. I song-led from the piano since my guitar skills still need work and I was quite happy about how it all went.
For those of you who have never been to a synagogue service, normally the congregation sort of half-sings, content to be led through the service (perhaps not all the different from your average church service). But let me tell you! The sound in the Murstein Synagoge! Everyone sang full out and it was amazing! I tried to find a youtube video for you all of Jeff Klepper's "Mah Tovu," the first song the congregation really let rip on. If anyone had a bad voice in the whole congregation, you wouldn't have known it. The whole experience filled me with excitement for other services to come in the future.
Unfortunately, I think all the excitement totally wiped me out again. I walked back home and slept basically for the rest of the day. I feel a little better now, at least not so achy, but I'm still getting hot and cold flashes and my throat is killing me. So, just in case it's not just a silly little cold, I'll plan on taking my brand new student health insurance for a test drive in the morning. For now I've discovered that if I boil water and steep mint leaves from the shuk mixed with a little honey, it keeps my sore throat at bay for a short while. I'm off to bed, again, but I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

The Shuk

There's been so much meeting and greeting since I arrived back in Jerusalem on Saturday night, I never really stocked up on groceries. So, my room mate Sara and I, along with several other early arrivals headed over to the "shuk" (rhymes with book). The shuk is this huge open air market that essentially takes up an entire small neighborhood, though there's definitely a main strip and several side streets. (I didn't have my camera with me so all pictures below are courtesy of the internet)
Prices are written on small chalk boards and are really reasonable and vary depending on the time and day of the week. Right before Shabbat (Friday afternoon), prices are super low because everyone is trying to get rid of their stock, but the streets are unbelievably packed. Even on Wednesday late morning, things were hoppin. Spices, fruit, eggs, cheese, candy, everything! And if you see it there, you can bet it's in season and super fresh.
Great fresh spices too!
You walk down the streets and from time to time vendors will yell things out in Hebrew (obviously) like "You can't believe how cheap these are!" or "You'd be stupid not to buy these!"
Everyone uses these little shuk carts, about the size of an airplane carry-on.
The one in may apartment is a very posh, masculine, purple plaid. It's surprising how much one can stuff in there, and the wheels are a life saver! So, at least now we have food for the eating in my apartment! Hope everyone's doing well!

Jerusalem Apartment and Shabbat in Haifa

So, I know it's been a while between posts; internet access was severely lacking for the last half of my birthright trip and life has been crazy since arriving (again) in Jerusalem. In the interest of not falling perpetually behind as life moves on day to day, I'll skip posting everything for my birthright trip right now. There are a lot of pictures on facebook already if you absolutely can't wait, but I'll narrate that trip another time for you all.

Not so long ago in a city far, far away....

Following my birthright trip, I got a ride back to Jerusalem and met my friend Rachel on Ben Yehuda street, one of that main strips downtown. Rachel just finished her first year in the same program I'll be starting so in addition to it being great to see her and catch up, it was great to talk about her year and all the great things to come for the both of us. I had to meet my landlord's cousin in the Old City of Jerusalem in order to get the keys. He owns a shop on the Cardo called Gold of Jerusalem, obviously a play on the catchphrase, "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav," or Jerusalem of Gold. The Cardo, according to Wikipedia is:

"A north-south oriented street in Roman cities, military camps, and coloniae. The cardo, an integral component of city planning, was lined with shops and vendors, and served as a hub of economic life."

Interestingly enough, the Cardo today is still a major economic hub in the old city, still lined with shops and vendors. Pretty awesome to think that the street life on the cardo hasn't changed much in 2,000 years. Anyway, you want to know what else hasn't changed? All the steps. Not made for shlepping your luggage. =P I'm sure everyone was like, hey check out the newbie. Anyway, I got the keys and Rachel and I headed back to check out the apartment. It's amazing. It was a little more than some of the other apartments around but it's only a 10 minute walk from campus, it's newly renovated, and the other fees associated with the apartment were minimal compared with other places.

Here are some pics:A nice living room. There's a big TV you can't see, not that I'll ever use it.... but still.

The living room in my room (yup I get my own living room!). Up the stairs there is my lofted bed.

A nice kitchen ... now I just have to learn to cook!And a table fit for hosting!

Moving on ... so moving in was Wednesday. That night we were going to go to a Chopin concert by the Jerusalem Symphony, but they pulled a fast one on us and said we couldn't use Rachel's student tickets since it was a "special" performance. Whatever. Right out side the symphony hall was a cool adaptation of Romeo and Juliet in Hebrew, set to really bad music. Haha. Pretty random but equally awesome. (Awesome = Sababa for those of you following along in Hebrew.)
On Thursday we ate breakfast with Ari (the rabbinical student moving out of my place) at a restaurant that reminded me of the Runcible Spoon in Bloomington. Lots of books on the wall and kind of hard to find. The other girl was a friend of Ari's, I believe.
I went down to HUC to meet with people, get my Israeli cell phone and start what I'm sure will be the long and arduous process of obtaining a student visa. Yea! More on that front as it develops (no doubt). On Thursday night Rachel and I went to a play and then met up with Jordan, Sarah, and Carlie all from IU on Ben Yehuda street. Also pictured is their friend, Jeff.
On Friday, Rachel and I left for Haifa to stay with her boyfriend Dov. I haven't seen Dov in like 2 years since he finished up at IU so it was awesome to see him. And he and Rachel were really patient with me. I told them I was serious about leaning Hebrew so they agreed to speak only (or mostly) Hebrew with me. I wound up speaking some sort of Hebrish (Hebrew/English) but still, it was the most practice I've gotten yet and after only 24 hours I could feel a difference! It was really cool.

We went to a reform synagogue for shabbat and what do you suppose the odds are that I know someone there at services? Pretty good apparently. I look over during the service and see someone I met last summer in Bloomington. You can imagine the looks on our faces when we realized it from across the synagogue. Haha. Small world I guess. She's finishing up a semester abroad studying at Haifa University.

On Saturday morning, Rachel, Dov, and I went to Haifa beach. It was really nice. Warm, lots of families, and great waves. One of the phenomenons here at Israeli beaches is this ping pong without a table. Apparently so many people play, it's hard for everyone else to even walk around. So, here's a picture that I thought was too good to pass up.

If you zoom in on the sign, it reads, "A forbidden place for games." This girl is a true Israeli, haha! That'll show that sign!

Anyway, it was beautiful.
A picture of Rachel and Dov...

That's all for now, folks. Hope you've enjoyed this installment. Feel free to post and say hi! Miss you all and hope everyone is doing well! Until next time! Xoxo.