Click this link to see the rest of the photos from my adventures in Jerusalem. Anyone can access it, even if you don't have a Facebook account. Enjoy!
January in Jerusalem
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Zoo Pictures
There was an awesome butterfly enclosure with a zillion of them all over the place. This one was willing to stay still long enough to be photographed.
The elephants were surprisingly playful and silly.
It was a super hot day so the kangaroos were just chillin' in the shade and not doing much of anything interesting.
Emu! Emu! The kangaroo and emu are on the Australian emblem because neither of them can walk backwards, and Australia is a "forward-looking country." They also apparently taste quite good on the barbecue. Funny, a country that eats its national animals.
I promise, there really are koalas in those trees. They're just hard to see.
Look! Cute little penguins who like the warm weather!
So those are some highlights from my Melbourne Zoo experience. I think what I'll do is leave these as highlights and then make an album on Facebook and sent you the link. I'll do it so that you don't need a Facebook username to get to the album, too.
Enjoy!
The elephants were surprisingly playful and silly.
It was a super hot day so the kangaroos were just chillin' in the shade and not doing much of anything interesting.
Emu! Emu! The kangaroo and emu are on the Australian emblem because neither of them can walk backwards, and Australia is a "forward-looking country." They also apparently taste quite good on the barbecue. Funny, a country that eats its national animals.
I promise, there really are koalas in those trees. They're just hard to see.
Look! Cute little penguins who like the warm weather!
So those are some highlights from my Melbourne Zoo experience. I think what I'll do is leave these as highlights and then make an album on Facebook and sent you the link. I'll do it so that you don't need a Facebook username to get to the album, too.
Enjoy!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Study Abroad Musings...
...sure to be the first of many posts like this
(this and the two previous posts were written over the course of the past few days but all posted at once due to lack of internet access.)
I’m back from bowling with a still-sore ankle, and I’m about to head off to sleep. I’ve been giving some thought to the way I’ve felt since I arrived, since it’s not the typical “wahoo this is amazing!” nor was I expecting that to be my first reaction. I think the issue right now is that it’s hard upon first arriving to feel like I’ve got any sort of connection to any of the other students around me. I know that in time I’ll come upon some great friends and be involved in activities and classes, and that those things will help me feel like I belong. But for now it’s a lot of new faces in a strange city, and it gets both overwhelming and lonely at the same time. At least having the Jewish community nearby makes a huge difference. As I rode the tram to the suburbs on Friday and saw the signs start saying things like “Sabra Falafel” and “Drs. Roseberg and Stern,” I knew I was in the right place and that there are people like me here, too. It’s comforting to know that no matter how big and scary the world is, I’m able to find a community to connect with and feel at home with as soon as I arrive. That bubble had to burst on Saturday night, though, when I was thrust back into the study-abroad-student world as I arrived back to Newman for the night. It just feels like I keep having to work hard at being friendly and making conversation, kinda like freshman orientation at Penn. Then, I knew that I’d most likely never see any of those people again, and I’d already had a chance to make some of my own friends. I feel the same way about this experience, except without the comfort zone of friends, so I guess the best solution is to be myself and ride it out and just take in what’s around me. It’s pretty neat stuff we’re doing, albeit exhausting, so I just have to take each moment as it comes. I guess what’s also weird about this is not actually having anything else that I need to do. I come back at night and just kinda shrug my shoulders and get ready for bed, since I don’t have a long list of responsibilities, nor do I have an internet connection to open up the boundaries of communication with my world back at home, which I miss terribly. I really have nothing to do other than be part of this program, which really only lasts two more days, but I’ll be happy to move into my own place on Tuesday and start setting that up, because at least it’ll give me something to do. And hopefully that’ll mean I’ll have internet as well.
So here’s to optimism, and here’s to a good night’s sleep!
(this and the two previous posts were written over the course of the past few days but all posted at once due to lack of internet access.)
I’m back from bowling with a still-sore ankle, and I’m about to head off to sleep. I’ve been giving some thought to the way I’ve felt since I arrived, since it’s not the typical “wahoo this is amazing!” nor was I expecting that to be my first reaction. I think the issue right now is that it’s hard upon first arriving to feel like I’ve got any sort of connection to any of the other students around me. I know that in time I’ll come upon some great friends and be involved in activities and classes, and that those things will help me feel like I belong. But for now it’s a lot of new faces in a strange city, and it gets both overwhelming and lonely at the same time. At least having the Jewish community nearby makes a huge difference. As I rode the tram to the suburbs on Friday and saw the signs start saying things like “Sabra Falafel” and “Drs. Roseberg and Stern,” I knew I was in the right place and that there are people like me here, too. It’s comforting to know that no matter how big and scary the world is, I’m able to find a community to connect with and feel at home with as soon as I arrive. That bubble had to burst on Saturday night, though, when I was thrust back into the study-abroad-student world as I arrived back to Newman for the night. It just feels like I keep having to work hard at being friendly and making conversation, kinda like freshman orientation at Penn. Then, I knew that I’d most likely never see any of those people again, and I’d already had a chance to make some of my own friends. I feel the same way about this experience, except without the comfort zone of friends, so I guess the best solution is to be myself and ride it out and just take in what’s around me. It’s pretty neat stuff we’re doing, albeit exhausting, so I just have to take each moment as it comes. I guess what’s also weird about this is not actually having anything else that I need to do. I come back at night and just kinda shrug my shoulders and get ready for bed, since I don’t have a long list of responsibilities, nor do I have an internet connection to open up the boundaries of communication with my world back at home, which I miss terribly. I really have nothing to do other than be part of this program, which really only lasts two more days, but I’ll be happy to move into my own place on Tuesday and start setting that up, because at least it’ll give me something to do. And hopefully that’ll mean I’ll have internet as well.
So here’s to optimism, and here’s to a good night’s sleep!
Off to Melbourne
I left Philly on Jan 13th. After 6 hours on a plane, 4 hours in the Los Angeles airport, which included one hour sleeping on the floor at the gate nearing midnight and one frantic phone call to my parents right before boarding (approx 2AM their time), and 15 more hours on the plane, I arrived at the Melbourne International Airport. At that point it was 9:30AM on Friday the 15th. Boy was I glad to be on the ground.
I guess I should explain what’s actually going on for me this week. I’m part of this program called the Melbourne Welcome, which is for study abroad students before actual orientation (“O Week”) starts. Upperclassmen basically act as our hosts and take us all around the city to all sorts of activities, just to give us a chance to explore and meet each other and get a feel for things. We were brought straight from the airport to the residential college house next to campus where we’re living for the duration of the program.
Almost as soon as I arrived at Newman College house, I packed my things and headed out to the suburbs for Shabbat. I knew it would mean missing group surfing lessons at Ocean Grove on Saturday, but I decided that it was more important for me to make a connection with the local Jewish community, and I am so glad I made that decision. It felt incredible to show up at the front door of Ms. Evelyn Rose’s home and be taken in with open arms and a welcome smile. Being in a real community with families and home-cooked food felt great after so much traveling. The Conservative community is called Kehilat Nitzan, and I really enjoyed their services and the people I met. Everyone was cheerful and welcoming and interested in where I was coming from and why I had chosen to study at Melbourne. It turns out that Rabbi Ehud Bandel is friendly with Rabbi Lindemann and has visited Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill many times, so we instantly had a connection. I really had a good time with their community, and I am excited to go back and spend many more Shabbatot with them. They already have me reading Torah two weeks from now, too.
Today’s main activities were visiting the Queen Victoria Market and the Melbourne Zoo. Queen Vic was pretty neat – the largest part of it was very much like the Israeli shuk markets: lots of vendors selling produce or souvenir items or random junk. There were rows and rows of these vendors in a tent-like covered area. Then there was another section indoors that had small little counters one after another selling candy or meats or cheese or sandwiches. There were so many different things in their displays. I even saw kangaroo meat at one of the deli counters. Next time I get back there I’ll be sure to take a bunch of pictures and share them with you, because it’s a neat place.
The zoo was pretty fun as well, but by then most of us were completely exhausted because of the heat. We really spent the entire day walking around, so being outdoors at a zoo was brutal in that way. But we did get to see some native Australian animals, like kangaroos just chilling in the shade, koalas hiding in trees, and tiny adorable penguins hanging out at their pond.
Right now I’m sitting on a bench in the outdoor quad area where I’m staying for these next few days. There’s finally a cool breeze after an incredibly hot day. You know it’s hot when even the Australians are complaining about the temperature. The sun’s on its way down, seeing as it’s just after 8PM, and soon a group of us is heading out bowling for the evening. My ankle hurts after a very walking-intensive day, and in the back of my mind I still feel that in the end of the day I’m here alone by myself, just trying to learn my way around and get through each day, but I can at least enjoy the clean feeling of a nice shower and be reasonably sure that tomorrow is going to be another beautiful and adventurous day. It’s going to take some time to get used to being here, and I am sure that having an apartment to call home and a finalized course schedule will definitely set me in the right direction.
And now for some random amusing things I’ve picked up since being here:
- When I got onto the plane from LA to Melbourne (nauseous and exhausted), I spoke with a flight attendant about needing to keep some of my medications cold while flying. He suggested that he could bring me a foam esky and some ice. First thought: “what the heck is a foam esky?” He made a box-shape with his hands, and I figured a foam box of any sort wouldn’t be too bad. Turns out that esky is the name used for cooler, which I learned after he showed up at my seat with a Styrofoam cooler box, which did the trick just fine.
- Also on the plane, the captain had to read out the safety information from a sheet over the PA system, since the recording wasn’t working properly. His instructions for using the seatbelt included how to “do it up” and “undo it,” which I thought were much better terms than the standard American “fasten” and “release.”
- Yeild signs say “Give Way”
- Speaking of the roads, I bet you don’t notice it, but when you cross the street your natural reaction is to look left first, then right, then check left again just before crossing. Here, thougt, it’s right, left, right, given that the cars are coming from the opposite direction. I’ve started to get the hang of it, but intersections still confuse me. On top of that, who would have ever thought that escalators would also switch directions? The side going up is on the left instead of the right!
I guess I should explain what’s actually going on for me this week. I’m part of this program called the Melbourne Welcome, which is for study abroad students before actual orientation (“O Week”) starts. Upperclassmen basically act as our hosts and take us all around the city to all sorts of activities, just to give us a chance to explore and meet each other and get a feel for things. We were brought straight from the airport to the residential college house next to campus where we’re living for the duration of the program.
Almost as soon as I arrived at Newman College house, I packed my things and headed out to the suburbs for Shabbat. I knew it would mean missing group surfing lessons at Ocean Grove on Saturday, but I decided that it was more important for me to make a connection with the local Jewish community, and I am so glad I made that decision. It felt incredible to show up at the front door of Ms. Evelyn Rose’s home and be taken in with open arms and a welcome smile. Being in a real community with families and home-cooked food felt great after so much traveling. The Conservative community is called Kehilat Nitzan, and I really enjoyed their services and the people I met. Everyone was cheerful and welcoming and interested in where I was coming from and why I had chosen to study at Melbourne. It turns out that Rabbi Ehud Bandel is friendly with Rabbi Lindemann and has visited Temple Beth Sholom in Cherry Hill many times, so we instantly had a connection. I really had a good time with their community, and I am excited to go back and spend many more Shabbatot with them. They already have me reading Torah two weeks from now, too.
Today’s main activities were visiting the Queen Victoria Market and the Melbourne Zoo. Queen Vic was pretty neat – the largest part of it was very much like the Israeli shuk markets: lots of vendors selling produce or souvenir items or random junk. There were rows and rows of these vendors in a tent-like covered area. Then there was another section indoors that had small little counters one after another selling candy or meats or cheese or sandwiches. There were so many different things in their displays. I even saw kangaroo meat at one of the deli counters. Next time I get back there I’ll be sure to take a bunch of pictures and share them with you, because it’s a neat place.
The zoo was pretty fun as well, but by then most of us were completely exhausted because of the heat. We really spent the entire day walking around, so being outdoors at a zoo was brutal in that way. But we did get to see some native Australian animals, like kangaroos just chilling in the shade, koalas hiding in trees, and tiny adorable penguins hanging out at their pond.
Right now I’m sitting on a bench in the outdoor quad area where I’m staying for these next few days. There’s finally a cool breeze after an incredibly hot day. You know it’s hot when even the Australians are complaining about the temperature. The sun’s on its way down, seeing as it’s just after 8PM, and soon a group of us is heading out bowling for the evening. My ankle hurts after a very walking-intensive day, and in the back of my mind I still feel that in the end of the day I’m here alone by myself, just trying to learn my way around and get through each day, but I can at least enjoy the clean feeling of a nice shower and be reasonably sure that tomorrow is going to be another beautiful and adventurous day. It’s going to take some time to get used to being here, and I am sure that having an apartment to call home and a finalized course schedule will definitely set me in the right direction.
And now for some random amusing things I’ve picked up since being here:
- When I got onto the plane from LA to Melbourne (nauseous and exhausted), I spoke with a flight attendant about needing to keep some of my medications cold while flying. He suggested that he could bring me a foam esky and some ice. First thought: “what the heck is a foam esky?” He made a box-shape with his hands, and I figured a foam box of any sort wouldn’t be too bad. Turns out that esky is the name used for cooler, which I learned after he showed up at my seat with a Styrofoam cooler box, which did the trick just fine.
- Also on the plane, the captain had to read out the safety information from a sheet over the PA system, since the recording wasn’t working properly. His instructions for using the seatbelt included how to “do it up” and “undo it,” which I thought were much better terms than the standard American “fasten” and “release.”
- Yeild signs say “Give Way”
- Speaking of the roads, I bet you don’t notice it, but when you cross the street your natural reaction is to look left first, then right, then check left again just before crossing. Here, thougt, it’s right, left, right, given that the cars are coming from the opposite direction. I’ve started to get the hang of it, but intersections still confuse me. On top of that, who would have ever thought that escalators would also switch directions? The side going up is on the left instead of the right!
Two Weeks in the States
I flew home from Israel just as Jerusalem was recovering from a snowstorm. Luckily I was able to escape the city before the worst of it on Tuesday night, and I sought refuge from the torrential downpours at David Mitchell’s apartment in Kfar Sava. It took a total of 6 busses from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday morning to get me from my apartment in Jerusalem to Ben Gurion Int’l Airport in Tel Aviv, but it was worth it to avoid getting stuck in snowy Jerusalem.
It was so great to be home for those two short weeks. I think we crammed in a whopping 7 doctors’ appointments, 3 summer job interviews (in one day) and 2 weekend excursions to NYU. It was incredibly hectic, but absolutely wonderful. It was just what I needed to make me feel a little more ready to be heading off for such a long time, and so far away. I also made sure that I got a chance to spend some quality time with my family, visit my Swinger, Hillel, and DMD friends at Penn, and then pack my things and start getting ready to fly again.
It was so great to be home for those two short weeks. I think we crammed in a whopping 7 doctors’ appointments, 3 summer job interviews (in one day) and 2 weekend excursions to NYU. It was incredibly hectic, but absolutely wonderful. It was just what I needed to make me feel a little more ready to be heading off for such a long time, and so far away. I also made sure that I got a chance to spend some quality time with my family, visit my Swinger, Hillel, and DMD friends at Penn, and then pack my things and start getting ready to fly again.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
So what do you actually do in Yeshiva?
I've been asked that question a bunch of times, most notably by my parents, so I figure I might as well explain what actually goes on for me during the day. Studying at the Conservative Yeshiva has been an exciting opportunity for me to meet new people and interact with them in a way that's different from the experiences I have at school and elsewhere. All day we're immersed in this word of Jewish text study, and because of that the way we speak and think generally follows that model. It's actually really funny how a discussion on just about anything turns into a Talmud-style debate, all in good fun of course.
Every morning begins with Shacharit services at 7:30AM (I haven't woken up so early on a regular basis since high school), and then a break for breakfast (one of the two meals a day that I eat at the Yeshiva, consisting of my milk and cereal that's in the fridge in the kitchenette). The other meal is lunch, which can be a peanut butter and chocolate spread sandwich, or something completely different. We pray all 3 services each day, the second being after lunch and the third at the end of classes in the evening.
We have Talmud class every morning from 9 to 12:30. We are currently studying topics related to the categories of things you are not allowed to do on Shabbat. We spend the first two hours of study with a partner, working through the difficult Aramaic text and trying to figure out what the arguments and questions are, and how the rabbis from the 4-5th century resolved them. For the last hour and a half, everyone in our class comes together with our teacher Reb. Mordechai to review what we've been working on and discuss it further. Usually, the time does pass relatively quickly, and I enjoy the "scavenger hunt through the dictionary" process of figuring out what the text is saying and what it has to teach us about the process of deriving law from original Judaic sources. It's also not all serious work - we do get a little silly sometimes. Reb. Mordechai drinks tea from a huge bowl and enjoys his eccentricities and random knowledge. We often end up on strange tangents and spend ridiculous amounts of time on moot points and crazy details.
One day we were discussing the value of studying the way we do in terms of preparation for rabbinical school, and I looked around and noticed that out of the five students in the classroom, I was the only one not headed in the rabbinical school direction. Reb. Mordechai then amended his statement to include the value of the experience even if you're not going to be a rabbi - and I thanked him. In general, I've been impressed with the overall sense at the Yeshiva that learning is important whether or not you're going to be a rabbi, and as the head of the Yeshiva pointed out,
"We need good Conservative bankers and lawyers and doctors too." (and filmmakers?)
Every afternoon offers a different assortment of class options. Some of these classes required that I do some catch-up work in order to follow along, and others were just starting as new courses for the spring. Twice a week I have Hebrew language class. We read newspaper articles and excerpts from stories, discuss what we did over the weekend or what news we have to share, and once a week we watch an Israeli movie - in Hebrew with the Hebrew subtitles on. Having the subtitles actually makes a huge difference, and I really enjoyed watching "HaKayitz Shel Aviyah," "Aviyah's Summer."
Sunday is Psalms class. We're studying Psalms 145-150, which are part of the daily morning service. Each week has been a different psalm, and I've really enjoyed looking at them in detail. It's made me really appreciate the quality of the poetry and the use of words, as well as the ideas they present and the value in saying them each morning. It's also the kind of study that I feel like I could bring back to the Penn Jewish community, maybe to make Shabbat morning services more meaningful instead of routine.
-- Did you notice I started the weekly schedule with Sunday? That's right. The culture that created the idea of a weekend with the institution of Shabbat goes right back to work on Sunday. At least we have Fridays off.
Monday I have Liturgy class, and we've been studying the central prayer of all Jewish prayer services - the Amidah. The course is a continuation from last semester, so I kinda picked up in the middle, but it's definitely been meaningful to spend a lot of time really picking apart the prayer I've been saying three times every day.
Tuesdays I don't go to Yeshiva. It's kinda a mid-week break for me. Since we don't have Talmud on Tuesday mornings, I decided to use the day to explore or travel or sleep late, and it's been put to good use.
Wednesday afternoons is Kabballah, mysticism. On the first day Simona gave me a crash course in everything they'd studied from the fall semester. Let me just say it's crazy philosophical and detailed and confusing, but at the same time whatever I do end up understanding provides some deeper understanding of the Kabbalistic perception of G-d and His interaction with people. It's neat, but I can totally understand the need for the traditional custom of not studying this until you're very learned in everything else, and at least 40 years old.
Thursday's schedule includes a lesson/discussion with the head of the Yeshiva - about whatever issue he deems worth bringing up or discussing - and a class about the week's Torah portion, taught by a different person each week. The discussion opportunity is a very interesting one, because it's the only time everyone from the Yeshiva comes together to talk, and it's usually something existential about the ideas of learning in a yeshiva environment or being a committed Conservative Jew, etc. Studying the weekly Torah portion is a great opportunity, because Israeli synagogue services rarely include a discussion as extensive as the rabbi's sermons common in American synagogues, and it's a good opportunity to take a close look at what we're going to be reading over Shabbat.
So that's my week. It's incredibly intellectual, usually exhausting, and a lot of fun. Learning for its own sake requires a lot of motivation and a real desire to stay away from distractions (like e-mail). I often rely on my partners in class to keep me focused on the days when I've had too much sugar or would much prefer to be taking a nap. It might also have to do with the fact that I'm only here for a month, and they've gotten into the rhythm of study since they're here for a whole year. But I show up every day ready to pray and to learn and to really expand the way I think about and relate to Judaism. I love being able to put on my tallis and t'fillin each morning, along with the other guys and girls who do, as well as the girls who choose not to. I know that each of us is encouraged to think openly and freely, to relate what we're learning to our own experience in the world, and to really question in a way that's not even thought of in other institutions. We are not fed a world-view and told to simple take it in, we are really lead to find our own answers, which is incredibly valuable.
I am incredibly thankful to everyone at the Yeshiva who, from the moment I arrived, were welcoming and inclusive to me. I have met wonderful people and made great friends and really enjoyed my time studying in this environment and community. At no time did I feel like an outsider or a stranger, and that made a huge difference to my experience.
So now you have maybe more than a taste of what it's like to take on this lifestyle for even just a short amount of time, and I would love to talk to you more if you have questions or thoughts... so feel free to e-mail or comment to let me know what you think.
Finally, I will be flying home to the States on Wednesday, and I look forward to seeing whatever Philly, Cherry Hill, and NYU people I run into while I'm home.
Every morning begins with Shacharit services at 7:30AM (I haven't woken up so early on a regular basis since high school), and then a break for breakfast (one of the two meals a day that I eat at the Yeshiva, consisting of my milk and cereal that's in the fridge in the kitchenette). The other meal is lunch, which can be a peanut butter and chocolate spread sandwich, or something completely different. We pray all 3 services each day, the second being after lunch and the third at the end of classes in the evening.
We have Talmud class every morning from 9 to 12:30. We are currently studying topics related to the categories of things you are not allowed to do on Shabbat. We spend the first two hours of study with a partner, working through the difficult Aramaic text and trying to figure out what the arguments and questions are, and how the rabbis from the 4-5th century resolved them. For the last hour and a half, everyone in our class comes together with our teacher Reb. Mordechai to review what we've been working on and discuss it further. Usually, the time does pass relatively quickly, and I enjoy the "scavenger hunt through the dictionary" process of figuring out what the text is saying and what it has to teach us about the process of deriving law from original Judaic sources. It's also not all serious work - we do get a little silly sometimes. Reb. Mordechai drinks tea from a huge bowl and enjoys his eccentricities and random knowledge. We often end up on strange tangents and spend ridiculous amounts of time on moot points and crazy details.
One day we were discussing the value of studying the way we do in terms of preparation for rabbinical school, and I looked around and noticed that out of the five students in the classroom, I was the only one not headed in the rabbinical school direction. Reb. Mordechai then amended his statement to include the value of the experience even if you're not going to be a rabbi - and I thanked him. In general, I've been impressed with the overall sense at the Yeshiva that learning is important whether or not you're going to be a rabbi, and as the head of the Yeshiva pointed out,
"We need good Conservative bankers and lawyers and doctors too." (and filmmakers?)
Every afternoon offers a different assortment of class options. Some of these classes required that I do some catch-up work in order to follow along, and others were just starting as new courses for the spring. Twice a week I have Hebrew language class. We read newspaper articles and excerpts from stories, discuss what we did over the weekend or what news we have to share, and once a week we watch an Israeli movie - in Hebrew with the Hebrew subtitles on. Having the subtitles actually makes a huge difference, and I really enjoyed watching "HaKayitz Shel Aviyah," "Aviyah's Summer."
Sunday is Psalms class. We're studying Psalms 145-150, which are part of the daily morning service. Each week has been a different psalm, and I've really enjoyed looking at them in detail. It's made me really appreciate the quality of the poetry and the use of words, as well as the ideas they present and the value in saying them each morning. It's also the kind of study that I feel like I could bring back to the Penn Jewish community, maybe to make Shabbat morning services more meaningful instead of routine.
-- Did you notice I started the weekly schedule with Sunday? That's right. The culture that created the idea of a weekend with the institution of Shabbat goes right back to work on Sunday. At least we have Fridays off.
Monday I have Liturgy class, and we've been studying the central prayer of all Jewish prayer services - the Amidah. The course is a continuation from last semester, so I kinda picked up in the middle, but it's definitely been meaningful to spend a lot of time really picking apart the prayer I've been saying three times every day.
Tuesdays I don't go to Yeshiva. It's kinda a mid-week break for me. Since we don't have Talmud on Tuesday mornings, I decided to use the day to explore or travel or sleep late, and it's been put to good use.
Wednesday afternoons is Kabballah, mysticism. On the first day Simona gave me a crash course in everything they'd studied from the fall semester. Let me just say it's crazy philosophical and detailed and confusing, but at the same time whatever I do end up understanding provides some deeper understanding of the Kabbalistic perception of G-d and His interaction with people. It's neat, but I can totally understand the need for the traditional custom of not studying this until you're very learned in everything else, and at least 40 years old.
Thursday's schedule includes a lesson/discussion with the head of the Yeshiva - about whatever issue he deems worth bringing up or discussing - and a class about the week's Torah portion, taught by a different person each week. The discussion opportunity is a very interesting one, because it's the only time everyone from the Yeshiva comes together to talk, and it's usually something existential about the ideas of learning in a yeshiva environment or being a committed Conservative Jew, etc. Studying the weekly Torah portion is a great opportunity, because Israeli synagogue services rarely include a discussion as extensive as the rabbi's sermons common in American synagogues, and it's a good opportunity to take a close look at what we're going to be reading over Shabbat.
So that's my week. It's incredibly intellectual, usually exhausting, and a lot of fun. Learning for its own sake requires a lot of motivation and a real desire to stay away from distractions (like e-mail). I often rely on my partners in class to keep me focused on the days when I've had too much sugar or would much prefer to be taking a nap. It might also have to do with the fact that I'm only here for a month, and they've gotten into the rhythm of study since they're here for a whole year. But I show up every day ready to pray and to learn and to really expand the way I think about and relate to Judaism. I love being able to put on my tallis and t'fillin each morning, along with the other guys and girls who do, as well as the girls who choose not to. I know that each of us is encouraged to think openly and freely, to relate what we're learning to our own experience in the world, and to really question in a way that's not even thought of in other institutions. We are not fed a world-view and told to simple take it in, we are really lead to find our own answers, which is incredibly valuable.
I am incredibly thankful to everyone at the Yeshiva who, from the moment I arrived, were welcoming and inclusive to me. I have met wonderful people and made great friends and really enjoyed my time studying in this environment and community. At no time did I feel like an outsider or a stranger, and that made a huge difference to my experience.
So now you have maybe more than a taste of what it's like to take on this lifestyle for even just a short amount of time, and I would love to talk to you more if you have questions or thoughts... so feel free to e-mail or comment to let me know what you think.
Finally, I will be flying home to the States on Wednesday, and I look forward to seeing whatever Philly, Cherry Hill, and NYU people I run into while I'm home.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Pictures
Here are pictures from the Tayelet as promised. Thanks, Yossi!
I'm spending tonight with my cousins in Netanya after a Tu B'Shevat Seder at a synagogue in the area. Tu B'Shevat is the holiday celebrating the trees and nature. It's still super cold here, but maybe this will help bring spring along.
One more will 'till I'm back in the States. Get excited!
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