^^^Sunday/Tuesday night cuddle sessions with Kayla (and her roomate Yakira, who I'm going to college with!)
^^^At an excursion on Monday through Ir David, the City of David, the "original" Jerusalem, as constructed by King David in the pre-temple era.
^^^with my friends Moshe, Jacob, and Kayla (from high school/New Rochelle) on Wednesday afternoon. We were in a mad dash to buy hostess gifts for our hosts for the first day of Sukkot, thus I am carrying flowers.
^^^Thursday night selfies with Hannah, Rachel, and Moshe
Hiyoosh! (that's Israeli slag for "hi"). This week was a pretty stark contrast to last week. After last week's serious pre-Yom Kippur atmosphere, with its abundance of Slichot, midnight trips to the Kotel, hefty amounts of davening (prayer), the introspective, reflective, self-assessing mindset of the Aseret Yemei T'Shuva (the ten days of repentance, i.e. the ten days in between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur), the culmination of which was Yom Kippur, this week felt light, free, and fun.
To backtrack for a second, Yom Kippur here was amazing. I have never had such an easy fast in my life. For me, and, I suspect, for most of us, fasts are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get. Mosts fasts are good chocolates-they come with their own variations and permutations, some have nuts, some have fruit, others a caramel or mousse filling, but all in all, they're pretty much all okay. Sure, not the best time of your life (this is where I must deviate from the chocolate box analogy I am so proud of making, because chocolate is in fact the best thing on earth, unlike fasting), but you get through it. But then every once in a while you have such a horrendous fast that it actually takes you days to recover. I'm talking about those fasts where you feel sick, weak, dizzy and all you can think about is your next meal. It's like those gross chocolates always left last in the chocolate box and eaten by the most desperate people-the dark chocolate exteriors with artificial strawberry cream filling that tastes like something you would get as a fluoride flavor at the dentist's office. Those are the worst, and they make you dread fasting ever again. My last major fast (25 hrs. long) , the fast of the 9th of Av, was just like that. I had been sent home from my job as a day camp counselor the day before for a terrible cold that made me feverish and clogged all my airways. The next day was a scorcher, and we had camp until 2PM. My 3 and 4 year old campers were just as needy as ever, and I was fasting, dehydrated, and trying to get over my virus. I thought about water non-stop, and the tragic destruction of the Temple not at all. It was about as spiritual a fast as watching an episode of The Rich Kids of Beverly Hills (which, incidentally, I highly recommend). This Yom Kippur, however, was a totally different experience.
First of all, having participated in the full month-long build-up to Yom Kippur-learning about the rules nearly every day and from many different sources, saying Slichot every night with as much energy as I could muster, being at the Kotel on Erev Rosh Hashana and Erev Yom Kippur, simply being in Jerusalem, and davening all day on Yom Kippur, I had a very different take on the whole thing. When you do it all, and not just parts and pieces, it comes together in such a way that by the end of Yom Kippur, you actually see the value behind the system. The prayers are very repetitive, so that by the end of the month they're not foreign words but familiar phrases, and the songs are beautiful and catchy. I used to think of each holiday in September/October as a little island, and of the "off-time" as time spent skipping from island to island. The time in the middle wasn't important, and each holiday was a separate entity. I now think this couldn't be farther from the truth. There are no islands and no off-time. I can't wait to fully experience the holiday of Sukkot (that's the one we're in the middle of, with the little houses with the bamboo roofs) and finally have the last piece of the puzzle. There is so much wisdom in the system-the month leading up the Rosh Hashana is said to a time of extreme closeness to God, and we are constantly reminded to cleave to Him during this time, and to work to improve ourselves. Then, Rosh Hashana rolls around, a day that's both formidable and comforting-on the one hand, you're being judged, on the other, your closeness to God is almost unparalleled, and you are surrounded by family, friends, and loved ones. Then, on the shabbat right after Rosh Hashana, you're already saying Slichot, and redoubling your efforts to improve your relationships with others and with God. Then, on Yom Kippur, you spend the day putting in a good word for yourself with the Big Guy and thinking about the kind of person you want to be and how you can get there in the coming year. Several days later, Sukkot is upon you, a holiday which emphasizes community and the togetherness of the Jewish nation (it is said that every holiday has a soul, and that this is the soul of Sukkot-and if you've ever been in a Sukkah and could hear the discussion/singing/laughing/etc. in neighboring sukkahs, you have seen this firsthand). I think the process is kind of a funnel: you go from the month of Elul and your own private reflections on yourself, to the Aseret Yemei T'Shuva/Yom Kippur, a time where you partake in this thinking with many others. You also go from family time on Rosh Hashana to broader community time on Sukkot. I think that as you improve yourself independently and with others, you are able to see your place within your family and then community, and not think of yourself as a single, important and independent entity. Note that in this system Yom Kippur isn't the pinnacle or ultimate High Holiday, but rather, the vehicle that takes you to a place of self-betterment that allows you to appreciate Sukkot and your community/nation to its fullest degree. Am I making any sense here?
Anyways, Yom Kippur was beautiful, and having had a 3 hour class on what the prayers mean and how they correspond to what used to be done in the Temple on Yom Kippur, I actually understood what was going on, and never once needed to pull out on a book on the side out of boredom or take an extended "bathroom break". The atmosphere on Yom Kippur in America is very dreary and sad, which isn't supposed to be so. It is supposed to be a serious day, but also a happy day. During the Temple times, once the Jews were given proof of their forgiveness through the Cohen's rituals, Jewish women and men would dance and sing the rest of the day (while fasting!). It isn't supposed to be a sad day, and even now, when we don't know if we're forgiven or anything of the sort, it is still supposed to be a happy day in which we feel connected. In Israel, you really feel this. Everyone is smiling, davening is full of rich, loud singing that includes banging on any hard surfaces, and there really is no break to think about hunger. The fast flew by, so much so that I actually let someone cut me in line at break-fast for the cinnamon rugelach.
The rest of the week was really just fun. Sunday we had a regular day of school, but that night, I went to visit Kayla with my friend Maya at her seminary. Monday was spent on a school-wide trip to Ir David, the City of David, which was the original Jerusalem where King David's palace was built in pre-Temple times. We crawled through the dank, cramped water tunnels used to protect the water supply during sieges in later years and climbed on the ruins of palaces, houses, and landmarks from David's era. Monday night I went out with friend's parents and 10 other girls, a night which culminated in us ordering everything on the dessert menu and sharing each dessert, which was great. Tuesday we had prep for our Poland trip all morning (more to come on that!), and then we were done with school for Sukkot vacation. Wednesday night and Thursday was the first day of Sukkot, which I spent with my friend Rachel and her parents at their apartment, along with 6 other girls. I would skip to the end of the week for the sake of not turning this post into a small novel, but the craziest thing happened. I MET BIBI NETANYAHU! As in Prime Minister of Israel and a major world leader.
Basically, on a walk home on Wednesday night, we saw a bunch of cars piling up at the entrance of a small street. This happens to be the street Bibi lives on, a street guarded on both ends and not accessible by car, but easy to walk through (the gate to his house is usually open, and sometimes even his front door!). So when we saw all these cars, and heavily armed guards started piling out of the cars, we knew Bibi was near, but figured he would drive into the house. We were staring into the blacked-out windows of every car, waving frantically, when we saw a white-haired man clad in simple black jeans, white sneakers and a black t-shirt. He was surrounded by four guards and there were 3 cars behind him, but there was no one else on the street except me and my friends. Calmly, we waved and said "Hi Bibi! Chag Sameach!" (translation: Hi Bibi! Happy Holidays!) He waved backed warmly and said "chag sameach!", gave us a big smile, and walked onward. It was so casual and easy. We were close enough to touch him and although he was so protected, he seemed so accessible and close. It was awesome. I cannot get over it. Since then, I walked past his house twice, which is gorgeous, but as it is Israel, very modest and so open. Sometimes Israel is the greatest place.
Have a great weekend everyone! Maybe will week's post will be shorter (but probably not).
Miss you! Chag Sameach!
The rest of the week was really just fun. Sunday we had a regular day of school, but that night, I went to visit Kayla with my friend Maya at her seminary. Monday was spent on a school-wide trip to Ir David, the City of David, which was the original Jerusalem where King David's palace was built in pre-Temple times. We crawled through the dank, cramped water tunnels used to protect the water supply during sieges in later years and climbed on the ruins of palaces, houses, and landmarks from David's era. Monday night I went out with friend's parents and 10 other girls, a night which culminated in us ordering everything on the dessert menu and sharing each dessert, which was great. Tuesday we had prep for our Poland trip all morning (more to come on that!), and then we were done with school for Sukkot vacation. Wednesday night and Thursday was the first day of Sukkot, which I spent with my friend Rachel and her parents at their apartment, along with 6 other girls. I would skip to the end of the week for the sake of not turning this post into a small novel, but the craziest thing happened. I MET BIBI NETANYAHU! As in Prime Minister of Israel and a major world leader.
Basically, on a walk home on Wednesday night, we saw a bunch of cars piling up at the entrance of a small street. This happens to be the street Bibi lives on, a street guarded on both ends and not accessible by car, but easy to walk through (the gate to his house is usually open, and sometimes even his front door!). So when we saw all these cars, and heavily armed guards started piling out of the cars, we knew Bibi was near, but figured he would drive into the house. We were staring into the blacked-out windows of every car, waving frantically, when we saw a white-haired man clad in simple black jeans, white sneakers and a black t-shirt. He was surrounded by four guards and there were 3 cars behind him, but there was no one else on the street except me and my friends. Calmly, we waved and said "Hi Bibi! Chag Sameach!" (translation: Hi Bibi! Happy Holidays!) He waved backed warmly and said "chag sameach!", gave us a big smile, and walked onward. It was so casual and easy. We were close enough to touch him and although he was so protected, he seemed so accessible and close. It was awesome. I cannot get over it. Since then, I walked past his house twice, which is gorgeous, but as it is Israel, very modest and so open. Sometimes Israel is the greatest place.
Have a great weekend everyone! Maybe will week's post will be shorter (but probably not).
Miss you! Chag Sameach!
That's a terrific story about Bibi Netanyahu, which you'll remember your whole life. I'm interested in your comments about Yom Kippur. I wonder why it's a sad and dreary holiday in America, and more joyous in Israel?! We all have so much to be thankful for in America! Thanks for sharing your observations, and give your family big hugs!
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