Sunday
Today was my first full day at Yeshiva in awhile, and let me
tell you it was intense. I had all three classes today, which means nine hours
of studying with only an hour lunch break. On the bright side, today was also
my first day of ulpan (intensive Hebrew study), which I have been looking
forward to because I really want to learn to speak Hebrew. The class was
amazing! We were playing catch up, because the non nativers have already had
two classes. The teacher was moving at the perfect pace; nt too slow to the
point where I was bored, but also not too fast to the point that I was lost.
I’m not sure how the other Nativers felt, but it definitely made me excited for
the rest of Ulpan.
The downside to a full day of Yeshiva: it’s exhausting. After
school I didn’t feel like doing much of anything. I stayed in and hung out with
people, and worked on my Torah reading (I was reading Monday so I probably
should have started it earlier—whoops).
Monday
My Torah reading this morning went fantastic. Everyone said
I breezed through it no problem. While I was reading, I didn’t even know what
was going. It felt like the words were
just coming out of my mouth, but I wasn’t saying them. It was crazy, and such
an adrenaline rush.
Today was the second to last day of Jerusalem class. Finally
almost done. Today we toured neighborhoods around the old city. It was cool to
see some of the oldest neighborhoods in the area, and we even ran into another
Yeshiva student who lives in one of them. We ended class at the shuk, which was
fun to explore. I’ll definitely be going back there soon to get some fresh
fruit.
After getting lost on the way home from the shuk (we turned
the wrong way on one of two streets we have to walk on) I headed to the old
city with Angela and Miriam. We picked up our Hadaya, and then wandered around
for a while. Then we walked to Ben Yehuda and I had my first meal ever at
Burger’s Bar. It was delicious. Then we walked around Ben Yehuda and looked for
white clothes to wear. We didn’t have much success and planned to go back on
Tuesday.
Tuesday
Yom Kippur starts tonight, so today was all about getting
ready. After the typical morning Shacharit and breakfast we had Yom Kippur
learning sessions, similar to the ones for Rosh Hashanah. I learned about the
rituals of Yom Kippur, and their importance today in a world without a temple.
After Mincha (afternoon services) I was planning on going back shopping, until
our staff informed us that everything would already be closed. Luckily, I was
able to find a white skirt that Angela brought, so in the end I saved money.
For Kol Nidre services, I went to the Great Synagogue. They
have a cantor leading services and a spectacular choir. The service was
gorgeous, but got to be tedious after awhile. I loved doing it once, but it’s
not somewhere I would go for Shabbat services. After services I had the most
amazing experience yet. Because Yom Kippur is the holiest day for Jews, there
are no cars on the road and all of the businesses are closed down. So after services
a big group of Nativers sat right in the middle of what is usually an extremely
crowded intersection and sang songs for hours. We attracted a huge crowd, and
it was so inspiring to see the whole country shut down like it was.
Wednesday
Yom Kippur services occupied basically all of my time today.
I started off my morning bright and early; 6 am services at Yedidya. The
services were much the same as the ones on Rosh Hashanah, and definitely worth
the long walk and early morning. The best part about going to early services
was finishing early. We were done by noon, when everyone else finished around
2. After walking back I did what I do every year on Yom Kippur, took a nap. By
the time I woke up it was time to go to Neilah, the service that ends Yom Kippur.
I decided to go to Moreshet Yisrael, the shul right next to my dorms for Neilah
services. That way I wouldn’t have a long walk, and would be close to all the
snacks in my room for break fast. The services were a lot like services at
home, since this is a conservative shul. After dinner, most of the Hebrew U
kids locked themselves in their rooms to study for a big exam tomorrow, so it
was a chill night for me.
Thursday
Today at the Yeshiva we didn’t have our regularly scheduled
classes. Two of the Rabbis talked about different aspects and regulations
regarding sukkot, the next Jewish Holiday. It was interesting, but nothing
incredibly enlightening. A lot of what they were saying is what we have been
studying the past few weeks in class.
After Yeshiva the day we’ve all been waiting for finally
arrived; the last day of Jerusalem class! I decided that since it was the last
day, and we were talking about modern Israeli political issues I would try my
hardest to pay attention. For the first half of the day I paid attention, and
it was really interesting, but after that my attention span was shot, so I took
in less of what he was saying. All in all I will miss our tour guide JJ,
because he was a really cool guy, but I won’t miss the class all that much.
Thursday night we had an incredible speaker. Rabbi Joel Roth
spoke to us about what he feels is Conservative Judaism’s biggest flaw; that
the movement will lose its legitimacy by straying from its halachick basis. Not
only did I agree with his points, but he was also extremely passionate about
Conservative Judaism. It was inspiring to see someone so dedicated to a casue.
After the speaker I went out to dinner with my unofficial
roommates, aka Angela’s roommates. It was so fun and we had some delicious chicken
wings and chocolate cake. I will definitely be going back there again.
Friday
Since sukkot is coming right after Shabbat, we spent today
learning about the holiday. After Shacharit, we had programming where we
learned about the four species and their meaning. Then we talked about how to
identify a good lulav and etrog. With this lesson in mind, we walked to the
shuk (outdoor market) and everyone who wanted to buy a lulav and etrog did so.
I decided not to, because I can always use someone else’s, but it was still
cool to walk around and see all the vendors.
After the sale, we walked around the shuk for a while. It
was crazy busy with people preparing for Shabbat and the chag (holiday). Once
we were finished exploring, Angela and I headed back to Beit Nativ. On the way,
we stumbled upon a few really cool little art fairs. We really enjoyed looking
at all the crafts the vendors made.
We spent the afternoon chilling and getting ready for
Shabbat. A lot of people went to explore different parts of Israel this
weekend, so it was fairly quite on base.
Saturday
It was a quite Shabbat. Just like every week, I hung out
with people and made new friends. After Shabbat ended Angela and I took a bus
to visit Tracy and Mitch for Sukkot, and to watch the Ohio State Michigan State
football game. Needless to say tensions were high watching the game.
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