The End of an Era (Week 16)

Sunday

I started out my morning with a walk to the kotel. Tracy and her family came in for the day, so I met them there. It was crowded, I’m guessing because of the last day of Hanukkah. It’s such a powerful experience seeing the kotel surrounded by Jews, and seeing the passion they feel while praying.

Then, my roommate Amanda needed to get a wisdom tooth pulled, and she had an appointment for today. So being the good roommate I am, I skipped class to go with her. Unfortunately, she needed more x-rays, and may have to get an even more complicated surgery, because the nerve is so close to her tooth. After finding all of this out, we went to get falafel for lunch.

After lunch, I met up with Tracy and her family. We spent time together shopping on Ben Yehuda and at the shuk. It was really good to see them, and I made plans to come to their house for Shabbos this weekend.

When I got home, I took a short nap and then headed out to dinner with Tobi and Ilana. We went to resto bar, and literally had a feast. It was so yummy, and I haven’t seen these girls in a few days so it was nice to get caught up.

Monday

Today was probably the saddest day of Nativ yet. One of my best friends on the program, Julia, went home today. She left by choice, because Nativ just wasn’t right for her, but it was still incredibly sad to see her go. Most of my day was spent hanging out with her, helping her finish her last minute packing and just enjoying her company.

Tuesday

Today was my last day of Chumash class. This was very sad, because it has come to be one of my favorite classes. The teacher is very interesting, and gets me to look at the text in ways I never have before. After that, I had my last Ulpan and Nativ classes. I wasn’t very upset to see these classes end, because they haven’t been my most enjoyable courses over the course of the semester. Overall, it was a sad day of endings at the Yeshvia.

Tonight at Erev Nativ we talked about homosexuality in Judaism. This is a topic I both love and hate discussing. I love it because I think it is interesting, and extremely relevant in today’s society. On the other hand, I don’t like it because of where I fall on the issue. I am very much in favor of gay rights. I don’t think the government has a right to tell people whom they can and can’t love. On the other hand, the Torah specifically prohibits homosexual relationships. On the basis of the Torah, I believe that within Judaism Rabbis cannot condone same sex marriages. I hate feeling this way, because one of my best friends is bisexual, and it kills me to know that if she shared my religion I wouldn’t be able to justify her marrying a woman. On thing my staff Avital said is really helping me deal with this, however. She pointed out that while it may be illegal according to Jewish law, so is not keeping Shabbat or not keeping Kosher, but people still do those things and are part of the Jewish community. That at least makes me feel a little better about the debate.

Wednesday

As always, I forgot to write down what I did on Wednesday. Now, trying to figure it out it feels like so long ago. I know it was my last day of afternoon classes, so we had a little party in my Mishnah class. After school I went out to dinner with Miriam and Adiva. Other then that I don’t think anything really happened.

Thursday

Today was my last day of classes with all the Yeshiva students. The next two weeks are winter break for the rest of the Yeshiva, so we have special Nativ classes. It was really sad for the end of Yeshiva, and it’s just another thing making me realize how little time I have left in Jerusalem.

After class one of my best friends from home, Elana Pentelnik, got here. We spent the rest of the day together, eating lunch, shopping, and just enjoying each other’s company. It was amazing to see her, because it felt like having a little piece of home here. Her timing couldn’t have been better, because right now is one of the hardest times to be away from home. All of my friends are home from college and hanging out, and while I’m so happy to be in Israel, it’s hard not to be at home with them.

Thursday night Elana and I went out to dinner with Lainey Paul, Ilana Kramer, and Dana Sufrin, all of whom were in CRUSY (my youth group region). After dinner, Elana and I headed back to Beit Nativ, where we watched a movie and fell asleep early.

Friday and Saturday (Shabbat)

Friday morning I woke up and had brunch with Adiva and Elana, before Adiva, Laura, and I headed to Even Shmuel for Shabbat. While we were out, Laura called and told us that her phone got stolen the night before, and she had to spend the day dealing with getting a new one. That meant that she wouldn’t be able to come with us for the weekend. It was sad, but she’ll come another weekend.

Shabbat was amazing. It was so nice to see Tracy and the girls, and eat some yummy food. It was very relaxing, and I was glad to get out of Jerusalem for the first time in a few weeks. When I got back to Jerusalem Saturday night I hung out with Angela, and just chilled. Overall it was a great weekend.