Dear friends,
I really enjoyed your comments. Samuel, rest assured, your posting that it's almost time for me to wake up did NOT in fact wake me up. Have no fear. :-) Mandy, I love that 50 degrees is warm for you and 60 degrees is chilly for me. I guess that's what happens when you live in Illinois versus Israel. And Amy, I'm sorry that I'm making you look up words...but I'm glad you're managing to follow along!

I had a very lovely Shabbat. My entire class (about 20 students) piled into two sheiruts (which is sort of a combination of a cab and a bus. They each fit about 10 people. It was an interesting ride to Ramat Bet Shemesh. Travelling anywhere in Israel is always an interesting experience...I usually end up feeling a bit sick and hoping that I'll make it to my next destination (the drivers here are terrifying!). Fortunately, we made it to Ramat Bet Shemesh completely intact (if a bit nauseous), and it was beautiful. Jerusalem is mountainous and very beautiful, but it's a city and there are buildings everywhere. In Ramat Bet Shemesh, you could see beautiful mountains that aren't covered with buildings...just natural beauty. I stayed with three of my friends from my class. We stayed in the house of a family that wasn't even there...they just left their keys. I was pretty amazed that there are people willing to do that sort of thing. The house was beautiful...completely different than the Jerusalem apartments I'm used to seeing. It was huge and lovely; in Yerushalayim, the apartments I've seen generally look like they're falling apart (and they often are...) Most excitingly, I got to sleep in a REAL BED! My mattress at school is about 3 inches thick and rests upon a plywood board for support. (Doesn't that sound comfy??) So you can imagine how thrilled I was to see thick, plush mattresses...it was a very cozy night.

Besides a cozy bed, the Shabbaton was wonderful. My rabbi's wife was lovely, and since she's from Memphis, we bonded over being from the South. Since I've been in Israel, I've never identified with the South more! Most of the Americans here are from New York, and even though I've always imagined myself a partial New Yorker, I now realize that I am NOT a New Yorker....I am much more a Southern girl. (I actually had someone tell me that I have a southern accent...I wanted to tell her that she doesn't know what a southern accent sounds like!)

My favorite part of the Shabbaton was shel shiddus, the third meal of Shabbat, right before the sun sets and Shabbat ends. The rabbi left, so all the women could sing (Orthodox women are not supposed to sing in front of men, as men are not allowed to hear the singing of any women other than their wives). All of you know how incredibly happy it makes me to sing. I loved every moment of it. It really was a beautiful, moving end to Shabbat.

Last night, my roommate and I watched an episode of Grey's Anatomy that she downloaded from itunes. I'd seen it before, but I can't tell you how exciting it was to watch TV! I didn't bring any DVDs at all, so I haven't seen movies or TV since I've gotten here. Even though I love all of the learning I've been doing, it was such a relief to just watch television after the emotional and spirtual intensity of Shabbat. Gummy worms and Grey's...a marvelous end to the weekend. I really can't get used to classes on Sundays, though! Waking up this morning and getting out of bed was rough...8:30 classes on Sunday mornings are really not that fun, but fortunately the rabbi is great, and I'm learning a lot.

Hope all is well with you, my friends.