Dear friends and family,
By this point, most of you are probably aware that there has been a bit of chaos here in Israel. I understand that Israel has been making the front cover of the newspaper for the past few days. Well, I just want you all to know that even though the newspapers make it sound scary, we are JUST FINE here in Israel. I am not near Gaza, where the actual bombing is happening. The rockets that the Palestinians have been shooting have only a 40 km range, and since Yerushalayim is far out of that range, I am in no danger from those rockets. I won't be going anywhere near where the rockets can reach, I promise. I admit that the danger of Palestinian retaliation in the form of suicide bombing is always there, but there is always danger wherever you live, and I'm going to be careful about avoiding crowded places until this stuff dies down. So, my dears, please don't feel like you need to worry AT ALL. All is well. :-)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Dear friends and family,
Merry Christmas! Though there are no signs of Christmas here in Yerushalayim, I am aware that it is the 25th and I hope that those of you who celebrate this day have a wonderful holiday filled with love, happiness, and family.
Last night, I went to the wedding of one of my (former) apartment-mates. The wedding was truly breathtaking. It took place at this huge and spectacular synagogue in Jerusalem. Unlike the last wedding that I went to, I could actually see everything that was happening--there weren't tons of men in black hats surrounding the chuppah blocking me from seeing! The bride looked beyond beautiful and incredibly joyful. My friends and I stayed there dancing until the band finally stopped playing sometime close to midnight. One of the really cool things about religious weddings is that unlike typical weddings where the bride and groom are supposed to mingle and entertain the guests, the guests are supposed to bring joy to the bridge and groom! It is a great mitzvah to bring simcha (joy) to the bride and groom. The bride and groom are literally sat down and have people dancing and doing generally goofy stuff in front of them to make them laugh. I peered over to the men's side and watched one of my most reserved rabbis dancing and spinning around in front of the groom to make him laugh. It certainly worked for me! At one point, I saw a woman running over to the bride dressed in a kimono-type outfit with one of those Asian pointy-hat thingies on her head. She saw me and beckoned me over and gave me a pink kimono-thing and a pointy hat and we went and danced in front of the bride! It was such a blast. I really had an amazing time.
I'm also enjoying having a couple of days off for Chanukah. I've slept in two days in a row, which is pretty exciting, and today I get to baby-sit for a super cute little baby girl. Then I'm going to get to meet up with my brother and his fiancee again to spend some more time with them, which is so nice. :-)
Lots of love!
Merry Christmas! Though there are no signs of Christmas here in Yerushalayim, I am aware that it is the 25th and I hope that those of you who celebrate this day have a wonderful holiday filled with love, happiness, and family.
Last night, I went to the wedding of one of my (former) apartment-mates. The wedding was truly breathtaking. It took place at this huge and spectacular synagogue in Jerusalem. Unlike the last wedding that I went to, I could actually see everything that was happening--there weren't tons of men in black hats surrounding the chuppah blocking me from seeing! The bride looked beyond beautiful and incredibly joyful. My friends and I stayed there dancing until the band finally stopped playing sometime close to midnight. One of the really cool things about religious weddings is that unlike typical weddings where the bride and groom are supposed to mingle and entertain the guests, the guests are supposed to bring joy to the bridge and groom! It is a great mitzvah to bring simcha (joy) to the bride and groom. The bride and groom are literally sat down and have people dancing and doing generally goofy stuff in front of them to make them laugh. I peered over to the men's side and watched one of my most reserved rabbis dancing and spinning around in front of the groom to make him laugh. It certainly worked for me! At one point, I saw a woman running over to the bride dressed in a kimono-type outfit with one of those Asian pointy-hat thingies on her head. She saw me and beckoned me over and gave me a pink kimono-thing and a pointy hat and we went and danced in front of the bride! It was such a blast. I really had an amazing time.
I'm also enjoying having a couple of days off for Chanukah. I've slept in two days in a row, which is pretty exciting, and today I get to baby-sit for a super cute little baby girl. Then I'm going to get to meet up with my brother and his fiancee again to spend some more time with them, which is so nice. :-)
Lots of love!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Dear friends and family,
I noticed that I tend to spend a good bit of time kvetching about Israelis, so I wanted to share something cute about Israeli kids. There’s not a ton of parental supervision in Har Nof, so the little kids approach you and ask you to help them cross the street. Since they’re Israeli kids, they come up and ask you to “Can you cross me?” Basically, it’s ridiculously adorable.
In other news, Phil is here! He’s studying at a nearby yeshiva, so he’s very close by. Yay ☺
Also, it's Chanukah! Chanukah in Israel is amazing. I love that when I walk outside at candle-lighting time, I see menorahs lit in every window. And when Phil and I went for a walk in an outdoor mall, there were tons of holiday decorations...no Christmas trees... just dreidels and menorahs galore! What a unique and incredible experience.
Meanwhile, I am sitting right now with Becca and my brother (being incredibly rude by using my computer....in my defense, I haven't been able to get internet access since last week). Becca just got here yesterday, and I am so thrilled to see her! Hooray for wonderful visitors to Israel.
I hope everyone has a wonderful, happy holiday!
Love,
Rachel
I noticed that I tend to spend a good bit of time kvetching about Israelis, so I wanted to share something cute about Israeli kids. There’s not a ton of parental supervision in Har Nof, so the little kids approach you and ask you to help them cross the street. Since they’re Israeli kids, they come up and ask you to “Can you cross me?” Basically, it’s ridiculously adorable.
In other news, Phil is here! He’s studying at a nearby yeshiva, so he’s very close by. Yay ☺
Also, it's Chanukah! Chanukah in Israel is amazing. I love that when I walk outside at candle-lighting time, I see menorahs lit in every window. And when Phil and I went for a walk in an outdoor mall, there were tons of holiday decorations...no Christmas trees... just dreidels and menorahs galore! What a unique and incredible experience.
Meanwhile, I am sitting right now with Becca and my brother (being incredibly rude by using my computer....in my defense, I haven't been able to get internet access since last week). Becca just got here yesterday, and I am so thrilled to see her! Hooray for wonderful visitors to Israel.
I hope everyone has a wonderful, happy holiday!
Love,
Rachel
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
I'm getting pretty used to this haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) neighborhood in which I live. I know this to be so ("can you see how this is so?"-Rebbetzin Heller reference for those of you in the know) because when I go into town, I do a double take when I see women in pants. I know: women in pants. Shocking. The other day, in my school building, I saw a rabbi wearing a blue collared shirt with black pants instead of the typical haredi "uniform," a white collared shirt with black pants. I actually turned around and stared for a moment because I was so surprised to see a man wearing a color! Oy vey. It's a good thing that I'm spending a little time escaping the seminary bubble...
Also, I just remembered that it's almost Christmas. Here in Israel, you don't hear too much about that holiday. However, it is almost CHANUKAH! And I'm excited. Happy Chanukah! Merry Christmas (to some of you)!
Also, I just remembered that it's almost Christmas. Here in Israel, you don't hear too much about that holiday. However, it is almost CHANUKAH! And I'm excited. Happy Chanukah! Merry Christmas (to some of you)!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Hello, friends!
I had a wonderful Shabbat. My friend Ana and I went to the house of one of our rabbis. He is an older gentlemen, and he and his wife were so sweet! We had such a good time...so much fun.
Meanwhile, last Thursday was my last day of Mechina (beginner) level classes. Yesterday I started a new level! It's really exciting for me. Even though I still don't have so much of an idea of what's going on, I now walk around pretending like I know oh so much because I'm not in Mechina anymore...now I'm clearly an expert! ;-) In my new classes, I now have to learn how to translate Torah text from the original Hebrew. It's really exciting for me to actually be able to learn in Hebrew instead of English, but I can't help but feel a little bit frustrated, too. All the usual challenges of learning a new language obviously apply. I have NO CLUE what I'm doing. Fortunately, I have a tutor that I meet with four times a week to work on this very thing, so theoretically, in a few months I might actually be able to do this stuff...we shall see...I'll keep you updated :-)
Living in Israel is such a different experience. Even though so many of the people (at least here in Yerushalayim) speak English, the culture is very different. I think largely due to the type of life people live here--a very precarious one--they don't put much importance on little things. There are no false pretenses of kindness to strangers (including service people like waiters!). I am trying to appreciate the culture difference when I interpret certain behaviors as rude, but it just drives me a little bit crazy at times. People have no conception of lines here...if you wait for a bus for 20 minutes, 40 people will slam into you to push past you to get onto the bus when it finally arrives. When I walk around the streets of my religious neighborhood, if I smile at people that walk by they look the other way. Including little old ladies. At the same time, these people live with the knowledge that all of the neighboring countries would love to see them wiped off the map entirely. One of my teachers was talking yesterday about her concern with our lack of rain lately. Anywhere else, a drought wouldn't be nearly such a cause of concern...neighboring regions with water would help out. There are no such friendly neighbors here, and water is life. When I go into town, I pass by a pizza place that was blown up just a few years ago. I have walked past the yeshiva where not so long ago (within the past year) a gunman walked in and shot students studying Torah..young kids. I found out that the number bus that I take regularly was blown up a few years ago. I say these things not to frighten my friends...I truly feel perfectly safe here...but simply to share the reality that Israelis experience. It's pretty sobering.
I had a wonderful Shabbat. My friend Ana and I went to the house of one of our rabbis. He is an older gentlemen, and he and his wife were so sweet! We had such a good time...so much fun.
Meanwhile, last Thursday was my last day of Mechina (beginner) level classes. Yesterday I started a new level! It's really exciting for me. Even though I still don't have so much of an idea of what's going on, I now walk around pretending like I know oh so much because I'm not in Mechina anymore...now I'm clearly an expert! ;-) In my new classes, I now have to learn how to translate Torah text from the original Hebrew. It's really exciting for me to actually be able to learn in Hebrew instead of English, but I can't help but feel a little bit frustrated, too. All the usual challenges of learning a new language obviously apply. I have NO CLUE what I'm doing. Fortunately, I have a tutor that I meet with four times a week to work on this very thing, so theoretically, in a few months I might actually be able to do this stuff...we shall see...I'll keep you updated :-)
Living in Israel is such a different experience. Even though so many of the people (at least here in Yerushalayim) speak English, the culture is very different. I think largely due to the type of life people live here--a very precarious one--they don't put much importance on little things. There are no false pretenses of kindness to strangers (including service people like waiters!). I am trying to appreciate the culture difference when I interpret certain behaviors as rude, but it just drives me a little bit crazy at times. People have no conception of lines here...if you wait for a bus for 20 minutes, 40 people will slam into you to push past you to get onto the bus when it finally arrives. When I walk around the streets of my religious neighborhood, if I smile at people that walk by they look the other way. Including little old ladies. At the same time, these people live with the knowledge that all of the neighboring countries would love to see them wiped off the map entirely. One of my teachers was talking yesterday about her concern with our lack of rain lately. Anywhere else, a drought wouldn't be nearly such a cause of concern...neighboring regions with water would help out. There are no such friendly neighbors here, and water is life. When I go into town, I pass by a pizza place that was blown up just a few years ago. I have walked past the yeshiva where not so long ago (within the past year) a gunman walked in and shot students studying Torah..young kids. I found out that the number bus that I take regularly was blown up a few years ago. I say these things not to frighten my friends...I truly feel perfectly safe here...but simply to share the reality that Israelis experience. It's pretty sobering.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Hello, friends!
So you'll never guess where I am...wait, did I hear someone say coffee shop? Yep, you got it! I don't ever know how you figured it out.
So, tragically, the only places I've found near campus with internet access are now password-protected, so if I want to check emails and update here I have to trek to a coffee shop. Ah well. Such is life!
Yesterday was quite the wedding-oriented day. First I went to the tichel party of one of my friends and apartment mates. (A tichel is a headscarf; religious women cover their hair after they get married, usually with either a tichel or a sheitel, a wig). The tichel party was so much fun. She tried on all the tichels we got her and modelled them for us. I really enjoyed the little celebration, and I'm excited for her wedding in a couple of weeks! Speaking of weddings, after the tichel party, I went to a wedding in Bnei Brak! Bnei Brak is a very religious community near Tel Aviv. The wedding was of my roommate's cousin, and it was beautiful. Getting there was a bitof an adventure. We left much later than we meant to, and we ended up having to take a later bus. We were sure we'd missed the actual ceremony, since it is usually pretty short. We finally got to the hall, but we couldn't find the wedding, and no one we ran into spoke English (unlike in Jerusalem, where almost everyone speaks English). Anyway, I was at least able to understand the woman telling me "lo po" ("not here") and she pointed us in the right direction. When we FINALLY found the right place, it turned out that the wedding hadn't started at all...hooray! The wedding itself was really cool, though I mainly couldn't understand a thing that was going on because the chuppah was surrounded by men in tall black hats and everything was in Hebrew (how rude, right?!). The bride was sweet, and very young (20), and it was a lovely wedding.
So you'll never guess where I am...wait, did I hear someone say coffee shop? Yep, you got it! I don't ever know how you figured it out.
So, tragically, the only places I've found near campus with internet access are now password-protected, so if I want to check emails and update here I have to trek to a coffee shop. Ah well. Such is life!
Yesterday was quite the wedding-oriented day. First I went to the tichel party of one of my friends and apartment mates. (A tichel is a headscarf; religious women cover their hair after they get married, usually with either a tichel or a sheitel, a wig). The tichel party was so much fun. She tried on all the tichels we got her and modelled them for us. I really enjoyed the little celebration, and I'm excited for her wedding in a couple of weeks! Speaking of weddings, after the tichel party, I went to a wedding in Bnei Brak! Bnei Brak is a very religious community near Tel Aviv. The wedding was of my roommate's cousin, and it was beautiful. Getting there was a bitof an adventure. We left much later than we meant to, and we ended up having to take a later bus. We were sure we'd missed the actual ceremony, since it is usually pretty short. We finally got to the hall, but we couldn't find the wedding, and no one we ran into spoke English (unlike in Jerusalem, where almost everyone speaks English). Anyway, I was at least able to understand the woman telling me "lo po" ("not here") and she pointed us in the right direction. When we FINALLY found the right place, it turned out that the wedding hadn't started at all...hooray! The wedding itself was really cool, though I mainly couldn't understand a thing that was going on because the chuppah was surrounded by men in tall black hats and everything was in Hebrew (how rude, right?!). The bride was sweet, and very young (20), and it was a lovely wedding.
Friday, December 5, 2008
It’s Friday, and I’m sitting in the coffee shop in town. I ordered an iced tea, and I’m guessing that’s not a common order here. The woman looked at me and said, in broken English, “We make it, ok?” I’m really not exactly sure what she thought that I would think, but I was kind of hoping they would make it for me, seeing as I was ordering it off of their menu! (They do make you bag your own groceries at the grocery store, so maybe some people like to make their own drinks at coffee shops?? Lol.) When I got my iced tea, they also gave me a little clear plastic container with some sort of liquid in it. I was a bit confused. I gave it a smell and finally a taste test…sugar! They gave me sugar already melted in water so I could just mix it in to my tea. Better than mixing sugar into unsweet tea, but still a bit unusual…. Oh, Israel!
It’s almost Shabbat. I’m staying at Neve with friends again for Shabbat. I really want to travel more, but somehow it hasn’t been working out. I’m really excited for Shabbos, though! My friends here are lovely. I am feeling kind of homesick the past day or two. I miss my family and friends and puppy! I got seized yesterday with an urge to go home. I don’t actually want to go home, and if I did go home I don’t know what I would do, but you know how it is sometimes. But I am far from ready to go home. I have a lot more learning to do…I’ve barely touched the tip of the iceberg. (And remember, the iceberg is only 10% of the glacier...this metaphor so aptly describes how much there is to learn about Judaism…and myself…) It’s not that I’m not still having an amazing, meaningful time of growth… I absolutely am still loving being here and learning so much. I guess it makes sense that after almost two months away I’d miss home! I love Israel, but I can’t imagine ever staying here. So many of the women at Neve want to make aliyah, move to Israel, but I want to go back to Atlanta! ☺
Ok, I should head back to do my toranut (my chores around the apartment) and shower before Shabbat! Shabbat Shalom, my friends.
Love,
Rachel
It’s almost Shabbat. I’m staying at Neve with friends again for Shabbat. I really want to travel more, but somehow it hasn’t been working out. I’m really excited for Shabbos, though! My friends here are lovely. I am feeling kind of homesick the past day or two. I miss my family and friends and puppy! I got seized yesterday with an urge to go home. I don’t actually want to go home, and if I did go home I don’t know what I would do, but you know how it is sometimes. But I am far from ready to go home. I have a lot more learning to do…I’ve barely touched the tip of the iceberg. (And remember, the iceberg is only 10% of the glacier...this metaphor so aptly describes how much there is to learn about Judaism…and myself…) It’s not that I’m not still having an amazing, meaningful time of growth… I absolutely am still loving being here and learning so much. I guess it makes sense that after almost two months away I’d miss home! I love Israel, but I can’t imagine ever staying here. So many of the women at Neve want to make aliyah, move to Israel, but I want to go back to Atlanta! ☺
Ok, I should head back to do my toranut (my chores around the apartment) and shower before Shabbat! Shabbat Shalom, my friends.
Love,
Rachel
Monday, December 1, 2008
Hello friends,
So it's another hip hop happening evening. I'm sitting in a coffee shop! :-) I'm trying to think of what to update you guys with, and I can't think of anything of that much interest. Things here have really settled into a routine, which is good, but it means I can't think of anything worth sharing. I did get another roommate today; she seems very nice, and she's only here for two weeks. Shabbat was really nice; I loved getting to spend time with my awesome big brother, and we ended up getting to baby-sit on Saturday night for three absolutely adorable kids. It was a really wonderful weekend.
Ok, really...I'm boring...but I love and miss you all!
So it's another hip hop happening evening. I'm sitting in a coffee shop! :-) I'm trying to think of what to update you guys with, and I can't think of anything of that much interest. Things here have really settled into a routine, which is good, but it means I can't think of anything worth sharing. I did get another roommate today; she seems very nice, and she's only here for two weeks. Shabbat was really nice; I loved getting to spend time with my awesome big brother, and we ended up getting to baby-sit on Saturday night for three absolutely adorable kids. It was a really wonderful weekend.
Ok, really...I'm boring...but I love and miss you all!
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