Dear friends,

It's been quite a week! Extremely busy but lots of fun. (I'm so happy it's Friday and I have the day off!)

On Tuesday, we had a tiyul to a few sites relating to the War of Independence in Israel and the reunification of Yerushalayim in 1967. We saw the castel, a fort over which there had been quite a battle. It overlooks a road that connected Yerushalayim and Tel Aviv, so when it was in Arab hands, it was impossible for Jewish travelers to get to Yerushalayim...they would be bombarded with gunfire. How they got the castel was fascinating. For a while, it was in Jewish hands, but then they were forced to retreat after Arabs attacked the castel from every side (it was surrounded by Arab villages). The Jews decided to try to take back the castel right away, and, amazingly, the Arabs had left it completely unguarded. Not a single soldier left to guard it. Obviously, the Jews simply took control over it without single shot being fired...what a miracle.

Everyone's favorite part of the tiyul was visiting Har Adar, where they had several tanks that we could explore. We had such a great time climbing to the top of the tanks, although they were so high up, that the short ones (like me!) had trouble getting down!! One of my tall friends easily hopped down and then helped me down!! It was hilarious. We had so much fun!

The next day was Yom Yerushalayim. Yom Yerushalyim celebrates the day in 1967 that Yerushalayim was reunified. For the first time in 1900 years, the Western Wall was in Jewish hands!! Thank GD! Now just to clarify, the Jews were under attack by the Palestinians. They neither started the war nor aimed to take over the part of Yerushalayim in Arab hands. However, because of the war, the Israelis ended up gaining this land, and Jews could finally pray at the Kotel (the Western Wall) once again. (As a sidenote, the same thing happened when Israel was formed. The Jews were offered a very small part of Israel, mostly the desert, and they agreed. The Palestinians, however, refused, and fought the not-yet-Israelis. Israeli wins resulted in a much larger portion of land than they had initially agreed to!

Yom Yerushalyim was incredibly moving and beautiful. There were thousands of people in the Old City, singing, dancing, and waving Israeli flags. I can't imagine that if I studied in Israel 45 years earlier that I wouldn't have been able to visit the Kotel whenever I wanted. Now, whenever I feel the desire, I hop on a bus and go pray at the Kotel. Thank Gd!

Now it's almost time for Shabbat. I'm staying in Har Nof this Shabbos and spending time with my wonderful roommates.

Love from Yerushalayim,
Rachel

P.S. The pictures are a "before and after" picture from Lag B'Omer (the trash heaps that the kids compiled to turn into bonfires) and then a couple of photos from Yom Yerushalayim at the Kotel. Enjoy!

Hello, friends!
Sorry for infrequent posting!

Things are great here in Yerushalayim. I've been here for over two weeks now, but it seems like so much longer. I've settled in and found my niche here at Shearim. The students here are so wonderful, and I have so many new friends from all over the world! That's one of my favorite parts of being in Israel. I love meeting people from absolutely everywhere: England, Australia, France, Denmark, Chile, Germany, and, of course, Israel! It's also endlessly fascinating and entertaining to learn new phrases from other English-speakers from different countries. For example, "just now" to a South African means "later." And "eggy" is apparently a word used in Britain (although please don't ask me to define it!) It's a lot of fun, and not only am I learning new words and phrases in Hebrew everyday, I'm learning new phrases in English, too!

This past week was a lot of fun. We had a tiyul, or a trip, to Neot Kedumim. That was the Biblical Landscape, which basically means that they cultivate a variety of plants and animals that are mentioned in Torah. Since the Jewish people were away from Israel for so long, many of these plants were plucked and plundered long ago, so it's amazing that they are able to now grow them plentifully in Eretz Yisrael once again!

Next week we have another tiyul, but I'm not sure where we're headed yet...updates to come!

Love,
Rachel

Hello friends!

This will be a short one...I'm on my lunch break and classes start again soon! So just a few short thoughts on life in Har Nof:

1) Shabbos is Yerushalayim is amazingly beautiful and spiritual.

2) I have to climb almost three hundred stairs to get to class every day (I live on the bottom of the mountain). Maybe I'll be in good shape when I get home?

3) In answer to the above question..seems unlikely! Dairy products are amazingly delicious and fattening here. I ate cottage cheese that was 5% fat...at home I eat 1%!! It's delicious and is basically dessert...yum. Speaking of dessert, I live about a block from two delicious ice cream places. YUM!!! I had ice cream yesterday with a friend, and it was amazing :-)

4) Got a new roommate yesterday; she's from South Africa! It makes me feel very international to have all of these friends from all over the world.

5) Now I need to get ready for an afternoon's worth of classes!

Lots of love,
Rachel

P.S. Please write lots of comments because even though this is technically a monologue, I would rather it be a dialogue! I want to hear from you guys :-)

Dear friends,

Day 2 of seminary life! It's the first "real" day, as yesterday's classes were special classes in celebration of Yom Haatzmaut. I've been up since 5:45 (it gets light very early here, and my body is a bit confused!) It was odd when I realized that most of my friends and family back home most likely hadn't even gone to bed yet when I was waking up...time changes are bizarre!

Anyway, first day of "real" classes is going amazingly. (I'm on break for lunch...afternoon classes resume at 2 and go until 5:20, and then I have ulpan later tonight!) I forgot how much I love this! I forgot how much I love translating texts, even though I don't know very many words...the tutors here are very patient!

There is still much adjustment and settling in to be done, but I'm so enjoying and relishing these first few days of being back in Yerushalayim. I am so happy and grateful to be here, living and learning in Yerushalayim!

Love,
Rachel

Shalom!

Dear friends,

Here I am in Yerushalayim, just starting to settle in. I arrived yesterday after a long flight...lots of crying babies on the plane meant very little sleep. That's OK, though. I met a girl on the plane who told me, "It doesn't matter where you're from. If you're a Jew in Israel, you're home." Thank GD! I've arrived in my spiritual home. :-)

I arrived in Har Nof yesterday, and today is Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. From my balcony in my new apartment, we had an incredible view of the celebratory fireworks...amazing. A beautiful welcome!

My first day was great. It was only a half day because of the holiday, and all the levels of classes were together to listen to classes about the formation of Israel. I'd never learned much of it, so I really enjoyed it. Tomorrow I'll be diving into the regular courses...I'm excited about that. Today, I'm just going to relax and enjoy being back in Yerushalayim.

Love,
Rachel

Leaving on a jet plane...

Hello, friends! I had a lovely Shabbos with Philip and Becca, and now I'm preparing to leave this evening! It appears as though icelandic ash from volcanic explosions does not pose a problem for flights to Israel, only to Europe. I thought for a moment that I might be spending more time here in NY than planned! Gdwilling, I should still be able to leave tonight. I'm so excited! Yerushalayim, here I come!
Love,
Rachel

Dear friends,

It seems, a little over a year later, my heart is leading me back to Yerushalayim once again. I'm leaving today for the first leg of my trip...a few days visiting my amazing brother and sister-in-law, grandparents, and cousins...and then on to Eretz Yisrael next week. I am so excited to be back in Yerushalayim, but I will miss all of my amazing, loving family and friends. I'll try to update this fairly regularly so that you guys can share in my adventures.

Lots of love,
Rachel