I just came home from an Israeli sing along concert in Mamilla, the glitzy, new outdoor mall right across from the David Citadel hotel, a 6 minute walk from my apartment. The teacher for my Israeli pop and folk music class recommended that we go to this concert and use it for one of our 3 concert write-ups for the semester. All I can say is, "WOW." This concert was incredibly moving.
The sing along was led by "an old school sing along expert" named Gabi Berlin and his band, a guitarist and keyboardist. There were 900 Israelis sitting and standing in the middle of Mamilla, singing all of the old popular songs of Israel that were written pre-1948 and directly post establishment of the State. The songs were about the land of Israel, Israeli pride, Jerusalem, the army, and one was even about looking forward to building a new Temple. They were songs that every Israeli knows, and the crowd was a mix of people- young, old, middle-aged--it didn't matter how old they were- everyone knew every word and every melody. The melodies are classic, catchy, they use the same 10 chords, and are easy for anyone to sing along with.
I played dumb and asked a few people around me what the songs were about and how everyone knew them. They were very friendly and told me that they've been around for 50 years and Israelis "just know them." They were taught in youth groups, sung on the Kibbutzim, after meals, in school, and played on the radio. Many Israelis sang every night together, as a way to bond and end their day. Seeing them re-enact that tonight was an incredible sight to witness. It moved me to tears to see how happy they were, and to feel the love and pride that they carry for Israel. As I looked out to a joyous and ruach-filled sea of singing and clapping, I looked at their faces and saw the history of Israel playing in my mind. Everything I've been learning in classes and Israel Seminar, on our tiyulim and our trip to the Golan and the Galilee last week- the images were flashing through my head, connections were being made, and it was awesome. ALIYAH. BEGINNING OF ZIONISM. THE NEW JEW. FIRST SETTLEMENTS. CREATION OF HEBREW AS A SPOKEN LANGUAGE. SETTLING THE LAND. CONFLICT WITH ARABS AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. I could see the pain on their faces, the wars, the never-ending struggle, their years in the army-yet through it all, they remain positive, upbeat, and proud- it was very telling, not to mention, uplifting.
I kept wondering about the family history of each Israeli face that I looked at--which Aliyah did they come over on? Where are his parents from? Did they start out in a town that I visited in the North? Is she a Sabra? Which unit of the army did he serve in?
Music is a powerful tool. It elevates ordinary moments in life. And in this particular moment, the words and music of these songs, in this setting, enabled me to see the entire evolution of the country when I looked at the crowd. It's wild to think that Israel is so young and has already grown immensely in its 60 short years as a country.
Singing became the National hobby/past-time of Israel years ago- during the period of the creation of the New Jew and the formation of a new culture. It's nice to know that that love for the land and tradition of singing Israeli songs is still alive and well. This is something that you would never see this in the United States. A huge group of people sitting around singing songs about America for fun on a random Thursday night? Sure, on the 4th of July people sing "Proud to be an American" and "Yankee Doodle Dandee," but it's not the same. This is a deep-rooted we-struggled-and-fought-for this-land-and will continue-to-fight-for-this land-I-would-do anything-for-my-country kind of pride. Israel is just a different culture, a very special, unique culture that I have grown to love over these past several months.
This was a perfect end to my day spent with the Parallel Lives soldiers, and a great way to start Shabbat and the week-end. There is nothing more moving than standing in a sea of 900 Israelis in the middle of Jerusalem, singing "Al Kol Ele" (beautiful melody by Naomi Shemer), a song for all that is simple and beautiful in life. Shabbat Shalom.
Laila Tov, Leslie
Al Kol Ele (english translation)
Every bee that brings the honey
Needs a sting to be complete
And we all must learn to taste the bitter with the sweet.
Keep the fire burning
Through the night and through the day
For the man who is returning
from so far away.
Chorus:
Don't uproot what has been planted
So our bounty may increase
Let our dearest wish be granted:
Bring us peace, oh bring us peace.
For the sake of all these things,
Let your mercy be complete
Bless the sting and bless the honey
Bless the bitter and the sweet.
Save the houses that we live in
The small fences and the wall
From the sudden war-like thunder
May you save them all.
Guard what little I’ve been given
Guard the hill my child might climb
Let the fruit that’s yet to ripen
Not be plucked before its time.
Chorus:
As the wind makes rustling night sounds
And a star falls in its arc
All my dreams and my desires
Form crystal shapes out of the dark.
Guard for me, oh Lord, these treasures
All my friends keep safe and strong,
Guard the stillness, guard the weeping,
And above all, guard this song.
Chorus:
For the sake of all these things, Lord,
Let your mercy be complete
Bless the sting and bless the honey
Bless the bitter and the sweet.
Bless the sting and bless the honey
Bless the bitter and the sweet.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Golan Heights and Galilee Tiyul
Shalom, faithful blog readers!
Thursday evening, we returned from our 3 day tiyul in the Galilee/Golan region. It was a wonderful tiyul- great sites, the content was engaging, and it was organized and led very well. Specifically, by my Israel Seminar teacher, Dave Mendelsson. He's brilliant and a phenomenal teacher.
The real highlight of the trip was seeing and experiencing the beauty of the Northern region of Israel. Characterized by its mountains, greenery, and water falls, the North is for those who love nature. There are national parks, nature reserves, and mineral baths in the area. It's just gorgeous- you have to see for yourself!
service overlooking the beautiful Galilee
The theme of this tiyul was "In search of the New Jew." The "New Jew" is a term given to the emerging and evolving Jewish individual in the late 19th and early 20th century in Israel, at the beginning of the Zionist settlement. The first Aliyah was made up of Jews who migrated to Palestine from Eastern Europe (mostly Russia and Romania) and Yemen. This wave of Aliyah was from 1881-1903 and involved about 25,000-35,000 Jews. The emigration to Palestine was part of a mass emigration of 3.5 million people from Eastern Europe. Factors in the mass emigration include economic and political issues, as well as increased persecution of the Jews in Russia.
With this new wave of immigrants to Palestine comes major change. Something is different about the new immigrants coming to the land of Israel than those that came before them. The Jews living in Palestine before the wave of immigration were traditional Jews, studying and praying, unable to support themselves. The new immigrants didn't want to come and see people in exile- people who were religious, pious, unproductive, and couldn't survive without hand-outs from the diaspora- they wanted to be self sufficient. The new immigrants brought a more modern style. While some were still "traditional" Jews, some dressed differently. Also, they wanted to make Hebrew a modern, spoken language, not just a language found in texts. Their goal was to be self sufficient, so there was a major shift in society to agriculture and labor. It was a new beginning.
The First Aliyah laid the groundwork for Jewish settlements in Israel and they created many new settlements, mostly in the North. In the beginning, most of these settlements faced financial difficulties, especially because the immigrants were not proficient in farming. Baron Edmond James Rothschild, a wealthy Frenchman and strong supporter of Zionism, took several of the settlements under his wing, which helped them survive until more settlers with farming experience arrived in later Aliyot. Rothchild gave generous donations, lending significant support to the movement during its early years, which helped lead to the establishment of the State of Israel. Without Rothchild, The State of Israel probably would not have come into existence when it did. There are many streets and neighborhoods named after Rothchild and his family members throughout Israel.
Back to the tiyul...
Our first stop on Tuesday was in Ramat Hanadiv, a National Park that boasts the beautiful gardens planted around the family grave of Baron Rothschild. The crypt in which the Baron and his wife are buried are placed in the middle of the garden behind doors from the Talmud era.
We then went to Zichron Ya'acov and its adjacent cemetery, one of the first Jewish Zionist settlements in Israel, named after Rothchild's father. In the cemetery, our tour educator, Muki, told us about the history of the settlement and some stories of the hardships and poor conditions that the new immigrants faced, including starvation and malaria. We also continued to talk about the the New Jew and the idea of re-birth when making Aliyah to Israel. We explored the town of Zichron Yaacov (which I visited with my family earlier this summer) and stopped for lunch at a nice little restaurant on the main street.
Zichron Yaakov Water Tower with Rothchild's picture
After this, we made a quick stop to a natural pool for a dip in the water, and then continued on to the Karei Deshe Hostel on the banks of the Kinneret. It was the best looking hostel I've ever seen! I shared a room with Lisa, Jaclyn, Meredith, and Sydney. After dinner, we had services outside by the lake and our evening program centered around some movie clips from films focusing on the New Jew. The first one was footage shot in 1913, following a group of pioneers making Aliyah from Odessa to Jaffa. It follows the whole process, from boarding the ship, life on the ship, and arrival in the port of Jaffa. Another video made as a fund raiser for the Zionist Movement in 1935 chronicled the pioneers once they arrived in Israel. It showed them working the land- getting water out of the ground, using machines to aid in their labor, a symbol of modernity. A third film was set later during The War of Independence and focused on the sabra, the native born Israeli, and his evolution from pioneer, farmer, to fighter, defending his country. The idea that Israelis fight till the end to defend their land has been part of the culture from the very beginning. The films were a good way to put some images with the history and stories that we've been hearing- it definitely made the material come alive.
lunch in Zichron Yaakov with the gang
Wednesday was a packed day. We started the day by visiting the fort at Tel Hai, one of the original four Jewish settlements in the Galilee. It was settled in 1918, and in 1920, Tel Hai was attacked by the Arabs. Joseph Trumpeldor and 7 others died defending Tel Hai and the nearby town of Kiriyat Shmona was named after them. In 1921, Tel Hai was resettled. If the brave pioneers at the beginning of the last century had not had the fortitude to withstand the hardships of the day, the Galilee as we know it today, would never have become part of modern day Israel.
Generations of Israelis have been brought-up on the words which were said to have been uttered by Joseph Trumpeldor, as he lay dying, after the battle of Tel Hai, "Never mind, it is good to die for one's country." To this day, the battle that took place here 82 years ago is marked on the 11th of the month of Adar as a symbol of national heroism.
We then traveled to a look out point above the most Northern town in Israel, Mitulla, which lies right on the boarder of Lebanon. And I mean RIGHT ON THE BOARDER. You can spit on Lebanon. It's wild that they voluntarily live that close to the boarder. Some of my classmates kept asking "why?" and Muki said, "Why not?" Their relatives settled the land years ago, it belongs to them, why should they leave? We received a brief history of the Israeli/Arab conflict from Muki. It's way too much to write. There is a large UN presence in the area which apparently is helping to keep peace right now. But everyone knows that it's temporary, there is more to come, both sides are preparing for the next battle.
Next we traveled to Kiriyat Shmona, a town established in 1950, whose proximity to the Lebanon boarder makes it a major target for attacks. A brief history of K.S. so you can understand the magnitude we are talking here. In 1974, 18 residents of an apartment building were killed in the Kiryat Shmona massacre. The city continued to be a target of attacks including Katyusha rockets attacks by the PLO in 1981, 1986, and 1996. The citizens suffered almost daily attacks from the mid 1970's until 2000 when the IDF left Lebanon. From 2000-2006, the locals enjoyed relative peace, and during the 2006 Lebanon War, the city was again the target of Hezbollah Katyusha rocket attacks. Approximately half of the city’s residents had left the area, and the other half who remained stayed in bomb shelters. During the war, a total of 1012 Katyusha rockets hit Kiryat Shmona.
A psychologist from K.S. spoke to us about how the community deals with stress and their situation during the war 2 years ago. She described the bomb shelters and what its like living in an environment that is constantly under threat. Many people develop psychological issues, especially, post traumatic stress syndrome.
Next we went to the eastern part of the Golan Heights to see the Syrian lookout point. Again, it's wild to see the boarder and how close we are to Syria. There has been a UN presence on this boarder since '74 and it's been Israel's quietest boarder.
Next was a stop in Kazrin to see a video (propaganda) on the Golan region. It was designed for the Israeli public to drive home the fact that Israel cannot give up the Golan Heights. There is a lot of talk about giving it up for peace with Syria.
The video talked about the Golan Height's natural resources, farm land, exports (olive oil, bottled water, and wine) strategic military points, and importance for water supply. Then there were interviews with Israelis who have grown up living in the Golan Heights and are now raising their families there. Post video we met with Ramona, a spokesperson from the Kazrin community regional council, who talked on behalf of the pro Golan Heights side. She was very passionate about her stance on the issue and her love for her home in the Golan Heights was very obvious. I agree that Israel should absolutely not give up the G.H. This would be a terrible mistake. Let's be honest- there is never going to be complete peace. Periods of peace, maybe. But eternal peace for Israel? Not gonna happen...so why lose what is arguably the best part of the country for nothing? NOT WORTH IT.
This was mostly it for Wednesday. We had a BBQ back at the hostel and a big Israeli sing along. We talked quite a bit about the concept of the "New Jew" creating a whole new Israeli culture- including songs. This new generation of people in Israel had to compose, teach, and learn all new songs that were appropriate to the themes of the new Jew; the working Jew, the pioneer, agriculture, and the beauty and love for the land of Israel.
Thursday morning we spent a few hours at Tel Dan, another archaeological site. The Indiana Jones of Tel Dan is one of our teachers at HUC, so the visit had to happen. It was interesting, but you can only see so many sites with piles of old bricks and rubble before they start to look the same.
We stopped for a quick visit in the Naot show factory and then on to the Kinneret Cemetary where many famous Zionist key players are buried. As well as Naomi Shemer, famous Israeli composer, and Rachel, popular Israeli poet whose poems were set to music. Here we had a mincha (afternoon) service overlooking the Kinneret-BEAUTIFUL.
Naomi Shemer's grave
It was a fabulous tiyul, but it was definitely time to head back to J'lem by day 3. I was DONE with the camp bed at the hostel! Speaking of bed, it's about that time...
More soon.
Lila Tov,
Leslie
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Yep, I'm in a seminary...
First week of school: long classes, new teachers, books, readers, papers, expectations, syllabi, grading criteria. Oiy! It has become very clear that I am in graduate school, in a seminary nonetheless! How did I end up in a seminary?! It was an overwhelming week to say the least.
I've been out of school for 2 years and I really grew accustomed to being in the working world and functioning on my own time schedule. Now it's back to a set schedule, set lunch breaks, and required activities. Not to mention the fact that as a voice major, I took VERY different classes than your average undergraduate student. I haven't written a real paper since high school. Now I'm trading in dance, acting, voice seminar, and eurythmics, for real classes. I'm taking biblical grammar, Hebrew (every day), 2nd temple history, t'filah workshop, liturgy, history of Jewish music, Israel seminar, music theory, Cantillation of the bible, Cantorial workshop, and Israeli pop and folk music. Plus a coaching and voice lesson each week. The schedule is no walk in the park-they are very long days at school and then we are supposed to be motivated to do tons of reading and homework when we get home. When is there time to experience Israel? Take in a concert? I'm sure that after the first month, I'll find a balance between school, social life, and cultural enrichment, but for now, it seems to be a lot to take in at once.
One of the highlights was our first Israel Seminar class. We have classes Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Each Wednesday is dedicated to Israel Seminar- the entire class is divided into smaller groups, based on how much time we've spent in Israel. The focus of the class is learning about the evolving nature of Israeli society from its pre-state emphasis on molding the new Jew to the contemporary reality of competing cultural voices. In addition to readings and class discussions, we use Israel as our "classroom," taking many day trips and 3 longer trips throughout the year. The first one is coming up this Tuesday- we travel North to the Galilee and the Golan. More on this trip in an upcoming post.
In our first class last week we did a great introductory exercise. There were many abstract maps of Israel (Israel with a zipper, with stairs, a museum scene of a person looking at the map of Israel behind a rope) around the room and we each had to pick the one that spoke to us the most. We went around in a circle explaining our map and why we connected to it.
The one I chose was a picture of a pot with a very fragile plant in the shape of Israel's map growing up and out of the pot. I said that the plant is symbolic of Israel being a very young state that is still growing/evolving, changing every day, figuring out who she is- her beliefs, ideals, and where she fits into the bigger picture. The pot that the plant is rooted in is saying that Israel is a melting pot, a place for all types of people. The country is made up of immigrants from all over the world, people with different backgrounds, ages, religious beliefs, and they all come to Israel for various reasons and lead very different lives here.
Where do I fit into the picture? I am part of that melting a pot- an American student. I'm not a tourist, I haven't made Aliyah-- I'm trying to find my place in Jerusalem, in Israel, living in this culture for a year. Another student added that she didn't like the picture because she believes Israel's roots are deeper than the pot- she thinks the plant should be planted in soil, with roots running deep into the ground. It was a very interesting exercise- each picture presenting Israel in a completely different way. It just supports the idea that Israel is a COMPLICATED, CONFUSING, UNIQUE, place that everyone sees differently, with many conflicting opinions about how it should function. This will be a great class.
For every wonderful class I have, I'm sure there will be a boring-want to pluck your eyes out class. It's a means to an end, and I just need to remember that.
In other positive news, I found a PHENOMENAL voice teacher! She's British, her name is Judy, and she's going to be awesome for my voice this year. She is very intuitive, knows exactly what needs to happen with my voice technically and I love her personality. I haven't had voice lessons in 2 years and it's really time to dive in and move forward. She lives in Baka (past the German Colony) which is a quick 10 minute bike ride for me in a lovely neighborhood. This was a highlight of my week!
After the long week of classes, Friday was a much needed break. Friday is my favorite day of the week here. You can feel the Shabbas stir from the second you wake up in the morning until the Shabbat siren sounds in the early evening. In the early morning, it's quiet because most people don't work on Friday. They sleep in, have breakfast, relax. Then by mid-morning, it gets crazy. The markets are packed, the Shuk (market) is bustling, swarming with people, vendors screaming out their prices, the streets are busy with cars, buses, lots of noise, and everyone is frantically buying what they need to get through Shabbat, until Sunday when the stores re-open. Friday afternoon it slows down. People go home and start preparing Shabbat meals, you smell the food simmering, the stores close early, you hear the YMCA bells playing all types of music from Eli Eli to Greensleeves, the cars start to disappear from the streets until they are empty, and its silent. Friday night, there are no cars. It's silent outside, you see the Frum walking home from services with their friends and family, and you just relish in the fact that it's Shabbat in Jerusalem and nothing is going on. Saturday is pretty quiet for most the day, the whole city shuts down. It's a beautiful process that I'm so happy to experience each week...
Yesterday, I took a bike ride at 7am, followed by a delicious brunch at T'mol Shilshom, did some errands, had my 2nd voice lesson of the week, and had a lovely Shabbat dinner at Meredith and Lisa's. Before dinner, we all went to Shira Chadasha, a modern orthodox synagogue for services. It was 150 degrees, cramped, and everyone was coughing. Aside from that, it was interesting to see a different style that I'm not used to. There was a sheer mechitza (separation wall for men and women) in the middle of the room. I think a large part of this year is experiencing all different types of service, especially those that are outside of our comfort levels. The different branches of Judaism are so different that it's almost like separate religions. It was interesting to sit in services last night (that look SO different from the Reform services that I'm used to) and think that Reform Jewish customs and prayer grew out of traditional customs, and the evolution of the religion through the years. The melodies were pretty (mostly foreign to me but easy to pick up), lots of harmony. It wasn't so different from B'nai Jeshrun services in NY, just with the mechitza. And also less spirited. For whatever reason, I heard that last night wasn't as upbeat and ruach-y (spirit) as usual. It wasn't easy for me (or my friends that I was sitting with) to connect to the worship or feel prayerful in the space. It was so busy, so many side conversations and movement going on, and no clear leader. People just do their own thing, muttering under their breath or praying silently between the prayers that they sing together. Like I said, interesting, important to experience all types of prayer.
I think that's about it for now. I need to organize my books and do some homework. I'm going over to my friend Joel's for lunch and tonight the Kef committee is having our first HAVDALLAH SABABA in the park. Sababa is a slang term in Hebrew that means "cool, great, no problem, all-right."
More soon...Take care!
-Leslie
I've been out of school for 2 years and I really grew accustomed to being in the working world and functioning on my own time schedule. Now it's back to a set schedule, set lunch breaks, and required activities. Not to mention the fact that as a voice major, I took VERY different classes than your average undergraduate student. I haven't written a real paper since high school. Now I'm trading in dance, acting, voice seminar, and eurythmics, for real classes. I'm taking biblical grammar, Hebrew (every day), 2nd temple history, t'filah workshop, liturgy, history of Jewish music, Israel seminar, music theory, Cantillation of the bible, Cantorial workshop, and Israeli pop and folk music. Plus a coaching and voice lesson each week. The schedule is no walk in the park-they are very long days at school and then we are supposed to be motivated to do tons of reading and homework when we get home. When is there time to experience Israel? Take in a concert? I'm sure that after the first month, I'll find a balance between school, social life, and cultural enrichment, but for now, it seems to be a lot to take in at once.
One of the highlights was our first Israel Seminar class. We have classes Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Each Wednesday is dedicated to Israel Seminar- the entire class is divided into smaller groups, based on how much time we've spent in Israel. The focus of the class is learning about the evolving nature of Israeli society from its pre-state emphasis on molding the new Jew to the contemporary reality of competing cultural voices. In addition to readings and class discussions, we use Israel as our "classroom," taking many day trips and 3 longer trips throughout the year. The first one is coming up this Tuesday- we travel North to the Galilee and the Golan. More on this trip in an upcoming post.
In our first class last week we did a great introductory exercise. There were many abstract maps of Israel (Israel with a zipper, with stairs, a museum scene of a person looking at the map of Israel behind a rope) around the room and we each had to pick the one that spoke to us the most. We went around in a circle explaining our map and why we connected to it.
The one I chose was a picture of a pot with a very fragile plant in the shape of Israel's map growing up and out of the pot. I said that the plant is symbolic of Israel being a very young state that is still growing/evolving, changing every day, figuring out who she is- her beliefs, ideals, and where she fits into the bigger picture. The pot that the plant is rooted in is saying that Israel is a melting pot, a place for all types of people. The country is made up of immigrants from all over the world, people with different backgrounds, ages, religious beliefs, and they all come to Israel for various reasons and lead very different lives here.
Where do I fit into the picture? I am part of that melting a pot- an American student. I'm not a tourist, I haven't made Aliyah-- I'm trying to find my place in Jerusalem, in Israel, living in this culture for a year. Another student added that she didn't like the picture because she believes Israel's roots are deeper than the pot- she thinks the plant should be planted in soil, with roots running deep into the ground. It was a very interesting exercise- each picture presenting Israel in a completely different way. It just supports the idea that Israel is a COMPLICATED, CONFUSING, UNIQUE, place that everyone sees differently, with many conflicting opinions about how it should function. This will be a great class.
For every wonderful class I have, I'm sure there will be a boring-want to pluck your eyes out class. It's a means to an end, and I just need to remember that.
In other positive news, I found a PHENOMENAL voice teacher! She's British, her name is Judy, and she's going to be awesome for my voice this year. She is very intuitive, knows exactly what needs to happen with my voice technically and I love her personality. I haven't had voice lessons in 2 years and it's really time to dive in and move forward. She lives in Baka (past the German Colony) which is a quick 10 minute bike ride for me in a lovely neighborhood. This was a highlight of my week!
After the long week of classes, Friday was a much needed break. Friday is my favorite day of the week here. You can feel the Shabbas stir from the second you wake up in the morning until the Shabbat siren sounds in the early evening. In the early morning, it's quiet because most people don't work on Friday. They sleep in, have breakfast, relax. Then by mid-morning, it gets crazy. The markets are packed, the Shuk (market) is bustling, swarming with people, vendors screaming out their prices, the streets are busy with cars, buses, lots of noise, and everyone is frantically buying what they need to get through Shabbat, until Sunday when the stores re-open. Friday afternoon it slows down. People go home and start preparing Shabbat meals, you smell the food simmering, the stores close early, you hear the YMCA bells playing all types of music from Eli Eli to Greensleeves, the cars start to disappear from the streets until they are empty, and its silent. Friday night, there are no cars. It's silent outside, you see the Frum walking home from services with their friends and family, and you just relish in the fact that it's Shabbat in Jerusalem and nothing is going on. Saturday is pretty quiet for most the day, the whole city shuts down. It's a beautiful process that I'm so happy to experience each week...
Yesterday, I took a bike ride at 7am, followed by a delicious brunch at T'mol Shilshom, did some errands, had my 2nd voice lesson of the week, and had a lovely Shabbat dinner at Meredith and Lisa's. Before dinner, we all went to Shira Chadasha, a modern orthodox synagogue for services. It was 150 degrees, cramped, and everyone was coughing. Aside from that, it was interesting to see a different style that I'm not used to. There was a sheer mechitza (separation wall for men and women) in the middle of the room. I think a large part of this year is experiencing all different types of service, especially those that are outside of our comfort levels. The different branches of Judaism are so different that it's almost like separate religions. It was interesting to sit in services last night (that look SO different from the Reform services that I'm used to) and think that Reform Jewish customs and prayer grew out of traditional customs, and the evolution of the religion through the years. The melodies were pretty (mostly foreign to me but easy to pick up), lots of harmony. It wasn't so different from B'nai Jeshrun services in NY, just with the mechitza. And also less spirited. For whatever reason, I heard that last night wasn't as upbeat and ruach-y (spirit) as usual. It wasn't easy for me (or my friends that I was sitting with) to connect to the worship or feel prayerful in the space. It was so busy, so many side conversations and movement going on, and no clear leader. People just do their own thing, muttering under their breath or praying silently between the prayers that they sing together. Like I said, interesting, important to experience all types of prayer.
I think that's about it for now. I need to organize my books and do some homework. I'm going over to my friend Joel's for lunch and tonight the Kef committee is having our first HAVDALLAH SABABA in the park. Sababa is a slang term in Hebrew that means "cool, great, no problem, all-right."
More soon...Take care!
-Leslie
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Greece Trip: Crete Day 4
Remember our friend Maria, the owner of the guided tour shop that we met the first day? Day 4 was a guided "tour" with Maria's husband through parts of Eastern Crete. I say "tour" because we thought we were getting a real tour guide. He turned out to be fine--very kind older gentleman, drove safely, and navigated around the different towns well, but he wasn't exactly a wealth of knowledge on the historical aspects of our journey.
Eastern Crete is a bit less rugged than the wild west, and less populous than the central region of the island. It also sees fewer tourists because it is further from the island's airports. That said, the region's largest town, Agios Nikolaos, is a thriving holiday resort, while Crete's most expensive and exclusive hotel and villa complexes can be found close by, around Elounda, on the Gulf of Mirabello. The east also has some gorgeous beaches, which we unfortunately didn't have enough time to hit up.
We drove through TONS of tiny typical Greek villages, really getting a feel for their way of life- each time we passed through a new one, I would say, "is this the whole village?" Ha, I guess I really am a city girl to the core...We passed tons of monasteries, visiting 2 of them. Beautiful views, very clean and well kept by the few monks/nuns that inhabit them. We made a stop for a brief hike in the Diktian Cave, the supposed place where Zeus was born. It was nice to stretch our legs and pump it up the mountainous hill to reach the cave. The cave was awesome to see- massive and filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Unfortunately, no Zeus spotting.
reached the cave!
We explored the Lasithi plains, still promoted as the "Plain of the Windmills," but few of the thousands of white-sailed windmills still exist today in working order. The drive through this vibrantly green, rich farmland, surrounded by never ending mountains is stunning. It's unbelievable that they have had no rain since May and it still looks incredibly lush and green. Not sure why that is exactly...
We passed tons of olive trees--our "tour guide" sort of explained the process of making olive oil. I can tell you that the olives turn brown and are ripe and ready to be juiced in November, and that the first olive press in the world was found on the island of Crete around 1600 B.C.
We stopped in Agios Nikolaos for lunch. It's the most beautiful town in Eastern Crete, built around an inner lagoon, surrounded by palm trees and cafes. The lagoon features a small park with a trail, traditional fishing boats, an amphitheater and many cafes. It's an upscale tourist coastal town that serves as a hub to the twenty or so small villages and farms that make up that part of Lassithi. Once again, GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS views. We were semi-adventurous for our last lunch in Crete--in addition to our usual chicken souvlaki and greek salad, we did a Greek sample plate that contained pastitsio (an old fav of mine from when I was a kid--it's like a Greek macaroni-lasagne thing), mousakka, potatoes, Greek meatball things, and fava beans.
We also stopped to take pictures of the tiny island of Spinalonga, the leper colony. THe fortifications covering the island were built by the Venetians in 1579 to control the approaches to the harbor. It was used as a leper colony in the first half of the 20th century.
in front of Spinalonga
another monastery
gorgeous view from monatery
Our private Eastern tour ended around 4:30 and after a brief walk around Hersonissos, we showered and decided to take the bus to Heraklion for dinner. The touristy party scene in Hersonissos didn't interest us at all and Heraklion is only 45 minutes away, so, "lama lo?" ("why not?") We found a really cute place for dinner, walked around Heraklion for a bit, and reminisced about all the fabulous sights we had packed into our great 4 day Greece trip. Before leaving Heraklion, we tried to re-create the magic of our amazing crepe from Santorini, but it just wasn't the same. We hopped the bus back, packed our stuff, got a few hours of sleep, and were picked up at 4:15 am to head to the airport.
dinner in Heraklion, only picture in non-sweat clothes!
The trip was incredible--it made me want to go back and visit the rest of Greece- There's so much to see! I loved being immersed in a completely new culture and language that felt like it was a world away, but in reality, was only an hour and a half from Israel. Also, it was really nice being the only Americans for a change. Didn't bother me at all.
Even though this year is crazy busy, I really hope that I'll find more time to travel and explore. We're so close to so many incredible places- I would love to back-pack for a few weeks over our break in January.
Even though we loved Greece, it was really nice to come back to Israel--it felt like home when we landed. I took the whole day to be a complete bump on a log--watched the entire new season of Weeds online-amazing! Then yesterday I went to the gym, did some marketing, and had Shabbat at Lisa and Meredith's with the whole gang. It was a LOVELY reunion- felt like we hadn't seen each other in a year. We heard about Adam and Jaclyn's Istanbul trip, the other Greece gang's trip to Rhodes, and the fab 5 camping trip. GREAT SHABBAT.
Hard to believe that we start school tomorrow...actually, impossible to believe! I'm so not ready!
On the schedule for today...
-something physical outside
-organizing my life
-preparing for school
-Havdallah of sorts
-officially kissing the summer GOODBYE
Hope you enjoyed this special edition of the Greece blog. Would love to hear from you! And if there are still people reading this blog who have not left me a message, leave me a damn message!
GO VISIT GREECE!!!!!
LOVE,
Leslie
Eastern Crete is a bit less rugged than the wild west, and less populous than the central region of the island. It also sees fewer tourists because it is further from the island's airports. That said, the region's largest town, Agios Nikolaos, is a thriving holiday resort, while Crete's most expensive and exclusive hotel and villa complexes can be found close by, around Elounda, on the Gulf of Mirabello. The east also has some gorgeous beaches, which we unfortunately didn't have enough time to hit up.
We drove through TONS of tiny typical Greek villages, really getting a feel for their way of life- each time we passed through a new one, I would say, "is this the whole village?" Ha, I guess I really am a city girl to the core...We passed tons of monasteries, visiting 2 of them. Beautiful views, very clean and well kept by the few monks/nuns that inhabit them. We made a stop for a brief hike in the Diktian Cave, the supposed place where Zeus was born. It was nice to stretch our legs and pump it up the mountainous hill to reach the cave. The cave was awesome to see- massive and filled with stalactites and stalagmites. Unfortunately, no Zeus spotting.
reached the cave!
We explored the Lasithi plains, still promoted as the "Plain of the Windmills," but few of the thousands of white-sailed windmills still exist today in working order. The drive through this vibrantly green, rich farmland, surrounded by never ending mountains is stunning. It's unbelievable that they have had no rain since May and it still looks incredibly lush and green. Not sure why that is exactly...
We passed tons of olive trees--our "tour guide" sort of explained the process of making olive oil. I can tell you that the olives turn brown and are ripe and ready to be juiced in November, and that the first olive press in the world was found on the island of Crete around 1600 B.C.
We stopped in Agios Nikolaos for lunch. It's the most beautiful town in Eastern Crete, built around an inner lagoon, surrounded by palm trees and cafes. The lagoon features a small park with a trail, traditional fishing boats, an amphitheater and many cafes. It's an upscale tourist coastal town that serves as a hub to the twenty or so small villages and farms that make up that part of Lassithi. Once again, GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS views. We were semi-adventurous for our last lunch in Crete--in addition to our usual chicken souvlaki and greek salad, we did a Greek sample plate that contained pastitsio (an old fav of mine from when I was a kid--it's like a Greek macaroni-lasagne thing), mousakka, potatoes, Greek meatball things, and fava beans.
We also stopped to take pictures of the tiny island of Spinalonga, the leper colony. THe fortifications covering the island were built by the Venetians in 1579 to control the approaches to the harbor. It was used as a leper colony in the first half of the 20th century.
in front of Spinalonga
another monastery
gorgeous view from monatery
Our private Eastern tour ended around 4:30 and after a brief walk around Hersonissos, we showered and decided to take the bus to Heraklion for dinner. The touristy party scene in Hersonissos didn't interest us at all and Heraklion is only 45 minutes away, so, "lama lo?" ("why not?") We found a really cute place for dinner, walked around Heraklion for a bit, and reminisced about all the fabulous sights we had packed into our great 4 day Greece trip. Before leaving Heraklion, we tried to re-create the magic of our amazing crepe from Santorini, but it just wasn't the same. We hopped the bus back, packed our stuff, got a few hours of sleep, and were picked up at 4:15 am to head to the airport.
dinner in Heraklion, only picture in non-sweat clothes!
The trip was incredible--it made me want to go back and visit the rest of Greece- There's so much to see! I loved being immersed in a completely new culture and language that felt like it was a world away, but in reality, was only an hour and a half from Israel. Also, it was really nice being the only Americans for a change. Didn't bother me at all.
Even though this year is crazy busy, I really hope that I'll find more time to travel and explore. We're so close to so many incredible places- I would love to back-pack for a few weeks over our break in January.
Even though we loved Greece, it was really nice to come back to Israel--it felt like home when we landed. I took the whole day to be a complete bump on a log--watched the entire new season of Weeds online-amazing! Then yesterday I went to the gym, did some marketing, and had Shabbat at Lisa and Meredith's with the whole gang. It was a LOVELY reunion- felt like we hadn't seen each other in a year. We heard about Adam and Jaclyn's Istanbul trip, the other Greece gang's trip to Rhodes, and the fab 5 camping trip. GREAT SHABBAT.
Hard to believe that we start school tomorrow...actually, impossible to believe! I'm so not ready!
On the schedule for today...
-something physical outside
-organizing my life
-preparing for school
-Havdallah of sorts
-officially kissing the summer GOODBYE
Hope you enjoyed this special edition of the Greece blog. Would love to hear from you! And if there are still people reading this blog who have not left me a message, leave me a damn message!
GO VISIT GREECE!!!!!
LOVE,
Leslie
Greece Trip: Santorini Day 3
Nothing says Greece like the picturesque, breath-taking island of Santorini. With its charming towns, blue and white buildings, churches, and gorgeous ocean views, Santorini is like a dream come true, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life.
This was a highlight of the trip! Part of the reason we chose Crete over Rhodes was because we wanted to bask in the Santorini sun.
high speed boat to Santorini, 2 hours
just arrived in Santorini
Santorini is a small, circular cluster of volcanic islands located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km southeast from Greece's mainland. Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera (a cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption). The island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions the planet has ever seen: the Minoan eruption, which occurred some 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization. There are 13 villages on the island of Santorini, and 400 churches.
Our first stop in Santorini was Pyrgos, the oldest and one of the prettiest towns in Santorini. It was built on the top of a hill and was until the early 1800, the capital of the island. The village is composed of traditional houses built around the Venetian Castle and the small streets follow the shape of the hill. You can see the whole island of Santorini from Pyrgos, which has 45 churches with white and blue domes and 500 inhabitants. GORGEOUS VIEWS.
Our 2nd stop was to IA. Ia is the most famous and most beautiful area on the island of Santorini-located 11 km North of the capital, Fira. Oia, is a traditional village perched on the edge of the impressive cliffs and offering a spectacular view over the volcano. Ia has small white painted houses located in narrow streets and many blue domed churches. The views of the sea, caldera, volcano, and surrounding islands is magnificent.
We had lunch overlooking the ocean and walked around the cute streets, browsing in and out of the many beautiful shops and art galleries. The Santorini salad (a twist on a Greek salad) was the best of the entire trip- probably because of the incredible Santorini tomatoes.
The desserts everywhere were killer-looking and the smells in the bakeries, unreal. At our third and final stop in the capital city of Fira, we stopped for a scenic dessert crepe at a cafe overlooking the ocean. It was the best crepe I've had since I was in France in high school. We devoured it!
Fira, the capital of Santorini has 2,000 inhabitants- it has many hotels, churches, cave houses, schools, cafes, shops, and a few historical sights and museums.
After our very long day touring in beautiful Santorini, we boarded the boat for our 2 hour ride back to Herklion, and then boarded another 1 hour bus to take us back to Hersonissos. Despite the hours of travel time and early morning pick up, the day trip was 100% worth it- Santorini will remain my happy place for many years to come.
This was a highlight of the trip! Part of the reason we chose Crete over Rhodes was because we wanted to bask in the Santorini sun.
high speed boat to Santorini, 2 hours
just arrived in Santorini
Santorini is a small, circular cluster of volcanic islands located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km southeast from Greece's mainland. Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera (a cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption). The island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions the planet has ever seen: the Minoan eruption, which occurred some 3,600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization. There are 13 villages on the island of Santorini, and 400 churches.
Our first stop in Santorini was Pyrgos, the oldest and one of the prettiest towns in Santorini. It was built on the top of a hill and was until the early 1800, the capital of the island. The village is composed of traditional houses built around the Venetian Castle and the small streets follow the shape of the hill. You can see the whole island of Santorini from Pyrgos, which has 45 churches with white and blue domes and 500 inhabitants. GORGEOUS VIEWS.
Our 2nd stop was to IA. Ia is the most famous and most beautiful area on the island of Santorini-located 11 km North of the capital, Fira. Oia, is a traditional village perched on the edge of the impressive cliffs and offering a spectacular view over the volcano. Ia has small white painted houses located in narrow streets and many blue domed churches. The views of the sea, caldera, volcano, and surrounding islands is magnificent.
We had lunch overlooking the ocean and walked around the cute streets, browsing in and out of the many beautiful shops and art galleries. The Santorini salad (a twist on a Greek salad) was the best of the entire trip- probably because of the incredible Santorini tomatoes.
The desserts everywhere were killer-looking and the smells in the bakeries, unreal. At our third and final stop in the capital city of Fira, we stopped for a scenic dessert crepe at a cafe overlooking the ocean. It was the best crepe I've had since I was in France in high school. We devoured it!
Fira, the capital of Santorini has 2,000 inhabitants- it has many hotels, churches, cave houses, schools, cafes, shops, and a few historical sights and museums.
After our very long day touring in beautiful Santorini, we boarded the boat for our 2 hour ride back to Herklion, and then boarded another 1 hour bus to take us back to Hersonissos. Despite the hours of travel time and early morning pick up, the day trip was 100% worth it- Santorini will remain my happy place for many years to come.
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