Challah-weeeen

Happy Challah-weeen from the big bad J'lem!!!!!!!!!



Even though we are many miles away from the creepy-crawler-sugar-infested-black and orange holiday known as Halloween, we had a big bash here in J'lem! Any excuse to throw a party, right? I had an appetizer pre-party at my place which was a smashing success (per usual).

The apps were: bbq chicken quesadillas, baked brie, 7 layer dip, asian chicken wings, Italian turkey meatballs, veggie platter, and caramelized onion and apple crostinis. Plus a Halloween cake and "DIRT" (Aviva had never heard of dirt before...) for dessert.

However, every time I spend a significant portion of a day whipping up an appetizer feast, I'm so sick of them by the time the party rolls around that I don't want to eat it. (But I made up for it today with breakfast at T'mol Shilshom!)

People had a great time last night and they were extremely creative with costumes. Some of the highlights were Sarah Palin, Brad and Angelina toting 2 of their multi-ethnic children, Facebook, Eve in The Garden of Eden, pirate, Roman soldier, a goth couple, Luigi, and 3 blind mice. I went as ghetto fabulous girl, sporting my favorite ultra soft, pink t-shirt that reads, "I'm so gangter," with a picture of a mouth with two gold teeth on it. The t-shirt plus a skull and cross bones hat, black leather gloves, a few tattoos, and a significant bling ring and necklace put me on the map as the most GHETTO FABULOUS chick at the party. HOLLA. Or as I like to say, "CHALLAH."





After getting in the Halloween spirit with some grooving to "Thriller" and other Michael Jackson favs, we headed to the HUC party. Jungle juice, a cantaloupe jack-o-lantern, and lots of crazy costumes! Jaclyn won the costume contest for Sarah Palin and graciously accepted the award...Even though Halloween in J'lem wasn't quite the festive experience it is in the States, it was a really fun night. And most importantly, there are some awesome pictures to prove it! Check them out, http://picasaweb.google.com/leslie.niren






In other exciting news, my Dad's Mother's first cousin is here for a family wedding and I'm going to meet him AND attend the wedding in Tel Aviv! He's a Holocaust survivor, he was in Auschwitz--he's coming to J'lem at the beginning of the week to see a picture of himself in Auschwitz that is at the Holocaust Museum. I'll keep you posted...

The highlights of academics last week were my voice lesson with Judy (love her) and Israel Seminar. We talked about the different waves of immigration to Israel, specifically the rift that surfaced between the Asheknazi Jews from Eastern Europe who were here firstand settled the land and the Mizrachim/Sephardi Jews that came later and felt unaccepted/inferior. We watched a wonderful documentary called T'kuma- Israel's First Fifty Years--it was actually 1 part of a 6 part series that explores Israel from its inception until today. I definitely want to buy the set...

I think that's about it. I spent today relaxing, taking it easy, cleaning up the apartment. Tomorrow is serious work day--I have lots of studying and stuff for school to get through...

Happy Halloween and SHABBAT SHALOM!
(how often do you get to say those two phrases together??)

XO,
Leslie

Week-end Update

Hello faithful readers!

How goes it? Things are slowly returning to a normal routine here as the holidays are finally over. It was great to experience the season in Jerusalem, but at the same time, I'm glad that they are over! It was one holiday after another and the city kept shutting down in observance. The downside of the holidays being over is that now we actually have to go to school...humph.

Last Wednesday we had a tiyul for Israel Seminar to Mount Hertzel and Yad Vashem. We explored the idea of civil religion; the attempt by the state to create shared values, beliefs and symbols. It creates a sense of unity among the country. When Israel first became a state in the late 40's, it was in need of something to unify the many different diverse groups it was made up of. The creation of Mount Hertzel was one of these attempts to create a sacred space. Herzel, the founder of modern Zionism, is buried at the very top of the mountain. As we walk down the mountain, there is the leader of nation cemetery where many Prime Ministers, Presidents, and other important leaders are buried. Continuing down the mountain, next is the Military Cemetery, and finally at the bottom of the mountain is Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial. We went in the opposite direction as our teacher prefers, but the idea is that the bottom of the mountain symbolizes destruction and the top of the mountain symbolizes re-birth, light, and creation. The progression of the mountain gives the idea that Israel was born out of the Holocaust, that something good came from this horrific event.

Also in an attempt to create civil religion, new holidays were created. Three of the biggies are Holocaust Remembrance Day, Military Memorial Day, and Israel Independence Day. There are 7 days between Yom Hashoa and Yom Hazikaron, and these 7 days of National mourning, or Shivah, are followed by a huge celebration for Yom Haatzmaut (Indep. Day). Independence Day is HUGE in Israel- there is an official ceremony every year on the top of Mount Herzel broadcast on TV for the whole country to watch. It's a big deal- I would love to find a way to get tickets this year.

On Mount Herzel, there are various other monuments and memorials, paying tribute to many different Jewish groups who died with some connection to Israel or the birth of Israel.

We spent a few hours in the historical museum (opened in '73 but recently completely re-vamped) in Yad Vashem and then discussed how it fits into Israels civil religion and Israel's message about the Holocaust. This particular museum takes the perspective of the victim and ends on the positive note of Israel being the outcome of the Holocaust. We explored the symbolism in the architecture of the new building and compared this museum to the ones in D.C. and L.A.



military cemetery

Rabin grave

Herzl Grave

Simchat Torah at Kibbutz Gezer

It was a good tiyul and a nice transition back to the school mindset. Unfortunately, after the tiyul my liturgy class had to have a make-up class. We were exhausted and it was hard to concentrate after our long day.

Thursday was the first official day back at school- I had Hebrew, a bunch of meetings, and History of Israeli Pop and Folk music--love this class! Yesterday was all about Songs of the Land of Israel and Shira Betsibur, communal singing, like the one that I wrote about in Mamilla Mall.

Yesterday afternoon Ari and I did our monthly community service project, leading Shabbat services at Elwyn, a home for mentally and physically handicapped adults, and then at Tzur Hadassah's community (right outside of J'lem). It was our second time at Elwyn so I knew what to expect this time. It's a sad place- these people are very low functioning. It's obvious that they're happy to sing and dance and interact with us when we come. Though we have been to services at Tzur Hadassah twice, last night was our first time leading the musical elements of the service. It went well! Playing with Ari is good for improving my guitar skills, and of course, learning new songs and prayers. After services, we were hosted for dinner by one of the families in the community. We had a WONDERFUL time with them- very sweet family, the husband and wife both work in medical research, and they have 3 kids. The 12 year old boy plays classical guitar and he treated us to a nice little concert after dinner- Tears in Heaven, Blue Moon, a little ditty from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat- it was fun. They spent 5 years living in San Francisco so their English is great. We really enjoyed spending the night with them and hopefully will be able to spend more time with them as the year goes on.

There was an interesting American couple at Tzur Hadassah last night from Northern California. They were there doing research for their new book which follows individuals from all over the world and their food consumption for one full day. They were documenting the Rabbi at Tzur Hadassah- I guess they had a connection through one of the members of the community. Their last book is called "Hungry Planet: What the World Eats."

_______________________________________________________________________________
Here is the book description (taken from amazon):

It's an inspired idea--to better understand the human diet, explore what culturally diverse families eat for a week. That's what photographer Peter Menzel and author-journalist Faith D'Alusio, authors of the equally ambitious Material World, do in Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, a comparative photo-chronicle of their visits to 30 families in 24 countries for 600 meals in all. Their personal-is-political portraits feature pictures of each family with a week's worth of food purchases; weekly food-intake lists with costs noted; typical family recipes; and illuminating essays, such as "Diabesity," on the growing threat of obesity and diabetes. Among the families, we meet the Mellanders, a German household of five who enjoy cinnamon rolls, chocolate croissants, and beef roulades, and whose weekly food expenses amount to $500. We also encounter the Natomos of Mali, a family of one husband, his two wives, and their nine children, whose corn and millet-based diet costs $26.39 weekly.

We soon learn that diet is determined by largely uncontrollable forces like poverty, conflict and globalization, which can bring change with startling speed. Thus cultures can move--sometimes in a single jump--from traditional diets to the vexed plenty of global-food production. People have more to eat and, too often, eat more of nutritionally questionable food. Their health suffers.

Because the book makes many of its points through the eye, we see--and feel--more than we might otherwise. Issues that influence how the families are nourished (or not) are made more immediate. Quietly, the book reveals the intersection of nutrition and politics, of the particular and universal. It's a wonderful and worthy feat. --Arthur Boehm
_________________________________________________________________________________
The woman who drove Ari and I back to Jerusalem was also giving this couple a ride, so we got to hear all about their travels, the weird foods they've tasted, and the upcoming book. They have photo exhibits all over the world. I asked the wife if she's read "Skinny Bitch," one of my FAVORITES. She said of course, she thinks its hilarious and she's read it several times. We bonded over some of the chapters in the book and she verified that organic products are indeed mostly a SHAM. Although, she says the two things that she always buys organic are milk and chicken. I was totally fascinated by their project and I definitely want to buy the new book when it comes out!

The centerpiece of the coverage in the last book: in each of the countries is a photographic portrait of the family with one week's worth of food. Here is a link to see the pictures from 15 of the homes. http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1626519,00.html

Today I am working on homework. Back to the grind, or I suppose, finding a grind, since the grind never really started with all of the interruptions from school....

Shabbat Shalom! I hope you are all having a relaxing week-end.

Love,
Leslie

Eilat and Petra

Shalom friends, family, and loyal blog-readers!

After the craziness of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana, we all were looking forward to our 10 day Sukkot break. The first few days of break I relaxed in Jerusalem, went to the gym, played b-ball, and went on a few bike rides. I also took a long stroll through the city to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Sukkot. Erev Sukkot (last Monday) and first day of Sukkot were like Shabbat, everything closed early and the city shut down. I took lots of pictures of the Sukkot around the city--they are everywhere! Most restaurants build a Sukkah for customers to eat in and many families put one up in their yard, in front of their apt. building, or on their balcony. I also went over to the Shuk to check out the special four species Shuk set up next to Machne Yehuda. I had never seen anything like it in my entire life. Hundreds of orthodox men buzzing around the different vendors, trying to find the best lulav they could find. I saw many men whip out magnifying glasses, closely inspecting the tip of the lulav- it was unbelievable!

The four species are three branches and one fruit – date palm, myrtle, willow and citron (etrog) – vital to religious Jews' observance of the Sukkot holiday. Throughout the holiday, the four species are gathered together and shaken in all directions. There are many traditional and mystical explanations for this commandment (there better be, because it's an odd one), including one which compares each species to a different type of Jew. Holding all four species together symbolizes unity, with each Jew playing his or her own unique role.

Here's a great article from the Jerusalemite, a conversation with one of the vendors from the Four Spices Shuk,
http://www.jerusalemite.net/blog/3333/a-conversation-with-shimon-vaknin%2C-four-species-vendor

The Shuk (the regular one) was BUSTLING with holiday spirit. People were stocking up to prepare big holiday meals in their Sukkot for friends and family. It was a great scene. Lots of action.


Sukkah at fancy J'lem restaurant

Sukkah at falafel place on Ben Yehuda

Rimon Sukkah

mural on bdg. by Shuk

fresh squeezed pomegranate juice at the Shuk


Four Species Shuk






Shlomo's Sukkah (Shlomo in white)


Sukkah Decorating at school

Tuesday night I had some friends over for dinner and Lisa and I left early Wednesday morning for Eilat. Eilat is Israel's southernmost city, a busy port as well as a popular tourist destination, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Eilat. Home to 46,900 people, the city is part of the Southern Negev Desert. The city is right across from the Jordanian port city of Aqaba.

Our bus left at 7 and we were there by 11am- it was a quick and easy ride. We took a cab to Benny's house (remember my tour guide from the family trip?) and spent 4 wonderful days with he and his wife Rachel. They were incredible hosts and it was awesome spending time with them. Lisa and I took over the whole 2nd floor, where their 2 sons (both in NY now) lived. I haven't seen Benny in a while because he broke his leg at the end of August and had to cancel all of his tours, so it was great to catch up.

Wednesday afternoon we headed to the beach for some relaxation time and spent some time waking along the tayelet and promenade. There are tons of shops, hotels, and restaurants along the way. We stopped at an Asian restaurant called Giraffe for an early dinner. That night we went with Benny and Rachel for a visit in the Rabbi's Sukkah. It was nice to chat with them and take in the conversations in Hebrew going on around us. Good practice! It was especially interesting to listen to this one woman interrogate Rachel about why her kids left Israel and now live in NYC. The woman wanted to know what Rachel did wrong to make her kids choose to leave Israel. Rachel explained that her boys were raised very well with a solid education- they've traveled all over Israel and know the history of their country/people and know their roots. It has nothing to do with that she said. They have more professional and financial opportunities in NY and both are taking advantage of that. It was very interesting...

Thursday morning we left before 7am for a day trip to Petra. Petra is an archaeological site in Jordan. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. It is also one of the new wonders of the world. Petra was settled and inhabited mainly by the Nabataeans and later, the Romans. Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, in effect creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods and archaeological evidence demonstrates the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought, and enabled the city to prosper from its sale.

By the time we got there, we ended up spending 4 hours actually seeing Petra-lots of walking. It was an incredible site to visit- the pictures speak for themselves. It was a LONG day with lots of sitting on buses and wasted time between boarder crossings. The logistics of the day makes it very tiring. Thankfully, the tour takes care of the passport control and boarder details. Although, on the way back into Israel, I was questioned in detail. For some reason, they didn't like my last name. They kept asking me questions about where my grandparents are from, which Jewish holidays I celebrate, what I'm studying. Oiy! But I made it back in one piece so all is well.


Petra


Petra


Petra


observatory


Eilat

Anyway, it was very bizarre how once you get to the Israeli/Jordanian boarder, you literally, walk across, and poof, you've crossed the boarder. It was definitely a weird feeling to be in an Arab country. The women look so oppressed in their long clothing and head coverings, and the men were just creepy. BUT, I'm glad we took the tour- Petra is definitely worth visiting. It's awesome to see this ancient city that the Nabateans carved out of rock. And the formations and colors from the earthquakes and flash floods is beautiful.

We got back to Eilat around 7:30 and were exhausted. Too bad we got back so late, we just missed the chance to go to a reception at the Mayor's house with Benny and Rachel. But I got to meet the Mayor Saturday morning before we left- he's also Yeminite, like Benny.

Friday morning we headed to the Underwater Observatory- think a smaller version of sea world. There were tons of fish tanks, sharks, enormous sea turtles. It was actually pretty cool, something different to do. Eilat is PACKED with Israeli tourists at this time of year because everyone is on Sukkot break, so there were tons of families there. There was a gorgeous view of Eilat and the mountains (and Jordan across the water) at the top of the observatory.

After the observatory, we walked over to Coral beach and had 2 delicious salads for lunch. We rented snorkel equipment, relaxed on the beach, and snorkeled for about an hour. It was fun, definitely worth the rental, but not as incredible as snorkeling in the Caribbean. The sun was strong and it was really hot outside, but I made sure to find a nice spot in the shade (per usual) while Lisa baked in the sun. At least she wore sun screen! (says the dermatologists daughter)

We got back to the house in the late afternoon, showered, and took it easy for a few hours before Shabbat. They invited over a couple who has spent a ton of time in the U.S.- they've been to 48 states! Incredible, eh? Rachel cooked a FEAST- salmon, brisket, chicken, and a bunch of different salads. It was delicious and we had great conversation. After dinner, I played some Shabbat tunes (and a few Israeli songs too) on the guitar and we all sang. They also coaxed me into singing an aria so I obliged. Next time I'll have to take my music with me. Oh! I forgot to mention, Benny plays piano and violin (since he was a little boy)- he's very musical. He plays piano by ear- he can play anything, he's unbelievable, so talented. Before I went to sleep Benny beat me in shesh-besh (backgammon) 10-1. I know, pathetic! I'm really not that bad...I swear...

Saturday morning, we bummed around, packed, listened to Benny's music rehearsal with his pianist friend. They're giving a concert next week for about 40 friends. They decided there isn't enough culture in Eilat so they are going to rotate giving concerts and lectures at different friends homes once a month. Rachel took Lisa and I out for a ride around Eilat, we ate some lunch, and it was time to head back to J'lem at 4:30. It was really a phenomenal 4 days- we had so much fun with them. It was another great "Israel experience" to add to my growing list. I totally forgot to take a picture of all 4 of us this week-end, so here's an old shot from the trip in June...



The bus ride back was slightly torturous- we were in the last row of the bus, it was really hot, and we made a million stops along the way. For some reason it took much longer getting back to J'lem than it did on the way there. Then, when I got home last night I got sick (I'll spare you the details), so I took it easy in my apt. today.

While I'm writing this posting, I'm listening to Sephardic music coming from the Sukkah outside of my apartment-drums, guitar, harmonica, singing- I'm in Israel!!

For more pictures of Petra and Eilat, http://picasaweb.google.com/leslie.niren

I happened to snap some shots the other day of Marzipan, the famous bakery in the Shuk with the best rugalach in the world. Here's a cool article in today's Jerusalemite about their master baker.
http://www.jerusalemite.net/blog/3402/a-conversation-with-itzik-ozarko%2C-marzipan-bake-master



marzipan

Marzipan

More soon...

-Leslie

A Sukkah experience to remember...

Fasten your seat-belts- this is going to be a good one...

I have been waiting for the perfect time to do a blog entry about Shlomo, my old neighbor, and finally the moment has arrived.

Shlomo lived below me for the first few months I was here. He's a skinny, dark, Israeli of Moroccan descent who works in the diamond district in Ramat Gan. Despite his creepy nature of randomly knocking on my door at all hours of the day and night, he was always nice to me, and very eager to help whenever I had any issues with my apartment (ie: electricity, washing machine, my front door, locks on the windows, etc.). He warned me about the safety of the neighborhood when I first moved in---his apt. downstairs was broken into twice, and he had several thousand dollars in cash stolen from a suit jacket pocket. Red flag much??????? I think so!! Who keeps that kind of cash wadded up in a jacket pocket? Definitely sketch...Shlomo usually wears a suit, except at night when he's in his 80's style MC Hammer pants- you know the ones I'm talking about. He has a son, about 17 years old, and a daughter who lives in Tel Aviv I believe. Shlomo is an observant man, always wears a kippa, goes to The Great Synagogue and the Kotel every Shabbat. (I run into him most week-ends as he is leaving Synagogue all dressed up in his snazzy Shlomo suit and he asks me when I'm coming over for a Moroccan feast) Shlomo is also a chain smoker and drinks like a fish. I did some research on Shlomo from the couple that lived in my apartment last year and they said that he was nice to them in the beginning, but then turned out to have quite the temper, forcing them to call the cops one time when he was banging on their door. Personally, I think he's harmless, but I decided to keep my distance just to be safe. I was relieved when he moved out of my building just because I got sick of dodging his meal invitations. Shlomo has invited me over about thirty times for Shabbat meals since I arrived in J-lem. Aside from one afternoon of drinks and snacks in his apt, I have steered clear pretty well. Until today.

My phone rang last night and when I looked at the caller ID, I almost ignored it. Foolishly, I picked up the phone, thinking maybe he just wanted to wish me a Chag Sameach. He invited me over to his Sukkah for lunch today and I just couldn't find a good excuse in the heat of the moment. I asked if I could bring a friend and accepted his gazillionth invitation, thinking to myself, "How bad can it be?"

WRONG.

I decide to drag Adam along with me because I figured it would be easier to endure with a friend, and of course, for safety reasons. Shlomo's new apt. is 3 minutes from my apt. We arrived at 1:30pm, Shlomo greeted us, and we sat in his living room with he and 7 of his friends, as they drank beer and smoked cigarettes, the recurring theme of the afternoon. His new apt. his very nice, especially for J'lem standards. It's huge, on a main street, and totally re-done. I'm convinced he is into some illegal shit. Let me preface this next statement by saying that I LOVE Israelis--I think they're wonderful, funny, warm (once you get past the prickles) people. HOWEVER, this group. NOT SO MUCH. They were the scummiest of scum, dirty, sketchy, gross, Israelis. I swear one of them was a cracked out cheap hooker, with her thick black eyeliner, busted face, and intense make-up, I couldn't even see her face. Then there was the younger greaseball Israeli, and the fat men who looked like they do some sort of manual labor job. On the whole, the women were a hot mess. The make-up, the hair, the clothes, the shoes. Oh, and Shlomo! He was wearing his white suit, complete with an obnoxious, chunky, fake (or so I assume) Prada belt. We were waiting for the last couple to arrive before having lunch in the Sukkah. None of them spoke to us, I'm not sure they even realized we were sitting there in the same room as them, being choked to death by their cancer sticks.

The couple finally arrived, and we were ushered into the Sukkah. Shlomo's hired help (an Arab fellow) and his son waited on us. They brought out platters and platters of food-4 different kinds of middle eastern bread, 3 types of olives, egg salad, Israeli salad, a bunch of different spreads including tehina, sundried tomato, spicy tomato, babaghanoush. These were just starters...then, he brought out cous-cous and a meat soup, I think it was corned beef with vegetables in a chicken broth of some sort...Then they brought out chicken schnitzel and plates of cooked fish. The just kept bringing out food. The most bizarre portion of the lunch was that they brought out plates, after we started eating...They passed around a box of kleenex as napkins...and they put their olives pits and cigarette butts into empty beer bottles on the table...

SIDEBAR: Now I wanted to pose a question: Why are the majority of Israelis so thin?" All they eat is fried chicken, fried falafel, excessive armounts of cheese, hummous, tehina, bread, carbs, and fatty desserts. Sprinkle in a few cucumbers and tomatoes, lots of alcohol, and cigarettes, and that's their diet. Cucumbers and tomatoes do NOT balance out all of the other shit. I don't get it...(Have I mentioned how much I hate the food and how sick of it I am?)

Back to the story: Shlomo's son finally joined us to eat after he finished his waiting duties. It was 12 of us around the table. The 10 creepy Israelis and the 2 Americans. They continued to smoke at the table in between eating and drinking beer, wine, and vodka. In fact, I think they each smoked at least pack in our 2.5 hours at there. It was vile. Adam and I were literally dying. We couldn't breathe. We're both allergic to smoke. He was breathing in his water glass for small breaths of semi non-polluted air. There were so many awkward silences...I caught a few words here and there, but aside from a few hearty "L'chaim's and Chag Sameachs, and your occasional, "please pass the so and so," they didn't speak to us at all. It was so bizarre. And there were lots of awkward silences among them. Whew.

That was quite the experience. Finally after waiting what I thought was an appropriate amount of time, I made some excuse, and we got the hell out of the smoke pit. The second I got home, I stripped off all of my clothes, threw them into the washer, took a shower, and re-washed my hair which was filled with smoke, worse than if I had been at a bar. (I had showered and washed my hair right before I left for Shlomo's...) Even my underwear and bra WREAKED of smoke. Unreal, the experience was unreal. In some very small, bizarre way, I guess I am thankful for this hilarious/disgusting Sukkah experience at Shlomo's. It will sure go down in the books as a good story and a funny memory...

Glad I survived, BARUCH HASHEM.

Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur in Israel

Shana Tova!!


choir


RH Seder

This year's High Holy Days, Yamim Noraim, Days of Awe, were more powerful, experiencing them in Israel. The High Holy Days are a time for reflection, introspection, and repentance. A time for evaluation and resolution. A time to re-connect with family and friends, celebrating the New year with those closest to us. As we look back at the past year and gaze forward to the future, we ask ourselves many questions:

"Am I happy with my life? Am I successful? What can I change for the coming year? How can I be a better person?"

We are given this wonderful opportunity for a fresh, new beginning. The chance to start over, with a clean slate, for the New Year.

Having taken advantage of these past 10 days for personal assessment, I'm pleased to report that, for the most part, I'm very happy with where I am in my life. I'm confident that HUC is exactly where I'm supposed to be right now, I'm thankful for my new friendships and school community, and enthusiastic about living in Israel for the year. Not to mention enjoying all of the traveling and once in a lifetime opportunities that are being handed to me. Life is good!

Last year at this time, I was incredibly nervous- singing my first set of High Holiday services in Boca, just starting to become comfortable with my job and my life there. With the blink of an eye and the passing of several months, here I am- Living in Israel, beginning my Cantorial studies, celebrating the High Holy Days in the holiest Jewish city in the world. It's incredible how much can happen, how much can change, in one short year.

The holidays in Jerusalem have been lovely. The air is different here during this time of the year. Literally and figuratively. Right before Rosh Hashana, the weather shifted dramatically from the sweltering summer heat, to a cooler, crisper, fall climate. Everyone has been friendlier, smiling and wishing strangers a "Shana Tova" in the streets. New fall fruits appeared in the Shuk- pomegranates, citrus fruits, apples, dates. You can smell the holidays in the streets with the sweet scent of honey cake and apple desserts wafting out of the bakeries. And you see apples and honey, gift baskets, and fresh flowers being sold everywhere.


Blaustein Hall, giant glass bldg.

The air is just different. It's a feeling that started in the days leading up to Rosh Hashana and it still continues. I think part of it is due to the fact that celebrating the High Holy Days in Jerusalem is unique because everyone is celebrating. For once, I'm not the minority. I'm not missing school to attend services. I don't have to explain to anyone why it's an important day and that I really shouldn't miss it. It's nice to be in a city of Jews, a country of Jews, all celebrating the holidays in a similar way. It's comforting, and it feels good to be a part of Israel at this important period of time in the Jewish calendar.

The first night of Rosh Hashana was at HUC. We had services in the glass-domed, Blaustein Hall, a gorgeous room which features a huge panoramic window that provides a spectacular view of the Old City. There was a definite vibrant energy happening in the room on Erev Rosh Hashana. Looking around at my classmates and future colleagues and seeing the awesome view of the Old City was inspiring. It felt great. I enjoyed singing in the choir for a change, but part of me wanted to be up be there leading the whole service as the Cantor. I guess that's a good thing, right? Something to look forward to for next year...

After the service, we had a big catered dinner at Beit Shmuel, complete with a Seder at the beginning of the meal. The Rosh Hashana Seder entails eating symbolic foods that remind us of our hopes for the New Year. It was cool, but everyone was starving and ready to move on to dinner...which turned out to kind of gross food, BUT, it was nice to all be together.

HUC, our classrooms are around the mini pool

Rosh Hashana morning was LONG- the service was almost 4 hours! Whew! After services, I went to a lovely lunch at Amy's and then the class all went to Adena's house for a potluck (surprise, surprise) dinner which was really fun. I definitely have a greater appreciation for my class at this point. Even though there are definite groups of friends, when we're all together, we get along exceptionally well. I also feel like I bonded with some members of the class that I hadn't spent very much time with.

view of old city from Blaustein windows

The next day the Cantorial Students were up early for our choir call to do the whole shabang all over again for second day Rosh Hashana. This time, services were at Harel, a Reform Congregation in J'lem. Again, they were LONG. Post services, I spent the rest of the day cooking and setting up my apt. for a little New Year Shindig. The apartment was nice and clean, all spruced up. I made apricot chicken, carrot cake, and a salad with greens, cranberries, goat cheese, pumpkin seeds, mandarin oranges, and caramelized pears. As Rachael Ray would say, YUM-O. (As a side note, my Cantorial friend, Nancy, who has lived in Manhattan her whole life, promises me that we'll find a way to get tickets to RR's talk show taping in NYC. I'm hoping for a RR cook along--that would be awesome!) The party rocked- we had a great time--awesome food, dancing, and lots of wine!


my apartment, all spruced up


carrot cake


a feast





Most of the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur were spent in special High Holy Day programing at school, in choir rehearsal, or working on High Holy Day music. But you have to take a break at some point, right? Last Friday, Meredith, Jaclyn, and I spent the day in Tel Aviv. Now that tourist season is over, we could really enjoy the beach without swarms of people everywhere. It was the perfect combination of relaxation, beach time, walking to Old Jaffa, and strolling along the Port. As soon as we got off the bus at Sheinken Street it was like we had been transported to a real city! There is life outside of Jerusalem! A hopping city with regular people, wearing regular clothes, strolling around doing normal people activities, like shopping. (Great to get our of Jerusalem here and there) It was fabulous!





Monday morning was the first student led services for our T'filah Workshop class. The two Rabbinic students and Cantorial student did a fabulous job, ESPECIALLY considering that they were the first to go. It was exciting to see them leading services and was a good reminder that all of the classes we're taking are stepping stones to help us reach the eventual goal of leading a congregation. It sounds simple, but sometimes it's easy to lose track of the big picture with all of the academic details that we deal with on a day to day basis here. My first service in November 17th (eek!) which is in 5 short weeks. I'm sure there will be more about this in upcoming posts so stay tuned!


soulja boy

Wednesday evening started the day long Yom Kippur process of atonement. Kol Nidre services in Blaustein Hall were beautiful. It started at 5pm because it's getting dark so early now, and it was a packed house! Jews really come out of the woodwork for Kol Nidre- they're what we call the once a year Jews. The come out for the most important day, atone, repent, and then we don't see them for another year...Anyway, services began, like usual, with the cellist playing the haunting Kol Nidre melody. She was INCREDIBLE. Peering through the enormous glass windows to the old city as day was changing to night, combined with the energy of a full room and the powerful music, I felt deeply moved. You could really feel the magnitude of Yom Kippur echoed in the rich sounds coming from the cello in those beginning moments of the service. The service was good, the choir sang well...it was also long, especially for an an evening service.

Thursday I spent the entire day in services. Morning service from 9-1, then afternoon, Yizkor (memorial service), and Neilah (closing YK service) from 2:45-6. Neilah means "closing the gate". As the awesome day of Yom Kippur comes to a close, and our future is being sealed, we turn to G-d to accept our sincere repentance and new resolutions, and that He seal us in the Book of Life, granting us a new year replete with goodness and happiness.

I would have liked to have part of the day to experience Yom Kippur outside of the synagogue in Jerusalem. NO ONE drives on Yom Kippur in Israel. The streets and highways are completely empty. It's known as THE day of the year to ride bikes in the middle of the highway. Even though most Israelis aren't orthodox, most fast on Yom Kippur. The holiday is the only day of the year when all Israeli radio and TV broadcasts go off the air. While business continues as usual in Arab towns, shops and cafes in Jewish cities are closed, planes at the airport are grounded, and all public transportation is suspended. There is also an added sadness to Yom Kippur in Israel concerning the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began with a surprise joint attack on Israel by Egypt and Syria. For many families who lost relatives in the YK war, this is the most difficult time of the year.

Here is a great blog entry I found describing Yom Kippur in Jerusalem in more detail.
http://jerusalemdiaries.blogspot.com/2008/10/yipes-its-about-to-be-yom-kippur-in.html

It was a LONG day and I was happy to be done at 6pm. On the whole, I would say that the evening RH and YK services were better than the day services. There was just a more engaging, warm, feeling. Maybe some of it has to do with the fact that they really don't do any english readings aside from the sermons. Or maybe it's because we're all accustomed to the synagogues we grew up in or the synagogues we've been working in before we moved to Israel. I definitely missed that familiar feeling, of being in services where I felt comfortable and at home. I do feel like our class has formed a tight-knit community, but I don't feel at home in the services at HUC. They don't have my service traditions and practices, they have their own minchagim (customs). Perhaps this will change...we'll shall see...

Lisa, Meredith, and Deana hosted a lovely POTLUCK (yep, another one) break- fast at their house following services. They opened their huge balcony so there was plenty of room for everyone and the significant others and random college students studying in Jerusalem who came to services at HUC. It was a great way to end the holidays. Even though I missed my family and my Temple Beth El family during the holidays this year, it was nice to be surrounded by my new HUC community and experience it together in Israel.

Yesterday morning, I took a bike ride with the crew--first one in a while. I fell off the band wagon because it's too hard to wake up at 5:45 during the week before classes. BUT, I'm officially going to try to fit in more rides while the weather is UNBELIEVABLY GORGEOUS. Perfect fall weather. (minus the leaves changing colors, which I do miss...) It was a great ride--we went back to Yad Kennedy, up the winding hills. And it also didn't take as long as the first time, a few months ago. Made it back just in time for our HUC Sukkah decorating party! It was a nice turn out, almost thirty people came to transform the barren Sukkah into a festive, fruitful, burst of spirited color!


Sukkah Decorating





I spent the rest of yesterday walking around with Jaclyn. We walked through Ben Yehuda to get to the Shuk--both were PACKED. Did a bit of cleaning yesterday afternoon and spent a lovely Shabbat with some friends at Brent's house. Today I plan to relax, watch some of my tv shows on side reel, perhaps do a bit of homework, and play some basket-ball this afternoon in the park.




BIG NEWS--My picture website is up and running! Check out my albums- the most recent are the ones at the top of the page. You can check out some snazzy pics of my apartment in the Rosh Hashana Shindig album. ENJOY! http://picasaweb.google.com/leslie.niren

Family and friends, I miss you and hope you're doing well. A happy, healthy, sweet, and successful New Year to you all.

Sending big hugs and kisses from J'lem,
Leslie