Yom Reveeeee.....Wed, 27 November

Shalom from Vence in the South of France; this place is magnificent and more. But first a little about the adventure in getting here. There was a snap 32 hours strike at the airports here in France so in Tel Aviv the gate folks told me that I could fly to Genoa, Italy and find my way to Nice. So I did. Arriving at Genoa I got myself a taxi to the train station, found out when the train left for Nice, and then went and checked myself into a decent hotel (not expensive) to grab some sleep.

Took the train in the morning along the beautiful coastline and arrived in Nice at noon yesterday.

Went to my first get together at the home of an artist in a beautiful home overlooking the water from a hilltop; I really, truly believe I had walked into a Merchant-Ivory film! The water here is amazing, but the wine is even better and that's what I'm drinking.

And yes, believe it or not, I miss Israel. The hardest thing about this trip so far is that I hear French and want to respond in Hebrew. It doesn't help. Really.

Yom Shani, Morning
25 November

One of the best aspects of this journal, besides the convenience of it all, is how many people are telling me that they are reading it on a regular basis. Thus, it is a both a chronicle to share and a record of my year here. I had a lovely conversation with my aunt in New Hampshire last night who, being without prejudice (naturally), lavished praise on the journal. Then I spoke with my grandmother in Massachusetts who also knew what I've been up to because she's been reading, too. From what I've been told, there are folks reading this in Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Springfield (MA), Manchester (NH), Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and who knows where else. If you are happen to be reading this from somewhere in the world, please let me know by sending me an email at laman100@yahoo.com.

It rained again last night. It's interesting being here for the rainy season. We change our prayers at the end of Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret to add a line to refer to wind and rain...this change, of course, corresponds to the seasons here in Israel. One more example of living according to Jewish time.

I am accutely aware that I am going to Europe...I've been wearing a kippah daily here in Israel, which will be replaced by a baseball cap in Europe. It's stunning to think about the amount of anti-Semitism in Europe when the ashes of the Shoah are not even cool. Pernicious doesn't even begin to describe it. I remember in 1999 visiting Israel after a couple of weeks in Europe and how wonderful the feeling was to see the Israeli flag, blue and white with the Star of David, fluttering outside the entrance hall at Ben Gurion.

Yom Rishon, 24 November

Tomorrow I leave on my first trip out of the country since I arrived in June. I'm happy to be visiting with a friend in France and then my first trip to Rome but I'm already looking forward to coming back to Israel. I was walking up a street tonight thinking, as I often do, that "Wow, I'm in Jerusalem." I know that it must sound corny, but there's just something about being here that defies definition. Even though the matzav (situation) is incredibly difficult, there is still a sense of purpose and connection.

My classmate Val and I discussed my upcoming 40th birthday party and she has graciously taken on the responsibility of organizing some kind of shin-dig. I'm hoping for some big, BYOB type of get together with everyone at the Moadon (the lounge) at school.

As I walked to school this morning I was again struck at my fortune to be here and to be studying Torah in Israel. Today, for example, we read some literature in class (stories by Agnon, in simplified Hebrew), studied Biblical stories with Yossi Lesham (did you know that the phrase "400 men" in the Bible is really meaning an army?) And then in tefilla we spoke both of the part of the Amidah that deals with heretics and the language inserted for Hanukkah. After lunch I was able to spend a few minutes with my tefilla professor to discuss some research that I will be doing in the upcoming months.

So now it's time to let my head clear out a little bit. I always enjoy taking short breaks because it actually allows me time to think, to assimilate the many ideas that I've been exposed to over the past several months here.

I'm always struck flying out of Ben Gurion how quickly the lights of Tel Aviv and the coast disappear--it reminds me of how small Israel actually is. This trip, as I watch the lights fade away, I will do so knowing that I will soon return.

Motzei Shabbat, 23 November

Shavua tov. I just returned from a four day adventure to northern Israel: Tzafat and Haifa mostly. Haifa is beautiful, Israel's San Francisco. As is Tzafat, home of the mystics...a beautiful old city up in the mountains with panaromic views.

Unfortunately once again terror has struck this country with the bomb blast in Jerusalem last week. It was early Thursday morning. I had checked the news at 7 a.m. from Kibbutz HaNaton where we were staying overnight...it was leading with something in Pakistan. I and a colleague were leading t'filla that morning so I hurried off to the Beit Knesset. During the praying I noticed one of my classmates coming in, visibly disturbed. I and my colleagues learned at the end of the tefilla about the attack that lead to the deaths of 11 innocent civilians, including many children and teenagers (one woman, Sima Novak, age 56, an immigrant from the Former Soviet Union.)

I can only say that each attack is another blow to the psyche of this country and this people, and if anything, strengthens the resolve of people here to NOT negotiate with the terrorists or the people behind them. It is a never-ending spiral of violence and I don't see a way out anytime soon.

The trip that I just returned from is part of the HUC program where they take us out of the classroom to really experience the country. In Tsafat we visited several old and beautiful synagogues; we also visited the brother of a classmate who lives in Tsafat with his wife and three kids.

On Thursday we visited a national park that is the site of a major archaeological dig...and saw beautiful mosaics from around 300-400 C.E. along with other antiquities.

In Haifa on Friday we visited the Leo Baeck Education and Community Center which is near the sea...beautiful facility. Leo Baeck is a junior high, high school, international program, sports center, community center, and site of many social services.

Friday night we had services at the synagogue there, Ohel Abraham. There was tremendous music and spirit. We also had dinner there with our colleagues in the Israeli rabbinic program and students and administrators from Leo Baeck.

Today we were at another congregation, Or Hadash, in Haifa. I can't say that I loved the style of service this morning. Afterwards, however, some classmates and I were hosted at the home of an Israeli rabbinic student and her husband and their two adorable twins. Later in the afternoon I was able to visit the Alexander family who moved to Haifa from Los Angeles. It was a joy to see them doing so well here.

And after a three hour trek down from Haifa, I'm back in Jerusalem. It is always amazing to take the road up from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, especially now that I've read "O Jerusalem" (read it) and read the heroic stories of what happened before and during the War of Independence to get to Jerusalem via the roa we freely use today.

And now I must unpack so that I can pack for my little European getaway this week!

Yom Shani, Monday evening

Shalom. Let's see...I left off before Shabbat. Shabbat was a beautiful day down at Yom ha Malach, the salt sea. It's also known as the Dead Sea. It was a windy day, but still beautiful at the lowest part of the earth. The water was alternatively blue, white, aqua, green...and it was a beautiful clear day....

In the evening my friends David and Laura from LA and Yuval and I went to dinner to celebrate Yuval's birthday. Fortunately for all of us dinner was at my friend's home, Jonathan and Helen (I spent Yom Kippur there. . .) He's an amazing cook and they're both wonderful hosts. Especially fun was the two bottles of Israeli wine that we downed that were darn good!

Sunday and Monday were both uneventful days at school at at the seminar I'm doing at the Hartman Institute with students from all of the various seminaries here in Jerusalem (non-Ortho, that is.) Today after classes ended I actually got to sit in the library and spend some time poking around the stacks doing some groundwork for a research project for my tfilla class.

So I probably won't get a chance to update again until Sunday night. Have a good week.

Yom Shishi, Friday Afternoon

Soon the sun will be down and Shabbat will once again come to Jerusalem. This week it starts at 4:05 p.m.! Of course that means that it ends a little after five, so the time I lose on Friday I gain on Saturday night to do my work!

This Shabbat I will go with my friend Yuval to the Ein Gedi Spa at the Dead Sea, an alternative way to spend Shabbat, but an extremely relaxing and head-clearing way to do it.

I've come to describing some of my teachers at HUC as "master teachers" for their incredible knowledge and teaching abilities. One of my teachers is a man named Yossi Lesham who has been around for quite sometime, an expert in linguistics. He teaches us for 4.5 hours a week: Bible, Biblical Grammar, and Inscriptions/Sources. What's the difference? On Sunday we look at stories and style, the different ways the Bible works. On Tuesdays we do Biblical grammer and it's a blast, believe it or not. It's already helping my modern Hebrew. On Thursdays he's been sharing with us the development of the alphabet and the first inscriptions found in various digs. Since HUC in Jerusalem began as an archaeological school we were able to pop over to the on-campus museum and check-out some of the inscriptions he was teaching us about! We looked this week at how the language changed...the example he used was how the spelling of "David" in Hebrew has changed over time.

Another master teacher is Hayya Gavish, my Hebrew teacher, who has been at the College for three decades. I spend 7.5 hours a week in Hebrew, and she makes the time pass. She has a doctorate in folk literature, so class is especially interesting when we read and translate stories.

On Wednesday we had our regular study day but this week it was about Hanukkah. Several things were great: (1) we got to do some interesting text-study in pairs; (2) I was able to, with my partner, translate documents from the Hebrew; (3) we had wonderful discussions and learned quite and bit and (4) what's Hanukkah in Jerusalem without going to the site of the destruction of the Temple? So we went to the Jewish Quarter to an archaeological garden and new museum that has a virtual reality tour of what the Temple was like.

Wednesday night I had a lovely dinner with Rabbi Shelley Donnel and his wife Wendy who are from Santa Ana. A terrific pair, they are true friends to the College and to the students. We found out that we have much in common.

I look back and realize how much I've learned since June! It's wonderful. And the campus is beautiful, which is another great benefit to being here. Last night we had a "Beit Cafe" or coffee house where students did various acts. There's quite a talented bunch of singers and comedians in the bunch. Although I wonder how they let me in without knowing how to play guitair!!! Seems to be a common denominator of many. . .

So now I'm pushing to try to finish some homework with the vapors of energy that I have left. Next week it's a trip to Haifa and the north, followed by a day and a half here and then a little European vacation. The funny thing is, with respect to security, I'm a tad more worried about being in Europe than in Israel!!!!

Shabbat Shalom!

Yom Shishi, Tuesday evening

Just got home from an exhausting day.

Sunday night's terrorist attack on Kibbutz Metzner in the north was particularly brutal: a lone terrorist, in addition to killing two others, went into a home where a divorced mother was reading bedtime stories to her 4 and 5 year old sons. All were shot and killed. The news coverage of the father yesterday and today at the funeral is brutal to experience. May he be comforted among the mourners of Zion.

Motzei Shabbat, Sat night

Shavua tov. Tonight I was with my friends from Los Angeles to watch the season premier of "The West Wing" and the following episode which was brought to Israel from friends in the US. Fun to get a dose of American culture.

Shabbat was wonderful. Friday night students from the Conservative Yeshiva, the University of Judaism, HUC-JIR, Pardess, and Jewish Theological Seminar gathered at the Conservative Yeshiva for tfilla (prayer) and dinner. I was thrilled at the strong turn-out from HUC folks. It was a great opportunity, like the Hartman seminar that I'm doing, for those of us future rabbi-types to get to know each other and bridge differences. This morning I went to the Reconstructionist Minyan at the HUC student lounge. The Recon's have put out a terrific siddur, Kol ha Neshama which is definitely worth checking out if you can find it. It was a lovely intimate servie with some smart talking about the weekly parasha, Toldot.

Now I'm gearing up for the week, trying to cram in my homework for tomorrow. I keep learning, which is great, and I still revel when I walk around Jerusalem. Such a beautiful place. . .

Yom Revee-ee, Wednesday Morning

A stunningingly beautiful morning in Jerusalem; sunny, cool, crisp, the day after a rain. I'm so loving the change in weather here. It's the first time I've experienced something resembling a real fall in years. Yesterday was an interesting day at school. In my biblical grammar class I learned some new interesting things on the evolution of Hebrew; in history we talked about anti-Semitism; in our rabbinic professional forum I got to study in "chevretua"--one-on-one study--with some interesting 2000 year old texts on the roles of rabbis. In the evening a friend came over and we made falafel!

So I was in the grocery store yesterday and noticed that the Hanukkah displays are out; today is the first day of Kislev, and Hanukkah begins on the 25th (also my Hebrew birthday!) Anyway there is a display of hanukkiot (menorahs but with the extra two spots, one for the 8th day of Hanukkah and one for the shamash), candles, gelt, and olive oil for those who burn olive oil as in Temple times.

Halloween passed, not a blip on the radar screen; there are no Veteran's Day sales, there are no Xmas decorations/sales/products anywhere. It's a Jewish rhythm, and I like it!

The election passed here, too without the plethora of ads and talking head programs. However the government of Israel fell yesterday and there will be elections at the end of January, so I'll have the pleasure of seeing how nasty Israeli politics is, up close and personal. Yesterday an Israeli aircraft that was flying past the speed of sound broke the sound barrier and our whole school shook...later in the day I joked that was the sound of Ariel Sharon falling (he's not, ahem, a small feller.)

Meanwhile, Bibi Netanyahu is back. I was reading in the morning paper that the Palestinians vote in this election by whether they pull-in terrorism between now and the election. One nasty pigua (attack) throws the whole race to the right.

Today is our Wednesday study day and we're going to be looking at the issue of women in Israeli society; it is the last of a multi-part unit on sociology. Very interesting.

Did you know that the Reform Movement's platform calls for "encouraging aliyah" to Israel! We had a debate yesterday about what encourage means, but in my mind, there is no way to parse the word "encourage." It is a positive value. If you haven't seen the movement's platform, you can see it online at the Reform Movement's website.

Off to check-out election returns...looks like another bad night for the Dems...and Saadam Huessein. . .

Yom Shishi, Monday night, around 11

I think it's Monday...we start on Sunday, as I've mentioned before, and it's part of my rhythm here. It means, however, that when I deal with the US and what the rest of the world is doing, it feels like Tuesday for me...etc etc.

Happy 61 to my mom....She's taking her first trip to Israel next month. I'm looking forward to sharing with her the magic of this place with her...and using my new Hebrew skills to my advantage!

After our tiyyul break to the Golan, it's back to 100% full speed ahead...The days are looooong....Sunday started at 6 and ending at 11 p.m.; today 7 and here I am writing at 11. And I'm trying to make sense (how am I doing?) The other part of learning here is the confusion...what am I doing, where am I going, what do I believe, how do I get along with all of these incredibly diverse people in my class (age, background, religious practices), where do I find the time to actually think--or breathe or sleep or eat? Fortunately I've decided to make sure that I get to the gym, even if it's a quick workout. Very important to move the body around. I just keep reminding myself to take a deep breath, that the school (and life) is throwing a lot at me, and that, as they say in Hebrew, la-at, la-at, slowly, slowly. In my former life I was used to being competent in everything that I did; here I'm at a very basic level in the language of the place and often find myself sitting there not understanding what is being said! That's very humbling. I love the Hebrew language and wish that I had more free time during the week to actually study and practice outside of class, but I'm pretty booked up. So what was I doing at the gym tonight? Studying vocab on the machine!

Unfortunately the news came across the tv while I was at the gym of the latest attack, this time in Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv. There's a ritual: the news comes across, the music goes down, the news volume goes up; the main stations preempt their programming and the news readers interview someone from the scene over the telephone; this goes on for a while until the cameras can get there. Below the screen is printed the basic info: where the attack happened and how many people were killed/injured. Usually both of those number go up as time passes until the final number is known (often not until weeks after the attack as people can linger in hospital and ultimately die.)

So what do Israelis do? First they get on their cell phones to check-in with their families and friends. Then they watch the tv for a few minutes. Then they go back to what they were doing. It's a coping mechanism that life must go on in the face of terror.

Yom Shishi, Friday Morning

Howdy, folks. Just got back from a three-day trip to the north of the country. The good news is that I think I've figured out how to post some pictures on a website (not here) and I'll let you know when I get it together to do it. In the meantime, I'm enjoying my Friday as kind of a Sunday morning (lazy), sleeping in, reading the paper, coffee, and soon the gym (the bad thing of the metric system is here to lose a kilo means losing over two pounds!!!).

So the trip. Began early on Tuesday morning and we headed north along the coastal route. We started with an overlook of the Kinneret (also known as the Sea of Galilee), then on to a collection of stone huts that the early settlers used to establish themselves in the region around the time of the second aliyah. From there onto Kibbutz Degania, the first kibbutz established (around 1910) in the pre-state Yishuv. Then it was off to a cemetary where the famous poet Rachel is buried, along with major figures from the estabishment of the state. It was an incredibly bucolic place, on the shores of the Kinneret, under beautiful trees. Onward we headed past Tiberas to Rosh Pina, one of the first establishments of the time of the first aliya in the late 1800s. In the old synagogue we prayed the afternoon service. We fortunately had time for a break, so a couple of friends and I went to a restaurant nestled into the side of a hill and pretended we were in Europe for a few minutes.

Then to our overnight at a kibbutz (three to a room!)....after dinner yours truly fell asleep while the rest of the class sang and had fun outside.

Wednesday we left early to go north to the Lebanese border...on top of a hill that was the Israeli command for monitoring the border we heard stories about the ongoing relationship on the northern border. Our teacher, Paul Lipsz, spoke about his time in Lebanon. To summarize nothing is easy when you're dealing with a tense neighbor that's part of a client state (Syria). Onward to the Banias, a beautiful park in the Golan that's quite old where we hiked to a waterfall. Lovely.

Then on to the top of the Golan on the eastern end where you can see into Syria (nothing to look at, really). On the other hilltop is Israeli's monitoring stations where "we can see what Assad is having for breakfast." We visited an Israeli bunker that was there, as well as heard more stories about how the Golan was conquered in '67. From there onto the Golan's main Jewish city (pop. 4-7000) and saw a great propoganda video produced by the folks up there about the strategic importance of the Golan to Israel, produced during the time of Oslo when the Golan was on the table. Right now all is quiet up there.

We had dinner on Wed. night at a nice restaurant in Tiberias on the shore of the Kinneret where, after stuffing us, they pulled a boat up to the edge of the restaurant with a guy holding flares in both hands as a "tribute" to the HUC folks who are here in Israel at this tough time. One part kitch, one part sentimental, it was really nice. They put on some music and the whole class was up dancing.

Thursday we stopped at an overlook on the western side of the Golan where the Syrians used to take pot shots at the kibbutzim below. Then onward to a nature reserve where we hiked all afternoon over a trail that was, well, not for beginners. It was great. At the end of the trail it started to rain.

From there we headed south and back to Jerusalem. And now off to the gym to start (again) getting into shape...