Yom Hamishi, Thursday, later in the evening

It would be a shame if I didn't tell you about school today...I arrived at about 7:35 for the morning minyan, and most of the place still hadn't been shoveled out. During Hebrew I stepped out to grab another cup of tea...and there was our wonderful dean, Michael Marmur, and Rose Ginosar (remember Rose??). . .and also Paul Lipstz....three of the folks that make this place pretty special. Well, Michael and Rose were across the courtyard and it was just too darn tempting to make a good old fashioned snowball and have at it.

Take my word: white men can jump. Our dean can definitely jump when snowballs are aimed at him (and he even had a tie on today, which is unusual in Israel)...I can't say Rose had the velocity to get at me, and Paul would've been too easy to hit. It was an incredibly magical moment...I don't think I'll get the chance to play in the snow again in Jerusalem anytime soon.

Let me tell you what even made it more fun: there are wonderful members of HUC-JIR's Board of Governors who are here to visit with us, meet, attend the World Congress of Progressive Judaism conference at Mercaz Shimshon, and attend the ordination of Israeli students. Anyway, board members were sitting inside the classrooms (including our president, David Ellenson) while we were cavorting outside. Moments later Rabbi Ellenson came up and we all shaped up (although if he was in his pre-presidential attire I can't help but believe that he would've been in the middle of the snowball battle)...but it was a wonderful moment of lightness. And oh yeah, I did learn some Hebrew today!

Yom Hamishi, Thursday

A break from the usual words about the Israel experience. . .

I'm surprisingly sad about the passing of Fred Rogers, a man who devoted his life to children and their well-being. I certainly remember the first set and when it was changed, all of the characters in The Land of Make Believe and my favorite, Henrietta Pussy Cat (I thought Lady Elaine Fairchild always needed a makeover). King Friday was always a bit of a doof, but it was exciting when Prince Tuesday came on the scene.

It was always comforting to see Mr. Rogers come in, change his shoes and put on a sweater and then talk in a gentle, reassuring tone. I remember most of his songs "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" to "Tomorrow" (well before Annie, mind you!)

Later in his career, Fred Rogers was the subject of some parody. Like much parody mostly cheap shots at his style. But I'm sure many of the young adults that engaged in the parody had memories of their childhood and Mr. Rogers.

It may have reflected a simpler time, but it was a time that I treasured and it makes me sad to know that he's gone. An important part of my childhood has passed from the scene. Before Sesame Street there was Fred Rogers. May his memory be for a blessing.

Yom Reveii, Wednesday

So instead of having our regular Wednesday study day I'm once again home along with the majority of Jerusalem. The snow is more episodic and hopefully will begin to melt soon because life must go on! I'm using the time to work on a brief paper comparing the points of view in the Jerusalem Post and the Ha'Aretz English edition. Basically I've focused in on two areas to compare: editorials and the coverage of their two reporters in the West Bank. For Ha'Aretz it is Amira Hess; for the Post it is KHALED ABU TOAMEH. They are like night and day in the opinions and their writing. I believe both are living in the West Bank...and Hess is Jewish.

The Post is what you could call right wing and Ha'Aretz is what you would call left wing. So when you read in English the truth is someplace in the middle. I think it's interesting that for consumers of English news from Israeli news sources there are these distinct biases and given the volatility of the situation in this part of the world, I would venture to say that they play a disproportionate role in shaping opinion then say the Hebrew press which is limited in its consumption to Hebrew speakers.

For example, I regularly receive from the Wall Street Journal something called "Opinion Daily" and it regularly quotes the Post and Ha'Aretz. Thus, what they write gets amplified to larger English-speaking audiences. And on Google's new news function stories from this part of the world are often from these two newspapers.

This is all to say that right now I'm suffering from cabin fever! The tv isn't working well right now (the satellite dish is probably covered with snow). I miss school and my classmates, and it's only been a couple of days. Again, it might have something to do with time slipping away here. . .

This is a big weekend, though, at the College with members of the Board of Governors, the World Union conference, and the Israeli ordination...so I am just having a "weekend in advance!"

Later on Yom Shviee, Tuesday

We've had over a foot of snow here in Jerusalem and it's a joy to see children jumping around and playing in it! I saw a young man out the window, looked like a soldier, who was just falling backwards into the snow (we used to make angel figures like that).
You just have no idea the incredible feeling of having a normal day...where the snow is the first, middle and last subject: the matzav? What matzav? Gas masks? Sorry, closed today. Politicians? Even their hot air won't melt this storm.

The news reports are hysterically funny: weather folks outside, just smiling, talking about not only were we socked today, but we'll get socked again tomorrow. The kids are beside themselves. We went up on the roof for all of 1 minute: I saw the snow, and yes, Mom, I still hate being in it. It's much prettier from the window.

This was a great day to catch up with folks; made a number of calls to check-in with my friends who I rarely see because of the school schedule. And just in case my Hebrew teacher is reading, yes, I wrote my composition my 15 sentences, and did the exercises on the Peal lamed-hay verbs.

Yom Shviee, Tuesday

Boker Tov! It is so nice that once again the main topic of this post is the weather! Yes, for the first time since I was a kid in New Hampshire (I left in 1976!) I have a snow day! Jerusalem is covered with the white stuff, and the winds are blowing like I've never heard! It's a great day to stay home, catch up on work, make cookies, watch television, clean the house, sleep, and enjoy this break from nature!

Yesterday it was fun watching everyone go to the supermarket and rush home when the first snow started early in the afternoon! It was great that everyone was in a panic because of a natural event! There was a certain amount of fun to the preparations...and when the first snowflakes started I was at school and could hear the shrieks of joy from those incredibly cute children in our school's nursery school and kindergarten! I have to admit it was hard to concentrate in my class. Yuval told me that when I first saw snow to make my way home...but I waited and by the time that I left school, the streets were like a New York City rush hour.

So I started to walk in the direction of home and about ten minutes later was picked-up by a cab for the ride home. I finally got here....Yuval was worried...and we waited for the rest of the day, anticipating the snow.

I think I can speak for my fellow students when I say that we're not that sad to have a free day from class...there's plenty of work to do to catch up. I like living up here in French Hill...one of my teachers queried us the other day about where we all live...I'm the only one that lives this far away from school (which by LA standards is pretty close, but this is Jerusalem)....so he said the rest of the class could still come on Tuesday for class (by foot!) and I'd get a private lesson!

I really wish you could look out the window here. . .If you get a chance, go to the Kotel Cam today: http://www.aish.com/wallcam/ I don't support AISH's aims, but you'll get to see some snow and the wall!

Shavua tov. More rain today...and walking to shul here in French Hill (HaGivat HaTzarfatit) I was able to look out across Judean Desert and see the Dead Sea some 40 miles in the distance. Most of the time it is impossible to see because of the haze/dust/heat/exhaust/etc. It was very cool to gaze down at the lowest spot on earth!

The synagogue that I went to is traditional conservative; familiar, for the most part to what I know from the Library Minyan at home. Many professors from Hebrew University and Machon Schecter (the conservative seminary here in Jerusalem) pray there. There was a bat mitzvah and she read the entire Torah portion...which was quite long today! Very impressive. Of course, nothing like a great kiddush in my book and this one was great. There were many English speakers, too.

Yuval had lunch ready when I got home (can't beat that) and then spent part of the afternoon sleeping and reading the papers. Once Shabbat ended and we made havdala, it was right back to feeling the pressure.

Shabbat is truly a wonderful time. In the Torah today it notes that sacred time trumps sacred space, that Shabbat is more important than the building of the mishkan (tabernacle) in the desert. I can't help but believe that if more people took one day a week and made it different than the rest of the week they wouldn't be happier...you can't buy Shabbat, it is just a great gift that gives and gives every week; I, for one, would be happier if people would taste Shabbat and skip Rosh HaShana services. Shabbat is much sweeter than honey on an apple!

Back to homework...Shavua tov (a good week) to wherever you are in the world...and we heard that we might be getting snow in Jerusalem later on this week...woo hoo! snow day!!!!!

Yom Shishi, Friday afternoon

Shalom from an extremely windy, extremely cold Jerusalem. Today it's like that scene in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy's house gets swirled into the air...I'm glad to know this building is so well built! The windows ratttle, but the building is holding its ground.

Spent much of today just resting. The schedule, as I've written, is front-loaded, meaning that Sunday through Tuesday it's almost all class, all the time! The rest of the week you use to do your homework and catch up!

On Wednesday we had a very interesting tiyuul (trip) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, housed in an incredible building in the government complex. There we had two briefings from high-level folk: one person is a friend of our dean and advises the government on international law; the other is the head of the European Bureau, the former Consul General of San Francisco, and a PR expert.

The questions from my classmates mostly dealt with Israel and its reputation around the world and what the State is doing about it. We sat in the briefing room that is used by the foreign press. . .the first guy who spoke to us joked that he felt like "C.J. Craig" from the West Wing!

Thursday morning was incredibly special: friends from Los Angeles had a baby-naming for their new daughter, Rina, in the Kiddush room at HUC. It was wonderful to be able to daven and celebrate with them, and with so many of my friends from LA (the father is studying to be a rabbi at the University of Judaism; I was the only HUC person there even though it was held at HUC.) It was a wonderful reminder of the circle of life and our ability to celebrate it even in a world where there is so much suffering and bad news.

After Hans Blix's show last week at the UN, the palpable fear of the war seemed to subside for the week (we live just one day at a time). There's still plenty of plastic sheeting and tape and what have you; I expect it's only a matter of time until HUC will be asked by the Home Command to distribute our gas masks and then shortly thereafter ask us to carry them around (the latest and greatest fashion accessory! I hear that if you search on eBay you will find many older versions for sale and they are quite popular in the States!)

Today's papers, however, said that Israel would be forewarned by a matter of hours, not days as was previously reported. Which raises in my mind the fact that in cases of war, no one really knows what's going to happen or when. All you can do is what we're doing in Israel and that's watching the developments and staying prepared.

In the meantime, the Shabbat horn has just sounded here (one long horn, as opposed to the waaa-whaaa-waaa-whaa that we would hear in case of war...) which means it's time to light the candles, it's time to say the Kiddush, it's time to get things started on the Shabbat Show tonight!

Shabbat Shalom...many blessings from Jerusalem!

Yom Reveei, Wednesday

We have a trip to the Foreign Ministry today...and the weather is just awful...not like you folks have in NY and Washington and Boston and Springfield...but rainy and cold and well, it's good for the land but for people that's another story.

My schedule is completely front-loaded this semester, so I don't really get to breathe until Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 (that's Sunday-Tuesday).

All-in-all, things are fine...no complaints. I could write what I thought about a speaker at HUC last night, some things are better left unsaid, including the name of the speaker. Let's just leave it that I was severely disappointed.

We've been enjoying a visit from students from the Stateside campuses. They're wonderful people and they are happy, happy, happy to be back in Israel! And we're happy to have them!

Got to get going!

Motzei Shabbat

So I was watching after Shabbat all of the protests against the war in Berlin, London, Paris, and New York. And what did they all have in common? How about signs saying "Free Palestine" and the flag of the PLO flying all over the place. Now, call me a simpleton, but I think there just might be a connection between dismantling part of the world's terrorist infrastructure and this action against Iraq. A reminder: it is well known that Sadaam pays families of suicide bombers 10,000 dollars or more...There have also been reports that Sadaam has, along with Iraq and others continue to provide the funds for the ongoing terrorist intifidah against Israel (you know, the one that has killed hundreds of Israelis and ruined the economies of Israel and the Palestinian Territories...

Yom Rishon (Sunday) is my longest day of the week....going from 8:30 to 10:00 p.m. Looking forward to learning more Hebrew, Bible, Tefilla, Talmud, and especially the Hartman Seminar featuring Moshe Harbital. Off to bed. . .

Yom Chamishi, Thursday

Yesterday we had a simulation game to play Israeli politics...it was great...and it was loud. I can't say that the government that was put together resembles anything that you would see in real life (thankfully) but it was a great exercise. Afterwards, we had an extensive security briefing (never a dull moment here!)

First of all, our dean, Rabbi Michael Marmur, assured us that NO MATTER WHAT HUC would remain open...that besides the 40 Americans studying here there are the Israeli rabbinic students, the 70 staff members, the "gan" (nursery/kindegarten), research centers, etc. Second he said, as we've heard all along, that the general thinking is that Jerusalem should be okay...we are less than a mile from the Temple Mount, home of the Dome of the Rock, Islam's third holiest shrine...our proximity to the Old City puts us in good stead (paranthetically I live about a two miles up from the Old City...) He reiterated that the college is there for us and supports us completely. . .We also went over a booklet produced by the Association of American and Canadians in Israel going over all of the scenarios. Now, as someone who has lived through the Northridge Earthquake and the LA riots along with general life in Los Angeles, I can't say that the information in the book was entirely upsetting.

We all know from the World Trade Center that there is contingency in life and that in today's world bad things can happen anywhere. The fact that I am in Israel and the part of the world we are in just points the spotlight more dramatically upon us. So as opposed to the US where they say it's "Code Orange" here it's be prepared and take steps. Here's how to set up a secure room at home. Here's how to listen for information on the TV and radio. Here's how to work the gas mask...and here is the time you will know when to use it (it's a staged thing....) As I've written in the past, instead of raising my anxiety or scaring me, this information is calming. This is a country that has its act together...the Home Command is prepared, the College is prepared, and we are receiving all of the information that we need to make informed decisions as adults.

And despite what you might hear or see on American television, it really doesn't make good pictures to show us dropping our kids off in the morning, going to school, stopping by the grocery store, doing laundry, etc etc etc. In fact, I just ran into two gentlemen from Stephen Wise Temple in LA, the largest reform synagogue there who were at the Shalom Hartman Institute for a week of learning. They were just members of the shul and they came to Israel, learned, and had a great time. Kol ha kavod to them!

It's life as usual here. I just completed my first week back at school and I cannot begin to tell you how much I've learned. I'm going to sponge up as much as possible between now and June. Jerusalem feels like it always does...nothing has outwardly changed. Sure the press and folks talk about what might happen and it's often in the media, but people are accustomed to adapting here (this is a skill that I'm cultivating as well which should be helpful to my rabbinate.)

No matter what the near-term future holds in terms of the US and Iraq, I remain, as we say here, meya-hooz (100%) committed to being here, come what may.

Yom Reviee, Wednesday

Going from 0 to 60 in the overwhelmed department and loving it could be the headling of my first week back at school. Now that the clock is running down on the year here it's time for me to cram as much learning in as possible which translates to a very full schedule. The schedule has changed this semester...the Hebrew is the same, but I've added a class on Aggadic literature in addition to one on Halachic literature. I'm also taking an elective class with a great teacher on the songs for Shabbat. Tuesday I'm in a class on the Modern Middle East in addition to Biblical grammar, Hebrew, and the Rabbinic Professional Forum. Wednesday remains the Israel study day; Thursday is down to two classes.

My grades were generally very good except that in one class that I really like, Biblical Grammar, I froze on the first question and answered it completely wrong...it was really a quite easy question, but my grade went from a 88 to a 78. I know that I've learned the material and that I made a mistake...and that in the long run, the grade is not important...but as I've done in the past (oh say last 40 years) I'm a competitve guy when it comes to doing well in school and I can't say that I'm enamored with the grade.

We had one nice day yesterday, but apparently it's back to the rainy weather. The good news (and it's VERY good news) is that the Kinneret is up 1.25 meters since the rainy season began.

The forthcoming war with Iraq continues to monopolize much of the news in Israel, as well as Sharon's efforts to form a government, the economy, etc. We are going to receive another security briefing today. . .

That's the latest from Jerusalem....

Motzei Shabbat , 8 February

One of the funny things about last Shabbat was how much it bothered me that I was davening when I knew that Shabbat was already over and out here in Jerusalem. Today was my first Shabbat back and instead of it being the spirtual experience that I was hoping for, it was a "shabbat menocha"...Shabbat rest. The ten hour jet lag is no fun. . .the flight was from LA to Chicago to Munich to Tel Aviv. Lots of security...at LAX the new Transportation Safety Administration was in charge....and then the bags were rechecked in Germany before the flight to Tel Aviv.

Friday was sunny here and then the weather took a nasty turn and it's been rainy and windy (good weather for Israel, I suppose...).

So on the eve of the American war with Iraq, I am back in Israel, greeted by a new warning from our fabulous State Department. "The Department of State has authorized the departure of dependents and non-emergency personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem on a voluntary basis. Private American citizens in Israel, the West Bank or Gaza should evaluate rigorously their own security situations and should consider departing." Comforting words from our government...there's no mention, though that the US has upped its security warning system from one color to another (what a rainbow!).

I know that the school is in touch with the authorities and we will hear from them on what will happen, however, I don't think that the State Dept. takes into consideration Americans who are in relationship with people here. . .you know, "sure I'll leave Israel and leave my loved one behind because you say so." (Do I sound a tad cynical? Well perhaps I am given that the United States Government is also the place that discriminates against same-sex international couples in terms of visas; heterosexual couples can just get married and instant green card!)

As always I loved getting back to Ben Gurion, stepping off the plane, into the terminal, everything in Hebrew. The ride home from the airport was the worst part...there is a service called "Nesher" (which is Hebrew, I think, for "hell on wheels.") They jam ten of us and all of our stuff into a van (which may have had a safety inspection when it was new) and then take us, one by one, home in Jerusalem. It was Yuval and me along with about 8 black hats. We were right next to our neighborhood, but we ended up be second to last to be dropped off. Let's just say that my patient level was exhausted...and the driver was not an especially good ambassador for the people of Israel...(sit down and shut up probably summarizes it.) By contrast, the folks on Lufthansa were nothing but pleasant!

Los Angeles was lovely: we enjoyed Richard Wortman's hospitality and it was just like being at home....the room was fabulous and Yuval loved the king sized bed with the big screen television. He especially liked Richard's housekeeper who made the bed and kept doing our laundry...

Tomorrow the second semester starts anew....I have to get (hopefully) into the time zone and get back to doing what I need to do...

And now that I'm back in Jerusalem, it's back to the journal...Keep those notes coming to laman100@yahoo.com

Shavua Tov!