Hello!!

Alright. Fine. I get it. This is the first post in forever. I'm bad at consistency.

Now that that's over with, hello everybody!
We just passed the midway point of our program a few days ago. With two months behind us and two months ahead, everything is looking great. Now that the holidays are over, we've been in school a lot more, so the workload has been a lot heavier, but school is still going fine.

I lead Shabbat services again this morning, and I wanted to share a poem that I wrote and used as part of my D'var Torah for the torah portion Vayera.

Feel the Rhythm

What is the world's oldest question?

How are you?

How was your day?

What time is it?

No.

It's "Where are you?"

Left unanswered by Adam and Eve

For 20 generations because they hid

Until Abraham

Abraham with the courage to say,

"Hineini", Here I Am, chapter 22, verse 1, Vayera

Abraham, whose life had been an absurd rhythmic irregularity

Never 1, 2, 3, 4

Always 1, 17, 3 1/2, 12

Abraham, whose path (at God's will)

Was anything but rhythmic

Had the courage to say

Hineini, Here I Am.

The world's oldest question

Where are you?

Where are we?

Where have we been?

Who helped us get here?

What are we doing now?

Where will we go?

What is your rhythm?

Is it 1, 2, 3, 4,

Or 1, 17, 3 1/2, 12,

Or some series of numbers that no one's ever thought of because

You're just that good.

Or if you're a little confused

A little lost

If your rhythm reminds you of an elephant falling down the stairs

Don't worry

Relax

Honey, you're in Israel

Sometimes we get off beat

It doesn't mean the song stops

Take a deep breath

Start counting

Start from 1 if you have to.

Who knows what will happen?

All we know is "Hineini"

Here I Am.

Shabbat shalom everyone! Wishing you a restful weekend and a productive week!

Mountains, Seas, and Waterfalls

The past few days have been something else. We just passed the one month mark here and it's clear to see that the relationships we've all formed together are changing. We're not just 33 people from around the world who happen to have this program in common. We've bonded and discovered that everyone here is unique and can bring something special to the table. However, with this newfound closeness, we're also discovering that it's hard to live together for such a long time. This week in particular, there have been more arguments and more drama than during the entire rest of the program. You would think that a good teambuilding experience would solve the problem, but our hike up Masada, while beautiful, did little to alleviate the stress. Our subsequent trip down to the Dead Sea also did little to ease tensions. Even though our day was packed with beautiful experiences, tempers were still high and many people went to bed cranky.

Shabbat was what brought the change. I led our morning service and it was very easy to tell that at the beginning, the group was apprehensive about sitting and singing together. But, by the end, the mood had changed and friends begrudgingly put their arms around one another for the closing song. Things still weren't one hundred percent back to normal though. That took something different. In the middle of the day, we went on a hike through the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve on the Wadi David trail. What started as trekking across dry desert rock slowly became wading through a fresh water stream. We followed the path until we came to a beautiful waterfall. 

Now, if you've never seen the people you're close to play under a waterfall, then you are missing out on a beautiful experience. After a brief pause, everyone ran into the pool to be close to and under the waterfall. Stress visibly melted away, swept under our feet by the roaring waterfall. Friends were laughing together, yelling and singing together, and throwing their arms around each other for pictures. Heads tilted back, everyone wore huge smiles that had seemed absent the week before. The hike back was joyous and exuberant and the bus ride back to our youth hostel showed the change in atmosphere perfectly. 

The next day we said goodbye to one another as we left to spend Sukkot with host families. People shouted out, "I'll miss you!" with the utmost sincerity, even though we were only going to be apart for a day and a half. It was clear that the trouble of the previous week had left us. So if you're ever having a bad day, or a bad week, take the people you love to your own waterfall, whatever that means to you. It's amazing what a waterfall can do. 

Wandering in the Desert

First off, Shanah Tova!
It's been a while since the last post, but there's a good reason, I promise. School keeps me busy and regular life is jam packed, but for the last 5 days, we have been in the south of Israel around Eilat and the Jordanian border for our desert experience. On Shabbat we spent the night in a Beduin tent after spending the day at various agricultural sites learning how the desert has been tamed to support farms and villages. On Saturday, we began with camel rides and services led by yours truly, and then it was off to learn about bee-keeping, another thriving industry in the desert. The day ended with a brief swim in the Red Sea and then we spent the night in a youth hostel overlooking Eilat. Monday morning began with the sunrise and a hike up Mount Tzfachot. Then came snorkeling in the Red Sea and relaxation and Erev Rosh Hashanah services at Kibbutz Yahel, south of Eilat. Monday brought the holiday and a completely free day at Yahel, which was a blessing. Today, we woke up early to hear a seminar about the relatively new emergence of Judaism in West Africa, which you can learn more about by looking up William Miles, proffessor of political-science at Northeastern University, and what he has to say on the topic. We spent the rest of the day learning about agriculture and how to be environmentally sustainable in the desert at Kibbutz Lotan. Finally, I am writing this from the bus back to Kibbutz Tzuba. We spent 3 hours driving through a sandstorm/thunderstorm/lightning/rainstorm and I cannot be happier to be going back to Jerusalem.
Chag Sameach and Shanah Tova to everyone!

Spiritual Moments

It has been a long, tiring week. It was our first week of classes and tiyyulim (field trips). The days are ridiculously long and when you have homework in every class, the days get even longer. But my one saving grace this week is that I am now a member of our T'fillah committee. This means that for the rest of the semester, a few others and I are responsible for planning and leading all the services we have during the week. Last night and this morning were our first attempts, and tonight we have our first teen led Havdallah. The responses have been really positive and I can't wait to help create more spiritual moments here on EIE. Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat Shalom!

It has been an amazing couple of days. There is nothing quite like Shabbat even during a normal week, but my first Shabbat in Israel has exceeded all expectations. We spent all of Friday preparing by resting and cleaning and putting on nice clothes. Then it was on the bus to have T'fillah at the Western Wall, the Kotel. We had a beautiful service at the egalitarian portion of the wall and were then given the opportunity to approach the Kotel at the spot most people in Israel use. At the wall, 4 boys in the program including me approached a group of men studying at yeshiva who were dancing the hora and singing as loud as the could. The welcomed us with open arms and we quickly joined their circle and began to dance. I have never felt as special or amazing as I did in the short minutes we spent dancing. As Shabbat leaves us and we celebrate Havdallah, there is a sense of something departing, as if Shabbat held a physical position in our program. Everyone is excited for the week to come, but just as excited for next Friday night and the beautiful experiences that are bound to come with it. Shabbat shalom and shavua tov!

I'M HERE!!!!!!

I did it! I finally made my way through a solid 24 hours of travel to arrive in Israel, the Holy Land. After my first full day at Kibbutz Tzuba, my home for the next four months, I can look to the future and confidently say that I am excited for absolutely everything that this trip has to offer. My fellow students are all amazing people and I can't wait to get to know them better, even though I feel like I've already known some of them my whole life. The food is delicious and even though it's ten o'clock at night, I'm already looking forward to breakfast. Our first field trip is tomorrow and it's just one of many to come. There's so many firsts ahead of everyone here and I'm looking forward to every single one. Lilah Tov!!!