tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73718907634240417482024-03-08T14:12:15.791+02:00Gabe's Nativ/Israel BlogI am spending the year in Israel on the Nativ program, combining study at the Conservative Yeshiva with experiencing life on Kibbutz Ein Tsurim. This Journal will serve the record these amazing experiences!Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-52394358202135086752008-01-14T12:20:00.000+02:002008-01-14T12:21:49.324+02:00<p class="MsoNormal"><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">תן שבת ותן שלום בעיר ירושלים</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> Grant Shabbat and Peace to the City of Jerusalem</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As Friday and Shabbat were my last few days in <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:City> (and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>)<span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="">:(</span></span> (for now <span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="">:)</span></span>), I decided that I’d try to make the most of them, and I think that I succeeded pretty well.<span style=""> </span>On Friday, I’ll admit, I was pretty exhausted from a busy week at the yeshiva, and I was ready to take the day easy, but in the end, it turned out to be pretty productive.<span style=""> </span>I woke up around 7 and went to shacharit at Janet’s shul (Beit Boyer), and came back and had some breakfast.<span style=""> </span>I then went to the store with her to do some Shabbat shopping (actually, it wasn’t just any store, but Rami Levi, another ‘real supermarket’ in the same neighbourhood as the SuperSol Deal, very different from the places where I shopped last year in Mercaz Ha’ir (the city center).<span style=""> </span>I chilled for a few hours, and around noon, even though I had seen most of the people and places I had intended to, I decided to use some of my remaining punches on my <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">כרטיסיה</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span> (10 trip bus ticket), and go to the old city and the kotel for one last time.<span style=""> </span>It took a little while to wait for the bus, but It was a quick 10 minute ride once I got on, and before I knew it I got off in front of the David’s Citadel hotel and started walking through mamilla to the Jaffa Gate.<span style=""> </span>The Jewish quarter was mobbed that afternoon, but since I still had plenty of time before Shabbat, I waited in line (along with almost an Birthright group, for my last shawarma (#6).<span style=""> </span>I then walked down to the kotel and spent a few minutes there.<span style=""> </span>I got back to the Moshe’s around 3, and I quickly showered and got ready for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>Erev Shabbat I davened at Yedidya, where I had never been before on a Friday night. I had a very special moment on my walk over to shul, as I walked westward on Rechov Rivka.<span style=""> </span>Walking directly towards the setting sun, and looking towards the neighbouehoods of Katamon, Pat and Malha, I could see the buildings, made out of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:City><span style="" lang="EN-US"> stone, shining with a golden hue.<span style=""> </span>This must have been what Naomi Shemer had in mind when she decided to name her anthem to the city Yerushalayim Shel Zahav. <span style=""> </span>The shul was pretty packed, especially with a Birthright group there from UMASS-Amherst, and the davening was a lovely carlebach-style one, spiritual from Yedid Nefesh through Yigdal, but not excessively drawn out.<span style=""> </span>I went back to the Moshe’s for a very nice (and delicious Shabbat dinner), and stayed up chatting until about 12.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Shabbat morning I went back to Yedidya for another nice davening, and after Kiddush, I had lunch with our family friends the Ablemans, whom my abba has known since he was in elementary school.<span style=""> </span>I headed back to the moshe’s after lunch, and when I told Herzl that I hadn’t been to Mincha yet (he had already gone at </span><st1:time hour="12" minute="30"><span style="" lang="EN-US">12:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">), he told me that there was another davening at 3 at the sefardi shul.<span style=""> </span>Sefardi tefillot are something that I rarely get to experience, and though there is a significant difference from what I am used to, I was still able to follow along with the general order of the service.<span style=""> </span>Following the Israeli custom, the Moshes eat seudah shilshit (meat) at home, and we did so around a </span><st1:time hour="4" minute="45"><span style="" lang="EN-US">quarter to 5</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>After we finished the meal, we ran back to the sefardi shul for Ma’ariv and Havdalah.<span style=""> </span>Both at shul and when we did havdalah again at home, we followed the Israeli custom of using fresh plants instead of dried spices, which is nice for many reasons – besides for just smelling nice, it is also great to use the produce of the land of Israel for the bracha.<span style=""> </span>I only had a few hours after Shabbat in which to relax and get ready to sadly leave </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>Although my time in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> this visit was way too short, I think I made the most of it including seeing friends, learning about options for Aliyah, eating Shawarma and studying at the Conservative Yeshiva.<span style=""> </span>While I’m not sure exactly when I’ll be back in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> again physically, I have no doubt that there will always be </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">אהבת ישראל בנשמה</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span> – love for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> in my heart!</span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-11563140196316731412008-01-10T22:35:00.000+02:002008-01-11T10:50:05.629+02:00Yerushalayim, Orah Shel Olam / ירושלים, אורה של עולם / Jerusalem, Light of the World<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US">While this quote is definitely a good overall description of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">’s special character, this post, covering the beginning of my week on my own in the city, which besides for being special and spiritual the center of world attention, is just a cool place to hang out.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Motzei Shabbat, I left the hotel and schlepped with my bags over to Rechov Hamelech George, and after waiting for a few minutes, caught an articulated #14 bus to my chevruta (study partner) Miron and Naomi’s apartment right on the happening street of Emek Refaim.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After catching up a bit, I went down the street and met my friend Yoni Zierler, who I had been close with in preschool and hadn’t seen for about 12 years.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>We had dinner at New Deli, and spent a while catching up and hearing about his time in the army, as he had officially made aliyah.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>It’s just one of the amazing things about </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, how many people you can run into or catch up with, even without having seen them for years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">On Sunday morning, I went back to the Conservative Yeshiva after a six-month hiatus. I arrived in time for davening at </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="7"><span lang="EN-US">7:30</span></st1:time><span lang="EN-US">, just like old times.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After tefillot, Reb Mordechai Silverstein, of my favorite teachers, gave a dvar tefillah, and I went across the street to supersol to grab some breakfast and also took the opportunity to do laundry at Beit Nativ.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>Just like old times, I went right back into Dr. Josh Kulp’s Talmud class, learning in chevruta with Miron and Rabbi Marvin Richardson, a close friend of the family.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>Although JTS in no Jewish wasteland, it’s just so nice to be back in this amazing place and learning torah lishmah.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>For lunch, I ran across the street and got some pita and hummus (whose label assured me that it was extra kosher for the shmitta (sabbatical) year. After mincha, I was sitting in the Beit midrash checking my email and my friend from back home in Toronto, Naomi Cooperman, who is on Nativ this year, sent me an instant message.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>In turned out that she was sitting a few dozen feet away in Beit Nativ, so I ran upstairs to say hello and we hung out for a while.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>I also got to see Reena Saks and her parents, who are close family friends and used to live in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Philadelphia</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> when I did.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In went back to the Yeshiva for Maariv, and in the evening, had dinner at Tal Bagel with some friends from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Toronto</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US"> (</span><st1:place><st1:city><span lang="EN-US">Shira Zeliger</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">, </span><st1:state><span lang="EN-US">New York</span></st1:state></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> (Ben<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>Herman), and both (Rina Goldberg).<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Monday was another busy day, with Talmud in the morning (when I learned with Shira), a pizza lunch sponsored by the AJULA (aka </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">University</span></st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US"> of </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Judaism</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">).<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After lunch, I took a walk and noticed of the first signs of the event of the week (and the year to date), the first visit of George W. Bush to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> (albeit less than a year before he leaves office).<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>Although I’ll admit that I’m not his biggest fan, it is still a historic (yet somewhat annoying) time to be in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span lang="EN-US">.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>In any case, the first sign that I saw to welcome Bush was the official renaming of Kikar Paris (Paris Square), right between the Fuchsburg Center for Conservative Judaism and the Prime Minister’s house, to ‘Freedom for Jonathan Pollard Square’ by the Jerusalem City Council indefinitely until his release.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>Although it is possible to argue about whether Pollard deserved jail time or not, the 23 years he has been imprisoned is one of the longest ever for spying, especially against a friendly country.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>The </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Fuchsburg</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">Ce</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v172/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30491467_4620.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v172/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30491467_4620.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><st1:place><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">nter</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US"> also put up their own sign welcoming the President (which I was told by Rabbi Lebeau, the director that he waved when he saw it).<span style="font-size:0;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">That afternoon, I went back to the Yeshiva and attended Midrash class with Reb Mordechai, my favorite midrash teacher.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>In the evening, I went baxk to Miron and Naomi’s, had dinner and relaxed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Tuesday was another busy day.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>Being Rosh Chodesh, we had a lovely davening in the morning, complete with Shacharit led by Reb Pesach Schindler.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>Tefillot were followed by breakfast with a d’var torah by the dean of the education school at UJ.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>I spent much of the morning practicing Torah reading, and lunch (of falafel) was provided, along with a talk by Dr. David Breakstone, the Conservative/Masorti movement’s representative in the World Zionist Organization/Jewish Agency.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After Mincha, I took a bit of a walk to Meah Shearim and bought a few things, and was back at the Yeshiva for Ma’ariv.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>In the evening, we had a nice relaxed dinner with Naomi’s sister, who studies at Pardes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Wednesday was the ‘big day’ of Bush’s arrival, and even from the moment we stepped out the door to walk over to the Yeshiva, one could tell that things were different.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>There were very few cars to be seen on the roads, and fewer pedestrians than usual as well.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>We managed to have a relatively normal day at the Yeshiva, starting with tefillot when I led P’sukei D’zimra (just like old times), and another great morning of Talmud class. On our way from the classroom building back to the beit midrash, it was eerily silent, and there were no cars or pedestrians to be seen on the street.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>We found out that shortly afterwards, Mr.Bush’s procession passed by while we were eating lunch. Lunch came with a talk by Rabbi Charlie Savenor, the assistant dean of the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">JTS</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Rabbinical</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span lang="EN-US">School</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">, who spoke about the history of Kashrut and Coca Cola. After Mincha, I walked across the nearly empty Recho</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v172/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30491466_4307.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-c.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v172/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30491466_4307.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-US">v Agron to the SuperSol to grab a light snack, and came back with an illustration of the joys of living in a Jewish country- a sufganiyah on sale for the end of the season, and an early Ozen Haman (hamentshen). In the afternoon, I attended our Rosh Yeshiva Reb Shmuel’s Halacha class just like old times.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After Ma’ariv, I walked back home, which was somewhat difficult, since there were police barricades on both sides of us as we walked down a narrow piece of sidewalk on Keren Hayesod, and required police permission to cross Rechov Hamelech David.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After going back to Miron and Naomi’s and relaxing for a while after another busy day, I went down the street to get my 5<sup>th</sup> shawarma at falafel adir, with their special round </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">ציפ'ס</span><span lang="EN-US"> (fries).<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Thursday was sadly my last day at the Yeshiva until I manage to find my way there again.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>I left at 7 and made it to the Yeshiva without any trouble or being stopped, though unfortunately there were less people at shacharit than usual.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>I got hagbah.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After breakfast (when I finished the pita and hummus that I had bought for the week), we had chevruta and shiur for Talmud.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>Following Talmud, it was time for our weekly sicha with our Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Shmuel, who spoke very inspirationally about what makes our ‘Conservative Yeshiva’ different from those that thrive on coercion, and the special challenges that it entails.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After a pizza lunch, we finished the day with Parashat Hashavua and mincha.<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>In the afternoon, I went shopping with Miron at the shuk where I got a few things for myself as well, and then at ‘SuperSol Deal,’ which is much larger and nicer than the other one, with plenty of free samples as well. (On the way back from the shuk we saw the same huge security presence as yesterday, with police officers on every corner an a radius of barricades both around the Prime Minister’s House and the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">King</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">David</span></st1:placename><span lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span lang="EN-US">Hotel</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span lang="EN-US">). As another indication of th</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v172/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30491469_5112.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v172/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30491469_5112.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span lang="EN-US">e joys of living in a Jewish country, it was great to see the signs all over the produce department saying </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">ט''ו בשבט הגיע</span><span lang="EN-US"> (Tu B’ishvat is coming), as well as of course being able to wish the cashier a Shabbat shalom!<span style="font-size:0;"> </span>After we finished at the supermarket, I said goodbye to Miron and Naomi and headed back to the Moshe’s home for my final Shabbat in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US"> (only until the next one!).</span></p><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://jonathanpollard.org/pics/2008/010708/19.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 304px; cursor: pointer; height: 284px;" alt="" src="http://jonathanpollard.org/pics/2008/010708/19.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The Conservative Movement and Jonathan Pollard?!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>P.S. I as I promised my Hebrew teacher from last semester, Rabbi Joel Roth, I attempted to pick out some grammatical errors in Jerusalem street signs...here's what I found:</div><br /><div>נַפְתּלִי was missing the dagesh kal in the tav</div><br /><div>הַיֵּרְדֵּן - missing the dagesh hazak in the yod follwing the hey hayediah.</div><br /><div>and הַמֶּלֶךְ ג׳וֹרְג׳ was missing the dagesh hazak in the mem. Oh well, maybe dikduk m'dakdek (exact grammar) is a bit of a lost cause.</div><span style="position: absolute; right: 0px; bottom: 0px;" id="ResizeStatus"> </span><span style="position: absolute; right: 0px; bottom: 0px;" id="ResizeStatus"> </span>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-16231549213012890312008-01-07T22:01:00.000+02:002008-01-07T22:16:19.171+02:00Mastering my future? אולי Touring every Israeli University and spending time in my Homeland and having a blast in the end? בודאי!On Monday (12.31.07), I began participating in a program sponsored by the Sochnut (Jewish Agency) for students considering spending a significant amount of time in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> after graduating college and possibly making Aliyah.<span style=""> </span>I am one of twenty participants in this six day program, one of seven who are bogrei Nativ, and of the remaining thirteen, about half are also in college and the other half have already graduated.<span style=""> </span>While many parts of the program so far have been interesting, especially seeing all of the universities, some of the speakers we have had were somewhat less engaging.<span style=""> </span>On Tuesday, we began with a few speakers from the Sochnut, including Rabbi Paul Freedman, former international director of USY and one of the biggest proponents of Aliyah in the Conservative Movement.<span style=""> </span>In the late afternoon, we traveled to the Jerusalem Post to speak on a personal level with David Horowitz, the Editor in chief of the paper about his experiences as an oleh and current issues.<span style=""> </span>In the evening, we visited an absorption center called Mercaz Hamagshimim in the German Colony, which is supported by Hadassah, and met with some of the residents there. <p class="MsoNormal">On Tuesday, I woke up and went to the <st1:time minute="0" hour="7">7 am</st1:time> minyan down the street at Yeshurun, where I had davened every Friday last year, and then came back to the hotel, where we began to check out for a few days and begin our grand tour of every university in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span>After breakfast, we traveled to Baka to visit Ulpan Etzion, an ulpan run by the Jewish agency with free tuition for Olim.<span style=""> </span>After that, we went to tour <st1:place><st1:placename>Hebrew</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype></st1:place>, which was pretty neat for me since most of my Nativ friends (except for the 13 others who did Yeshiva with me) studied there for the first semester last year, and I had never been there before.<span style=""> </span>We toured the whole campus, including the impressive <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.jewishsightseeing.com/israel/jerusalem/hebrew_univ/19990507-hecht_interior.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.jewishsightseeing.com/israel/jerusalem/hebrew_univ/19990507-hecht_interior.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Hecht synagogue (with a window facing the temple mount, the only such one in the world) and the <st1:place><st1:placename>Rothberg</st1:placename> <st1:placename>International</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>School</st1:placetype></st1:place>, and had lunch at the Frank Sinatra Cafeteria.<span style=""> </span>After leaving Hebrew U, we traveled to Tel Aviv, where we visited <st1:place><st1:placename>Tel</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Aviv</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>It had a large and imp<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/%7Ebazlov/israel/largepic/005ta_syn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/%7Ebazlov/israel/largepic/005ta_syn.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ressive campus, but seemed a bit overwhelming and impersonal.<span style=""> </span>We then went to the <st1:place><st1:placename>Tal</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Hotel</st1:placename></st1:place>, had dinner and a lecture on the workplace culture in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> before we had the rest of the evening free. A few of us decided to walk on the tayelet along the beach, and later got ice cream at the yotvata restaurant.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">On Wednesday, after a great breakfast (the food at the Tel Aviv hotel was much better than in <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>), we took a bus ove<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.masuah.org/nagel1.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.masuah.org/nagel1.jpeg" alt="" border="0" /></a>r to <st1:place><st1:placetype>Bar</st1:placetype> <st1:placename>Ilan</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype></st1:place> in Kiryat Ono.<span style=""> </span>Bar Ilan is unique in the fact that while it is a public university, it was founded as a ‘religious institution.’<span style=""> </span>This does not mean that it is only for religious students, since at least 50% are secular, but it does mean that all students, no matter what their major, must take at least 7 courses in any area of Jewish Studies.<span style=""> </span>BIU had a very impressive campus, and our tour guide was an olah from <st1:city><st1:place>Toronto</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>There is a definite possibility that I would consider studying there for a graduate degree.<span style=""> </span>In the afternoon, we visited the interdisciplinary center in Herzliya, the only private university in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> (and by extension, the only one that we visited that wasn’t at least 80% on strike). They are well-known for their BA programs taught entirely in English, in which a few of my friends are enrolled, and discussed their new masters programs in English.<span style=""> </span>After that visit, which was relatively short, we went up to <st1:city><st1:place>Haifa</st1:place></st1:city> and had a visit to <st1:place><st1:placename>Haifa</st1:placename></st1:place><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/%7Ebazlov/israel/smallpic/025haif_univ.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/%7Ebazlov/israel/smallpic/025haif_univ.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><st1:place> <st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>That visit consisted mostly of being taken up to the 29<sup>th</sup> and 30<sup>th</sup> floors of the main building and being shown the magnificent view from there, and then basically being told that that was the reason for us to come to their university.<span style=""> </span>In terms of programs, especially after seeing Hebrew U, Tel Aviv and Bar-Ilan, <st1:city><st1:place>Haifa</st1:place></st1:city> didn’t do such a good job in distinguishing themselves.<span style=""> </span>But in the end, we did get a free view, some <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">כיבוד קל</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (light refreshments), and an impression of the university. That night, we went back to Tel Aviv, had dinner (not bad for a hotel), and I decided to stay in the hotel and just hang out since it was raining.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Thursday morning, I davened, had a pretty good breakfast, and checked out as our group said goodbye to TA and started the two hour drive to the development town of Arad, near the Dead Sea, where we visited the WUJS program, a 5 month Israel experience for college graduates.<span style=""> </span>We saw a bit of the town, saw the absorption center where the participants live, and were treated to a pizza lunch.<span style=""> </span>After we left </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Arad</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, we headed to Be’er Sheva and visited </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US">Ben-Gurion</span></st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="" lang="EN-US">University</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">, th</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.latalaia.net/fotos/19entrevistaT4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.latalaia.net/fotos/19entrevistaT4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">e last of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">’s major universities on our tour.<span style=""> </span>We arrived, were met by a student who was originally an olah from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Ukraine</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and before touring the rest of the campus, met with some of the admissions representatives.<span style=""> </span>Although my understanding of Hebrew is close to perfect, it was still pretty disconcerting that the representatives refused to speak any English and didn’t show that they were so interested in us coming to their school.<span style=""> </span>Afterwards, we had a tour of the campus, which was very pretty nice but kind of institutional and 1960’s looking.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">After we left Be’er Sheva, we returned to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and had a short session to learn about a post-college program called Otzma, and then we were free for the evening.<span style=""> </span>I went with my friend Shira Zeliger and got a Shawarma at Shwarma Hashamen, one of my favorite shawarma places which Josh Goldberg introduced me too my last week of Nativ, and now opened a branch downtown so I don’t have to schlep out to </span><st1:street><st1:address><span style="" lang="EN-US">Yochanan Ben Zakkai street</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>After our shawarma, we went to supersol, which brought back some good memories.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Friday, I went back to Yeshurun for shacharit, and then relaxed until everyone else woke up for breakfast.<span style=""> </span>We had a couple wrap up sessions that morning, including one with a representative from the sochnut and some lone soldiers to talk about the army.<span style=""> </span>We were free for a few hours before Shabbat, and I went with my friend Andrew to walk around the shuk and then get a shawarma (my 4<sup>th</sup>!) at Maoz.<span style=""> </span>After showering and preparing for Shabbat, I walked over (in relatively steady rain) to Yeshurun, for their monthly Carlebach-style kabbalat Shabbat with cantor and choir. It was just as nice as I remembered it from when I used to go on Nativ.<span style=""> </span>That evening, we ate Shabbat dinner at Beit Nativ (aka the Fuchsburg center), which brought back nice memories but the food was as relatively unappealing as ever.<span style=""> </span>When we got back to the hotel, we hung out and then had an oneg before I went to bed around ten in order to get some nice Shabbat rest.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The next morning, I left the hotel around </span><st1:time hour="7" minute="40"><span style="" lang="EN-US">7:40</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and walked all the way doen to Baka to my favorite shul in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, Kehilat Yedidya.<span style=""> </span>The walk wasn’t as long as I expected, and I was one of the first people at shul, and ended up being asked to lead P’sukei D’zimra.<span style=""> </span>Davening was also just as amazing and spiritual as I remembered, and I saw a number of people I knew.<span style=""> </span>After davening and Kiddush, I walked back to the center of town and ended up at the apartment building across from Beit Nativ, specifically at the home of Rabbi Paul and Nina Freedman, who had invited us over for Kiddush.<span style=""> </span>Rabbi Paul, who was international director of USY for almost 30 years, and his wife are very special people, and it was a pleasure spending time with them and of course singing Nina’s family tune for the Shabbat song menucha v’simcha.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">We went back to the hotel for a not so tasty lunch, but one that ended with some nice singing.<span style=""> </span>I took a nap and read for a while, but late in the afternoon I got a knock on my door from my friend Shayna and my new friend Shira, who asked me go walk with them to the old city.<span style=""> </span>I decided to go, and had a great time with them.<span style=""> </span>We ended up at the kotel, which I rarely get to on Shabbat, and which was nice to see being so much emptier and less touristy.<span style=""> </span>I found a minyan for mincha, which was sefardi, and it was neat to daven in a setting that is slightly different than usual, with such changes as habah being done before the torah reading.<span style=""> </span>We walked back to the hotel as the sun was starting to set.<span style=""> </span>Before we knew it, Shabbat was over, and I davened Ma’ariv and we did Havdalah as a group.<span style=""> </span>I then ran upstairs, packed my stuff, and said goodbye to all of my travelmates/friends, new and old.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-377766773962606092007-12-31T06:06:00.000+02:002007-12-31T09:49:17.336+02:00A wonderful Shabbat on Sa'ad שבת בסעד!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.saad.org.il/Design/SaadAirNew.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.saad.org.il/Design/SaadAirNew.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />For the past three years (since I was on Pilgrimage in the summer of 2005), there have been many times when I was supposed to visit (or live on) kibbutz Sa'ad, and each time, something, either the security situation or other shabbat plans I had. While I thoroughly enjoyed my four months living on Kibbutz Ein Zurim and working on the communal Moshav Massuot Yitzhak, I still felt like something was missing not having lived on Sa'ad or at least visited there, since every Nativ for the first 25 years of the program had done so. Yael, our madricha had told me last year, that I will come back to Israel relatively soon, and that I will visit Sa'ad.<br />Well, she was right on both counts. When I knew I was coming to Israel, I immediately made plans to spend a shabbat on Sa'ad in order to to finally visit the place I had heard so much about, visit Yael and my fellow Nativer David Landau, who has made Aliyah and is now living on Sa'ad.<br />After walking around the shuk for a while and getting a shawarma on Friday, I headed over to the Tachana Mercazit (central bus station) and caught the #443, a once a day bus that travels directly by Sa'ad via Sderot. The ride took about an hour and a half, and was very pretty and relaxing, between the fact that the bus was relatively empty (unlike most egged rides I've taken) and that we got to pass by my old digs of En Zurim, Massuot Yitzhak and Negba. It was quite an interesting experience to drive through sderot, the town that has been the focus of Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. While it was hard to see too much from the bus, what I could see is that a small, beautiful community which was simply trying to make a life for itself and its children, has been uprooted from its normal routine and forced to wait at every second for the tzeva adom (red alert) siren to go off in warning of a kassam rocket.<br />A few minutes after leaving sderot, the bus let me off outside kibbutz Sa'ad, and I did immeaditely notice how I could easily see Gaza on the horizon, but I still felt safe being on Sa'ad, even having never been there before.<br />David met me at the gate (unlike En Zurim and Massuot Yitzhak, whose gates barely exist, Sa'ad has an operational fence and gate surrounding the kibbutz due to the proximity to Gaza), and we immediately went to say hello to Yael at her family's home and do a little catching up. Before shabbat, David borrowed a car and we went on a grand tour of Sa'ad's fields which seem to stretch on endlessly, at the end of which we even got to have have some clementines that hadn't been harvested.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.saad.org.il/pictures/small/synagogue3s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 160px;" src="http://www.saad.org.il/pictures/small/synagogue3s.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We then went back to David's room to get ready for Shabbat, and soon departed for tefillot in the kibbutz synagogue, which reminded me of the one at En Zurim, except that Saad's was muxh larger (being a larger kibbutz), has a more liberal women's section (on the sides of the mens section instead of upstairs, and is slightly more beautiful. Tefillot were conducted in white I feel is typical kibbutz style, quickly but without sacrificing the feeling or the necessary singing of tefillot such as Yedid Nefesh, L'cha Dodi or Adon Olam.<br />After tefillot we attended a short shiur, and then went to the Shlomi family, who are David's adopted family on Kibbutz, for Shabbat dinner. (at this point I should mention that this weekend was a great opportunity to practice my Hebrew speaking. While my Hebrew comprehension is close to perfect, and my speaking is relatively good for an american, I realized that it could still use a decent amount of improvement). We had a very nice dinner with good food and good conversation. Ofer Shlomi comes from a yemenite family,which explains his meticulous Hebrew pronunciation, and he and his wife Tzafchi have 7 children and three granchildren, despite only being about my parents' age. After dinner, Yael came over for dessert, and all of us hung out and chatted for a while. David and I went to bed relatively early since i was still getting over jetlag, and I managed to wake up in time for Shacharit the next morning at 8:30.<br />Shacharit was pretty quick, just as on En Zurim, and tefillot were over by 10:15. After musaf, Ofer gave a fascinating shiur about the birth of Moshe, and we went back to the Shlomis following the shiur for kiddush. David, Yael and I ate lunch on Shabbat with another family that he had become close with, and had another great time. In typical kibbutz/Israeli style (although not everyone goes all the time), David and I ran across the walk to the Beit Knesset for mincha, and were back at the lunch table in about 15 minutes. In the afternoon we relaxed and hung out with some of the kids, while also getting to see the Kibbutz school and petting zoo. As Yael had told us last year, it was easy to see that the entire school had been covered with an extra overhang that the government provided to stop kassam rockets from hitting the schools. This step was very sad for the kibbutz as a constant reminder of the situation, but it was in the end necessary in case of an attack.<br />We relaxed for the rest of shabbat, and after maariv, David, Yael and I chilled at her house and in his room, and watched a movie. Later that night, David's roommate Eli returned from the army for the night, and I got to meet him and hear about his experiences in the paratroopers.<br />On Sunday morning, I decided to be crazy and wake up for a 6 am Shacharit, which was pretty well attended. Around 7, David and I walked over to the Chadar ochel, where I made a quick sandwich and ran out to the gate. Although I unfortunately missed the one bus per day which goes directly to Jerusalem, a taxi pulled up a little later and agreed to take me there for a reasonable rate.<br />Later that day, after dropping off my bags, I took a leisurely walk downtown, and strolled around ben yehuda, took a side trip to meah shearim, and had a late lunch at Pinati.Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-87222427284886240792007-12-27T20:44:00.000+02:002007-12-30T22:54:41.138+02:00Who renews each day in His lovingkiness המחדש בטובו בכל יום תמידI arrived in Israel around 10 am on Thursday, and after davening quickly at the Airport synagogue, I hopped on a Nesher taxi to Jerusalem. An hour and a half after leaving the airport at 11, and following a grand tour of Meah Shearim, I was dropped off at Beit Nativ and left my bags there for the afternoon while I reacquainted myself with Jerusalem.<br /><br />Well, even though the changes I've noticed haven't come directly from God, I figured this would be a good place to talk about all of the changes I noticed since I last left Israel, and the quote, from weekday shacharit, is fitting since after all, this is Israel. Some of them are pretty minor, but after living here for almost a year and then coming back 7 months later. Here's a quick run through:<br />-The new kvish 9 is open at the entrance of Jerusalem, which goes directly from the main Road to Ramot and Har Tzofim.<br />-No more jaywalking from Beit Nativ to Supersol...the finished the construction across the street, and now there's big barriers there to prevent that.<br />-The Beitza Ayin (ask anyone from the Conservative Yeshiva) delivery motorcycle now has a big egg on top.<br />-Remember that old, run down restaurant on King George south of Hillel; it's now being turned into a new Cuppa Joe (Kosher, of course).<br />-The first stage of the Mamilla project is open (directly across from the Jaffa Gate) and includes a collection of upscale shops and cafes.<br />-There's more traffic than ever.<br />-Remember the 'museum of taxes?' ein od! That whole block is currently a mess, and it and the former palace hotel (where mishehu larutz ito was filmed) is now being turned into a lucury hotel/condo complex.<br />-The Hurva synagogue (where the commerative arch used to be in to Jewish quarter) is a long way into its reconstruction, and the exterior shell is almost built.<br />(addendum)-you may remember the block at the top of Ben Yehuda which was open for cars...that's no longer, since the municipality decided to permanently close this and a few other streets surrounding Ben-Yehuda to cars and add to the pedestrian mall. right nown, the area is a mess, bu when the changover is complete, downtown shouls be even more pedestrian friendly.<br />Well that's it for now. After spending last night with the Moshe's in Talpit, I'm going to head to Kibbutz Sa'ad to visit friends for Shabbat, which should be lots of fun.<br /><br />שבת שלום!Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-35901964815687764892007-12-23T03:55:00.000+02:002007-12-23T20:29:05.352+02:00Home-Back and Forth הביתה הלוך חזור<div></div>The title of this post is also the title of a new song by one of my favorite current Israeli artists, Idan Raichel (you can watch the music video <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnGHZM-Yclw">here</a> -it's highly recommended). While the song itself was written to introduce a new movie, <span style="font-style: italic;">Black on White</span> which traces the journey of Cabra Casey, an immigrant artist in Idan's project who was born in Sudan on the way to Israel from Ethiopia, and her trip to trace her journey and discuss her feelings as an immigrant from the Ethiopian community.<br />I figured that this was a perfect metaphor for my approaching trip, even though my journey and relationship with israel is very different from Cabra's. However, this trip - which is unfortunately, just back and forth - allows me to reflect on my feelings for Israel, after not being there for 7 months, and trying to figure out what is home for me. Although I am very happy here at JTS and Columbia, having just successfully completed my first semester, there is a special, hard to explain pull that Israel has, and which makes me so excited to be going back home, even if its just 'back and forth' for now. While I can't predict exactly what I'll be doing in Israel, my plans include a shabbat on Kibbutz Sa'ad, a trip with the Jewish Agency to look at options for aliyah (AFTER I graduate college), some time with the Moshe family and other friends, and some quality time at the CY...and of course, some good Shwarma!<br />I hope to restart this blog at some point when I'm in Israel or upon my return, and reflect on my experiences over the next few weeks!<br />To quote another song lyric, ירושלים, הנה אני בא!Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-45108294693239103532007-05-26T23:31:00.000+03:002007-05-31T14:00:13.462+03:00אהבת ישראל בנשמה Love for Israel in my soul...Right now, it is Monday afternoon, and I will sadly be leaving Israel in just a few short hours. Although I won't finish this post before I leave, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk briefly about my thoughts at the moment, and then give a recap of the past 9 days, which I haven't gotten around to because I have been so busy doing last minute things and saying goodbye to Jerusalem. Right now it is very hard to leave Israel, which has been my home for the past nine months, and return to the pace of everyday life wherever I will be in the next few year ahead in North America. Although I am very excited to see my family and everyone else in Toronto, it is very difficult to leave not knowing when I will return to this place-my spiritual, religious, and national home, where I feel that I truly belong. However, I pray that as the title of this post proclaims, taken from a song by the band רבע לשבע, that I will always have אהבת ישראל בנשמה, love for Israel in my soul, despite the fact that לבי במזרח ואנכי בסוף המערב-my heart is in the east and I am at the end of the west (Rabbi Yehuda Halevi).<br /><div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />Now back to a week ago Sunday (May 20).I woke up in the morning at 5:40 and davened Shacharit with the kibbutz for the last time. I spent most of the day doing some last-minute packing, stopping for a good fleiching lunch around noon. Around 3 in the afternoon we loaded the suitcase that we wouldn't need onto a truck to put them in storage for the next week. In the evening, we had a party to say goodbye to all of the people that we had come in contact with while on kibbutz, specifically our bosses and adopt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-978.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30307978_2408.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-978.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30307978_2408.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ed families. We came up group by group to make presentations, and at the end we even sang a song that my friend Abi had written, in Hebrew for the occasion. The number of people who came to the party truly showed that we had left a mark on the kibbutz, as well as how much our time there meant to us. Adter we said our final goodbyes to everyone we had our last barbecue and bonfire, as we did very often while living on kibbutz. After we finished eating, we sat as an entire group around the fire and for over an hour shared memories of our time on kibbutz. After the program ended, the five of us who lived in caravan nine set to work cleaning the caravan, and I finally got to bed, extremely exhausted, around 1 in the morning. On Monday, after eating a light breakfast, our group gathered for an extremely em<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-684.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30308684_5958.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-684.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30308684_5958.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>otional last shaharait service on kibbutz, after which we cleared our our caravans, turned in our keys, and said goodbye to kibbutz. We then headed for Jerusalem and arrived shortly before noon. We got our room keys (I was with Avram, in his old room with a cute little balcony looking up King George Street) and had a little, much needed relaxing time before lunch. After lunch, I was able to run by the Yeshiva and join in for mincha; afterwards we went down to one of the seminar rooms in the basement and sat for a while to fill<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-191.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30309191_2166.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-191.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30309191_2166.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> out written evaluations about the year. After the evaluations were over with, we all went into the auditorium and were privileged to enjoy a performance of 'The complete works of William Shakespeare: Abridged', which was initiated and performed entirely by a group of four nativers, who were extremely funny and entertaining. Dinner followed, which was an extremely unsatisfying and gross dairy meal, which I rectified by going across the street to Supersol and buying some packaged food. The evening ended with a Nativ-wide talent show, which was a nice way to begin to end the year. After the talent show was over, I took a relatively early night in order to prepare for the tikkun leil Shavuot the following night, when I would stay up studying all night and into the next morning. On Tuesday (erev shavuot), we had a free day, which I feel I ended up spending pretty well I slept in a bit in the morning and went to the 8 AM minyan across the street at the Great Synagogue, after which I went back to Beit Nativ and ran into a few friends at breakfast, who had also happened to wake up early, so a little bit later my friend Phil and I headed out up King George Street to do some errands, starting in my favourite shopping district of מאה שערים. We went into a few different stores, and got a few small gifts, and more importantly Phil bought himself a beautif<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-330.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v98/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30313330_6166.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-330.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v98/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30313330_6166.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>ul new Talit. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-336.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v98/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30313336_6185.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-336.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v98/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30313336_6185.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>After finishing up there, we headed downtown and I stopped at a shoe store and got myself a new pair of Naot. After that, I headed back towards Beit Nativ, but never really made it back to my room for quite a while... As I got back, I heard that the Yeshiva was open and that a few of my friends were hanging out/doing some work in there. I headed down and spent the next few hours, with a short break to go to supersol and get some bourekas for lunch, hearing some of my friends' ideas for the study sessions they would be running (much) later that night, and doing some learning of my own. Around 2:00, I finally (still temporarily) left the Yeshiva and headed back to my room, where I relaxed and got in a short nap. Around 4PM, an idea popped into my mind to take advantage of it being erev Yom Tov and head to the Mikvah for the last time for a while. So I gathered 7 shekalim and a towel, and walked down the 4 blocks the neighbourhood mikvah, and did my dipping. After I returned to Beit Nativ, I had some time to get ready for Yom Tov, and shortly before it was time to shower, I went down to the courtyard, where the kitchen staff had put together a treat of pareve pita pizza for us. We davened that evening at Moreshet Yisrael, which was followed by a pleasant, but not so tasty Chag meal.<br />As is traditional on Shavuot, I spent the rest of the nriight (from 9:30 PM to 4 AM), in a combination of lectures, discussion-based sessions, and chevruta. Since I had about an hour from the end of dinner to the beginning of the first session, I sat down with a few friends to study the first few chapters of the book of Ezekiel, which was quite fascinating. After that, I went to two formal sessions, the first taught by Rabbi Shmuel Lewis, Rosh Yeshiva of the Conservative Yeshiva about the juxtaposition between the concepts כבוד התורה (honouring the Torah) and כבוד הבריות (human dignity). In the second session, taught entirely in Hebrew by Juan Mejia, a third year JTS rabbinical student, we examined a number of teshuvot written by different rabbis regarding Conversos during and after the Spanish inquisition on a variety of religious issues such a marriage and hows to try to continue to observe Jewish practice. It was already 1 AM after these two sessions were over, and I headed down to the Yeshiva to study some Talmud with a few friends for the next hour. At 2 am, we began a round robin of sessions led by friends of mine for Nativ. The first session I went to was lead by my friend Sarah and talked about Heschel and revelation. After a cheesecake and ice cream break, I went to a second session led by Mendy, about the Rabbis' view of private property.<br />At 4, after running to my room and grabbing my Tallit and siddur, I headed down Agron street joined by all of Nativ, the rest of the Fuchsberg centre, and the entire city of Jerusalem to the kotel to daven shacharit at the earliest possible time. We held a mixed davening with a few hundred Conservative/Masorti Jews and others at the Southern (Robinson's Arch) section of the kotel, where I became a Bar Mitzvah 6 years earlier. While the idea and location of the service were nice, the tefillot themselves were, in many people's words, pretty awful. Although we started davening shortly before 5, between a half hour P'sukei D'zimra and 40 minute Hallel, the service was way too long and didn't finish until after 8, which was a pretty long davening considering that I had been awake for over 25 hours at that polint. It seemed like a long 20 minute walk back to Beit Nativ, where I crashed into bed and slept until about 12:30. In the afternoon, I walked down to Talpiot and had a very enjoyable and delicious dairy lunch. Around 5, I walked back to Beit Nativ where we davened mincha, had a light dinner and ended chag. fter chag was over, I spent a few hours filling out my hebrew placement exam for next year at JTS.<br />Thursday morning began with tefillot as a group, and after breakfast we had a few sessions to think about our futures post-Nativ. They began with Rabbi Paul Freedman, past Director of USY, talking about Project Reconnect, and continued with greetings by Rabbi Jim Lebeau, director of the Fuchsberg centre, and Rabbi Gail Diamond of the Conservative Yeshiva. We then heard from two representatives speak to us about the possibility of Aliyah. We had a nice three hour break in the middle of the day, and I used it to go shopping again in Meah Shearim, this time with my friend Jacob, and then a delicious final lunch at Pinati. In the afternoon, our staff put a lot of effort into a program where they turned the whole lower level of the Fuchsberg Centre into a 'museum ofmNativ', where each room was set up to remind us of a different part of our year. We were given a journal with pages to guide us through the museum, and plenty of time to record our memories of the year.<br />That evening, my friend Jacob, who is studying at a Yeshiva for the summer, came over to visit. After dinner, we hung out at Beit Nativ for a while, and after davening Ma'ariv, we went downtown to Ben Yehuda along with Shosh and Alana. I go<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-381.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v98/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30313381_6470.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-381.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v98/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30313381_6470.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>t a shawarma, and we hung out for a while, at one point meting up with our friends Penina, Judith and Mike.<br />On Friday I woke up early like I used to in the fall, davened at Yeshurun, and around 8:30, headed out with Avram to volunteer at Hazon Yeshaya one last time. After peeling potatoes for a few hours, we moved on, and headed over to the shuk to pick up a few gifts. We went for lunch at a restaurant a few blocks away called Sima, where Avram and I both had steak in a pita.. delicious!<br />After relaxing for a few hours, I got a phone cal and headed down to the Yeshiva for a great way to start our final shabbat together, studying Parashat Hashavua. I then had a very short amount of time to quickly get ready for Shabbat, but I did make it on time. we davened mincha, kabbalat shabbat, and Ma'ariv together, as a group, after which we sat down for our final shabbat dinner. The meal ended with a few traditional zemirot, a beautiful d'var torah reflecting on our year by Nehama, and Birkat Hamazon.<br />A little later, we held our final Nativ-a-Tish of the year. A tish is a hassidic celebration where all of the faithful sit, eat and drink with the Rebbe. At a Nativ-a-Tish, all of us sit around a table headed by one of our Madrichim and go around the room, each person choosing a song for all of us to sing. Besides for the wonderful singing, the tishes arre always accompanied by treats from the Marzipan bakery and plenty of (non-alcoholic) drink.<br />On shabbat morning, I walked down for the last time to daven at Yedidya. It was a wonderful davening, which included a bat mitzvah celebration, which meant that we got to hear a d'var torah, and separate mens and women's torah readings were held. I was honoureday b with the fourth aliyah, as the parsha, the longest in the torah, was expertly chanted by two teenagers. After the haftarah, we heard another d'var torah as we waited for the womento finish their leining. Musaf, one of the most beautiful I have ever heard, was led by my friend Avram's high holiday cantor, and was followed by a special kiddush. I made it back to Beit Nativ in time for a relaxed Shabbat lunch, although I wasn't too hungry after the kiddush. In between reading the copy of Ma'ariv I had bought the day before, I had a meeting with Yossi to discuss my thoughts on the year which had just flown by and my thoughts for the future. Before mincha we had a session as a kibbutz group about the decisions we will have to make next year rearding living Jewishly on campus. Although I will be at list next year and not all of the issues will apply, many of them will and we had a very serious and deep discussion about how to confront them. After the session, we all davened Mincha together, and I read two of the Aliyot. Although the food wasn't so tasty at seudah shlishit, the beautiful singing that we had at the end of the meal definitely made up for it. We ended shabbat with Ma'ariv and a beautiful carlebach havdalah led by my friend Shayna, whose image, with all of us circling the entire shul, will hopefully remain with me for a long time. Motzei Shabbat, I took up Josh on his offer to go with a bunch of our friends to Shawarma Hashamen, a stand about a 40 minute walk from the centre of town in San Simon, which he claims was the best shawarma ever. Although the meal was relatively expensive at <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-386.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30313386_2851.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-386.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30313386_2851.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>29 shekalim, it was definitely a very good shawarma, and I finished both minew and part of a friend's. This made for a very long walk back, between the full stomachs we all had and the uphill grade. When I got back around 11, I just about went straight to bed.<br />Sunday morning began with our last davening as a full group, after which we had a session with Yossi. It was a serious but meaningful one as we discussed how we would feel returning home after such a life-changing year in Israel, and how we will have changed when we return. We then had a break for a few hours and I walked to the old city with Nehama. I helped her pick out some gifts for her family and friends, we had lunch (falafel for her, shawarma for me), and I v<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-199.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30314199_2094.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-199.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30314199_2094.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>isited the kotel for the last time. It was getting late, so Nehama convinced me to take a cab with her and we made it back to Beit Nativ. Before the next session, a group of the Nativ Yeshiva students walked do<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-210.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30314210_4794.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-210.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30314210_4794.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>wn the Yeshiva, joined them for mincha, which was led by Sarah in honour of her birthday, and then made a presentation, thanking the Yeshiva and presenting a set of עין יעקב. We then had one of our final session as a a kibbutz group, which we spent making and then sharing different kinds of creative pieces to capture the year. While people used a variety of different mediums, I chose to write a short poem in Hebrew, since it's much easier to rhyme than in English. For our final program of the day, we all went down to the auditorium as Yossi gave us his 'final words of wisdom.' He spoke very beautifully and passionately about the need to be strong Jewishly whether we return to North America or make Aliyah eventually. Another important point he made was that the North American Jewish community is too focused on 'leadership,' and really has nobody to follow the leaders. He therefore said that h<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-227.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30314227_9046.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-227.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30314227_9046.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>e would be just as happy if many of us would become committed, observant laypeople and rise strong Jewish families. On our way out from this moving session, we received our yearbooks and various other pieces of Nativ clothing. I decided to take a relatively evening for my last night in Israel, and went to have my last meal at Burgers bar (for a while, at least) with Avram, before stopping at Supersol for last time.<br />Moday was spent mostly with goodbyes and saying להתראות (see you soon). I ended up waking up pretty early, and just in time to daven shacharit at the Conservative Yeshiva one last time. I was aked to lead p'sukei d'zimra, and Yakov Hadesh, a first year JTS cantorial student, led a beautful shacharit. Around 10 in the morning, our kibbutz group left beit nativ and walked together to the Jerusalem theatre, where we held our final banquet. It was a very bitersweet occasion, as Yossi, Mike and Yael, gave us final words, we presented gifts to them, and laughed and cried. I did make it back from the banquet just in time to join the Yeshiva for my(actual) final davening of Mincha there (for now...). In the late afternoon, we had our actual final session with all of Nativ. I had to fight to hold back tears as David Keren, Nahum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-310.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v98/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30316310_9782.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-310.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v98/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30316310_9782.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>, and Yossi spoke, the Kehilla 1 a capella group performed, and we viewed a slideshow of our year in review. After a dessert reception, it was time to load the truck with our bags, and head to the airport as we really had to say להתראות to Israel...<br />Thank you so much for following a long with my adventures over the past nine moths. I can't wait to announce when I return to Israel next.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-316.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30316316_9382.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-316.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30316316_9382.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-315.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30316315_4993.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-315.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30316315_4993.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-28338515353966832312007-05-20T11:32:00.000+03:002007-05-20T14:16:14.758+03:00A time to cry, and a time to laugh עֵת לִבְכּוֹת וְעֵת לִשְׂחוֹקA bittersweet final week on kibbutz… <p class="MsoNormal">It is so hard to think that tomorrow I will be leaving this beautiful place where I have lived, worked, and been a part of for the past three and a half months.<span style=""> </span>For now I’ll reflect just on the past week, which was pretty packed with different exciting events, as well as time to say goodbye to our work and the kibbutz.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This past Tuesday was Nativ’s annual Yom Sport, where the three different Nativ tracks got to have fun outside in the sun while having a maccabiah like competition.<span style=""> </span>The event took place in the city of <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-439.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304439_9813.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-439.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304439_9813.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><st1:city><st1:place>Yeruham</st1:place></st1:city>, located about 40 minutes south of Be’er Sheva, where one of the two other tracks of the program was living for the second part of the year (the other being in Be’er Sheva).<span style=""> </span>After tefillot, we too the 1.5 hour drive down, and arrived around 10.<span style=""> </span>After a short opening ceremonies in the city gym <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-413.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304413_6707.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-413.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304413_6707.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>(ironically, donated by the Jewish community of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>, along with many of the other buildings and parks in the city), we then split into different events where we competed by group.<span style=""> </span>Nicely for me, there were a few non-sports competitions which I was able to compete in.<span style=""> </span>First we had a jeopardy like trivia competition, which our group won in a landslide, followed by ‘human text twist,’ where we were each given a set of letters to hold up and see which group could make the most words out of.<span style=""> </span>After the second competition, it was already time for lunch, and we had a delicious barbecue with hot dogs and hamburgers.<span style=""> </span>After lunch, it was time to take the all Nativ group picture, which went off pretty well without too many hitches.<span style=""> </span>After lunch, we participated in two more competitions.<span style=""> </span>The first was a few different wate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-427.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304427_509.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-427.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304427_509.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>r games, including one where our Isreaeli staff members had their mouths filled with water and we had to try to make them laugh and spit out the water.<span style=""> </span>The final event of the day was an apache relay, where each of us did a different task in the crazy race. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-457.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304457_8997.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-457.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304457_8997.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>My job was to paint some fences green, along with two other people in our group, which was actually one of the jobs that the Yeruham group did as their community service for the city.<span style=""> </span>Although our group came in second place, the day was a great way to mark the end of our period down south, while also getting to see my friends lived and just have fun.<span style=""> </span>We made it back to kibbutz around 7 in evening, and after a dairy dinner that Mike our madrich bought, it was time to switch gears and prepare for the joyous holiday of <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">יום ירושלים</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, where we celebrate the reunification of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> in 1967, this year marking the 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary.<span style=""> </span>I joined the kibbutz in the Beit Knesset for a festive Maariv service, which included special psalms and prayers.<span style=""> </span>After tefuillot, I returned to my room and listened to a live recording of a concert called </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">לך ירושלים</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> which took place in Jerusalem’s Sacher Park, and featured a cast of top Israeli artists from a variety of styles, to sing about the city, and although I only got to hear it on the internet, it was a beautiful medley and tribute to the city.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The next morning, davening was at </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="6"><span style="" lang="EN-US">6 AM</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> as usual, but included the Shabat </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">פסוקי דזמרא</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, Hallel, and other additional prayers.<span style=""> </span>We then had our second to last day of work in the fields.<span style=""> </span>We drove out to the</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-952.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304952_1472.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-952.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30304952_1472.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">חווה</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (ranch) near </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Ashkelon</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">, which is also owned by the Moshav and spent the morning planting signs marking the rows of an almond orchard that will be planted soon.<span style=""> </span>The cool thing about doing it was that for a lot of the last month, the three girls who work in the fields with us, Sarah, Shoshana and Aviva, have been painting the signs, about six hundred in all, so it was very cool to be able to use the fruits of their labour.<span style=""> </span>About </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="12"><span style="" lang="EN-US">12:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, we returned to Massuot Yitzhak for lunch, and then back to kibbutz after showering and washing up, we boarded busses a little after </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="2"><span style="" lang="EN-US">2:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> to drive up to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and mark the holiday there.<span style=""> </span>After stopping by Beit Nativ for a little while, we walked towards downtown to join a huge parade organized in honour of the event, with thousand</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-045.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30305045_6944.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-045.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30305045_6944.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">s of people marching from כיכר ציון to the Kotel. Although being in the parade was an interesting experience, especially to see the streets filled with Israeli flags, it was not without many aspects which I strongly disliked, first and foremost the pushing and shoving throughout. I was also upset that men and women were seperated partway through the march. Finally , the route for part of the parade went through the </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-054.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30305054_2114.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-054.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30305054_2114.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">Damascus Gate and straight through the Moslem Quarter, and while I did not see an explicit problem with this, after talking with my friends, I realized that doing so can bring up some important moral and philosophical issues. The march ended at the Kotel, where I stopped for a few minutes, and then because I was short on time, walked</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-067.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30305067_3221.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-067.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30305067_3221.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"> to ben Yehuda with some friends and got a shawarma for dinner. We returned to kibbutz later that night, because the next day, on Thursday, would be our final day of work.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">For our final day of work, we spent the first part stacking and putting away sprinklers and other irrigation equpment, since at this point of the year most of the crops switch over to drip irrigation. After taking a break, I ended the day spraying weed-killer next to one of the carrot fields. After a sad final lunch, our boss, Hanan, sat us down an<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-418.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30305418_3259.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-418.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30305418_3259.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>d gave us an emotional final talk, as well as a t-shirt and sweatshirt from the Moshav. I spent most of the afternoon packing, and was able to make a good deal of progress by the end of the day. Shortly after I returned from work, I had a great plesant surprise and got a knock on the door, which turned out to be one of the Gabbaim from the Kibbutz, asking if I could read the whole Parasha that shabbat. Although I only had less than two days to prepare, I agreed to do so, and immediately got to work learning it.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">On Friday, after waking up for Shacharit as usual (since it was Rosh Chodesh, I got to read Torah, which went well), I went back to bed for a little while and relaxed for most of the morning. After lunch, I took a tiyul to Ashkelon with my friend Nehama, with the task of buying gits for our kibbutz families. In one of the malls there, we found a gift store, and I picked out a nice ברכת הבית for them. We got back to kibbutz around 3, and I spent most of the rest of the afternoon practising the Torah reading. After getting ready for Shabbat, our entire group came together outside our caravans on the grass with Mincha, Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv, which was truly a beautiful davening. I then had dinner in the Chadar Ochel with about half of our group, and later on that night had an oneg in honour of Shoshana's birthday.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">The next morning, we davened with the kibbutz, and I had the honour of reading the entire Parashat Bamidbar. Although I did mess up a bit towards the end, I was still overwhelmed when I finished at how many people came up to me to wish a Yasher Koach. As one of the kibbutz members remarked to me Sunday morning, it was definitely an experience that I should keep with me forever. After musaf, Abbie and I ate with the Slaters, our host family, for the last time, and we had a very nice meal, conversation and D'var Torah. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I spent the bulk of the afternoon outside on the grass, reading, having a conversation with my madricha Yael, and having a chevruta with Josh to study Akdamut. At 6 in the evening, we davened mincha, had parashat hashavua, and ate a nice seudah shlishit, with some beautiful singing afterwards. A little later, we ended Shabbat with Maariv and Havdalah.</p><p class="MsoNormal">שבוע טוב!<br /><span style="" lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-37115801178739653892007-05-14T22:33:00.000+03:002007-05-14T23:30:39.266+03:00ראיתי עיר עוטפת אור (I see a city wrapped in light)/ Learning for Life<span style="" lang="EN-US">(May 4-13/ Iyar 16-25)<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">After a busy week on Tiyul, it felt quite good to have a restful, quiet and productive (finishing <i>The Life of Pi)</i> Shabbat, despite having so few people here on kibbutz.<span style=""> </span>While we had a very empty table in the Chadar Ochel for meals, it was a nice Shabbat because I again took advantage of the kibbutz’s Shabbat afternoon shiur series in Hebrew, which I was able to understand pretty well.<span style=""> </span>After Shabbat ended, </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-903.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30297903_1318.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-903.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30297903_1318.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">the joyous holiday of Lag Ba’Omer, celebrating the end of the </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-906.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30297906_2228.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-906.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30297906_2228.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">plague which struck Rabbi Akiva’s students at this time of year 2000 years ago and the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.<span style=""> </span>Over the next day , we engaged in many of the traditional activities of the day such as making a bonfire Motzei Shabbat and observing the bonfires set up in almost every backyard in the neighborhood of Gush Katif refugees adjacent to the kibbutz.<span style=""> </span>The next day after work, I went with a few friends in one of the kibbutz tractors to collect wood in one of the orchards, and in the evening we had a barbecue and another bonfire</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-926.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30297926_8054.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-926.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30297926_8054.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">. </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-917.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30297917_5361.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-917.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30297917_5361.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">My friend Josh Goldberg even came back from Mount Meron, the home of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s grave and celebrations which attract close to a quarter of a million people, with a special Lag B’omer haircut!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>Monday was our final Yom Nativ, during which we had study sessions about Lag Baomer and Yom Yerushalayim.<span style=""> That night, four of us made the short trip in to Ashkelon along with our madrich Mike, to have an affordable by delicious dinner at a skewer restaraunt he had been to there</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-136.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303136_8433.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-136.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303136_8433.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="">. </span>On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we were back at work as usual, though to our luck, we were met by a scorching heat wave.<span style=""> </span>On Wednesday, we made a decision to begin work half an hour early at </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="7"><span style="" lang="EN-US">7 AM</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and were able to finish at 12, in time to come back to kibbutz and eat lunch in the Chadar Ochel.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Thursday after work, we had just a few short hours to shower and relax before boarding a bus that would take us to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> for the MASA Gala event (MASA, which means journey in Hebrew, is an initiative of the Jewish Agency to bring together Jewish young adults on long term </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> programs). Since MASA was providing the bus for us, we made a couple stops along the way, providing for a very interesting ride.<span style=""> </span>On our way out of Kibbutz, we stopped at the Ein Tsurim Yeshiva to pick up about eight boys from overseas studying there.<span style=""> </span>After that we stopped to pick up box dinners, and after a few kinks, ended up taking the scenic route to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, stopping to kibbutz </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">נתיב הלה</span> south of Beit Shemesh to pick up twenty more people and driving through Gush Etzion and the <st1:street><st1:address>Tunnel Road</st1:address></st1:street> to end up at the southern entrance to <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>To describe about the MASA event, I will first insert a review of it that I was asked to write for MASA, and then I will add a few a few additional thoughts:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-152.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303152_1780.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-152.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303152_1780.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><span style=""> </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">יחד לב אל לב נפתח בתקוה לאהבה</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><br /><i>Together, heart to heart, we will open up in hope and love<br /></i>This phrase, taken from the popular song by Gaya, perfectly reflects the amazing feeling one experienced while attending the MASA Gala event this past Thusday evening. Not only was it an amazing feeling of <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">אחדות</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span>, togetherness, to come together with over five thousand Jewish young adults on long term Israel programs, but this feeling was intensified by the <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">אהבה</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span>, the love that was expressed for the city of Jerusalem on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its reunification, for our captured soldiers, and the entire country of Israel. The even began with a carnival in the <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">חוצות היוצר</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> area just outside the old city, which featured Israeli crafts for sale, performances, food, and an opportunity to mingle with friends, new and old, from the many different MASA programs. As the sun began to set, the gathering moved to the Sultan's pool amphitheatre for a multimedia extravaganza celebrating MASA's third year and the City of <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>. Beginning a song and dance performance celebrating Jerusalem, the program continued with greetings fro the two MASA participants who MC'd the event, from Canada and Brazil, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Mayor Uri Lupolianski, Jewish Agency Chair Ze'ev Bielski and MASA supporters around the world. Following a special presentation in solidarity with captured soldiers Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, the real party started with performances from popular Israeli bands including a special MASA band, and a spectacular fireworks performance! The 5767 MASA Gala was a spectacular event that helped cap off another year of success for MASA and its participants, as well as showing our love and support foe <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city> and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The article pretty much sums up the evening, although I of course had to give it a slightly more positive review that my own personal opinion.<span style=""> </span>Overall, I though the program part of the event was pretty good, especially the videos which featured friends of mine from my program and the video montage of MASA supporters included Rabbi Jerome Epstein, the head of United <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-161.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303161_4602.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-161.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303161_4602.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Synagogue and Rabbi Robert Golub, head of Mercaz USA, proudly representing the Conservative Movement.<span style=""> </span>It was also cool that my friend Abi and I along with many other Nativers ended up sitting in section of the amphitheatre only about 20 feet behind the Prime <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-168.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303168_8899.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-168.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303168_8899.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>minister, who did get quite a few boos during his speech since most Israeli's belive that he must tep down. There was also much security, including having to put our bags through x-ray machines, because of the high profile attendees. Although I thought the bands at the end weren’t so great, shortly after I started leaving, I turned around and got to watch an amazing fireworks display.<span style=""> </span>As a final thought, while I was sitting through the ceremony, It was such an amazing feeling to look in front of me and see the Tower of David and old city walls lit up, and realize that just over forty years ago, the Sultans Pool ampitheatre was located in No Man’s land!<span style=""> </span>This feeling that I experienced was the inspiration for the first part of this blog’s title, ‘a city wrapped in light’, which comes from a beautiful song about <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city> by the artist Yehoram Gaon.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">After I left the event, I walked back with some friends to Beit Nativ, picked up my bags, and walked a block down <st1:street><st1:address>Keren Hayesod street</st1:address></st1:street> to spend the night with my friends Britt and George from the conservative Yeshiva.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">On Friday morning, I woke up and walked over to the Yeshiva for the Shacharit service.<span style=""> </span>After davening, I went across the street to Supersol with my friend Hillel, and picked up a bite to eat for breakfast and a large Friday edition of the <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">מעריב</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> newspaper.<span style=""> </span>Pretty soon afterwards, it was time to board the bus for the Conservative Yeshiva’s closing Shabbaton, which I was privileged to attend along with three other nativers, most of the full year Yeshiva students, and many of my favourite teachers, including Rabbi Joel Roth who came in to visit from JTS in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>We left </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and drove west and then north along the new Toll Road 6 and route 65, eventually making our way to the</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-179.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303179_9524.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-179.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303179_9524.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"> summit of Har Arbel, located above the Kinneret just north of Tiberias. <span style=""> </span>We had a picnic lunch on top of the mountain, and then hiked down the mountain.<span style=""> </span>This hike was a big accomplishment for me because we were supposed to do it two years ago on Pilgrimage, before it got cancelled at the last minute, and I had always been told that it was a relatively difficult hike.<span style=""> </span>Mod tog the path turned out to be relatively easy, except for one section where we had to use ropes and metal rungs to scale down a cliff.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-146.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303146_4265.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-146.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30303146_4265.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"> I was very excited when I successfully completed this section, especially because I still have a decent fear of heights.<span style=""> </span>After we all completed the rest of the hike, we made the short drive to Alon </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.datinet.co.il/1/alon_tavor/kesher.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.datinet.co.il/1/alon_tavor/kesher.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">a field school at the foot of Har Tavor where we spent Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>After I led the group in Mincha, we got our rooms, I being with Mendy and Hillel, and had some free time to prepare for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>About an hour before Shabbat began, we all gathered and had a great session devoted ‘taking the Yeshiva home,’ where we had discussions, both together and in smaller groups, about how to continue the great learning and religious experiences we had after we all leave Israel soon.<span style=""> </span>Soon it was time to bring in Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>We davened Kabbalat Shabbat outdoors, in a beautiful setting overlooking the mountain and fields of oak trees.<span style=""> </span>We went inside for a D’var Torah and Ma’ariv, followed by a pretty nice Shabbat dinner.<span style=""> </span>After zemirot and birkat hamazon, we had a short shiur taught by Rabbi Goldfarb, and then another quality Yeshiva Tish, with food drink, singing and Divrei Torah.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">In the morning, I woke up and had a light snack, after which we were off to tefillot.<span style=""> </span>The davening was all pretty nice, and the Torah service was petty neat, since the reading was done out of a Sephardic scroll.<span style=""> </span>The Haftarah and Musaf were lead by cantorial students who, did beautiful jobs.<span style=""> </span>After the end of Musaf, we had a Kiddush and then a session with Rabbi Joel Roth, which was entitled ‘Why I am a Conservative Jew,’ as he spoke about how he sees the three pillars of our approach to Judaism, the Academic, theological, and Halachic aspects, and how he is able to synthesize critical study with fidelity to Halacha.<span style=""> </span>After the session, we sat down to a nice Shabbat lunch, which was followed again by some nice zemirot.<span style=""> </span>I then had time for a much needed Shabbat nap, and after reading a bit, I slept straight through to the beginning of Mincha. After davening, our Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shmuel Lewis, led a session with sources related to the Yeshiva’s motto, ‘Learning for Life’. We then had a treat, and were given a nature walk, where were able to see all of the many types of animal and plant life just within the area of the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="" lang="EN-US">Field</span></st1:placetype><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="" lang="EN-US">School</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>We then had a pretty satisfying Seudah Shlishit, followed by a really great closing session led by Rabbi Diamond. <span style=""> </span>Before we knew it, Shabbat had ended and it was time for Ma’ariv, which was led in a special festive nusach composed by Cantor Jacob Mendelssohn , and which you can hear a recording of (from a different occasion) <a href="http://www.yakv.net/nextcantor/2007/03/04/audio-weekday-maariv-in-harmony/">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">After Havdalah, we packed our backs and boarded the bus back to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>After a long drive and a rest stop, we arrived back shortly before </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="0"><span style="" lang="EN-US">midnight</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>I spent the night the home of my chevruta Miron and his wife Naomi.<span style=""> </span>I woke up Sunday morning and walked over to the Yeshiva, where I was honoured to lead P’sukei and Participate in the davening, which I had missed so much.<span style=""> </span>I made one of the best decisions to take Sunday as a day off and spend it at the Yeshiva.<span style=""> </span>In the morning, I went to Talmud class just like old times, and I was so happy that I was able to jump back in, despite not having been there for so long.<span style=""> </span>For lunch, I went downtown and had a Shawarma at Moshiko, and made a trip to Meah Shearim to buy a new pair of Tzitzit.<span style=""> </span>I ran back and returned to the Yeshiva just in time for Mincha.<span style=""> </span>After a break, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Chevruta portion of a class taught by my Talmud teacher, Dr. Josh Kulp, in Midrash Halacha.<span style=""> </span>Around </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="17"><span style="" lang="EN-US">5 PM</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, I walked across the street to the Sheraton and spent some time with the Club L’chaim group from my shul, who were in the middle of their biannual trip to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>I spent some time catching up, and then had a nice dinner together at the Primavera Italian dairy restaurant at the hotel.<span style=""> </span>Although I would have loved to stay a while longer, I had to run and make my way over to the<span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"><span dir="rtl"></span><span dir="rtl"></span> </span></span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">תחנה</span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE"> מרכזית</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> to catch the lat bus back to Kibbutz at </span><st1:time minute="15" hour="8"><span style="" lang="EN-US">8:15</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Monday, I had a nice day at work to begin our last week on kibbutz.<span style=""> </span>After showering and relaxing for the afternoon, we had a bonfire in the evening with some friends, some on kibbutz and others who had come from Be’er Sheva and further.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-76333873918807435352007-05-04T17:15:00.000+03:002007-05-04T18:47:38.801+03:00A great Shabbat in ירושלים with Rabbi Bauman, and an exciting and enjoyable North Tiyul!<span style="" lang="EN-US">Since I have been away on a nice ‘vacation’ from kibbutz and my computer for just about a week, so much has happened that I can’t wait to share!<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">After taking a day off last Wednesday to recover from a cold/ sore throat I caught over Yom Haatzmaut, and a day at work painting and doing irrigation work, I was just about ready to head off on my week of fun in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and all over the northern part of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">I first got packed for Shabbat and took an extra bag filled with along that Rabbi Bauman graciously agreed to take back to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Toronto</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> with him.<span style=""> </span>I left for Jerusalem Friday Morning, and lucked out when I got to the bus stop outside Kibbutz and a few minutes later, after two <i>sheruyot</i> going to Tel Aviv drove by, I was extremely lucky to have one stop going to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> which was nearly empty.<span style=""> </span>In case you’re not familiar, a sherut (literally meaning ‘service’) is a shared taxi, usually seating ten people that runs between cities and sometimes within them, for a slightly cheaper, quicker and more comfortable ride than the corresponding bus.<span style=""> </span>I arrived in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> at the central bus station and in the end decided to take a bus, despite it being a pain in the neck as a result of it being packed and me having a huge suitcase, in order to meet Rabbi Bauman downtown at King George and Yafo.<span style=""> </span>I found him right away, and we immediately went to Meah Shearim to make some small book purchases, which I always enjoy doing, especially with a friend.<span style=""> </span>After we finished up there, we walked back Downtown and had a delicious lunch of Hummus basar (with meat) at Pinati, where I hadn’t been for months.<span style=""> </span>One could tell that it is truly spring, with the sight of Pinati’s screened in porch totally dismantled and outdoor tables set up in its place.<span style=""> </span>After lunch, we walked down King George and Keren Hayesod streets, and ended </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wikimapia.org/p/00/00/02/82/58_big.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.wikimapia.org/p/00/00/02/82/58_big.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">up at Rabbi Bauman’s hotel room at the Inbal.<span style=""> </span>We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and hanging out, and later on, we showered and got ready for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>Friday night, we took a leisurely walk down the street, past the President’s residence (former home of Moshe Katzav) and museum of Islamic art to Yakar.<span style=""> </span>Although I’ve davened at Yakar a few times before, this was the first time going to the downstairs minyan, which attracts a slightly older crowd (people in their thirties and up) and has a bit slower tempo than the upstairs service.<span style=""> </span>Although many times I enjoy a joyous, fast-paced service on erev Shabbat, its also nice to have a change sometimes and it was nice to try something different.<span style=""> </span>We walked back to the hotel and went to the dining room, to have a delicious and enjoyable Shabbat dinner. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Shabbat morning we woke up and walked over to daven at the Ashkenazi shul in Yemin Moshe, where I would go every once in a while during first semester. <span style=""> </span>Tefillot were pretty nice, and started at </span><st1:time minute="15" hour="8"><span style="" lang="EN-US">8:15</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and were finished by </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="10"><span style="" lang="EN-US">10:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>The shul was packed with an Aish Hatorah group from </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Washington</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and a Schechter group from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Cleveland</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, so although they had quite a delicious Kiddush as usual, it was pretty hard to get in and get food.<span style=""> </span>We got back to the hotel around eleven and soon found out that lunch didn’t begin until one, which gave us plenty of time to take a Shabbat nap before eating.<span style=""> </span>Lunch was a buffet, and just as delicious as the night before, with plenty of meat for my taste.<span style=""> </span>After benching, we went back to the room and relaxed for a few hours.<span style=""> </span>Around 6 in the evening, we figured we’d go somewhere and daven mincha, and the first place to try is the large Beit Knesset on </span><st1:street><st1:address><span style="" lang="EN-US">Chovevei Tzion Street</span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>We were about forty five minutes early, but it was no loss, as we both took advantage of the library of </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">ספרים</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (Jewish books) at our fingertips.<span style=""> </span>The mincha service was a nice surprise, as the leader used the perfect nusach for the entire service, and the Torah reading was also superb.<span style=""> </span>One other amazing thing about the shul was a plaque I noticed the front, that all of the furnishings within, including the beautiful wooden benches and shtenders, ark and chandeliers came from a synagogue that closed down near </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">Parma</span></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, </span><st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">Italy</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and were donated the state of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>I felt very privileged to be able to daven in this shul with such an amazing history.<span style=""> </span>When we got back to the hotel, it was starting to get dark, so Rabbi Bauman and I sat in the lobby and chatted until Shabbat ended, which brings me to one of the most amazing stories of the Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>As it came time to daven Maariv, we looked for the hotel synagogue, which we had trouble finding, and soon gave up and just decided to daven on our own on the hotel’s lower level.<span style=""> </span>However, just we were about to start, a young man in a suit ran over to us and informed us that his family was trying to have a minyan, and were one person short.<span style=""> </span>We ran up to his family’s room, a suite on the seventh floor, and on the way learned that his family was Sephardic and originally from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Panama</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>We got to the room and after the family thanked us, the family patriarch moved to the front of the room and began to lead the entire sefardic Maariv service from memory, without needing a siddur or any help, which was quite impressive to see and experience.<span style=""> </span>After Maariv, we went out onto the balcony and conducted the </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">קידוש לבנה</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (sanctification of the new moon), which was beautiful to do overlooking the city of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">We then went back inside for Havdalah, which the patriarch again conducted from memory.<span style=""> </span>The sefardic havdalah has a few differences from the traditional Ashkenazi one I am used to. The major ones are that the service is done seated and usually around a table, and seondly, that the text of their introductory paragraph is totally different.<span style=""> </span>Although I also find the Ashkenazi liturgy to be meaningful, what struck me about the sefardi version is the theme of their prayer, asking God’s blessings of success as we move from the comfort of Shabbat into the unknown of the week to come.<span style=""> </span>Part of it reads: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" dir="rtl" style="text-align: right; direction: rtl; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span lang="HE">הַצְלִיחֵנוּ. הַצְלִיחַ דְּרָכֵינוּ. הַצְלִיחַ לִמּוּדֵינוּ</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span>.<br /></span><span lang="HE">וּשְׁלַח בְּרָכָה רְוָחָה וְהַצְלָחָה בְּכָל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span>.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Grant us success, in our journeys and our learning, and send plentiful blessing and success in the work of our hands…<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">May we all merit having this blessing come true as Shabbat ends and we move into the coming week of creative work.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">After these beautiful tefillot, I unfortunately had to rush and pack my stuff up, so I could catch a bus to the tachana mercazit and then another one back to kibbutz.<i> </i>As a nice surprise, I ran into my staff Mike and friend Sarah, and we chatted on the hour bus ride home and walk back to kibbutz. <span style=""> </span>When I got back I quickly unpacked, and then repacked for our <span style="" lang="EN-US">weeklong </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">טיול צפון</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (</span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Northern Tiyul</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">) which would begin the next morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="" lang="EN-US">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">We pulled out of Kibbutz around </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="8"><span style="" lang="EN-US">8:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> on Sunday morning, after eating and davening, headed in the direction of the Arozolov train station in Tel Aviv, where we stopped to pick up the rest of our group who had spent Shbbat elsewhere.<span style=""> </span>When I went in to the building to use the washroom, I noticed a sign that newspapers were on sale for just 2 </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">₪</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (about 65 cents Canadian), and bought a copy of Maariv.<span style=""> </span>It sure kept me busy on the bus, as it contained information leaked to the press about the Winograd commission report, which as you’ve probably heard, criticizes the government for its handling of the war in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Lebanon</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> during the summer and personally criticizes the chief of staff, defence minister and prime minister.<span style=""> </span>These political stories continued to unfold throughout the week, thus we continued to discuss them throughout tiyul.<span style=""> </span>We left Tel Aviv and </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-487.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295487_5262.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-487.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295487_5262.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">drove about an hour north to the town of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Zichron Yaakov</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, which reminded me of many quaint villiages I had visited in </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">North America</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">, except for the fact that it was founded in 1882 by Baron de Rothschild and had a distinctly Hebrew/Jewish flavour.<span style=""> </span>We had a little free time to walk around the beautiful town, and were given a lunch of salatim and schnitzel at a restaurant.<span style=""> </span>After lunch, we got back on the bus and drove a little over an hour towards the northern border and hiked Nachal Betzet, a beautiful and shady hike in a valley just south of </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-512.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295512_4533.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-512.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295512_4533.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">the Lebanese border not too far from Rosh Hanikra.<span style=""> </span>This hike brought back great memories, since I also did it almost two years ago on Pilgrimage, and I made out pretty well, hiking pretty close to the front and keeping up with Yossi.<span style=""> </span>After the three hour hike ended, we davened Mincha and got back on the buses to head to Achziv, a cottage colony located right on the Mediterranean shore between Rosh Haniqra and Nahariya.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-534.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295534_6716.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-534.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295534_6716.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">After putting my stuff in our cabin, I went over with a friend across the street to walk on the beach and watch the sunset over the sea, which was pretty cool and beautiful.<span style=""> </span>We had dinner, which was – schnitzel again! and I called it an early night pretty soon after I davened Maariv.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The next morning, we davened Shacharit and had breakfast, and soon we were back on the bus and driving toward kibbutz Yifat, where we visited a living history museum depicting the period of the early kibbutzim and moshavim in Northern Israel.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-557.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295557_5410.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-557.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295557_5410.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">We had a pretty interesting tour, which ended with a lunch which was supposed to recreate the food that the early pioneers ate.<span style=""> </span>The food wasn’t too tasty, but it seemed pretty authentic. After lunch, we got back on the bus and drove north to the area of Meron.<span style=""> </span>I fell asleep, and when I woke up we were in a traffic jam.<span style=""> </span>The reason, as I soon found out was that we were getting close to Meron, home of the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi), and the police had already started to prepare for a crowd of a </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-562.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295562_6685.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-562.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295562_6685.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">quarter of a million expected in anticipation of Lag Baomer.<span style=""> </span>After a while of driving around and not really getting too far, we finally got off the bus and walked the rest of the way up to the tomb.<span style=""> </span>We spent a few minutes at the gravesite discussing its significance, and then began our hike for the day, another mostly shady one through Nachal Meron and Nachal Amud.<span style=""> </span>The hike was a little harder than the previous day’s especially the steep ascent we had at the end, but thanks to my friends I made it out with a lot of effort and just a few scratches.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-577.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295577_622.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-577.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295577_622.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">The hike ended just below the city of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">S’fat</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, which I could tell (besides for the modern buildings) by the fact that </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-574.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295574_9830.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-574.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295574_9830.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">there was a makeshift mikvah, with clothing hooks and all, built under a highway overpass we walked by.<span style=""> </span>We davened Mincha as a group as the sun was beginning to set over mount meron, and drove to our accommodations for the next three nights at the Ha’on holiday village, another vacation colony on the southeastern shore of the </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-580.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295580_118.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-580.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295580_118.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">kinneret.<span style=""> </span>We arrived close to eight, and had a pretty good fleichig dinner at the hotel.<span style=""> </span>We then got our room keys, had an optional Maariv, and again got to sleep pretty early.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-583.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295583_9459.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-583.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295583_9459.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-587.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295587_2074.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-587.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30295587_2074.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Tuesday after davening and breakfast we split into two groups, myself choosing the easier hike, and we boarded the bus for the drive to Metulla, a beautiful town which sits right on the border with Lebanon.<span style=""> </span>Before starting our hike, we drove to Mitzpe Dado, and overlook point where we could see both </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Lebanon</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> for miles. (Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries at this point, so I’ll try to gather some other images to complement the text)<span style=""> </span>We then began our hike through Nachal Ayun, which runs between the eastern edge of Metulla and the Lebanese border.<span style=""> </span>It was a relatively short and easy hike, but included three beautiful waterfalls along its course.<span style=""> </span>After the hike we drove over to the city of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Katzrin</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, known as the capital of the Golan, for lunch at an Asian restaurant called Chi Thai located at a mall there.<span style=""> </span>After lunch, we had one of the most exciting parts of the day, a tour of the Golan Heights Winery, which is located in an industrial park just behind the mall.<span style=""> </span>The tour began with a flashy video, and then continued with a view of the oak aging casks, and then the cool bottling and packing machines.<span style=""> </span>The tour ended with a formal wine tasting, where we got to try a semi-dry white wine, a dry merlot, and a swell </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Muscat</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> dessert wine.<span style=""> </span>It was pretty exciting to be at an age when we are old enough and mature enough to this as a group. <span style=""> </span>After we finished at the winery, we got back on the bus and drove to a site on the </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jordan river</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US"> just a few kilometres north of the Kinneret to go kayaking.<span style=""> </span>Although I don’t have the best coordination, I went in a 2 person kayak with my friend Ilana and we ended up doing pretty well and actually finished second out of all the kayaks and rafts.<span style=""> </span>We waited for a while for everyone to finish, and then we went back to Haon for a few minutes to unpack from the day.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://lido-galilee.com/decks/images/outnew.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://lido-galilee.com/decks/images/outnew.jpeg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">That night, we had a free evening in Teverya, and I went with a group of friends to a nice meat restaurant called Decks on a pier on the kinneret for dinner, where I ordered a lamb rib in honour of Pesach Sheni.<span style=""> </span>After dinner, three friends and I took advantage of being in the holy city (one of four in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">, the others being </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, S’fat and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Hebron</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">), and went to visit the grave of the </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">רמב''ם</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.maimonidesheritage.org/images/tomb1.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.maimonidesheritage.org/images/tomb1.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">(Maimonides), which was just a few blocks from the shore.<span style=""> </span>The tomb was actually a really beautiful complex, even in the dark, starting with the fourteen pillars on the walkway leading up to the actual grave, commemorating the fourteen sections of his magnum opus, the Mishne Torah – Code of Jewish Law.<span style=""> </span>We davened Maariv there, and then spent a few minutes walking around the gravesite, and visting the other graves marked there, including the Rambam’s father Maimon, and a number of Talmudic sages supposedly buried there, including Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai.<span style=""> </span>It was soon time to leave and meet the rest of the group, but we were in for quite a surprise when we got to the meeting place and saw a Nachman-mobile, a van driven by breslov chassdim who blast their music and invite onlookers to join in and dance.<span style=""> </span>We decided that there was no reason not to join them, and for fifteen minutes most of group was dancing the night away.<span style=""> </span>It was pretty crazy and intense.<span style=""> </span>By the time we got on the bus and drove around the kinneret to go back to our hotel, it was already past eleven, and definitely time to call it a night.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">The next morning there were again two hike options, and because the harder one included rapelling, jumping and swimming, it definitely made sense for me to do the easier one, which was still pretty challenging.<span style=""> </span>We davened shacharit, had breakfast, and then headed off to Nachal Zavitan, the upper part of which would be our hike for the day.<span style=""> </span>This hike was especially challenging for me because at least fifty percent of it wasn’t on a path at all, but rather on rocks, many of them unstable, but I’m glad to say I made through the hike pretty well.<span style=""> </span>Towards the end, we stopped to eat lunch at the site of a pretty beautiful and impressive waterfall.<span style=""> </span>After we finished hike, around </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="1"><span style="" lang="EN-US">1:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, we drove down to the kinneret and spent a few hours at the Luna Gal water park, which I had actually visited with my family on my first trip to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> nearly six years ago.<span style=""> </span>Although I’m not a big water slide person, I still had a good time going in the pool and relaxing in the sun. <span style=""> </span>Around </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="4"><span style="" lang="EN-US">4:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, we went back to Ha’on and had a little while nap and relax until dinner.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gol.co.il/zimmer/pro_images/167-1.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.gol.co.il/zimmer/pro_images/167-1.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>After dinner, which was pretty good meat again, we had another evening out, this time at Hammat Gader, an Ancient sulfur hot springs known since the Romans, and which is now a fashionable Israeli Spa.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">Thursday morning began as usual with Shacharit, and it was a nice surprise to find out that the hotel actually had a sefer Torah.<span style=""> </span>It was pretty neat that it was a sefardi Torah, which is stored in a wooden case instead of a cover.<span style=""> </span>Since I knew the Torah reading, I got to read Torah and it was pretty neat.<span style=""> </span>We then had breakfast, packed, and loaded the buses.<span style=""> </span>Before we left, I made sure to buy a newspaper in Hebrew again, and that day turned out to be a pretty big news day again, as the backlash against the government continued, with a huge rally planned in Kikar Rabin in Tel Aviv (which ended up attracting close to 200,000), and the accusing of Azmi Bashara, a former arab member of Knesset, of treason against the state.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.pcchong.com/1Samual/Gilboa_from_east.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.pcchong.com/1Samual/Gilboa_from_east.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">We left Haon, and drove through the </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jordan River</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US"> valley and Beit Shean to the </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Summit</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> of the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US">Gilboa</span></st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="" lang="EN-US">Mountains</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>Around </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="12"><span style="" lang="EN-US">noon</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, we arrived and began descending the mountain on what began as a path but soon turned into just series of rocks to climb down onto.<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately, this doesn’t come so easily to me, but my friend Shayna helped me out each step of the way, both physically and morally.<span style=""> </span>After successfully completing the hike, we got our reward as we drove to the </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/%7Ebazlov/israel/largepic/060sahne_wf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/%7Ebazlov/israel/largepic/060sahne_wf.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">Sachne natural springs just five minutes away from the base of the mountain.<span style=""> </span>We arrived and were treated to a hot Chinese lunch, after which we had time to swim in the refreshing waters of the pools.<span style=""> </span>After saying goodbye to everyone, I boarded a bus that took me and a few others back to kibbutz.<span style=""> </span>I even made it back for mincha, after which we had a deli dinner.<span style=""> </span>I had a relaxing day for Friday, and am looking forward to another nice Shabbat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">שבת שלום!</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-26578935246731532722007-04-25T16:24:00.000+03:002007-04-25T16:52:12.210+03:00From darkness to light, and from mourning to festivity מאפלה לאורה, ומאבל ליום טוב<span style="" lang="EN-US">I chose to title this post such because it describes, to some extent, the intense</span> experience of observing <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">יום הזיכרון</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (Memorial day for Israel’s fallen) and then transitioning into the joy of </span><span lang="HE"><span dir="rtl">יום </span></span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">העצמאות</span><span lang="HE"> </span> (Israel’s Independence Day)<span style="" lang="EN-US">, and is also a quote from the ‘Kiddush for Yom Haatzmaut’, compiled by the Religious Kibbutz movement (of which Ein Tsurim is a member) and chanted on erev yom Haatzmaut by Kobi Ableman at Yedidya.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">As I often do, I’ll take a few steps backwards a return to where my last blog entry left off.<span style=""> </span>This past Friday, I woke up early for Shacharit, went back to sleep, and then ate breakfast around </span><st1:time minute="45" hour="8"><span style="" lang="EN-US">8:45</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>I relaxed for most of the morning, and then because I’m not the biggest fan of the dairy pasta lunch on kibbutz, I took a trip to into Kiryat Malachi with my roommate Matt and had a delicious Shawarma lunch at ‘Shawarma shel Shuki’, my first since Pesach.<span style=""> </span>I went back to Kibbutz and relaxed again for a little while, called home, and got ready for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>I davened in the Kibbutz Beit Knesset, which was a very quick and unelaborated service, but still included Yedid Nefesh and the traditional nusach.<span style=""> </span>I ate dinner in the kibbutz dining room, with a number of people from our group, as well as my friends Cynthia and Daniel who are in B’er Sheva, and Shira who is studying at a seminary in Ramat Beit Shemesh.<span style=""> </span>After dinner we had an Oneg with Marzipan Rugelach that our madrich Mike had brought back from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Shabbat morning, I went to tefilllot as usual, and then had lunch with my host family.<span style=""> </span>We had some beautiful weather in the afternoon and I spent part of the time reading outside on the grass.<span style=""> </span>This week I decided to go to the late Mincha service at </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="5"><span style="" lang="EN-US">5:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, because following tefillot there was a shiur taught by one of the kibbutz members about saying Hallel on Yom Haatzmaut.<span style=""> </span>It was very interesting, especially the fact that I could tell that<span style=""> </span>I was on a Kibbutz, because of the fact that the members had no problem chiming in with a comment or objection no matter what the teacher was in the middle of.<span style=""> </span>By the time the shiur was over, it was time for seudah shlishit, and later, Maariv and Havdalah.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Sunday was supposed to be a regular work day, but four of us were given some random jobs to do around Massuot instead of the usual pipe laying.<span style=""> </span>Shosh and Aviva were assigned to spray paint signs, and Tani and I were given the task of marking every six metres on a line of steel rope by fastening a bolt, all for the tree-planting division of the Moshav.<span style=""> </span>To make our job a little harder, the 100 metre long rope was pretty tangled, and two hours later we hadn’t made it too far. We took a mid-morning tea break, and afterwards we checked out Shosh and Aviva’s spray-painting.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-350.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281350_1604.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-350.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281350_1604.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">I even tried my hand at it, and it was a lot of fun!<span style=""> </span>We spent the rest of the morning, especially after </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-364.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281364_5266.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-364.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281364_5266.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">Shosh and Aviva </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-366.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281366_501.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-366.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281366_501.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">finished their task, with a combination of trying to work on the rope, taking pictures, and visiting the small horse stables which Aviva had discovered on the Moshav.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">We returned to Kibbutz, and chilled for the afternoon, culminating with dinner and Mincha.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-933.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281933_7759.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-933.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281933_7759.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">Around </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="7"><span style="" lang="EN-US">7:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, the mood began to change as the country prepared for the beginning of Yom Hazikaron, the Memorial Day for Israeli soldiers who died for the state, as well as the recent addition of victims of terror to those we mourn.<span style=""> </span>Shortly before </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="8"><span style="" lang="EN-US">8:00</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> we joined the entire kibbutz for their Yom Hazikaron service, which began with a 1 minute siren heard throughout the country.<span style=""> </span>The ceremony included prayers, songs, poetry, the lighting of a torch, two personal stories, and one of the most moving parts, a slide show on a large screen showing pictures of all 153 soldiers killed this past summer.<span style=""> </span>It was a very moving </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">טקס</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and our presence was an important sign of us becoming a part of the kibbutz community, as we joined with them on this sad occasion.<span style=""> </span>After the kibbutz ceremony, which was about 45 minutes long, we came together as a group for our own commemoration, which included watching a movie about Alex Singer, an American who joined </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">צהל </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">and was killed in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Lebanon</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> in 1987.<span style=""> </span>Alex also had a personal connection, as he had become part of the community and had planned to make his home on Kibbutz Ein Tsurim. <span style=""> </span>We concluded with a discussion and Maariv.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-940.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281940_9624.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-940.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30281940_9624.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">Just as with Yom Hashoah, all of the entertainment channels on TV went off the air for 24 hours. However, </span>the Knesset Channel is unique in that the entire day it screens a list of names of those who died for the state, from before 1948 to today</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The next morning we davened Shacharit as a group, and shortly before 9 we departed for </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US">Har</span></st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US">Herzl</span></st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US">Military</span></st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="" lang="EN-US">Cemetery</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">, where the nation would focus at </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="11"><span style="" lang="EN-US">11:00</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> as a siren is sounded throughout the country.<span style=""> </span>We managed to get to Jerusalem in about 45 minutes, driving by way of Ein Kerem, but when we got off of the bus and started walking towards the cemetery, it was packed with people, most of them family or friends who had somebody to visit at the cemetery, though there were also a few groups such as ours who had come to pay their respects.<span style=""> </span>I walked around for a little bit and spent a while in </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">חלקה ד</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, the newest section of the cemetery which contains the graves of those killed this past summer in Lebanon, including</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-062.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283062_8654.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-062.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283062_8654.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"> Michael Levin z”l, a</span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE"><span style=""> </span>בוגר נת</span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">יב </span>(Nativ Alumnus).<span style=""> </span>Although I was not able to get close enough to watch the official state ceremony, it was broadcast via loudspeaker throughout the cemetery, and you can listen to my recording of it <a href="http://gabriel.seed.googlepages.com/CIMG1940.WAV">here</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">After the ceremony ended, we took a bus back to Beit Nativ and had a surprisingly tasty fleichig lunch, followed by a video and short program related to the day.<span style=""> </span>We were finished around <st1:time minute="30" hour="3">3:30</st1:time>, and spent a little time downtown with some friends, picking up a special siddur for Yom haatzmaut from one of the bookstores.<span style=""> </span>Later on, I took a bus down to Talpiot, where I stayed with the Moshe family again. After catching up with Janet and having a light dinner, I walked down the street to Yedidya for a service marking the transition from Yom Hazikaron to Yom Haatzmaut. We began with Mincha, which was followed by a short memorial service.<span style=""> </span>To mark the transition from sadness to the joy of independence, we joined in a collection of songs of peace and hope, including <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">אלי אלי, עושה שלום, לו יהי, שיר הרעות</span> and <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">לו יהי</span>.<span style=""> </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">We then began the Yom Haatzmaut service with psalms of thanksgiving and the recitation of Shehecheyanu.<span style=""> </span>We then heard a beautiful drasha by Rabbi Michael Melchior, the head of the Meimad political faction, the religious wing of the Labour party.<span style=""> </span>We then had a festive Maariv service including full hallel, which was followed by a nice Kiddush.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-070.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283070_8039.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-070.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283070_8039.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">Because I was pretty tired and also relatively far away from downtown, I went back to Janet’s and called it an early night, though at one point I walked out to the Tayelet and took a look at the beautiful view of Jerusalem at night.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">In the morning, I returned to Yedidya for a festive holdiday Shacharit, which included Hallel, and a special Torah reading and Haftarah.<span style=""> </span>Later in the morning, Nahum picked me up and we drove downtown to Beit Nativ, where I took part in the Yom Ha’atzmaut tradition of watching the finals of </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">חידון התנ''ך</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, the International Bible Contest on TV.<span style=""> </span>It was really neat to watch, for a number of reasons.<span style=""> </span>First of all , as someone who loves Tanach and was in chidon for two years, it was an event that was made for me.<span style=""> </span>It was also especia</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-137.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283137_5564.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-137.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283137_5564.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">lly neat to see Joshua Satok, who many of</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-132.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283132_4325.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-132.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283132_4325.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"> you in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Toronto</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> know, a graduate of Associated <span style=""> </span>and a student at CHAT, compete in this prestigious competition.<span style=""> </span>Although he didn’t win, he can in very close (about 6<sup>th</sup> place), competeig against many Israelis, and deserves a huge Yasher Koach.<span style=""> </span>Another neat thing was that two of the people sitting in the honorary dais were those I had heard speak this year, Ze’ev Bielski, the chairman of the Jewish Agency, who spoke to us during leadership week, and President Yitzhak Navon, who I had the privilege to hear at the Israel Bonds Rabbinic Conference back in January with Abba.<span style=""> </span>One last neat thing about the Chidon was all of the different ‘celebrities’ who asked questions in the first televised round.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-130.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283130_3841.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-130.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283130_3841.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">These included a 92 year old window-washer who has been washing </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">’s windows since 1947, the daughter of former Mayor Teddy Kollek z”l, and the wife of captured soldier Ehud Goldwasser.<span style=""> </span>As per tradition, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert read the final question.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-140.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283140_5752.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-140.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283140_5752.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-149.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283149_2779.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-149.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30283149_2779.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">The culmination of my Yom Haatzmaut experience was the annual Nativ Barbecue to end all barbecues, with tons of good meat, and more importantly time to hang out with the rest of Nativ.<span style=""> </span>As barbecuing (</span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">מנגל</span><span style="" lang="HE"> </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">– Mangal in Hebrew) is the semi-official way to mark Yom Haatzmaut in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">, the entire park of </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">גן העצמאות</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> was filled with different barbecues. <span style=""> </span>We returned to Kibbutz in the early evening, and after davening mincha and maariv, our staff ordered us a pizza dinner!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">חג עצמאות שמח</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="HE"><span dir="ltr"></span> </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">– Happy 59, Israel!<o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-54469355544353750802007-04-19T22:57:00.000+03:002007-04-20T09:35:46.915+03:00A solid Shabbat and meaningful Yom HashoahThis past Shabbat was closed, meaning that our entire group spent it together on kibbutz.<span style=""> </span>Although beforehand I wasn’t so sure how much fun this past shabbat would be, in the end it turned out to be one of the nicer closed shabbatot. After a long Friday just for relaxing., we gathered together to bring in Shabbat as a group around <st1:time minute="30" hour="6">6:30</st1:time>.<span style=""> </span>We davened Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat, and had a discussion about <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">פרשת השבוע</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (the weekly Parsha) before continuing with Maariv.<span style=""> </span>As a funny aside, a Chassidic group (with Streimels and all) was staying in the kibbutz guest house last Shabbat and it was a little funny (and a bit disruptive as well) when they kept poking their heads in and were astounded to see us davening together with a girl leading Kabbalat Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>Well, only in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>We then had a nice Shabbat dinner in the kibbutz Chadar Ochel.<span style=""> </span>After dinner we had a really great Tish, one of the first in a long time, which was led by our fearless assistant director, Nahum Binder, and included some good desserts, and more importantly, spirited singing.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Shabbat morning, we also davened as a group, which was pretty nice to be able to pull off, and I read an Aliyah and recited birkat hachodesh.<span style=""> </span>Musaf ended with a bang as Josh, Shosh and Phil led Anim Zemirot to the traditional ECRUSY nigun.<span style=""> </span>Lunch was a pretty quiet affair, as Abbie and I ate at our kibbutz family’s home with one of their sons.<span style=""> </span>We finished around </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="12"><span style="" lang="EN-US">12:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and I had a good five hours to relax and read a bit.<span style=""> </span>Over the past few months, I’ve been reading many of the various Parashat Hashavua fliers that are distributed in Israeli shuls (such as on Kibbutz), and this Shabbat I got through all of them, which gave me some Hebrew practice as well as some food for thought.<span style=""> </span>The day ended with Mincha, a discussion about issues facing Iisrael led by Nahum, Seudah Shlishit in the Chadar Ochel with zemirot, and finally, Maariv and Havdalah.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Sunday began as a normal working day, and we did some random irrigation work in the fields near </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Ashkelon</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (Today’s crop: corn!).<span style=""> </span>When we got back from work we only had a little time to unwind, because that night began </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">יום השואה והגבורה</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, Holocaust remeberance day, and the next 24 hours would be filled with interesting and meaningful activites appropriate to the day.<span style=""> </span>We had an early dinner and at </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="18"><span style="" lang="EN-US">6 PM</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, headed off on a bus to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jaffa</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and the Gesher theatre.<span style=""> </span>You might be asking why we’d go to see a play on such a sad day like this, but the reason will become clear as I explain.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-836.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30277836_352.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-836.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30277836_352.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">The first thing to note is that as we arrived, we realized that this was yet another <a href="http://www.masaisrael.org/">MASA</a> event, and the famous poster featuring yours truly was prominently displayed in front of the entrance!<span style=""> </span>The evening began with a discussion with the director of the theatre and two of the actors, a short intermission, and then an introduction by an Israeli author.<span style=""> </span>The play itself was called ‘Momik’, and was a based on a book by author David Grossman.<span style=""> </span>It told the story of Momik, a child of Holocaust survivors growing up in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> in the 1950’s whose grandfather comes to live with him.<span style=""> </span>He spends much of his time trying to fight the ‘Nazi Beast’, and so the play is an interesting way to see how the younger generation, and especially children, struggled with the legacy left to them by their survivor parents.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">One of the most important and amazing elements of Yom Hashoah in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (which be repeated again next week for </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">יום הזכרון לחללי צה''ל</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, IDF Memorial Day) is the element of national mourning.<span style=""> </span>The first thing I noticed while we were in Jaffa for the play and on the way home was that all places of entertainment (excluding our theatre), and even restaurants were closed for twenty-four hours, since they were not in keeping with the mood of the day.<span style=""> </span>When I got home, I followed our staff’s advice and turned on </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-842.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30277842_2503.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-842.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30277842_2503.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">the TV and radio briefly.<span style=""> </span>All of the Israeli channels were either showing<span style=""> </span>Yom Hashoah specific programming, or were totally off the air from 8 PM Erev Yom Hashoah until the same time the following day.<span style=""> </span>Galgalatz, the Israeli music station that I often listen to on the radio, was playing a mix of slow, sad music as opposed to their usual repertoire of current Israeli and American hits.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Programming the next day began with Shacharit, which Josh and I led most of without a melody, as per the custom I had learned when I was back at Schechter in Philadephia.<span style=""> </span>I also got to read torah, and recited the special El Maleh Rachamim in memory of Holocaust victims.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">We then moved into one of the Moadonim for the day’s programming, which was planned by some of the Nativers and turned out quite well.<span style=""> </span>They began by reading different stories of righteous gentiles, some of whom I had heard of, and others that were new stories for me.<span style=""> </span>We then had some people tell their own families’ Holocaust stories, many of which were very sad and moving.<span style=""> </span>A little before 10 AM, we went outside and stood in respect as a siren wailed for two minutes, as it did throughout the entire country.<span style=""> </span>It was a very emotional moment as an entire country stopped what they were doing, no matter where they were (even in the middle of the highway) and remembered the tragedy of the Shoah.<span style=""><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;">To hear a live recordingt of the Yom Hashoah siren, click <a href="http://gabriel.seed.googlepages.com/CIMG1827.WAV">here</a>.</span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">We continued the programming by seeing a recent film based on the story a Jewish boy from </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Cracow</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> who hid with a Polish peasant family during the Shoah.<span style=""> </span>While I though the movie was okay, the next part of our day was probably the most moving, when Esther, a member of Kibbutz who is a Hebrew teacher told her own story of survival, from being born in Lithuania at beginning of the war, and ending it as a six year old child the only one from her family to survive, and miraculously making it to Israel.<span style=""> </span>It was also nice to hear Esther’s story in Hebrew, which she spoke at an easy level and slow pace so almost everyone could understand.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-777.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30278777_8650.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-777.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30278777_8650.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">After a pretty delicious lunch of tongue and schnitzel, we had a short wrap up for the day, and had the rest of the afternoon to relax. We again had an early dinner, and around 6 left for the short 20 minute ride to Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, located south of </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Ashkelon</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">, for one of the official closing ceremonies for Yom Hashoah.<span style=""> </span>The ceremony began with many speeches, including one by </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">Defence Minister Amir Peretz, and a girl just a few years younger than me, who repres</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">ented the Hashomer Haztair youth movement who helped organize the ceremony. </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">Because Hashomer Hatzir is a very secular youth m</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-784.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30278784_8982.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-784.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30278784_8982.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">ovement, the ceremony was very different than others I had been to in the past for Yom Hashoah, in that poetry was read in lieu of Kaddish or Yizkor. As well, the tone of the many musical selections, including one that sounded like an eigh</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-798.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30278798_4807.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-798.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30278798_4807.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">ties rock song, was radically different than the somber ones like Ani Maamin or Eli Eli (both of which have religious connotations) that I am used to hearing in connection to Yom Hashoah. <span style=""> </span>The ceremony ended with the emotion singing of Hatikvah, which gave me the most amazing feeling of the privilege we have to be living, after the devestation of the Shoah in a sovereign Jewish state.<span style=""> </span>Overall, although the ceremony was totally different than how I am used to marking the day, it was definitely a very enlightening and worthwhile experience.</span></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">To hear a recording of this Hatikvah, click <a href="http://gabriel.seed.googlepages.com/CIMG1861.WAV">here</a>.<br /><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were relatively normal workdays, with a few small exceptions.<span style=""> </span>Our boss, Hanan, realized that my friend David knows how to drive stick shift, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, he got to drive the pipes (and us) around the field in a tractor, which made our work much more efficient.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos.pe.facebook.com/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30280182_4220.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos.pe.facebook.com/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30280182_4220.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30280184_3834.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30280184_3834.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Tuesday afternoon, our staff organized an outing and barbecue for us at Nitzanim beach, located on the coast between </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Ashkelon</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Ashdod</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>It turned out to be a nice way for us to bond and get off of kibbutz for a little while, as well as have a tasty meat dinner compared to the dairy stuff we usually get. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Finally, Wednesday and Thursday were Rosh Hodesh Iyyar, and as usual the Kibbutz Beit Knesset didn’t disappoint us in its ability to finish the entire Shacharit service, including Hallel and Mussaf, in 45 minutes! Hodesh Tov!<o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-34534512768785037152007-04-12T22:46:00.000+03:002007-04-13T07:17:40.408+03:00בחזרה לשגרה-Back to the routine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-376.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30273376_6872.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-376.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30273376_6872.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>As I had done once before, I’m writing this entry on the egged bus from <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city> back to Kibbutz, after a great chag in <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city> and <st1:city><st1:place>Haifa</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>I’ll begin right where I left off on Friday morning.<span style=""> </span>I woke up around <st1:time minute="30" hour="6">6:30</st1:time> and davened at the Yeshurun Central Syngogoue, where I went for Shacharit every Friday during first semester, and a few times for their Cantorial Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>Rabbi Rosen had told me an interesting fact, which I confirmed when I went to daven, is that the shul, which is today slightly to the right of modern Orthodox, was actually founded, and that plot of land on which it stands was donated, in 1926, by the United Synagogue of America, today known as the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. <span style=""> </span>It’s very interesting to see what turns history makes, especially in the Jewish world.<span style=""> </span>On the other hand, I hope it can help reinforce the lesson of <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, that all of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> is responsible for one another.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">After I got back from tefillot I had a light breakfast, went down the street to help Rabbi Rosen with his Shabbat shopping, and then said goodbye to him.<span style=""> </span>Shortly before </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="12"><span style="" lang="EN-US">noon</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, I walked north to the Goldberg family’s apartment, who have become close to cousins for me, and who I spent the next few days with.<span style=""> </span>I had a lunch of salami on matza, and soon after we got ready to walk over to the </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">תחנה מרכזית</span> (central station) to leave for what would be an amazing Shabbat in Haifa, a beautiful city that I had previously only been in for less that and hour on pilgrimage a year and a half ago.<span style=""> </span>Luckily, there was an extremely short line for security, and we arrived at the gate for the last departure of the 940 express to <st1:city><st1:place>Haifa</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones, and Josh and I ended up sitting in the stair well, which although mildly uncomfortable, got the job done and even allowed me to get in a nice half-hour nap.<span style=""> </span>About two hours later we arrived at the sparkling new <span style=""> </span>Haifa Hof Hacarmel central bus station, which was inaugurated to replace the antiquated downtown one recently, and quickly walked to the other side of the station to catch a city bus to Neve Shaanan, the neighbourhood where Josh’s Aunt Shirley lives.<span style=""> </span>We had about a 25 minute bus ride through the beautiful residential areas of <st1:city><st1:place>Haifa</st1:place></st1:city>, and then got of and walked the few blocks to Aunt Shirley’s apartment.<span style=""> </span>We arrived, I met Aunt Shirley, and settle in and relaxed a bit.<span style=""> </span>A little later, Josh’s cousin Yoni from <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region> and his friend Josh from <st1:country-region><st1:place>Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> arrived to also join us for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>Pretty soon it was time to shower and get ready for Shabbat, and around <st1:time hour="6" minute="30">6:30</st1:time>, which was candle lighting time, we all left go to tefillot, which were at the shul complex, which consists of two large, multi-storied buildings, with a total of about 7 minyanim running simultaneously.<span style=""> </span>We davened<span style=""> </span>at Aunt Shirley’s regular minyan, on the first floor building, which was pretty nice and goes at a good pace.<span style=""> </span>We returned home for a delicious and leisurely Shabbat dinner.<span style=""> </span>Aunt Shirley has the same idea about the essential character of meat for Shabbat and Yom Tov as the Goldbergs and I, and Josh even joked around and told Aunt Shirley that I was a vegetarian.<span style=""> </span>We relaxed for a little while after dinner, and I got to bed around <st1:time hour="0" minute="0">midnight</st1:time> so I could wake up in time for tefillot the next morning.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I woke up around <st1:time minute="30" hour="7">7:30</st1:time> shabbat morning, had a cup of tea, and made it to shul by the time it began at 8.<span style=""> </span>As per the beautiful <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> minhag, following hallel and Anim Zemirot, the entire book of <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">שיר השירים</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (Song of Songs).<span style=""> </span>Josh and I were honoured with opening the ark and carrying the Sifrei Torah, and the entire service was over by </span><st1:time hour="10" minute="30"><span style="" lang="EN-US">10:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>We went back to Aunt Shirley’s and entertained ourselves with her book, ‘The Top 100 Jews’, as we laughed while evaluating this interesting list, and discussing why people should or shouldn’t have made it.<span style=""> </span>Around 11, we had Kiddush, along with a plethora of dairy delights, including gefilte fish, herring, and all sorts of other Kiddush food.<span style=""> </span>After this, I ended up taking a nap.<span style=""> </span>Around 2, we had a nice fleichig lunch, and we spent a lot of the rest of the afternoon playing fun word games like speed scrabble and anagrams.<span style=""> </span>Before we knew it, it was time for mincha, and we ended up in the large beit Knesset in the shul complex-it was a pretty standard service, except for the fact that it was </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-374.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30273374_6375.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-374.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30273374_6375.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">full to more than its capacity, and we were packed in there like cattle.<span style=""> </span>We had a bite to eat for seudah shlishit, and soon it was time to daven Maariv and make Havdalah.<span style=""> </span>We left pretty quickly after Shabbat ended, and the seven of ended up catching a Sherut to the central station with three Israelis, which filled it up.<span style=""> </span>We had a little time to kill until the bus left for </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and Lani Goldberg treated us to Kosher for Pesach Burger Ranch, which was pretty good. The bus left </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Haifa</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> at </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="9"><span style="" lang="EN-US">9:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, arrived back in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> at </span><st1:time minute="15" hour="11"><span style="" lang="EN-US">11:15</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and got back to the Goldbergs’ apartment by </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="0"><span style="" lang="EN-US">midnight</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Sunday we also began the day by davening at Yeshurun, after which we had a breakfast of matzah and delicious homemade omelettes by Joel.<span style=""> </span>I spent a lot of the morning out and about doing some Yom Tov Shopping for the Goldbergs with Josh, and helping a bit with the cooking.<span style=""> </span>After lunch, I went with Josh and his Abba to their cousins’ house as they had a draft for their eighth annual hockey playoffs pool, where eleven different teams of their friends make different fantasy teams for the upcoming games.<span style=""> </span>By the time I finished watching the proceedings and resting a little bit, it was about </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="4"><span style="" lang="EN-US">4:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and I walked down the street to catch a bus to Talpiot, where I spent Yom Tov with my father’s close friend from his childhood in </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">New London</span></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, </span><st1:state><span style="" lang="EN-US">CT</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">, Kobi Ableman, his wife Nadia and four of their five children.<span style=""> </span>I arrived at their apartment and helped get ready for the chag, including making a salad and showering.<span style=""> </span>We davened at Yedidya, almost definitely my favourite shul in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and which Kobi helped found 25 years ago.<span style=""> </span>After Ma’ariv, we returned home and had a delicious yom Tov meal with some friends of theirs from the shul.<span style=""> </span>I was quite exhausted to the extent that I was almost falling asleep by the end of the meal, so I went to sleep around </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="10"><span style="" lang="EN-US">10:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">The next morning I again davened at Yedidya, for a service which was long by Israeli standards (but still under three hours), but very spiritually uplifting with a beautiful davening (including one of the best hallel’s I have had in a while), a special prayer available during Yizkor for those with two living parents, in deference to the shul’s custom that everyone remains in the service for Yizkor, and an otherwise great davening environment.<span style=""> </span>After Kiddush, during which I chatted with my friend Daniel Peaceman who was there with his family.<span style=""> </span>We returned to Kobi and Nadia’s for a delicious lunch, where most of the guests were Nadia’s aunts and uncles.<span style=""> </span>I must have been pretty tired, beause after Birkat Hamazon and reading the newspaper (in Hebrew , of course) I fell asleep for pretty much the whole rest of the afternoon, and I woke up just in time for Mincha.<span style=""> </span>After Mincha and before Ma’ariv, we followed the Hassidic custom of having a ‘</span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">סעודת משיח</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span>’, and we learned some sections in Massechet Sanhedrin about the Messiah while having our last Pesach meal.<span style=""> </span>We davened Maariv, and I went back to Kobi and Nadia’s for Havdalah and to pack up.<span style=""> </span>I then caught a bus to the </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">תחנה מרכזית</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span> (central station), and met up with four of my friends, with whom I was able to make the </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="9"><span style="" lang="EN-US">9:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> bus back to Kibbutz.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>On Tuesday, after returning to Kibbutz we found out the moshav (where I usually work) had assumed we weren’t working, and the six of us ended up doing different jobs on Kibbutz.<span style=""> </span>Along with my friends Tani and Shosh, I spent the day in the kibbutz laundry, mostly folding towels and sorting sheets.<span style=""> </span>It was a pretty relaxing and fun job in the end.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span>On Wednesday, we finally returned to the fields, and spent the morning moving irrigation pipes to prepare for another parsley harvest, since the crop had already reached its previous height and then some.<span style=""> </span>Beginning that afternoon and continuing into most of Thursday, we had an </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-813.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30275813_2143.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://photos-813.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30275813_2143.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">advocacy seminar, where we were given tons of background information, tips, and hands on practice.<span style=""> </span>Wednesday night and Thursday also marked the seventeenth yahrtzeit for my grandfather, Harold Ascher </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">ז''ל</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and I made sure to light a Yahrtzeit candle in his memory.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-818.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30275818_318.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-818.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v72/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30275818_318.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="">In the morning, I got to read torah, and it was pretty interesting because it was probably the smallest Kosher sefer Torah I had ever seen. Here you can see a picture of my friend Tani doing hagbah on it.</span></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Thursday ended with a sad sign that the year is starting to come to a close, taking our group picture, followed in the evening by another fun barbecue!</span><o:p></o:p></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-24688687387012734202007-04-05T21:35:00.000+03:002007-04-05T21:47:17.870+03:00לשנה הזאת בירושלים L’shana Hazot birushalayim<span dir="rtl" lang="HE">This year in Jerusalem!</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">What an amazing feeling it was, to end the Seder with the words ‘Lshana Habaah birushalayim habnuyah,’ ‘next year in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US"> rebuilt, at the Friedgut’s Seder in </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">East Talpiot</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and then on the way home, to walk by the Tayelet and see the rebuilt city shining in the moonlight.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">I’m now going to backtrack a little and talk about what I’ve been up too from Shabbat Hagadol, this past Shabbat up until now.<span style=""> </span>I decided to spend Shabbat on kibbutz, since I would be away all of Pesach.<span style=""> </span>Friday night tefillot were pretty nice; while the Shaliach Tsibbur didn’t sing Carlebach, he had a beautiful voice which made the standard Nusach all the more beautiful.<span style=""> </span>Dinner was held in the chadar ochel, and all of the food, with the exception of Pitot that we were given for motzi.<span style=""> </span>The food itself was pretty satisfying for institutional Pesach fare, but the service wasn’t as great because half the families on the kibbutz decided to take advantage of the food being serverd instead of cooking, and room was actual</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">ly filled with families from the kibbutz, a far cry from the three kibbutz couples who eat there on a regular Shabbat.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Shabbat morning I davened in the Kibbutz Beit knesset, where we had a beautiful d’var torah (in Hebrew) by the Kibbutz Rabbi, who also chanted the Haftarah in special sefardi trope.<span style=""> </span>I ate lunch with the Slaters, my adopted kibbutz family, who made a nice Hametz meal, and we also had some nice conversation as well. I then took a walk with them after Birkat Hamazon.<span style=""> </span>Our fiest stop was at a neighbour’s </span>plum tree, where we gathered to recite <span dir="rtl" lang="HE">ברכת האילנות</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, the special b’racha said over the first fruit tree that one sees blossoming during the month of Nissan.<span style=""> </span>We then took a stroll through the Kibbutz garden, with a variety of beautiful trees and flowers.<span style=""> </span>We then made it over to the beit knesset for mincha, after which I read and slept for most of the afternoon.<span style=""> </span>Shabbat ended with a chametz party-seudah shlishit in our Madricha Yael’s room, followed by a quick maariv with the kibbutz and a Nativ Havdalah.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Sunday was a Yom Nativ dedicated to Pesach which began with shacharit, and continued with session such as making chametz dioramas which depicted </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">יציאת מצרים</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, making up songs that described our various family seder traditions, and a game show put together by my friend Yosef to test our knowledge of the intrica</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">te halachot of chametz and matzah.<span style=""> </span>The rest of the day was spent cleaning our caravan for Pesach, rounded out with a deli dinner, Maariv, Bedikat Chametz, and of course packing for the week of Pesach.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Monday morning, being Erev Pesach, was also the fast of the firstborn.<span style=""> </span>While most years the fast is broken by a siyum (celebration making the completion of a tractate of Talmud), this year was unique in that instead was able to eat by being part of a celebration of the bris of the kibbutz rabbi’s new son.<span style=""> </span>Similar to what I’m sure my bris was like, the whole kibbutz was invited to the bris, which took place at the Yeshiva, and after a sefardi shacharit, the brit milah ceremony went by pretty quickly.<span style=""> </span>On interesting note is that at the end of the service, when the rabbi explained the significance of his new son’s name </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">יוחאי אשר</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">, he metioned that his is proud to name his son Asher after his father (who was the <i>sandak</i> at the bris), which is a totally foreign concept to me as an Ashkenazi.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-634.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v73/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30267634_8382.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-634.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v73/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30267634_8382.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">I quickly gathered my bags, and walked out the main highway outside of the kibbutz, where I waited for the #437 Egged bus to </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Jerusalem</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">.<span style=""> </span>Although I had heard horror stories about traveling in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US"> erev Pesach, it seems that early hour at which we left provided perfect traffic conditions, including less traffic at the entrance to the city than I had ever seen before.<span style=""> </span>One I got in I stopped near the bus station to say hello to the Haber family, and pick up a bag that they had left for me at their hotel. I then caught a city bus which took me to my next destination, the apartment which Avram’s family is living in on Derech Hevron for a month, in one of the sparkling new condominiums behind the Tayelet.<span style=""> </span>We spent most of the afternoon relaxing, spending time together, and taking advantage of the wireless internet.<span style=""> </span>Around </span><st1:time minute="30" hour="5"><span style="" lang="EN-US">5:30</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, we showered and got ready for Yom tov, and about an hour later, we left to walk over to Kehilat Moreshet Avraham, the Masorti Kehilla of </span><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">East Talpiot</span></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">. A beautiful and festive Maariv service, including a full Hallel as is the custom in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="" lang="EN-US">, was led by Nahum Binder, the assistant director of Nativ.<span style=""> </span>It was then time for the (only) Seder, and I was privileged to attend a very lovely one, along with Avram’s family, at the home of Jac and Diane Friedgut.<span style=""> </span>From what I am used to, it was a relatively large Seder with 22 people, most of them from the extended Friedgut family.<span style=""> </span>It was a lot of fun, especially because of all of the young children, as well as the ‘assignment’ that Jac had for us, to have each of us pick a character from the past (real or fictional; I actually chose Harry Potter), and speak in first person as if we were leaving Mitzrayim.<span style=""> </span>The Friedguts’ children and grandchildren who were present represent the spectrum from secular to orthodox, as well as both Ashkenazim and Sefardim, and this as well added to what I was able to get out of the Seder.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">On Yom Tov morning, we again davened at Moreshet Avraham.<span style=""> </span>Tefillot started late at </span><st1:time minute="45" hour="8"><span style="" lang="EN-US">8:45</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> knowing that people had been up late at the Seder, and was very nice as usual.<span style=""> </span>I received third aliyah, Rabbi David Golinkin, one of the most important leaders of the Masorti movement in Israel chanted the maftir (and as a very nice note, the Rabbi of the shul even called him up as </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">מורי ורבי</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span>, my rabbi and teacher), and we began praying for dew in musaf.<span style=""> </span>The service ended with a bang as the Shaliach Tsibbur led anim zemirot to the rocking ECRUSY melody.<span style=""> </span>We had a very nice and delicious lunch with a friend of Avram’s mother, and when we returned to the apartment, I took a much needed nap for a while.<span style=""> </span>After davening Maariv and begging to count the omer, as well as making Havdalah, I walked over to Emek Refaim and had dinner at </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">Norman</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="" lang="EN-US">’s restaurant (one of many open for the week of Pesach) with Dean Shuly Rubin Schwartz of </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US">List</span></st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="" lang="EN-US">College</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and a nice group of current sand future students, which made me very excited for next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Wednesday morning started off with me waking up pretty early (around </span><st1:time minute="0" hour="6"><span style="" lang="EN-US">6 am</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">) and went over to Yedidya for a festive Chol hamoed shacharit. I led p’sukei d’zimra, and compared to the kibbutz we took our time and had a much more festive Hallel.<span style=""> </span>I packed up, said goodbye to Avram’s family, and took a bus over to Rehavia, where I met my former teacher, Rabbi Barry Rosen, at his pesach apartment, where I stayed the past two nights.<span style=""> </span>After schmoozing for a bit, he went out for the morning, and in response to an ad I had seen in a newspaper that morning, I headed downtown to t</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269817_2622.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269817_2622.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-US">he plaza in front of the Hamashbir department store to donate blood to Magen David Adom.<span style=""> </span>After waiting for a few minutes, I filled out the form in Hebrew without a translation, and then went into the bloodmobile to give the donation. It was such a great feeling to take just a little bit of my time and make a difference.<span style=""> </span>I then strolled over to the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US">Old</span></st1:placename><span style="" lang="EN-US"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="" lang="EN-US">City</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="" lang="EN-US"> ad walked around for a bit before meeting Rabbi Rosen.<span style=""> </span>We stopped at a few bookstores, I got a ‘shwarma on a plate’ for a lunch, and ran into my friend Koby Geller and his family, who my parents, and even Rabbi Rosen knew.<span style=""> </span>What a small Jewish world!<span style=""> </span>We ended the excursion by davening Mincha at a more crowded than usual kotel, and taking a cab back to the apartment.<span style=""> </span>In the late afternoon I took a #14 bus over to the Renaissace hotel, and had dinner with Steve and Jeremy Haber.<span style=""> </span>We davened maariv first, and then had a very slow, but delicious meal (including a main course of Prime Rib), which gave us plenty of time to catch up and talk.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">Thursday morning I also woke up early and left the apartment at </span><st1:time minute="45" hour="6"><span style="" lang="EN-US">6:45</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US"> to walk down to the old city, so I could get a prime spot at the Kotel for the annual Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing), where hundreds of Kohanim come to blesses the thousands who fill the kotel plaza to be blessed.<span style=""> </span>The Shacharit service began at </span><st1:time minute="45" hour="8"><span style="" lang="EN-US">8:45</span></st1:time><span style="" lang="EN-US">, and used a microphone so everyone could hear the leader.<span style=""> </span>The tefillot, including Hallel, torah reading and musaf went until 11, and ended with the recitation of a special prayer for the return of captive soldiers.<span style=""> </span>Even though it was a very long service, it was a fascinating and worthwhile experience.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269834_7039.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269834_7039.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269842_9041.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269842_9041.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span style="font-style: italic;">to hear part of the <a href="http://gabriel.seed.googlepages.com/CIMG1771.WAV">Hallel</a> service and the actual <a href="http://gabriel.seed.googlepages.com/CIMG1774.WAV">Birkat Kohanim</a>, use these links!</span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-US">In the afternoon I spent some time studying from the </span><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">אנציקלופדיה תלמודית</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> (Talmudic Encyclopedia) with Rabbi Rosen.<span style=""> </span>For dinner I went down to Ben Yehuda and ate a Burger King, where I had a whopper, fries and a drink, on a special Pesach bun.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269978_6199.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269978_6199.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269979_6479.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-sf2p.pe.facebook.com/v76/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30269979_6479.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span dir="rtl" lang="HE">מועדים לשמחה</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-US"><span dir="ltr"></span> Moadim lsimcha!<o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-92012343924461552592007-03-30T06:46:00.000+03:002007-03-30T15:13:42.385+03:00A few honourable mentions...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-051.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v65/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264051_7534.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-051.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v65/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264051_7534.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Although the rest of this week, as far as work goes has been relatively similar to what I described from Sunday, working on the moshav's satellite farm near Ashkelon, and setting up the irrigation equipment for the paprika field, there are a few intresting things worth mentioning. One of our jobs the past few days (Wednesday and Thursday) has been specifically to connect the long 12 metre pipes together by snapping sprinkles in between them, which was not always such a easy task. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-056.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v65/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264056_8861.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-056.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v65/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264056_8861.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>However, the job was made more interesting when my friend Joey notices an enormous amount of pottery pieces sticking out of the dirt across thye field. Since the city of Ashkelon, which we were working near, was home to many civilizations, including the ancient Phillistines it's pretty exciting to consider the possibilities of where these items came from and who used them.<br />(by the way, if you want to see an aerial view of our Paprika field, click <a href="http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=31636977&x=34638090&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;z=16&l=0&m=a&v=2">here</a>.<br />Kibbutz Ein Tsurim can be found <a href="http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=31694744&amp;amp;amp;amp;x=34719286&z=16&l=0&m=a&v=2">here </a>!<br />Last night, after an exhausting day of work, the last before Pesach, I went into Kiryat Malachi with a group of friends and indulged in my favourite Shawarma Shel Shuki, probably my last before Pesach. Last night, at 3 AM, Israel moved into שעון קיץ (Summer Time), it's version of daylight savings time. (By the way, remember when North Amerca used to switch at the beginning of April?) Luckily, I was able to get myself to bed a little early and woke up on time for Shacharit, though it was pitch black for most of the time.<br />One last interesting item to mention is that over the past week and a half, to watch the kibbutz prepare for Pesach was like to watch a whole city get ready. This was especially true in terms of the Chadar Ochel, which turned over its entire Fleichig kitchen on Monday and served a dairy menu for the entire week. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-047.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v65/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264047_6482.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-047.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v65/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264047_6482.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>However, our group had a delicious barbecue and bonfion Monday night, so we didn't have to be deprived of meat for as long. Yesterday at lunchtime, the staff began to scrub down the entire eating area and meals from then until today are being held outside on the patio. Luckily, Shabbat meals will be held inside, so all of the food will be Kasher l'pesach, although they are working on an arrangement to serve Challa or Pita as well.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-390.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v67/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264390_4924.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-390.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v67/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264390_4924.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>As part of that intense Pesach cleaning, the Kibbutz's כל בו (supermarket) has finished all of their preperations, so this erev Shabbat the bread section has been moved outside.<br />Wow, I can only imagine how much work it is too prepare for Pesach!<br />Shabbat Shalom, v'Chag Kasher v'sameach<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-387.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v67/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264387_4071.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-387.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v67/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30264387_4071.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-11986876580525360212007-03-25T22:44:00.000+02:002007-03-25T22:53:39.531+02:00An Interesting Week of Work and Shabbat in Be'er Sheva<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday and Tuesday</span><br />When I woke up on Sunday morning, as I had noted briefly מוצאי שבת, the Kibbutz had turned into a swamp due to all of the heavy rain of the previous week. Consequently, when we got in ourSherut we found out that instead of doing field work as usual, we would be rather be working in the לול (chicken coop) for the day, as we did again on Tuesday. It was a pretty gross experience, and I'll spare some of the details, but after spending both mornings washing chicken toilets in acid and being soaked to the bone, I had definitely had enough of that work. It was definitely interesting, but you won't see me back there anytime soon.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday</span><br />As usual, we had Yom Nativ, where we started with tefillot (and I read Torah, followed by a discussion with Jules Gutin, the International director of USY, where we talked about our feelings about Nativ up to this point of the year. Following lunch, we continued with the second part of the day, which was a program about the Knesset put together by my friend Avram, where we were split up into different parties and acted out scenarios that could happen in the actual Knesset. Most people really got into their roles, and it ended up being a really great program.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tuesday afternoon/evening</span><br />While you already read about what I did during Tuesday at work, I had a pretty fun time after work. After relaxing for a few hours, I studied Talmud for a little bit in the late afternoon with my friend Josh, after which there was ashiur (study session) about the meaning of remembering the Exodus from Egypt, and showing proofs from the Torah that illustrate that when both God and AmYisrael remember, it is always accompanied by action, an appropriate message considering the issues that confront our world today. In addition theShiur was given in Hebrew, which is always good practice for me. After the shiur, we had a group barbecue/bonfire, which was a great opportunity to hang out and spend time together.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-066.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v65/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30257066_2936.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-066.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v65/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30257066_2936.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday</span>, I continued my week of working different jobs by spending the day helping set up for Pesach in the Kibbutz's grocery store, known as the Kol-Bo. I worked with the regular staff, overseen by the manager, Chaya, a 7th generation Yerushalmi with 8 children, as well as 5 South Africans and Australians who are studying at Yeshiva and spending two weeks working on Kibbutz. It was a nice change of pace for a day from working outside, and an interesting challenge to remove all of thechametz products (necessary, being a Jewish-owned store), and price and lay the Pesach ones.<br />After finishing work and picking up my laundry, I took some time off and went with my friend David to visit with his host family from the kibbutz,Yehuda Noiman. who was one of the founders of the Kibbutz in 1946 when it was in Gush Etzion , and was held in captivity for ten months by the Jordanians during the war of Independence in 1948. He has a museum with many fascinating artifacts in one of the Kibbutz's bomb shelters, and it was interesting to hear from him what it was like defending the Kibbutz almost sixty years ago, as he was truly a founder of the State of Israel.<br />On <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday</span>, I finally returned to working in the fields following a two week hiatus, and was very happy to be back at my old job, despite all of the exciting goings on in between. We fixed some irrigation piping in a Tomato field, and then loaded 75 rubber pipes ontoa truck to prepare for irrigating another field.<br />On <span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday</span>, I got ready for Shabbat and prepared to go with my roommate Yosef to head down to Be'er Sheva and visit friends on the other Nativ track who is volunteering band living in an absoption centre there. A little before noon, we walked out of Kibbutz and caught a ride to Kiryat Malachi. Once there, we stopped off at the רב שיווק Supermarket, which reminds me a bit of No Frills, and bought a bottle of wine forShabbat, after which we stopped at may favourite, Shawarma She Shuki and bought lunch.. After lunch, we walked down the street to צומת קסטינה (Kastina Junction), where one can catch a a bus to many different destinations. Instead of taking a usual Egged bus, we instead took a new discount bus line calledMetropoline, which cost 40% less, and after leaving at 1:15, we arrived at the Be'er Sheva Central Bus Station an hour later. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/thumb/f/f9/YASKI01.JPG/250px-YASKI01.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/thumb/f/f9/YASKI01.JPG/250px-YASKI01.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>We then hopped a city bus and arrived at the Mercaz Klita, where my friend Hillel met us and took us to his apartment, where I saw my friends Daniel Peaceman and Daniel Goldschmidt. We had a good while to relax, and I watched an episode of West Wing, showered and helped set the table for dinner. We davened friday night at the Kipa Shul, where a man with a beautiful voice led a tradtional Carlebach Kabbalat shabbat. We returned home and eight of us sat down for a leisurely shabbat Dinner. After Dinner we ralxed for a while, and then I got a nice night of sleep. On Shabbat morning we woke up and davened at the Rambam synagogue, a regular Orthodox shul that started at 8:30 and was finished by 10:20. I received Hagbah and there was a nice D'var torah after the haftarah.<br />Since it was so early, we went back to Hillel's and relaxed until 12:30, when ten of us gethered for another extremely pleasant shabbat meal. I spent the afternoon relaxing and napping, running the short walk to the shul for mincha around 5:15. As Shabbat ended,we davened ma'ariv, and threw together an impromptu havdalah. Before heading home, four of us ordered Pizza for dinner and we eventually made it back to Kibbutz around 10:15.<br />Today, we were again back to working in the fields, and during work we actually took a 'field trip', driving to a satellite field of the Moshav, an hour away by tractor, and prepared it for the planting of paprika. For the rest of the morning, we worked in a field that was being sown with tomato plants.<br />שבוע טוב!Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-23522648321500072282007-03-18T22:40:00.000+02:002007-03-18T22:47:35.230+02:00Leadership Seminar and שבת in ירושלים!After another relaxing and enjoyable shabbat on Kibbutz Ein Tzurim, with my friends Mendy and Phil visiting, Motzei Shabbat it was time to (order pizza delivery! and) get start packing for our week-long leadership seminar which took place in various locations around the country.<span style=""> </span>It was a very action packed week, and I’m so excited to share it with everyone.<span style=""> </span> <p class="MsoNormal">On Sunday morning, I woke up early as usual, davened, ate breakfast, and took care of some last minute odds and ends.<span style=""> </span>Although the bus was supposed to pick us up at 9 AM sharp, it was quite delayed and didn’t arrive until about 10:15.<span style=""> </span>After a rest stop (for our friends who had already been traveling for a while from Beer Sheva and Yerucham) and a broken down bus, we finally arrived at Beit Nati in Yerushalayim around noon.<span style=""> </span>We had a little while to catch our breath, put our things away and eat lunch. Our first lecture was by Neil Lazarus, a british Oleh who works in Israel advocacy, and who had spoken to us on Pilgrimage as well.<span style=""> </span>His talk, which was supposed to focus on Public Speaking, was a little more humorous than informative, but I still picked up a few good tips.<span style=""> </span>Our other lecture for the day was about ‘thinking outside of the box’, and was given by a cousin of our director.<span style=""> </span>It was pretty interesting, in that it showed us how hard it really is in most circumstances to not go with the first idea that comes to mind.<span style=""> </span>Dinner was provided, but was dairy and looked pretty unappetizing, so I went with a friend and got my favourite 300g burger.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next morning began with Shacharit, which I got to lead, and following breakfast we continued with our sessions for the day.<span style=""> </span>Our first one focused on leadership and program planning, and was okay, but next one, led by David Keren, the director of USY programs in Israel and former director of Nativ, was amazing.<span style=""> </span>David focused on an innovative method for teaching Jewish text, and after studying a midrash in chevruta, we spent the rest of the session just asking questions.<span style=""> </span>It was pretty amazing how many we came up with.<span style=""> </span>We then had lunch and a short break, and soon we were back for afternoon sessions.<span style=""> </span>The first focused on games that teach about Israel that can be used children, and the second, led by our staff Jesse and Yael, and they spoke about the tension between identifying as North Americans or Jews, and the tension between the two.<span style=""> </span>They then discussed with us about the importance of considering Aliyah as a choice for the future.<span style=""> </span>Luckily, we ended the session early, shortly before 5, and I quickly ran over to the Conservative Yeshiva, where I made in time for the Shuir segment of one of my favourite classes, advanced midrash with Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein.<span style=""> </span>It felt so nice to be back at Yeshiva, and although the class had gotten a little smaller, it was still just as nice of an experience as I remembered.<span style=""> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-233.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30251233_8979.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-233.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30251233_8979.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>After Maariv at Yeshiva, I went with 5 friends to the Red Heifer (as in the special maftir the other week!) steakhouse to celebrate my friend Phil’s 19<sup>th</sup> birthday. I decided to save a little money and not go for a steak, but instead got a delicious sandwich of brisket, pastrami, and chopped liver, along with mashed potatos and a complimentary glass of wine.<span style=""> </span>It was a really nice evening and a great opportunity to spend time with friends casually. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">On Tuesday morning, because there was a worry about having a minyan for someone saying kaddish, I davened Shacharit at the Conservative Yeshiva, which was nice to be there just like old times.<span style=""> </span>There was a light breakfast after tefillot, and soon it was time to pack up and say goodbye to Beit Nativ and Jerusalem for a few days.<span style=""> </span>Our first stop was at the Kibbutz Maale Hachamisha hotel, where we had the day’s sessions.<span style=""> </span>In the morning we discussed the lessons of the four sons of the Haggadah with Nahum, our assistant director, and the next session I had was with Yossi and focused on bringing back Israel to camp this summer.<span style=""> </span>By then it was time for lunch, and we were treated to one of the delicious Maale Hachamisha buffets that I remember so well from pilgrimage.<span style=""> </span>After davening mincha as a group, we had a break and then a session about being a dugma (personal example) with Jules Gutin, the director of USY. In the late afternoon, we boarded busses and traveled to kibbutz Hannaton, which is located in the Galil just northwest of Nazareth.<span style=""> </span>It had been pouring all afternoon, which would set the weather pattern for the rest of the week.<span style=""> </span>It made things a little interesting, but didn’t take away too much from the fun, and was good for the land as well.<span style=""> </span>We had a good fleichig dinner, and I hung out and relaxed<span style=""> </span>for the rest of the night.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wednesday morning, we woke up, davened, ate breakfast and soon got on to road to Dani-Hi in Cesarea, a site which is used by the army for training and shooting practice, but also offered tem-building activities for groups such as ours.<span style=""> </span>The 81 or so of us were split into four groups, and for the morning we engaged in different activities which focused on team-building, trust, and cooperation, including passing each other through a web of ropes without touching them, or helping each other up a smooth wall with no grips. Shortly before noon the skies opened up and it started pouring, so we eventually made our way to a gymnasium to wait out the storm.<span style=""> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-256.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30251256_862.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-256.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30251256_862.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>After <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-263.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30251263_6879.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-263.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30251263_6879.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>about an hour we had lunch and in the afternoon we did rock climbing, drumming/martial arts, and finally paintball. It was my first time playing, and was a very fun and exciting experience.<span style=""> </span>The day went by pretty quickly, and around 5:30 we left to return to Hannaton.<span style=""> </span>We davened maariv, had an indoor barbecue dinner, and I relaxed for the rest of the night.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-271.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30251271_7043.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-271.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30251271_7043.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On Thursday we checked out of Hannaton in the morning and drove south towards Herzliya, where we spent the day at the Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC), a well-regard Israeli private university. In the morning we heard from the dean of Admissions, some students, among them three bogrei native, and heard the head of the overseas school speak about the middle east situation.<span style=""> </span>Following a catered lunch, we were given a tour of the campus, and ended leadership week off with an intense lecture by Jules Gutin about the future direction of the Conservative Movement.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Luckily for me, Nativ decided to provide a bus to Jerusalem for the many of us, including myself who wanted to spend our Shabbat there, so by a little after <span style=""> </span>5 PM I was dropped off directly in front of the Fuchsberg centre.<span style=""> </span>However, when I stepped off the bus I noticed that it was actually hailing outside, so I went in and sat in the lobby for a while until the storm calmed down a bit.<span style=""> </span>While the rain had let up a bit, there was still some thunder and lightning, so I decided to play it safe and hop the #14 bus down towards Emek Refaim.<span style=""> </span>I didn’t have too much trouble making it the few blocks to the apartment of my Chevruta Miron and his wife Naomi.<span style=""> </span>I dried off, had something to eat and caught up a bit. <span style=""> </span>But before I knew it, 8 o’clock rolled around and it was time for a small chametz finishing party combined with a showing of the Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston.<span style=""> </span>It was pretty funny, especially for my first time seeing it, and pretty long, keeping us occupied until after midnight.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I slept in of Friday until a little past seven, woke up and got ready, and made it to the Great Synagogue on time for the 8:00 Shacharit.<span style=""> </span>After davening I went to Meah Shearim and did one of my favourite activities, book shopping at Manny’s, and after buying 3 New haggadot, picked up some flowers for Shabbat on a street corner and some bourekas to munch on at Mister Zol.<span style=""> </span>Shortly after I returned to Miron and Naomi’s apartment, I set out with Miron and we went up and down Emek Refaim stopping at all of the different little local stores to shop for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>After getting a falafel for lunch, we went back and I helped with cooking and cleaning for Shabbat. Around 4 PM my friend Matt Tepperman arrived and joined us for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>After showering and getting dressed, we walked down the street to Yakar, where we took part in a joyous and spiritual Kabbalat Shabbat davening.<span style=""> </span>We walked back to the apartment and since Miron and Naomi live on the 11<sup>th</sup> floor, we were lucky to catch the Shabbat elevator which stopped every other<span style=""> </span>floor all the way up.<span style=""> </span>After relaxing for a little bit, our friends from Yeshiva, Annie and matt arrived and we had a great Shabbat dinner together.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Shabbat morning I woke up, got ready, and Matt and I walked down the 11 flights of stairs and took a 15 minute stroll to Yedidya. It was a very lovely davening, as always, and I was even asked to lead Shacharit.<span style=""> </span>After hanging out at the Kiddush, we took a leisurely walk back to the apartment, and even caught the Shabbat elevator again.<span style=""> </span>For lunch, our friend Avram joined us and we again had a delicious, lovely, and relaxed meal.<span style=""> </span>After a two hour Shabbat nap, I went back to Yedidya for Mincha (where I did Gelilah), a limud about Pesach/Seudah Shlishit, and maariv.<span style=""> </span>On the way back, it was raining and it kept getting heavier, so I was pretty soaked by the time I got back to the apartment.<span style=""> </span>I relaxed for a little while, and made Havdalah before hitting the road around 7:30 so I could catch a #18 bus to the <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">תחנה מרכזית </span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style=""> </span>(Central Bus Station), and caught the usual 437 Ashkelon back to kibbutz. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Shavua tov…and an early Hodesh tov!</p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-28561062729917669502007-03-07T20:33:00.000+02:002007-03-07T20:43:31.211+02:00וימי הפורים האלה ...and these days of Purim<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-852.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244852_1284.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-852.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244852_1284.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />While I hope to go back and give a brief update of last week, which was mostly filled with hard work, I thought I'd go back just a few days, and describe my unique experiences of celebrating Purim twice, once on kibbutz Ein Tsurim, and again in Jerusalem the next day (this can be done because of Jerusalem's status as a walled city, meaning that Purim is celebrated on the 15th of Adar instead of the 14th).<br />Erev Shabbat:<br />Although I thought it would be a relaxing day, this past friday was actually pretty busy. It started out as usual with Davening at 6 AM, relaxing time, and breakfast. I then made a quick run to the Kol Bo, and the spent the morning peparing decorations for our Purim party Motzei Shabbat. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-848.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244848_199.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-848.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244848_199.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I had been craving a good shawarma, so my friend Matt and I went into Kiryat Malachi for lunch and some shoping at the grocery store there, which was full of displays of Purim goodies.<br />Shabbat Zachor:<br />Friday Night we had tefillot as a group, after which I went to the Chadar Ochel for dinner. Following dinner and Zemirot, my friend Josh and I led a study session on Purim, where I taught a funny text from Masechet Megillah (Daf 7a), and Josh led a discussion.<br />Shabat morning we davened in the Kibbutz Beit Knesset, where services were nice and (relatively) fast, but including some nice Purim touches, such as misheberachs for people's ages, and including Mordechai Hayehudi v'Esther Hamalka! After tefillot, I went with my friend Abbie to our host family from the Kibbutz, Avraham and Rivka Slater, to eat Shabbat lunch with them, their children, and new granddaughter. besides for being a really nice family to get to know, it was also a pleasure to have a delicious home-cooked meal. I then got a great Shabbat nap for most of the afternoon until it was time for Mincha, when I was Gabbai and added my own special misheberachs. We then had seudah shlishit outside, and I led maariv and we did Havdalah. We only had a few minutes to get ready before megillah reading #1 began. I quickly changed into my costume, as the red Teletubbie, (Nes Gadol Hayah) Po!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-750.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v63/79/110/43906290/n43906290_30478750_3904.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-750.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v63/79/110/43906290/n43906290_30478750_3904.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reading #1</span> was held a Yeshivat Ein Tsurim, the modern Orthodox Yeshiva on the Kibbutz grounds. We arrived just in the nick of time for the reading which began promptly at 7 PM. The entire megillah was read by one student, who was nearly flawless in his reading and added voices for some of the characters as well. The tsibbur was made up mostly of the students who are my age or a little older, was well as some faculty and others.<br />After the reading we had some time to relax and hang out, and around 10 PM, the other Nativ groups from Be'er Sheva and Yeruham came to kibbutz for a Purim costume/dance party.<br /><br />The next morning, I got to sleep in a little past my usual wake up of 5:40, and got up and ready in time for Shacharit and megillah <span style="font-weight: bold;">reading #2</span> at 8 AM Shacharit and megillh reading. Shacharit, was little less rushed then usual, and the Kedusha was even done to the tune of Ani Purim. Although the reading was a little quicker than the night before, it was still pretty festive and I was still able to understand every word.<br />After the end of Shacharit, we found out that there was a bit of a mix up with our Purim seudah from the kitchen, and there wasn't any food for us. However, we didn't dispair and instead bought an assortment of delicious brunch food at the כל בו (general store).The Seudah was held in the late morning and despite the hitches, went off pretty well, including my recitation of the 'Purim Kiddush'! I left Kibbutz shortly after noon and caught the 437 Ashkeklon-Jerusalem Egged bus, got a round trip ticket, and was off towards Jerusalem. When I arrived it felt so good to be back, almost like coming home. After going through security and walking through the bus station, I headed down rechov yafo and took a walk around downtown, so happy to be surrounded by the city as it got ready for purim, with music playingt in the streets, people walking around, and warning signs in Meah Shearim ('On Purim, Don't leave the kids alone!'). I then Walked back towards downtown via Strauss and King George Streets, and a little while later caught the 7א bus to the Moshe family's home in Talpiot. I got dropped of just a block and a half away, and ran into Janet right outside her house. We went upstairs, caught up and chatted for a while, and soon it was time for me to shower and get ready for the beginning of Shushan Purim!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-851.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244851_1010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-851.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244851_1010.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>For <span style="font-weight: bold;">reading #3</span> I returned to one of my favourite shuls, Kehilat Yedidya, for what was one of the most joyful megillah readings I have ever heard. Around 6 PM, the room began to fill up and within 15 minutes both sides of the mechitza were packed. After a festive Maariv service, the megillah reading began. The different chapters were read by both men and women, and many of the readers used amazing special voices for lines spoken by Mordechai, Esther, Achashverosh, Haman, and Zeresh (his wife). There was also a trumpet that someone brought and played at appropriate phrases during the text. As well, the kahal also made appropriate noises at different points, in addition to some good booing for haman. After the end of megillah reading, I went back to Janet's, ate dinner, and read until I fell asleep.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-853.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244853_1558.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-853.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244853_1558.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I woke up around 7 on Monday morning, had a cup of tea, and then took a leisurely 40 minute walk to the Conservative Yeshiva. I got there, talked to people for a while, and then got ready to daven P'sukei D'zimra and Shacharit. Both were drawn out in honour of the holiday, and included pop tunes, nusach for every holiday, and more, which was fun, despite being long. During the Torah service I did a pretty improved hagbah, and soon it was time for megillah <span style="font-weight: bold;">reading #4</span>. Each of the 10 chapters was read by a different Yeshiva student and although there weren't as many funny voices as the previous night, I was impressed by the high quality of all of the readings. After the conclusion of Shacharit, and a purim edition of the dedication of the day's learning, the Yeshiva sponsored a delicious brunch outside in the courtyard.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-858.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244858_2926.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-858.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244858_2926.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> After the meal, we went back into the Yeshiva for both the staff and student purim shpiels<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-871.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244871_6565.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-871.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30244871_6565.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>, as well as a talent auction for Tzedaka. The shpiel was hilarious, full of inside jokes, all of which I got of course. It was already 1 PM by the time the shpiel ended, so I ran around the corner and after missing the first #7 bus, another one miraculously pulled up two minutes later. Janet's seudah was very nice, with an interesting mix of families and friends, although I didn't really know anyone. Around 5:30, I realized that it'd take a while to get back, and said goodbye. I then took a number 21 bus to the תחנה מרכזית (central bus station), and just made the the 6:45 bus to Ashkelon (which stops right outside kibbutz).<br />The past two days have been filled with getting back into the work routine, getting over a cold, finishing <span style="font-style: italic;">The Kite Runner</span>, and just enjoying kibbutz life.<br />Boy, its almost time to start thinking about Pesach!Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-63378522905887763642007-02-22T20:58:00.000+02:002007-02-22T21:06:42.528+02:00משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה Be Happy it's Adar !!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-902.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30226902_1332.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-902.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30226902_1332.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This past Sunday and Monday we marked Rosh Chodesh Adar, the Beginning of the month in which Purim falls, and I figured I'd recap some of the celebrations of those two days, as well as some of my work this week.<br />Sunday morning, I woke up for Rosh Chodesh services, which didn't start any earlier than the usual 6 AM start. It was apparent why when we finished the entire service, includingHallel and Musaf at 6:43. My work for that day was pretty relaxing, and included checking the irrigation pipes to make sure water flowed through them, and loading more pipes onto a truck. As usual, I came back, showered and relaxed, and had dinner sandwiched in betweenMincha and Maariv.<br />Monday Morning, as it will be most weeks, is Yom Nativ, as I had mentioned last week and after brekfast (which meant that I got to sleep in), we joined together for some very spirited Rosh Chodesh Tefillot, including a Hallel with plenty of Adar tunes which I lead. Our Madrich even remarked that this was one of the most spiritual davenings our group has had in months. In the morning, our group split up into different <span style="font-style: italic;">vaadot</span> (committees) to plan the future Yemei Nativ. I am on the Purim Vaad, and we busily set the groundwork for a Purimshpiel video, mishloach manot, Tzedaka and more... At the end of the morning, on the way, to lunch, I walked by the גן ילדים and witnessed the beautiful site of the kids having a mini-carnival to welcome Adar, and dance around to Purim music. After a delicious <span style="font-style: italic;">fleischig</span> lunch which included split pea soup, chicken wings, and French Fries, we had a birthday party for a few of my friends who had recently celebrated, and had a friendly soccer match. Before Mincha, I took a run around the kibbutz and got a bit of exercise to make up for the day off of work.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-499.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30231499_63.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-499.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30231499_63.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-503.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30231503_1327.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-503.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30231503_1327.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The past three days have been busy at work, as we straightened irrigation sprinklers, cleared rocks, tended to carrots, and pulled weeds, in between tons of tractor rides (including one that my friend David drove), Aruchot eser (10 AM coffee/tea break), lunches and more. On Tuesday night we had a group barbecue, which gave us some great time to hang out, along with more delicious meat! Finally, this afternoon (Thursday) Hechalutzim Seminar (a 10 day Israel trip which includes one USYer from each of the 17 regions) came for a short visit, and I got to see Elana Shilling, which was a great surprise and nice opportunity to have a slice of home.<br />I'm looking forward to a nice day off tommorow, followed by another relaxing shabbat here on Kibbutz as my friends Hillel and Daniel are coming up from Be'er Sheva to visit!Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-53521868408708619352007-02-17T22:20:00.000+02:002007-02-17T22:27:58.468+02:00ארץ ישראל יפה, ארץ ישראל פורחת The Land of Israel is Beautiful and Blooming<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-062.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30223062_1110.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-062.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30223062_1110.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This title, in my opinion really captures the feelings I've been having over the past week, Both while living on Kibbutz Ein Tsurim and working on Moshav Shitufi Massuot Yitzhak (A Moshav Shitufi is virtually identical to a kibbutz, except for lacking certain institutions such as a dining hall and a children's house), as I feel that I've really become part of the land of Israel by working the land and living on it.<br />I've really enjoyed getting into my job this past week, working in the parsley fields, moving around irrigation pipes, enjoying tractor rides and doing other jobs around the Moshav with 5 other nativers and our friendly supervisor Hanan. While I don't have much experience with outdoor work (except for mowing the lawn a few times when I was 12 years old), I'm really enjoying being outdoors and getting lots of exercise, as well as working with a group of fun people. The weather has been absoloutely beautiful, and so far, we've been almost done with work (since we start at 7:30 when the sun starts beating down!<br />I am also enjoying starting to become a part of the kibbutz lifestyle, as well as the beatiful surroundings that I live it (minus the smell that wafts over from the refet (cow stables) every so often! Every morning I wake up at the crack of dawn to attend Shacharit at 6 AM with the kibbutz. I then have a little time to relax and get ready for the day, before having breakfast in the Chadar Ochel, and getting our ride down the road for work. I get back at 2 and shower, leaving plenty of time to relax and hang out before Mincha, Dinner, which is held outside near our trailers, and Ma'ariv.<br /><br />Now for a few words about Tuesday and the weekend, (and by that I mean Friday-Shabbat). Tuesday was our first Yom Nativ, which is one day a week (usually a Monday) when we come together and regroup from our seperate jobs the rest of the week. This week we spent the morning, after davening shacharit, in a group discussion about our transition from studying in Jerusalem to working on Kibbutz. after a delicious lunch in the Chadar Ochel, many of us boarded a bus together with the other two Nativ subgroups, for a day of Ramah activities in Jerusalem. We were first dropped of at the Dan Panorama Hotel, where Interviews were taking place, and I chatted for a few minutes and caught up with Amy Skopp Cooper, the director of Ramah Nyack. I then had a few hours to spare and walked up to the Fuchsberg Centre, where I washed a load of laundry, and then had the pleasure of going to the Conservative Yeshiva and studying Midrash with Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein, just like old times. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-052.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30223052_7728.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-052.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30223052_7728.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The day ended with a dinner at Cafe Atara for all Ramah Nyack staff in Israel at Cafe Atara, a delicious dairy restaraunt down the street. It was nice to see people I hadn't seen since this past August, and towards the end of the meal, we even had a guest appearance by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjanin Netanyahu!<br /><br />Friday was my first day off, and I think I ended up making pretty good use of it. I couldn't stop myself from still waking up early for tefillot, but I relaxed afterwards and waited until 8 to have breakfast. While I was eating I ran into my friends Josh and Phil, and I spent the rest of the morning chilling in their cabin, and celebrating Phil's 19th Birthday with him. A little before 12 we decided to go into Kiryat Malachi with our other friend Jacob, a development town of about 20,000 five mintues from Kibbutz. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-456.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30223456_2752.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-456.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30223456_2752.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The four of us arrived there and after 2 minutes, found our first stop,Shawarma shel Shuki. We each got Shawarma in a Baguette, which was quite delicious and pretty filling. After lunch we walked around and checked out the town. We found a grocery store with pretty cheap prices, and I picked up a hebrew newspaper to read over shabbat.<br />Although some of us wanted to hold a Nativ minyan Friday night, I wanted to check out the Davening in the kibbutz beit knesset, and just as the sun was setting a little after 5 PM I walked with 3 friends towards the centre of the kibbutz and found seats. After mincha, everyone joined together in singing Yedid Nefesh, and then a man who was sitting in the row behind us with a beautiful voice went up to the amud and led a beautiful Carlebach kabbalat Shabbat. The whole congregation joined in the singing, and it was a very warm feeling to see that in many of the rows around us sat three generations of kibbutz members coming together to bring in Shabbat. It was definitely one of the most spiritual Shabbat services I had been to in a while. Between Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv a D'var Torah was given, which I'd like to quickly summarize here:<br /> There are two mitzvot in the Parsha listed in a row, in one of which, not oppressing the orphaned and widowed God promises retribution against the one who violates it, and the second, not holding onto a lendee's posessions overnight, it is only stated that God will listen because he is merciful. Rashbam explains that the two different responses correspond to two legal categories, the first being the rule of law, and the second being going beyond the letter of the law. This was then connected to a description of the situation in Israel today, when many times the rule of law is not even followed in respect to social justice, let alone going beyond the letter. The person giving the d'var torah then went on to speak about an amazing organization called<a href="http://tav.org.il"> במעגלי צדק</a> (in the cicles of justice), which was founded by religious zionists with a passion for democracy and social action. The have devolped a certificate called תו החברתי (social certification), which is posted in restaraunts and businesses which commit to paying their workers on time, treating the properly, and providing access for the handicapped, among other requirements. The Conservative movement is working on a similar oproject at the moment in North America, and I hope it will be as successful as this organization.<br />The service continued with Maariv, which was followed by another delicious Shabbat dinner like last week's. After Zemirot and Birkat Hamazon, I chatted with some friends, read, and got to bed early.<br />Shabbat morning we davened with the kibbutz, in what was aother quick (under two hours) Shabbat service. Lunch started at 10:30 and was very delicious and relaxing. We held an early mincha service around 12:30, which I got to lead, and I spent the rest of the afernoon reading and resting. We came back together for Seudah Shlishit,zemirot, maariv, and Havadalah, and we began Rosh Hodesh Adar!<br />Tommorow morning: Back to Shacharit at 6, breafast and work. Shavua Tov v'Hodesh Tov!Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-66816202097466905412007-02-12T23:06:00.000+02:002007-02-13T07:59:23.678+02:00Major update #2: ‘Israel Today Seminar’ week/Darom Tiyul/Beginning of Kibbutz<span style="" lang="EN-CA">I have had a very busy, but exciting two weeks, so now that I’m getting settled here on Kibbutz Ein Tzurim and have my computer back with me (having been in storage for the past week), I figured I’d update everyone on all of the exciting things I’ve been up to.<span style=""> </span>Here it goes:<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Monday, January 29<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">After leaving Toronto early Sunday morning and connecting in Newark, I arrived home in Israel a little before 7 on Monday morning.<span style=""> </span>I picked up my bags, got in line for a sherut to Jerusalem, but by the time the sherut had made all of its other stops I had missed the bus for our morning tour, so instead I had time to shower and rest a bit.<span style=""> </span>In the afternoon, following lunch and mincha, we went to Geula, a Haredi neighbourhood and met with a member of the Karlin-Stolin hassidic sect, who took us around their girls school, which included a matzah bakery (!), and then sat down and answered our questions.<span style=""> </span>While some of his answers upset or surprised us, it was still informative to hear a representative of this segment of Israeli society<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">We spent Tuesday in Tel Aviv, and had a mix of fun and educational activities in different places around the city.<span style=""> </span>The day began with a visit to the Dialogue in the Dar exhibit at the Holon childrens museum, where we spent about 45 minutes in total darkness in order to learn about what its like to be blind.<span style=""> </span>With a guide who was vision impaired himself, we used our other senses to feel what a number of different activities, such as crossing the street or going to a snack bar would be like without being able to see.<span style=""> </span>It was an extremely eye-opening experience that I won’t forget for a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">We then took a bus over to the neighbourhood of Neve Tzedek, had a lunch of deli sandwiches, which was followed by a question and answer session with an<span style=""> </span>activist from </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">שלום עכשיו</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (Peace Now) and a performance by the Inbal dance troupe.<span style=""> </span>The day ended with a visit to the Palmach museum, which told the story of the striking arm of the pre-state Haganah through an experiential audio-visual exhibition.<span style=""> </span>Before heading back to Jerusalem, we stopped at the Azrieli Centre, one of the largest malls in Israel, where we had dinner in the food court.<span style=""> </span>I chose to get a double whopper from Burger King, which was pretty tasty.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wednesday was spent around Jerusalem, as we learned about different important facts of traditional Israeli history.<span style=""> </span>We started out at the Herzl museum, which depicts the life of Theodor Herzl and the history of Zionism through a series of four audiovisual displays.<span style=""> </span>We then went back to Beit Nativ and a had an orientation for our semester on Kibbutz, followed by lunch.<span style=""> </span>In the afternoon we visited the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre, telling the story of Israel’s former prime minister, his values and impact.<span style=""> </span>In the late afternoon, we drove out of Jerusalem to the Neot Kedumim biblical garden near Modiin, where we all planted oak trees in honour of Tu Bishvat.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thursday was spent at a seminar on the Arab-Israeli conflict held at Giva’t Haviva, an educational centre located in a kibbutz setting between Netanya and Hadera.<span style=""> </span>In the morning we were given a lecture on the history of the ‘green line’ which is talked about so much in regards to a final settlement, as well as the Security Fence and its pros and cons.<span style=""> </span>Following lunch, we heard someone speak about what it is like to be an Israeli Arab, which was followed by a bus ride where we visited a Jewish town in the area and overlooked some of the Arab towns which straddle the line between Israel proper and the Palestinian territories.<span style=""> </span>Late that night, as a bedtime snack, I went out with my friends Josh and Phil to Moshiko’s on Ben Yehuda st., to get our last shawarma before we left Jerusalem.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Friday was mostly spent packing up my things, since it was almost time to leave Jerusalem, and move on to Tiyul and my semester on kibbutz.<span style=""> </span>This led into our final Shabbat in Jerusalem.<span style=""> </span>Friday<span style=""> </span>Night was marked by another intense Tish after dinner, with lots of singing and some nice Divrei Torah.<span style=""> </span>On Shabbat Morning we all davened at Moreshet Yisrael, the American-style Conservative shul on campus, as Mari-Anne, one of my fellow nativers, marked her first Aliyah to the Torah and reading Haftarah.<span style=""> </span>The day continued with a festive Kiddush, studying Parashat Hashavua and Shabbat lunch.<span style=""> </span>After a nice shabbos nap, we concluded with mincha, a not-too appetizing seudah shlishit with some nice singing, Ma’ariv and Havdalah.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sunday Morning (February 4), we woke up very early, davened Shacharit and ate breskfast.<span style=""> </span>We then began the process of transferring all of our belongings from our rooms to the <span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">מחסן</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (storage area), from where it would be loaded onto a truck and brought to kibbutz on Thursday.<span style=""> </span>We then loaded ourselves onto buses and<span style=""> </span>set off to a four day tiyul through the southern part of the country.<span style=""> </span>Sunday afternoon was spent hiking in the Ein Gedi area.<span style=""> </span>It turned out to be a beautiful day to hike, as the rain which had been with us since Shabbat afternoon had ended and we had a beautiful sun join us as soon as we left Jerusalem heading towards the Dead Sea.<span style=""> </span>However, despite the fact that it rains often in Jerusalem, the Judean desert was not used to this amount of water, and we had the opportunity to see Route 90, which runs along the shore of the Dead Sea, washed out in three different places.<span style=""> </span>Just before sunset, we arrived at a site named Mamshit which contains a camel ranch and a Bedouin tent experience for tourists.<span style=""> </span>After unpacking our bags in the tent for the night, we moved over to the tent next door for Ma’ariv, an explanation about the history and customs of the Bedouin, and especially about their famous hospitality. During the talk we were given small cups of Bedouin tea and coffee.<span style=""> </span>We then were immediately served a traditional (kosher) Bedouin meal, including a main dish of shawarma meat served over rice and vegetables, fresh laffa bread, and some salads. Dessert was baklava and more tea.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I went to bed quite early (around 7:30), partly because it was dark, and there isn’t much to do in the desert, and more because Yossi (our director) had announced that despite everyone’s fears of missing it, we would indeed be able to see the superbowl, live, at 1:30 Israel time, so I figured out a way to get a decent amount of sleep and still see the big game.<span style=""> </span>Despite missing the Adath Israel superbowl party and the amazing barbecuing there, it’s pretty cool to be able to say that I saw the superbowl in a Bedouin ten in the middle of the Negev desert, complete with a projection screen and mattresses to sit on.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-196.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221196_6697.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-196.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221196_6697.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On Monday morning we woke up, davened and had a delicious breakfast including freshly made pitot and eggs.<span style=""> </span>We then had some time to pack up, followed by a 20 minute camel ride which was very bumpy and uncomfortable, yet still somewhat fun.<span style=""> </span>The bulk of the rest of the day was spent on a hike in the area of Machtesh hakatan, which was relatively easy except for four ladders which were built into the side of the rock by the Israeli parks authority.<span style=""> </span>These provided a nice challenge which I completed, despite my fear of heights and falling.<span style=""> </span>At the end of the hike we got back on the bus and continued our drive south towards our destination for the night, Kibbutz Ketura, a kibbutz founded by graduates of the Young Judea movement in 1973, located in the Arava valley near the Jordanian border.<span style=""> </span>After getting settled in our rooms, which were brand new and beautiful, we had a nice barbecue dinner and an evening program, for which I chose to watch a soccer game played by my friends from Nativ against some of the kibbutzniks.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-254.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221254_5821.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-254.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221254_5821.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On Tuesday morning, we had tefillot in the kibbutz Beit Knesset, followed by breakfast.<span style=""> </span>We then split into groups for a desert arts workshop.<span style=""> </span>I chose to take a tour of the kibbutz’s experimental orchards, where I got to learn about all of the interesting plants that Ketura is cultivating, including some plants that were in danger of extinction.<span style=""> </span>We then came back together and shared what we had learned in our workshops.<span style=""> </span>It was soon time to check out of our rooms and have lunch, which was followed by a tour of the kibbutz by one of its members.<span style=""> </span>On our way to Eilat in the late afternoon, we stopped at the kissufim sand dunes, famous for having some of the purest sand in the world.<span style=""> </span>After walking up the rocky side of the hill, we arrived at the top of the sand dunes and saw the endless expanses of beautiful sand which we got to roll around in for a good hour.<span style=""> </span>As it was getting towards sunset, we headed back towards the buses and drove to the Adi hotel in Eilat, where we would stay for the next two nights.<span style=""> </span>We got our rooms, had dinner, and then were free for the evening, so I went out with some friends to the mall and the Tayelet (waterfront promenade).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-263.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221263_8223.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-263.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221263_8223.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-271.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221271_397.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-271.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221271_397.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On Wednesday morning we had tefillot and breakfast at the hotel, and then got on the bus for a hike up Har Tzfachot, from where we were able to have a beautiful overlook of Eilat, the mountains surrounding it, the Red Sea, and the countries of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.<span style=""> </span>The hike was pretty moderate, considering the amazing view, and we completed the ascent and descent in 2 hours flat.<span style=""> </span>This left enough time for me to take a nice walk along the water before lunch, which was provided for us at the Halleluyah restaurant.<span style=""> </span>Nativ planned an afternoon of water activities for us after lunch, and I chose to take a paddleboat out with my friend Jeff, as well as to lay in the sand for a while.<span style=""> </span>I went back to the hotel to relax for an hour or so, and in evening, we were given money for dinner, so I went down to the Tayelet with my friend Matt, where we bought Baguette sandwiches with meat inside,<span style=""> </span>and ate out near the water.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-896.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221896_8396.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-896.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221896_8396.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Thursday was a bittersweet day, as it was our last time with all of Nativ together as we split up into three different groups for the second semester.<span style=""> </span>After tefillot, breakfast and loading the buses, we said goodbye to our friends who were going to Yeruham and Be’er Sheva, and boarded a bus that would take us to kibbutz Ein Tsurim, my home for the next 3 and a half months.<span style=""> </span>After stopping in Dimona for lunch, where I passed on the lunch that was provided in favour of a burger, onion rings and a drink, we arrived at kibbutz around 2:30 in the afternoon.<span style=""> </span>We spent the rest of the day moving in and unpacking, as well as setting up storage units for our rooms, and around 6 had a picnic dinner in front of our cabins.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">On Friday we got to sleep in a bit, and spent the day getting acclimated to Kibbutz life.<span style=""> </span>We started the day off with breakfast in the kibbutz dining hall, and Shacharit as a group.<span style=""> </span>During the rest of the morning, we were given a walking tour of Ein Tsurim, by Yuval, a Kibbutz member who was born and raised here.<span style=""> </span>We then ate lunch and had the rest of the afternoon of to get ready for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>At one point, I headed a short walk down the path, and checked out the Kibbutz’s Kol-Bo, a general store which is really a small supermarket.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We brought in Shabbat with a special Carlebach service held in the Kibbutz’s Yeshiva, which featured a chazzan with a beautiful voice, almost exactly like Shlomo Carlebach himself.<span style=""> </span>Shabbat dinner was held in the kibbutz Dining Hall, and was served to us family style, with a number of yummy courses, starting with a delicious salad selection and continuing with bourekas, soup, chicken and brisket.<span style=""> </span>The meal served pretty slowly, which gave us time to have a nice conversation.<span style=""> </span>After dinner we had a short session and oneg with Yossi Garr, who spent Shabbat with us, and pretty soon after that I went to bed to get some nice Shabbat rest.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-904.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221904_1354.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-904.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221904_1354.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Shabbat morning we davened with the kibbutz in their main Beit Knesset.<span style=""> </span>As I would soon find out, they don’t believe in wasting time during tefillot, and starting at 8:30, we ended Musaf at 10:15 without missing anything.<span style=""> </span>Lunch on kibbutz begins at 10:30 on Shabbat, and again<span style=""> </span>progressed slowly through a menu of courses.<span style=""> </span>After lunch we heard again from<span style=""> </span>a member of kibbutz about its history and his personal story, after which we davened mincha and had a few hours of free time, during which I hung out, read and napped.<span style=""> </span>At 5 we had seudah shlishit, which was very delicious, with a selection of fresh salads and Yesrushalmi and potato kugel.<span style=""> </span>We concluded Shabbat with Maariv and Havdalah, and a little while afterwards, we were assigned our jobs. I was assigned agriculture (aka working out in the fields), which was my first choice and I was really happy about. To end off the evening, some of my friends prepared a bonfire in a field behind our cabins, and we sat around for a while chilling and relaxing.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-918.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221918_6017.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-918.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221918_6017.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-925.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221925_8527.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-925.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v66/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30221925_8527.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Sunday morning I woke up early so I could daven at the Kibbutz’s minyan at 6 AM before I started work.<span style=""> </span>It’ a good thing I got there on time, because they don’t believe in wasting it and we were done Shacharit, with a repetition of the Amidah, at 6:25!<span style=""> </span>After relaxing for a little while, I went and ate breakfast, and at 7:30, I got picked up with 5 friends of mine to begin our job working in the fields at the neighboring settlement of Massuot Yitzhak.<span style=""> </span>Over the past 2 days I have weeded the parsley fields, and moved around lots of irrigation equipment, and basically had a blast.<span style=""> </span>The weather has been amazing, and I love the work, as well as the group of people I work with.<span style=""> </span>I’m really enjoying living on kibbutz, with the great environment and slow pace of life.<span style=""> </span>I can’t wait to tell you more about my adventures here on Kibbutz Ein Tsurim!</p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-32830030788017432442007-02-02T14:54:00.001+02:002009-01-08T01:28:12.731+02:00Update!! עדכון<p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>I know it’s been a while, but I’ve been having so much fun spending time with my family both in Israel and on a short visit to Toronto.<span style=""> </span>In any case, right now I’m en route from Toronto to <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">תל אביב</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> and I figured it was a good opportunity to catch up a bit.<span style=""> </span>Here it goes!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Monday January 1</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Being in Israel, January 1 isn’t much different than any other day, except for the small group of (mostly Americans, myself not included) who went out to the bars the previous night.<span style=""> </span>After davening at the Great Synagogue, we had a shiur with my Talmud teacher Dr. Josh Kulp, on topic of <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">חוקות הגוים</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span>, the laws in the Torah regarding following the ways of the peoples around us and their interpretation up to our day.<span style=""> </span>It was a very interesting and enlightening discussion.<span style=""> </span>After davening Mincha, I took my first of two tests in order to get credit for next year at <a href="http://www.jtsa.edu/list">List College</a> .<span style=""> </span>After a lot of studying , I passed!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>In the afternoon , our friend Janet Moshe met us and gave us a tour of the Shuk and neighbouring Nachlaot neighbourhood.<span style=""> </span>We started with lunch at the homestyle ‘workers restaurant called <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">רחמו</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span lang="HE"><span dir="ltr"></span> </span><i>(Rachmo</i>), where I got some delicious Hummus.<span style=""> </span>We then stopped by the many attractions of the shuk, most of which I had never known about, such as the Etrog man, who sells all kinds of folk remedies; the Pereg spice store; and of course, no trip to the shuk is complete without a stop<span style=""> </span>at the Marzipan Bakery.<span style=""> </span>We also had a tour of Nachlaot and saw some interesting sights, including historic buildings and synagogues.<span style=""> </span>In the evening, after stopping at Janet’s, we<span style=""> </span>wen t together with her to see the new Robin Williams movie <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">איש השנה</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (Man of the Year), and ended the day by having a late dinner at Burgers Bar!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tuesday: </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>While Ima and Joshua spent the day in Tel Aviv, I went along with the other Nativ students on the Yeshiva Track for brunch at Pesach Schindler’s house, where we had a nice discussion to evaluate our semester at the Yeshiva.<span style=""> </span>After relaxing for the afternoon, Ima and Joshua returned, and we had a nice dinner at Pizza Meter, an Argentinian restaurant where the Pizza is served to you by the meter.<span style=""> </span>It was quite a nice experience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wednesday:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>I decided not to go to classes today and instead spent the day with Ima and Joshua seeing some important sites which I might not have gotten to otherwise.<span style=""> </span>We started out at the New Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum, which was very moving and intense, after which we took the ‘Interconnecting Path’ to Har Herzl, Israel’s equivalent to Arlington National Cemetary.<span style=""> </span>We visited all of the important places, such as the memorial to those whose lives were taken by terrorist attacks, the graves of Israel’s leaders, including Yitzhak and Leah Rabin, President Herzog, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and Hannah Senesh, who was buried with all of the honours of a modern Israeli paratrooper.<span style=""> </span>Sadly, we watched workers set up for the funeral of Teddy Kollek <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">ז''ל</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (Mayor of Jerusalem, 1964-1992), who had died on Monday, and whose funeral would be taking place the next morning.<span style=""> </span>We also paid a visit to the grave of Michael Levin <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">ז''ל</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span dir="ltr"></span>, an American oleh who was a graduate of Nativ, Camp Ramah in the Poconos, and USY, who was tragically killed during the war in Lebanon this past summer.<span style=""> </span>To complete our visit, we visited the tomb of Theodore Herzl, and the new multimedia, interactive Herzl Museum.<span style=""> </span>We then took a taxi to the Jaffa Gate, where we entered the old city and headed to the Jewish Quarter, where Ima did some shopping and I bought some more books. <span style=""> </span>We stopped at a Shwarma/Falafel stand for a quick and tast dinner. <span style=""> </span>Just around sunset, we walked down to the Kotel, where we took some pictures and I davened Ma’ariv.<span style=""> </span>We then took a guided tour of the kotel tunnels, which an exciting set of excavations taking place north of the Kotel along the continuation of the original Herodian wall.<span style=""> </span>It was amazing to see that even since I was on the tour 5 years ago, more sections and even ceramic objects have been found dating back to the time of the second temple.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Thursday;<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>As our last official day of classes at the Yeshiva, we had a study session and discussion with Rabbi Joel Levy in the morning, followed by a Pizza lunch.<span style=""> </span>In the afternoon I went with Ima and Joshua to the Tower of David, which boasts some beautiful views of Jerusalem and a museum with the History of the city.<span style=""> </span>We then walked through Yemin Moshe and visited the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre, which was an audiovisual presentation about his life and works.<span style=""> </span>While Ima and Joshua went back to their apartment to meet Abba, I went back to Beit Nativ and hopped on a bus for a concert by the popular Israeli artist Idan Raichel, who works with a group of immigrant artists, who perform in a variety of languages from Hebrew to Amharic to Russian to Arabic.<span style=""> </span>It was a great experience, especially because he performed in n intimate venue, where I sat in the 3<sup>rd</sup> row!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Friday/Shabbat:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>On Friday morning, with Ima, Abba and Joshua, I went to volunteer as usual at Hazon Yeshaya, where we had a great and meaningful experience peeling and chopping potatoes, and later serving meals.<span style=""> </span>We went for a delicious lunch at Pinati, and then got ready for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>Because it had started pouring, I left at around 3:30 and picked up a cab to Janet’s.<span style=""> </span>For Kabbalat Shabbat, Joshua, Abba and I davened at </span><span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">מזמור לדוד</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span>, a new carlebach minyan a block from her house, which was a beautiful service with lots of singing.<span style=""> </span>When then went back to Janet’s for a delicious dinner with nice company.<span style=""> </span>Because it was still raining, Joshua and I slept at Janet’s house.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Shabbat morning, we davened at Yedidya, where I got to lead p’sukei d’zimra, participate in a beautiful daveing, and have a tasty sponsored Kiddush.<span style=""> </span>We had a delicious fleischig lunch with our family friends Kobi and Nadia Ableman.<span style=""> </span>It was still pouring after we finished lunch, and I took a shluff there, until it was time for Mincha, a Talmud class and Ma’ariv.<span style=""> </span>After Havdalah, Kobi graciously drove me back to Beit Nativ, where I relaxed for a few hours.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Late on Motzei Shabbat, before Ima and Joshua had to leave to go back to Toronto, we went out for dinner with ten of my closest friends at Cuppa Joe, a new coffee/dairy restaurant. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sunday morning, we davened at the Conservative Yeshiva, and then with Abba and Jacob Zeliger, did some shopping in Meah Shearim and at Mister Zol.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sunday-Thursday, January 7-12 –Dig Week!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">As one of the three options for the Nativ ‘Israel Experience Week’ (the others being volunteering in Haifa or participating in Gadna), I chose to be part of a week-long archaeological dig at <i>Beit Guvrin</i> National Park, where many of you have probably participated in Dig for a Day, run by the same group, Archaeological Seminars.<span style=""> </span>On Sunday, the only rainy day of the week, our guide, Bena, gave us a tour of the entire site and especially the area we would be excavating, the former city of Maresha.<span style=""> </span>Originally an Israelite town, settled in the days of Joshua according to the Tanach, <span style=""> </span>Maresha was summarily destroyed and wiped off the map in the year 112 BCE by the Hasmonean King John Hyrcanus when it was settled by Idumeans who had arrived after the Explusion of the Jews in 586 BCE.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>For the following 4 days our group excavated for the morning in cave system 169, where we lugged up dozens of buckets of dirt from two underground rooms, and then sifted the dirt to remove any pieces of pottery, bone, or charcoal we may have missed.<span style=""> </span>I personally had the good fortune to discover a nearly complete plate and jug, which were among many other finds the group made.<span style=""> </span>After lunch each day, we both toured the other archeological sites of interest in the park, and went spelunking, climbing through candlelit caves which were not yet excavated.<span style=""> </span>Overall, it was a very enjoyable week of hands-on learning about the past and archaeology.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the evenings, since we slept at Beit Nativ in Jerusalem, I was able to spend some time with Abba.<span style=""> </span>On Sunday night we had dinner at New Deli, a Subway-like Kosher deli restaurant.<span style=""> </span>Monday, we had the privilege of enjoying a Pizza dinner and hearing words of Torah from Rabbi Charles Savenor, Associate Dean of the JTS Rabbinical School. On Tuesday evening, Abba and had dinner at the Anna Ticho House, which is both a gallery and dairy restaurant in Downtown Jerusalem. <span style=""> </span>On Wednesday, after returning from digging, I quickly jumped in the shower and walked over to the Bible Lands Museum, which showcases archaeological finds from the lands and times of the Tanach.<span style=""> </span>We toured around, and then heard a lecture from a professor at Hebrew University on the topic of how history is presented in the Tanach.<span style=""> </span>We then headed over for a late dinner at the Atara Café, a Jerusalem institution since before the State of Israel was founded, and I had some of their famous French Onion soup. <span style=""> </span>On Thursday night, after the conclusion of the dig, I met Abba and we met a third cousin Jackie (whom I had never met before), who is also spending the year in Israel, in her case on the Young Judea Year Course.<span style=""> </span>We went to a restaurant called <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">מזעדת אמא</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span>, which serves homestyle sefardic dishes.<span style=""> </span>It was nice to see that even though we came from very different backgrounds, Jackie and I have a lot in common and even know a lot of the same people.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Friday/Shabbat:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>As the Nativ vacation had officially started , I was now on my own with Abba for the next week.<span style=""> </span>Friday morning, we davened at the Great Synagogue and then set out to see some of the sites of the Jewish Quarter.<span style=""> </span>We started with the Burnt House, a site that was found in 1967 when the Jewish Quarter was excavated, and contains remains of a home belonging to the Katros family of Kohanim which was burned down during the Great Revolt in 70 CE.<span style=""> </span>We then continued, fast forwarding in time, to the Old Yishuv Court Museum, which using actual period furnishings, depicts the way life was in the Jewish quarter from the late Turkish period until the end of the British mandate in 1948. We ended the morning with a visit to the Davidson Archeological excavations at the corner of the western and southern walls of the Temple Mount, after which we visited the kotel and had a shwarma lunch.<span style=""> </span>It started raining just as we were walking out of the Jaffa gate, so we went back to my room for a little while to wait it out.<span style=""> </span>About two hours before the start of Shabbat, Abba and I set out for the local public mikvah<span style=""> </span>to take part in the tradition that some have to immerse before Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>Although I had only done it (ever) this Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it was a nice way to physically and spiritually prepare for Shabbat.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;">After taking care of the rest of the preparations for Shabbat, we got ready to walk to shul, which would be at Yeshurun, and since it was Shabbat Mevarchim Rosh Chodesh, we were able to enjoy the Cantorial Carlebach service again.<span style=""> </span>Following Ma’ariv, we walked down the street and had Shabbat dinner with Rabbi Paul and Nina Freedman, the former director of USY and his wife, who are very warm, welcoming, and witty people, and we had a lovely time beginning Shabbat with them.<span style=""> </span>Right after Zemirot and Birkat Hamazon, we headed back across the street to the Fuchsberg Centre for a panel discussion with Paul Kochberg, Dr. Ray Goldstein and Rabbi Jerome Epstein on the future of the Conservative movement, at which some very positive ideas were put forth, but I’m not sure how many of them will be seen to fruition.<span style=""> </span>After this I said laila tov to Abba and hung around for a fun and exciting Yeshiva Tish.<span style=""> </span>Shabbat morning I woke up, met Abba at his place, and then took a hike to the neighbourhood of Talpiot Mizrach, where we davened at Kehillat Moreshet Avraham, the Masorti congregation of the neighbourhood.<span style=""> </span>It waa an absoloutely lovely davening, with lots of kids and young families present, and a Bar Mitzvah boy from Teaneck who had come to celebrate the occasion with the kehillah, and who went on to lead us in Musaf.<span style=""> </span>The tefillot ended with a beautiful rendition of <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">אנעים זמירות</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> and Adon Olam by the youth of the kehillah.<span style=""> </span>After tefillot there was an extended Kiddush, after which we walked down the street and had lunch with the Friedgut family, whose children, Ben and Eve Fried were in from Toronto, along with their other children who live in Israel, Stacy and Drory, and Hallie and their children.<span style=""> </span>We had a very nice meal as well as good company, and before we knew it, it was almost the end of Shabbat.<span style=""> </span>We walked back to shul and participated in a shiur with Rabbi David Golinkin on Midrash Rut Rabbah, as well as mincha and maariv.<span style=""> </span>We then went back to beit nativ for a little while after Shabbat, and then went to Sbarro for a late night snack before turning in for the night.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sunday-Monday, <span style=""> </span>January 14-15</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>I woke up, davened at the Yeshiva for one of the last times, and hung out there for a while. Around 10:30, I had the great opportunity to spend some time with my friend Hannah, who is in her first year at List College and on her first trip to Israel on Birthright.<span style=""> </span>We walked from Beit Nativ to the old city, stopped at Hadaya jewelers to order some things for her, and then hung out in the Jewish quarter and visited the Kotel.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Sunday afternoon and Monday I had the privilege of joining Abba on the Israel Bonds Rabbinc Conference and touring around the Jerusalem area with about 30 rabbis Othodox, Conservative and Reform rabbis.<span style=""> </span>After a short orientation at the Sheraton Plaza hotel, <span style=""> </span>we boarded a bus to our first destination of Giva’t Hatachmoshet (Ammunition Hill), which was the site of one of the most decisive battles between Israel and Jordan during the Six Day War in 1967.<span style=""> </span>Afterwards, we continued following in the footsteps of the 1967 battle for Jerusalem as we drove towards <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">שער הארי</span><span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">ו</span><span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">ת </span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span><span style=""> </span>(The lions gate), and walked from there, through the Muslim quarter towards the Kotel, retracing the path of the paratroopers who liberated it almost forty years ago.<span style=""> </span>After visiting the kotel and davening Ma’ariv there, we went back to the hotel for a study session on the connection between the book of psalms and Jerusalem.<span style=""> </span>After a short break, we had one of the highlights of the trip, a dinner with Yitzhak Navon, the fifth President of Israel.<span style=""> </span>The meal itself was very nice, with some tasty food, and a nice mix of rabbis and rabbinical students at our table.<span style=""> </span>The president’s speech, although a little on the long side, was very nice, as he spoke a bit about his background, about his vision of the future of Israel, and the importance of Jewish identity.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>On Monday, I woke up early and went over to the hotel to daven with the rabbis, had a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel (including <span style=""> </span>fresh-squeezed orange juice), and then we got on the bus and headed to Nebi Samuel, the traditional location of the tomb of the prophet Shmuel, which lies just north of the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ramot.<span style=""> </span>We toured the site, enjoyed the view (despite the strong gusts of wind), and heard from a professor at the Hebrew University who described the site’s importance both in 1948 and 1967.<span style=""> </span>We then proceeded to <span dir="rtl" style=";font-family:";" lang="HE">הר הזיתים</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span>, the mount of olives, where we saw a panoramic view of the Old City and western Jerusalem.<span style=""> </span>Our last stop for the morning’s touring was at Kibbutz Ramat Rahel, which was a border outpost between<span style=""> </span>1948-1967, and which now looks out on the new Jerusalem neighbourhood of Har Homa.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>We then went to the main building of the kibbutz guest house, where we head in Hebrew from one of the evacuees from Gush Katif about how he is trying to rebuild his life 18 months after the disengagement. That was followed by a delicious dairy lunch, mincha, and then we were back on the bus headed down the road to Kiryat Moriah, which is the headquarters of the Jewish Agency (JAFI).<span style=""> </span>There we heard from two educators, Shalom Orzach (Former USY cental shaliach!), and Robbie Gringras (Ramah Nyack Artist in Residence), about new initiatives JAFI is taking to increase the connection to Israel, as well as update Israel education in the Diaspora.<span style=""> </span>From there we drove back towards downtown, and while Abba continued his evening, I returned to the Fuchsberg Centre for a dinner being held for Conservative college students in Israel by the Presidents Council of United Synagogue.<span style=""> </span>It was a nice opportunity to catch up with Paul and Barbara Kochberg and Keren Shilling in a relaxed, informal environment.<span style=""> </span>After dinner there was a special lecture by David Horovitz, editor of the Jerusalem Post, and then I went over to the hotel to say goodbye to Abba before he went up north for two days.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Tuesday-Wednesday</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>As my last few days in Jerusalem before I went home for a week, I tried to accomplish some odds and ends that only be done here.<span style=""> </span>After starting the morning with davening at the Yeshiva, I headed up to Meah Shearim, and specifically to the Olive Wood Store, where I picked up some gifts for Ima.<span style=""> </span>Next stop was Machane Yehuda (aka the Shuk), where I picked up some Halva to bring back with me to Toronto, and roamed around for a little to pass the time, and just enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells.<span style=""> </span>I bought a few bourekas for lunch and then walked down agrippas street towards Kiryat Hamemshala (the government precinct).<span style=""> </span>I headed over to the Israeli Spreme Court building, and after an intensive security check, I got into the building just in time for the 12:00 tour in english.<span style=""> </span>The building was very beautiful and architecturally interesting, and it was definitely worth going to.<span style=""> </span>I walked home and arrived back at Beit Nativ just in time to daven mincha at the Yeshiva.<span style=""> </span>In the afternoon, I participated in Reb Mordechai’s Midrash class for the last time (hopefully not forever), which Mendy also decided to show up to, so we even got to chevruta together.<span style=""> </span>I then davened Ma’ariv and went to get my last Shawarma for a while, and spent the rest of the night packing.</p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0cm 0cm 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0cm;">Wednesday was a pretty light day, which was mostly just spent relaxing and hanging around.<span style=""> </span>In the morning, after Shacharit, I had my Oral exanmination in Midrash, for whixch I recieved an A-, and I went to Pinati and ordered Hummus Basar for lunch.<span style=""> </span>In the evening, before I had to leave for the airport, I stopped at Supersol to buy some food for dinner.<span style=""> </span>I brought my bags down and waited in the lobby for the Sherut, where I met Adina Freedman, who was on the Nativ-Kibbutz track last year, and was in Israel on a hillel trip.<span style=""> </span>It was a nice coincidence that we were both going to the Airport the same time, so we had a nice conversation on the sherut ride…</p> </div> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m sorry it took so long to write this update, but I hope to be able to write about this past week, which was spent touring around different sites relevant to Israeli society today, and next week, our Negev Tiyul, as soon as I get to kibbutz.<span style=""> </span>Which brings me to share the news that due to some logistical issues, I will no longer be spending the next four months on Kibbutz Sa’ad, but instead will be living on Kibbutz Ein Tsurim, also a religious kibbutz, which is located about 15 minutes from Ashkelon.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Shabbat Shalom and I’ll try to write soon!!</p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-52772381000737635582006-12-31T21:38:00.000+02:002007-01-01T20:24:33.430+02:00Seeing Jerusalem with Ima and Joshua / An exciting Shabbat in Givat Ze’ev<span style="" lang="EN-CA">Since my Ima and brother arrived in Israel on Monday night, I have been in a whirlwind of activity spending time with them as well as trying to see as much of Jerusalem as possible, while still having morning classes at the Conservative Yeshiva.<span style=""> </span>I’m going to try to summarize as much of the exciting activities as possible.<span style=""> </span>Buckle your seatbelts!<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Monday Night:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>I went down to Ima’s apartment right in the heart of the Emek Refaim neighbourhood, one of the trendiest areas of Jerusalem. After they arrived, we conveniently went right next door and had a delicious dinner of Falafel and shawarma at Falafel Doron.<span style=""> </span>After relaxing at my place for a little while, everyone went to bed with some much-needed sleep. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Tuesday:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>After my morning class with Reb Pesach Schindler on the topic of </span><span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">אנציקלופדיה תלמודית</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (Talmudic Encyclopedia) and <span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">דרך ארץ</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (proper behavior) where we broke into <i>chavrutot</i> and prepared a section of the encyclopedia and its sources to present to the class , Ima and Joshua joined us for Mincha and we got on our way.<span style=""> </span>Our first stop was for lunch at an Italian restaurant called Macaroni, where we took advantage of the popular Israeli lunch deal called an <span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">עסקית</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (Business Special) where for 35<span style="">å</span> Ima and I got Jerusalem artichoke soup, bread and antipasto, a large pasta dish and a salad, and Joshua got a pizza and a drink.<span style=""> </span>After lunch we continued to Machane Yehuda, the Jewish marketplace which is a highlight of any trip to the city.<span style=""> </span>Ima and Joshua each purchased one of the famous Marzipan rugelach, and we proceeded to wander around through the rest of the market, picking up some fresh strawberries along the way.<span style=""> </span>Our next stop was the Haredi neighbourhood of Meah Shearim, which also happens to be a great Judaica shopping destination, and in about an hour we got some books for Joshua at Manny’s Bookstore, a beautiful tallit for his Bar Mitzvah, and a personalized <i>Shtender </i>(bookstand) at the Olive Wood Factory.<span style=""> </span>Heading back towards downtown, we stopped at Fialkoff’s Pizza and got Joshua a real Israeli sufganiya, picked up some groceries at <span dir="rtl" style="" lang="HE">מיסטר זול</span><span dir="ltr"></span><span dir="ltr"></span> (Mister Cheap, the Israeli equivalent of No Frills!), and got a burger at burger king.<span style=""> </span>We then relaxed at my place and recovered from the rainy weather that had plagued us for the previous few hours.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Wednesday:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>After a morning class by Rabbi Shlomo Zacharow on the topic of ‘Is it a Mizvah to make Aliyah?’, Ima and Joshua again joined me for Mincha, but the rest of the day was spent mostly just hanging around, with a mid-afternoon trip to Supersol, because of the snow that had taken over the city early that afternoon (see my previous post and pictures).<span style=""> </span>Although the amount of snow we received would be considered negligible in Toronto, it managed to basically shut the city down, and the traffic lights being out at the intersection of Agron and King George streets right in front of my window didn’t help.<span style=""> </span>Despite the weather, we did manage to get out and enjoy a delicious meal at the Olive Grill<span style=""> </span>with our friends Debbie and Josh Goldsmith, and Debbie’s parents Helen and Paul Wolf from Cleveland.<span style=""> </span>After a lovely meal with great company, I was still glad when I was able to return home to my warm, heated room.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Thursday:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-117.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30176117_3947.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-117.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30176117_3947.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-118.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30176118_609.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 364px;" src="http://photos-118.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30176118_609.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Today I had a morning class with Rabbi Joel Roth, the top Posek (halachic authority) in the Conservative Movement, on the topic of ‘Pattern for Change within Halacha’, which turned out to be very interesting and informative.<span style=""> </span>After leading Mincha, Ima, Joshua and I decided to have lunch at Pinati, the landmark Jerusalem hummus restaurant.<span style=""> </span>Luckily, we didn’t have to wait to long for a table and exactly 19 seconds after ordering (according to Joshua’s watch), our order of two kubeh soups, a plate of hummus basar, and a plate of chips arrived.<span style=""> </span>Just like last time, our trip to Pinati was a delicious experience.<span style=""> </span>After relaxing for a little bit, we set out to the Israel museum, to take advantage of their special that children are free on Thursday <span style=""> </span>evenings, which happened to be sponsored by the Canadian friends of the museum.<span style=""> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-120.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30176120_4922.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-120.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30176120_4922.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-CA">Our first stop was at the new Model of Jerusalem during the second temple, which had recently been moved from the Holy Land Hotel.<span style=""> </span>I was lucky enough to run into a docent who offered to give us a guided tour in Hebrew, which I was able to understand almost every word of.<span style=""> </span>We then saw a new movie about the Essenes, who wrote the dead sea scrolls, and toured the Shrine of the Book.<span style=""> </span>After spending some time in the museum’s permanent exhibit, we capped off our visit in the temporary exhibit about bread, which everyone enjoyed.<span style=""> </span>On our way home we stopped at the Kiryat Wolfson Mister Zol (sort of like the Thornhill No Frills) and Supersol, where we bought a variety of bourekas and had a picnic in my room.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>Friday:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-158.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30178158_7713.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-158.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30178158_7713.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-160.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30178160_8342.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-160.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30178160_8342.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-166.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30178166_208.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-166.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30178166_208.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-165.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30178165_9903.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-165.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30178165_9903.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="" lang="EN-CA">This week Ima and Joshua joined Avram and I on our weekly visit to Hazon Yeshaya.<span style=""> </span>We first saw a video on their efforts to help with relief in the North during this past summer’s war, after which we got right to work peeling and chopping vegetables, and delivering and serving food. Around noon, we headed back to my place and stopped on the way for a lunch of Shawarma (for me) and Pizza (for Ima and Joshua).<span style=""> </span>We then got<span style=""> </span>ready for Shabbat and around 3 PM, Ima and Abba’s friends Sarah and Teddy’s daughter Rebecca picked us up and drove us to their home in Givat Ze’ev, a town a few kilometres north of the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ramot. We arrived and got settled for Shabbat, and after a while left for Kabbalat Shabbat. We davened with Bnei Akiva, which was a neat combination of a Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat with a Moroccan maariv.<span style=""> </span>We then returned to Sarah and Teddy’s house for a delicious Shabbat dinner.<span style=""> </span>The most exciting part of the night was yet to come, as we left before the end of the meal to participate in a tish with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlin_%28Hasidic_Dynasty%29">Karlin-Stolin Hassidim</a> who have a community in Givat Ze’ev.<span style=""> </span>We entered the Beit Midrash and took seats along a long table, with rows of seats surrounding in each direction.<span style=""> </span>We all stood up as the Rebbe and his sons-in-law entered the room, and before the tish began each of was given a piece of challah, in order to show that we were continuing our Shabbat meal that we had begun at home.<span style=""> </span>The tish then got off to a start as the Hassidim, dressed in their Shabbat robes (gold for those born in Israel, Black for Chutz La’aretz) and streimels, began singing their zemirot in perfect harmony, beginning and ending at the signal of the rebbe.<span style=""> </span>After the first few zemirot, everyone got up, took a cup with a small amount of wine and made a bracha.<span style=""> </span>We then got into a long line and one after the other, shook the Rebbe’s hand and finished the wine.<span style=""> </span>After that we sang a few more Zemirot, such as <i>Yah Ekhsof</i>, written by the first rebbe of Karlin, and also including one dance.<span style=""> </span>Before Birkat Hamzon, a dessert of apple cobbler was passed out, and everyone ate after the rebbe. <span style=""> </span>Plates of chickpeas were also passed out in honour of a new baby boy that was born.<span style=""> </span>We then washed for Mayim Achronim and said Birkat Hamazon, after which there was another selection of Zemirot, an d a final dance.<span style=""> </span>The tish was an amazing and unique experience, one that I won’t forget for a long time.<span style=""> </span>We then walked back home, had dessert, and read for a little while before getting a good night of sleep.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>Shabbat Day:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>After getting an amazing 10 hours of sleep, I woke up and went with Eli, Sarah and Teddy’s youngest son who is the same age of Joshua to the Ashkenazi shul of Givat Ze’ev. Tefillot began at 8 am and were over before 10, went at a nice pace and I even received the honour of Peticha (opening the ark).<span style=""> </span>I had plenty of time to relax before a delicious lunch, after which I read and napped.<span style=""> </span>I went back to the shul for Mincha, seudah shlishit, shiur in Hebrew and maariv.<span style=""> </span>We returned to Sarah and Teddy’s for Havdalah and a light dinner, after which we returned to Jerusalem.<span style=""> </span>In order to have some sustenance before Sunday’s fast, we went out Motzei Shabbat to Tal Bagels, which are some of the most authentic bagels in Jerusalem. To go along with my onion bagel with lox, I got one of the restaurant’s specialties, an Iced Mekupelet (Israeli shaved chocolate bar!. Taim meo’d!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>Sunday, Fast of Asarah b’tevet:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="" lang="EN-CA"><span style=""> </span>The day began with Shacharit at the Conservative Yeshiva, where I led P’sukei D’zimra.<span style=""> </span>In the morning, we had a tanach class with Esther Israel which dealt with some of the prophecies regarding the destruction of the first Temple and the Babylonian exile in the books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah.<span style=""> </span>After class, we davened Mincha, where I read the Haftarah.<span style=""> </span>In the afternoon I relaxed and rested, and a little after 5 pm we had an impromptu Ma’ariv service and ended the fast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-73514236556462820692006-12-28T14:37:00.000+02:002006-12-28T14:52:45.644+02:00Sheleg Birushalayaim (Snow in Jerusalem)!Although it didn't make the front of the New York Times, it was a pretty rare and interesting occurence yesterday when we had snow in Jerusalem. I'll attach some pictures, but it was quite interesting to see the whole city go into chaos. Despite this, and making it a little hard to get around, it was still a beautiful sight. תהנו מהתמונות! (enjoy the pictures):<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-525.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30175525_4958.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-525.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30175525_4958.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-517.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30175517_882.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-517.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30175517_882.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-532.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30175532_6958.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-532.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30175532_6958.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos-542.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30175542_9575.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos-542.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v57/14/94/1665840143/n1665840143_30175542_9575.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7371890763424041748.post-6455919212450424312006-12-18T22:45:00.000+02:002006-12-18T23:06:29.380+02:00חנוכה days 2 and 3Although recently I've been writing only about once per week, I've had such a busy and exciting past few days that I thought I'd share a little more about what I've done for the past two days ofHanukah. Yesterday morning, I woke up as usual for tefillot at the Conservative Yeshiva, had a sufganiyah for breakfast (don't worry, I'm trying to walk off the calories!), and had a somewhat shortened Talmud Shiur. Around 11:45, we ended class and walked downtown to the Marvad Haksamim (Magic Carpet) restaurant for an end of the semester celebration before the Nativers end their stay at the Yeshiva. Marvad is a restaurant serving traditional sephardic , Yemenite and Mediterranean dishes, and it did not disappoint. I ordered the עיסקית (business lunch special) for 49 Shekel, which includedKubeh soup (Kubeh are somewhat the Sephardic equivalent of matzoh balls, with a coucous outside and meat inside), Meorav Yerushalmi (Mixed Grill) which included all types of grilled chicken, turkey and lamb, french fries, falafel balls, and delicious laffa bead. There was so much food that I took the leftovers home for dinner! <br />After lunch, I returned to the Yeshiva, for the final session of my Halacha class with our Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shmuel Lewis. As a finale, we today studied a Teshuva from the Tzitz Eliezer, by Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg who just passed away a few weeks ago. The Topic is the limits of the laws of Pikuach Nefesh, and specifically if a judge is allowed to misjudge in a case where one party has threatened his life, and whether he has to compensate the affected party. It was fascinating to study thehalachic sources relating to the topic as well as Rabbi Waldenberg's interpretation of them.<br />In the early evening, after the end of classes, the Kibbutz group of Nativ traveled together to the Gilo Home for The Handicapped to celebrate Hanukah with the residents there, by singing Hanukah songs with them and light candles. Although it was somewhat difficult for us to communicate with some of the residents, I could tell by their smiles when we left how much they appreciated our visit.<br />We continued the spirit of giving by having a group of Nativers who study at the Conservative Yeshiva spend the morning at Yad LeKashish, the lifeline for the old, which is an organization that provides workshops where the elderly craft beautiful Judaica items and receive payment for their work, allowing them dignity in old age. We stopped by each of the eight workshops and in each one, lit candles, sang songs, and chatted a bit with those working there. After volunteering, I stopped by theYad Lekashish gift shop and bought two beautiful kippot for myself. <br />Today seemed to be the day for shopping, and my next stop was at the Shocken Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, located a block from Beit Nativ adjacent to the Prime Minister's residence. Because of the location, On my way over there I got to see a news report being filmed live on location for BBC! The Library was having theirHanukah sale of Judaica books published by JTS. As a Hanukah treat, I purchased a copy of 'Pesikta D'rav Kahana' and 'The Responsa of Professor Louis Ginsberg'! We also were shown a copy of a Bible manuscript from the year 1290 with a beautifully illuminated title page. what a treat!<br />Next stop was to head up to Meah Shearim with my friends Jacob and Sarah so they could do some last minute gift shopping. Although I didn't buy any, it was still nice to spend time with them and do some nice browsing. <br />I then went back home and had a quick bite of lunch, before I headed down to the Yeshiva for a Shiur by our director, Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb, on the history and meaning of Maoz Tzur. Although I was somewhat familiar with the song, it was interesting to gain some new insight by examining each of the 6 verses critically along with the biblical verses referenced within them. After theshiur I participated in candlelighting and Maariv at the Yeshiva, before going back home to light candles of my own. <br />After dinner, I headed next door to Congeregation Moreshet Yisrael to enjoy a concert put on by the first year students of the JTS Cantorial School. I have gotten to know these students very well as they are also part of the Yeshiva community, and it was fun to see them on stage. While they did perform some standardcantorial pieces, the concert also included a plethora of Hanukah music, including 5 different versions of Maoz Tzur!Gabriel גבריאלhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11774103943164814642noreply@blogger.com0