A few honourable mentions...

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. 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.
(by the way, if you want to see an aerial view of our Paprika field, click here.
Kibbutz Ein Tsurim can be found here !
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.
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. 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.
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.
Wow, I can only imagine how much work it is too prepare for Pesach!
Shabbat Shalom, v'Chag Kasher v'sameach

An Interesting Week of Work and Shabbat in Be'er Sheva

Sunday and Tuesday
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.
Monday
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.
Tuesday afternoon/evening
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.
On Wednesday, 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.
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.
On Thursday, 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.
On Friday, 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. 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.
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.
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.
שבוע טוב!

Leadership 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. It was a very action packed week, and I’m so excited to share it with everyone.

On Sunday morning, I woke up early as usual, davened, ate breakfast, and took care of some last minute odds and ends. 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. 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. 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. 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. Our other lecture for the day was about ‘thinking outside of the box’, and was given by a cousin of our director. 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. Dinner was provided, but was dairy and looked pretty unappetizing, so I went with a friend and got my favourite 300g burger.

The next morning began with Shacharit, which I got to lead, and following breakfast we continued with our sessions for the day. 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. 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. It was pretty amazing how many we came up with. We then had lunch and a short break, and soon we were back for afternoon sessions. 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. They then discussed with us about the importance of considering Aliyah as a choice for the future. 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. 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. 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^th 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. It was a really nice evening and a great opportunity to spend time with friends casually.

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. 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. Our first stop was at the Kibbutz Maale Hachamisha hotel, where we had the day’s sessions. 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. 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. 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. It had been pouring all afternoon, which would set the weather pattern for the rest of the week. It made things a little interesting, but didn’t take away too much from the fun, and was good for the land as well. We had a good fleichig dinner, and I hung out and relaxed for the rest of the night.

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. 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. After 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. The day went by pretty quickly, and around 5:30 we left to return to Hannaton. We davened maariv, had an indoor barbecue dinner, and I relaxed for the rest of the night.

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. 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.

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 5 PM I was dropped off directly in front of the Fuchsberg centre. 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. 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. I didn’t have too much trouble making it the few blocks to the apartment of my Chevruta Miron and his wife Naomi. I dried off, had something to eat and caught up a bit. 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. It was pretty funny, especially for my first time seeing it, and pretty long, keeping us occupied until after midnight.

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. 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. 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. 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. After showering and getting dressed, we walked down the street to Yakar, where we took part in a joyous and spiritual Kabbalat Shabbat davening. We walked back to the apartment and since Miron and Naomi live on the 11^th floor, we were lucky to catch the Shabbat elevator which stopped every other floor all the way up. After relaxing for a little bit, our friends from Yeshiva, Annie and matt arrived and we had a great Shabbat dinner together.

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. After hanging out at the Kiddush, we took a leisurely walk back to the apartment, and even caught the Shabbat elevator again. For lunch, our friend Avram joined us and we again had a delicious, lovely, and relaxed meal. 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. 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. 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 תחנה מרכזית (Central Bus Station), and caught the usual 437 Ashkelon back to kibbutz.

Shavua tov…and an early Hodesh tov!

וימי הפורים האלה ...and these days of Purim

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).
Erev Shabbat:
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. 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.
Shabbat Zachor:
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.
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!

Reading #1 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.
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.

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 reading #2 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.
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!

For reading #3 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.
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 reading #4. 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. After the meal, we went back into the Yeshiva for both the staff and student purim shpiels, 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).
The past two days have been filled with getting back into the work routine, getting over a cold, finishing The Kite Runner, and just enjoying kibbutz life.
Boy, its almost time to start thinking about Pesach!

משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה Be Happy it's Adar !!!

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.
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.
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 vaadot (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 fleischig 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.
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.
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!

ארץ ישראל יפה, ארץ ישראל פורחת The Land of Israel is Beautiful and Blooming

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.
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!
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.

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. 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!

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. 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.
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:
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 במעגלי צדק (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.
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.
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!
Tommorow morning: Back to Shacharit at 6, breafast and work. Shavua Tov v'Hodesh Tov!

Major update #2: ‘Israel Today Seminar’ week/Darom Tiyul/Beginning of Kibbutz

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. Here it goes:

Monday, January 29

After leaving Toronto early Sunday morning and connecting in Newark, I arrived home in Israel a little before 7 on Monday morning. 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. 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. While some of his answers upset or surprised us, it was still informative to hear a representative of this segment of Israeli society

We spent Tuesday in Tel Aviv, and had a mix of fun and educational activities in different places around the city. 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. 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. It was an extremely eye-opening experience that I won’t forget for a long time.

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 activist from שלום עכשיו (Peace Now) and a performance by the Inbal dance troupe. 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. 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. I chose to get a double whopper from Burger King, which was pretty tasty.

Wednesday was spent around Jerusalem, as we learned about different important facts of traditional Israeli history. 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. We then went back to Beit Nativ and a had an orientation for our semester on Kibbutz, followed by lunch. In the afternoon we visited the Menachem Begin Heritage Centre, telling the story of Israel’s former prime minister, his values and impact. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

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. This led into our final Shabbat in Jerusalem. Friday Night was marked by another intense Tish after dinner, with lots of singing and some nice Divrei Torah. 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. The day continued with a festive Kiddush, studying Parashat Hashavua and Shabbat lunch. After a nice shabbos nap, we concluded with mincha, a not-too appetizing seudah shlishit with some nice singing, Ma’ariv and Havdalah.

Sunday Morning (February 4), we woke up very early, davened Shacharit and ate breskfast. We then began the process of transferring all of our belongings from our rooms to the מחסן (storage area), from where it would be loaded onto a truck and brought to kibbutz on Thursday. We then loaded ourselves onto buses and set off to a four day tiyul through the southern part of the country. Sunday afternoon was spent hiking in the Ein Gedi area. 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. 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. Just before sunset, we arrived at a site named Mamshit which contains a camel ranch and a Bedouin tent experience for tourists. 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. 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.

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. 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.

On Monday morning we woke up, davened and had a delicious breakfast including freshly made pitot and eggs. 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. 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. These provided a nice challenge which I completed, despite my fear of heights and falling. 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. 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.

On Tuesday morning, we had tefillot in the kibbutz Beit Knesset, followed by breakfast. We then split into groups for a desert arts workshop. 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. We then came back together and shared what we had learned in our workshops. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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).

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. The hike was pretty moderate, considering the amazing view, and we completed the ascent and descent in 2 hours flat. 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. 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. 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, and ate out near the water.

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. 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. 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. 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.

On Friday we got to sleep in a bit, and spent the day getting acclimated to Kibbutz life. We started the day off with breakfast in the kibbutz dining hall, and Shacharit as a group. 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. We then ate lunch and had the rest of the afternoon of to get ready for Shabbat. 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.

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. 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. The meal served pretty slowly, which gave us time to have a nice conversation. 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.

Shabbat morning we davened with the kibbutz in their main Beit Knesset. 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. Lunch on kibbutz begins at 10:30 on Shabbat, and again progressed slowly through a menu of courses. After lunch we heard again from 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. At 5 we had seudah shlishit, which was very delicious, with a selection of fresh salads and Yesrushalmi and potato kugel. 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.

Sunday morning I woke up early so I could daven at the Kibbutz’s minyan at 6 AM before I started work. 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! 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. Over the past 2 days I have weeded the parsley fields, and moved around lots of irrigation equipment, and basically had a blast. The weather has been amazing, and I love the work, as well as the group of people I work with. I’m really enjoying living on kibbutz, with the great environment and slow pace of life. I can’t wait to tell you more about my adventures here on Kibbutz Ein Tsurim!