Shanah Tovah שנה טובה

ו עָלָה אֱלֹהִים, בִּתְרוּעָה; יְהוָה, בְּקוֹל שׁוֹפָר.

6 God is gone up amidst Teruah, the LORD amidst the sound of the Shofar.
When the Jewish people sound the Shofar, God descends from the throne of judgement and ascends the throne of mercy. this is one of the many beautiful midrashim about Rosh Hashanah I learned on Monday afternoon while studying Pesikta D'rav Kahana, a 4th century Midrash on the yearly cycle.
I am very excited that tommorow night I will be beginning the new year of 5767 in the heart of Jerusalem, despite missing my family and friends back at home. I've had a busy week at the yeshiva, while also getting out to see the city a bit. Yesterday afternoon I took a walk with a friend to Merkaz Hair (downtown) and Meah Shearim. It was such a great and unique sight to see street performers playing our Holiday music and tables of Shanah Tovah cards lining the sidewalks, not to mention wishing the store clerks Shanah Tovah! In Meah Shearim, we walked along the main street, just studying the very different lifestyle only a 20 minute walk from the Fuchsberg Centre for Conservative Judaism. I went into the olive wood factory and boughtt myself a beautiful shtender (book stand) with my name on it, which will hopefully help me keep my back in good shape while poring over texts all day! My friend bought himself a beautiful new Tallit with silver stripes to use for Yom Tov.
Tonight, I am going to a concert with many of my friends by a popular Israeli group called שוטי הנבואה, which should be a lot of fun. I won't be getting much sleep though, because at 4 AM we are leaving for a selichot tour in the neighbourhood of Nachlaot, where every street has a synagogue with different tradition. I have a very exciting Chag ahead of me, which I hope to write about on Sunday night.
Shanah Tovah and Shabbat Shalom to everyone. I miss you very much, but will be thinking of you from Jerusalem!