Shana Tova!

Happy new year to everyone. I just completed a very fulfilling Rosh Hashana here in Jerusalem. This post is about a page, but worth reading! I had a weekend worth writing about.

On Friday, a friend, Nate, and I went to the Old City to grab a bed and at a hostel within the Old City called the Heritage House. That night we walked to the Hebrew Union College campus for a festive Shabbat dinner with a Reform group. That night, I returned to the hostel with a horrible headache and as for the night to come… I can only laugh at it.

I got to sleep by midnight in our nice room of ten young men. In the next three hours, I only woke up two or three times to people snoring. The next time I woke up was to a group of people having philosophical and religious conversation downstairs. This time, my headache was as bad as could be and I could not fall back asleep. I walked downstairs, and thank goodness, found someone with Advil. 45 minutes later it kicked in and I fell back asleep for a solid two hours. The next awakening came from the mother of all snorers. The whole room was awake, but nobody, including myself, had the guts to go take care of Mr. Snores. Instead, I got up and grabbed a bed in a different room. It was about 5am this time and my new bed was next to a window that I could not close. Within another 45 minutes I fell asleep to the sedative cacophony of Muslim calls to prayer, people talking on the street, and one or two motorcyclists. But it’s not over! This hostel is unique because it provides a free wake up call at 6:45am. The only catch is that when they wake you up, they make you leave by 7:15am so they can lock the hostel for the next eight hours (the idea is that you go pray in the morning). We followed orders and threw ourselves out on to the street. I had my backpack and we became the wandering Jews. We spent some time at the Wall that morning then had a nice walk back to the dorms on Mount Scopus.

That night I returned to the Old City for evening services. For dinner Nate and I went to a Rabbi’s place, also in the Old City, who we had learned with earlier in the week. We had a delightful dinner of ten people, all with different stories (although the majority were from New York). Of course we were served a lavish meal. As I’ve learned: “There’s nothing like every weekend in Israel.” It doesn’t matter if I eat healthy or not during the week because every single weekend is filled with wonderful, full meals. In Israel, the dinner invitations flow like water. (Water in Oregon of course – since there’s not a lot of water here).

On Sunday night Nate somehow convinced me to go crash at the hostel again. I slept a bit better this time. At 7am I got up and attended services for the morning until we blew the shofar. Afterwards I walked down to the Wall where I was surrounded by the sound of Shofarim. It was a very unique experience. Tired as can be, I walked back to Mount Scopus once again, and that completed my Rosh Hashana.

Sleeping and eating in the Old City on Rosh Hashana was incredible – even if it was a little rough. It made me realize that the Old City is actually a city – it’s not just Yeshivas, Food, Tourist Shops and the Wall. It was a magical place to be for the weekend.

On a separate note - my camera is in the mail so shortly I should be able to start posting pictures!

Well - this can be the first post. I sent this Email a few weeks ago and it gives a great idea of some of my first experiences in Israel.

"Last week I travelled to visit a friend and her family in Kiryat Ekron, a small, primarily Yemenite town 40 minutes outside of Jeru. I visited my friend, her brother, her mother, and grandmother for some time and then asked to see the neighborhood. A different member of their family owned every house on the street. That's 35 people, 8 houses, 1 family. The hospitality was over the top and it was different from anything I've experienced in the states. At the same time, I can't imagine having any privacy there!

There is a military airport just outside of Kiryat Ekron. While I was there, which was after the war ended, military jets took off and landed periodically - three to four times per day. When they did, the entire house would shake and it would be difficult to hear another person speak. The family said that two weeks ago, during the war, jets came and went all night every night.

I got along very well with one my friend's cousins. She is 18 years old, semi-rebellious, and beginning her Israel Defense Force service in three months. She opened up her feelings about Israel to me. She told me that in the past she has lost friends in terrorist attacks. The thing that upset her is that amongst all of this, "every hates Israel." In spite of her family of 35, she felt a serious lack of support from the outside world. She also explained that since the intifada, Israel has made leaps and bounds in stopping attacks. They are few and far between these days - so no worries!

Back on campus, I take 4 to 5 hours of Hebrew per day plus studying and homework at night. My roommates are Canadian, French, and Israeli. Campus is one of the most international places I've been. I learn something from every conversation."

I will also add that my camera was stolen during my time in Kiryat Ekron, so I'm a little short on pictures right now. Soon I should have another.

Danny

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