Dad's Trip 2

M'tzadah
Herod, a King of Isreal during the Second Temple Period (576 B.C.E.-70 C.E.), build a fortress on top of a mountain next to the Dead Sea. As Israel fell against the hands of the Roman's, many fled to areas outside of Jerusalem, the center of life of all the Judaism. The place the King had made for himself was M'tzadah.

It is a beautiful palace with many public bathing areas, some still with the floor and wall mosaics in tact. Almost nothing brings history alive the way a city that was destroyed thousands of years ago still maintains some of its beauty, uncovered only when the Jews came back to their country of origin.



This is a hot public bath. The space underneath the floor is meant for logs that are on fire. People would put logs into this space from a hole in the wall on the outside of the bathing area. What an ingenious idea!!!

Dead Sea
So, I am not really a fan of the dead sea. Last time I went in there all my most special places started to burn, especially the little cuts on my fingers that come about because I constantly pick them. I decided that I never needed to go in that salty, evil burning water ever again. Maybe I am being a little harsh on this disappearing sea (Its coast line has retreated hundreds of meters since the 60's.) But seriously, private not-really-part-of-the-beach beaches should have warnings about this stuff.

So anywho, I invited Dad and Paula to get into the water, but I was not going there. I saw some friends at the beach resort we were at, and they convinced me to smear black mud on myself. They even secured some of the best mud on the beach for me.


Dad and Paula with mud all over themselves.















Tzfat
There is a special blessing that comes about once every 28 years. This blessing, the blessing of the sun, happened this year. It was during the intermediate days of one of the three biggest holidays of the Jewish year, Pesach, so there was a week-long festival in the holy city of Tzfat.

There were many things going on at every hour, but I believe that I made good choises. At night I went to different lectures/jamming sessions. In the morning, at a very early hour, I went to the grave of a very special person who lived in the 1500's, The Ari Zal. I had time to go to a special, musical prayer service, with guitars violins, and even a guy with a trumpet. After all that I felt prepared to attned a "Hebrew alphabet tai chi class." But one of the best things about this trip was visiting many of the art studios that were opened up for the festival. Tzfat has always been a city that attracts the artists in Israel, so seeing this thriving community was like seeing the art in the whole land.





Me sitting in an art gallery.

Yom HaShoah--Holocaust Day

Today was a day of remembrance. A day of saying "never forget." A day to remember the Holocaust.

Every year since 1951, Israel has taken the time out of her day to remember the events of the Holocaust. This is a tall order for the people of today, as the life in Israel seems as hustle and bustle as any first world country.

Standing outside and seeing the whole world stop is heartbreaking... but only because during the holocaust almost no one took the time to focus on what was happening. Well now it is not too late.

The next week I was able to go to the Holocaust museum and see the children's memorial. Outside of the building there was a line from the Bible that stated, "The Candle of G-d is the soul of Man." Inside the memorial there was a room with a single candle lit in the middle. It was surrounded by glass, and behind where people could walk around the circular room was mirrors from the floor to the ceiling. The effect was enormous: in the myriads of reflected light, all one could think of is the very same myriads of children who were taken from this world.














The following week I was actually able to get up early and give my full day to the main exhibit. It took me about 5 hours to go from the ghettos, to the gas chambers, to the righteous people who risked their lives helping to save people from the travesty that was the Holocaust.

...I felt taxed and drained when I left...

Dad's Trip 1

So I have basically been doing some not-so-interesting touristy things for a while, but I will give a quick overview of them:

This is the Kotel (Western or Wailing Wall), the holiest site Jews go to today. When the Temple still stood, this was the retaining wall of the mountain. It is all Jews have left of our Temple.
For thousands of years, Jews have not been allowed to go near the Wall. In recent times, Jews had to stand far away, behind a fence. It was all some could to to get a glance at this Holy site. It was a garbage dump for the Arabs who controlled the land.
Today the Wall serves as a connection between many elements of the world: almost ever-lasting rocks are filled with plants, birds, and notes written by man. And they are all singing the praises of G-d.

Did I say that was the holiest site? I meant this is. This picture was taken at the section of the Kotel that was closest to the Kodesh Kedoshim (Holy of Holies). This was the place, when the Temple stood, that the High Priest (yes, Jews had them first too...) would go to on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur.
If not for the religious significance, this site is an ancient marvel of architecture. As in accordance with Herodian arcitechture, there was no mortar or cement used and each stone's border was chiseled in about 1/2-1 inch. Each stone was inlay, towards the inside of the Wall, about 1 1/2 inches. This was for the visual appeal of the Wall not "falling" on a bystander, at it towered over the street level. There are some stones used in the wall that are too heavy, many times over, for any modern machine to lift.
This portion of the Wall is underground. In the times of the Temple, destroyed about 70 Common Era (abb. C.E.), this was groundlevel. Over the next two thousand years, layer upon layer of houses and streets cover this site that is so rich in meaning to the Jews.

There is not so much water in Israel. I mean, it is a desert...
So in the times of the first Temple, King David built an underground channel to carry water into a large cistern.
The channel is now a tourist attraction, since us modern people cannot stomach this water anymore.
I went on a little detour in the tunnels, probably off limits. But I found a wallet of a girl who had, upon investigation, come only two days earlier. Her name was Adina. There was about the equivalent of 30 USDs inside. When we went to the front desk and asked if there was a lost wallet report, sure enough Adina had already inquired to them.

I felt like such a good citizen :)

Almost nothing has touched me more from Dad and Paula's trip than Paula's openmindedness. It is really hard to accept a country and a culture when you feel that they havent accepted you. But despite all preconceptions, I believe Paula has come to find that the people here do accept her. And in return she bought a frummy hat, and even started covering her hair on holidays .
Dad is pretty excited about this. And the whole world is smiling that she didn't buy a snood... heh heh heh

Passover is coming, and all of Isreal is getting ready!!!
At many street corners, people are waiting to "kasher" (go through the process of making something kosher) their utensils they want to use for Passover. Bread is forbidden on Passover, so any items which have absorbed the flavor of something that could contain bread must be rekashered for the holiday.
The method of boiling out the flavor is seen here, where usensils that are not directly touching food and flame (like the oven itself or a deepfryer) can be dipped in the very hot boiling water and then directly into cold water.

In Judaism it is usually advised not to waste food. But before the special holiday of Passover, many keep the mitzvah of burning any remaining food that could contained leavened bread in it (even the tiniest amount of crumbs could make something not acceptable to eat during this holiday).
In Isreal, there are streets sprinkled with public fires so that those who need to can destroy any remaining foods which aren't Kosher for Passover.
These fires mark the end of a long, long process of cleaning that each and every Jewish household goes through. It is kind of the first sign of freedom (from the cleaning), the marked theme of the holiday.

Swimming in Eilat

So I am here in the middle of Israel. And one day I woke up and thought to myself, what would be more fun that traveling to a town filled with sun and beach for a weekend.

I woke up five o'clock the next morning to make that happen.

So the trip began with a five hour bus ride to the south-most tip of Israel. No really. If we would have gone the next town over we would have been in Egypt or Jordan. My roommate, Shifka, and I went down to stay with a girl from school Nesia. Her boyfriend lives there, with his brother. As soon as we got there we went to the beach. Then the next day, Shabbos, we woke up and went to the beach. Then the next day, we woke up and went to a different beach.

At the beach on the last day, we went swimming in water with coral. The coral is a great place for lots of other sea animals to eat and play. I mean, I dont think there was a swing set, but fish dont know how to pump anyway. The water was emerald green and completely clear. We swam with fish that I had only ever seen in aquariums. It was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen in my life. :)









Coral and my sadly burnt face...

Sticks n' kicks

So it was my b-day yesterday, and I thought that while I just had a hot paycheck in my hand, why not buy something nice for myself. Well, I turned that something into somethings. :)

I haven't done a cross stitch in about a year, and my last attempt is still not completed.... How about take two?







These are a new version of my favorite old pair of shoes. Mom would be so pissed if she knew I bought a pair. There is no arch--and no ankle support. But mom, they are just so darn stylish!!!

Tu B'Shvat

Today is Tu B'shvat in the Jewish calendar. Tu B'Shvat is a partial festival, on which trees that were planted for at least about a half of year have a birthday. It is called the New year for trees. Tu B'shvat is actually one of four "new years" in the Jewish calendar.

I decided that it had been long enough, since I had not planned anything at Mayanot yet. So I decided to have a "kabbalistic seder" in which we moved from the different kabbalistic worlds and through the different types of Torah expoundation. But really, the whole point was to eat great fruits and desserts. :)

...More later :/ But pictures NOW!!!

Campaining in Mayanot

In memory of the leader of Chabad's inaugurations on the Jewish calendar date yud shvat (this year it landed on 4th of February) we acted out his 10 campaigns. The one my group got was Kosher, something very important in keeping a body spiritually healthy. But, as I have been finding out at Mayanot, not always so physically healthy...

I decided to present "Kosher" with a skit about the different animals that are kosher and why they are. I made masks for the characters, Missy Fishy, Chicky Chick, and Meatwad. The latter being a knock-off from one of my favorite cartoons.

N'tivot

As the operation in Gaza was underway, many Israeli cities were hit daily with rocket attacks. Schools were closed, and bomb shelters were opened for public use. Many people gathered in the shelters for community purposes, like praying (Jewish men gather three times a day to pray with 10 or more people together). Living like this is hard, especially for kids who are used to playing in the streets without danger.

Lev Echad is an organization dedicated to bringing a little more joy into the lives of children affected by war in Israel. Many Israelis gather from all over the country and travel to the areas most impacted from the rockets with one purpose: bringing light into the darkest places.

I came to a bus with no concept of Lev Echad or the cities that I would be visiting. After seeing signs on the freeway that said "S'derot" for a few hours, we were given instructions on what to do if we heard a siren. Get to a bomb shelter. Or a downstairs stairway. Or, at the very least, off the bus. At all times spent traveling we were meant to stay in covered areas, particularly in the middlemost part of a building.

After leaving S'derot for our final destination, N'tivot, we were taken to a colony of shelters belonging to Lev Echad. We entered a dining hall with a room full of games in the next room. By the time I got to the game room all the best board games were taken, which was OK with me. I spotted the paint in the first place. What could be more fun than getting messy with kids I have never met before?

Feeling the War

Until today, if someone asked me if I was scared about the war I would say no. It felt like the "war" in America was contained completely on the television. But living a peaceful life in Israel became a dream of mine, something I understand that we must fight for.

In Ulpan (a class dedicated to teaching students how to speak Hebrew) we always learn many things, about history of and life in Israel. But today I learned something stronger than that. An alarm went off in Jerusalem, but I dismissed it as an ambulance until I saw the face of our Israeli instructor. "That isn't an ambulance--get under the table." A few people grabbed their phones as they crawled to the safest place in the room. Calling the director or family members, everyone had the same intention: find out if we were getting bombed in Jerusalem.

When the sirens stop, we all move slowly back to our seats. Stunned, the students begin to question the teacher about the war and the threat to Jerusalem. My chavrusa (the girl I work one-on-one with to translate texts) can't sit down; she questions the teacher with nothing but stress coming from her lips. In the middle of a sentence, she grabs her shoulder in pain. I take her outside. All I can think is that this is the beginning of a panic attack. As I calm her down all I can say is, "We can't let them take over our lives. Leaving is what they want us to do, so they can take over our land for their own."

I am reminding myself as much as I am telling her.

The Director of the school comes in to class a little later. The alarm was a mistake. There are no bombs coming to Jerusalem. Yet. At lunch we receive instructions on what to do if we hear the alarm again, G-d Forbid.

Shabbos in K'far Chabad

K'far Chabad is a blast from the past. Over the last 30 years, sadly, the life has become more modern little by little. They now have paved roads. But don't worry the horses are still allowed to walk on them. ;)


(The pic on the top is from 1966, below is present day where a picture of the Rebbe hangs to greet those entering and leaving.)

We got to this small town on Friday afternoon, and stopped right in front of 770, a replica of the famous building "770" (Eastern Parkway, NYC) where the last leader of the Chabad movement, endearningly called the Rebbe z"l, had his office. They have somehow cropped up all over the world. (Below is 770 K'far Chabad.)

We had to rush to our host families after a longer than necessary picture shoot. I was invited warmly into the house of a family, Goodman, who had moved to K'far Chabad 25 or 30 years ago. The wife grew up Bais Yaakov (a title given to people who go to a type of Jewish School when they are young), from a Sephardic family. The husband was baalei t'shuva (returned to Judaism from a non-orthodox background). They were both more than happy to have me and Sarah (another girl from seminary) over for Shabbos.

The town was like a little paradise when looking in from the outside. Everyone in town knew everyone else, and even where they lived. There were no addresses or street names posted, you just had to ask folks on the street to find where someone lived. No one locked their doors. Kids played in the streets, even after dark. Of couse this kind of safety doesn't come without a downside, but it is still nice to think about places like this still existing.

Today's Journal Entry

There seemed to be a theme today at Mayanot. When Rabbi Levinger was talking about the chapter, he discussed why something as simple as a flat denial of a yid's jewishness strikes us so deeply. He gave the example of the visa office giving students a hard time. Nothing could have stuck me deeper.

Rabbi Braun also brought up this concept in his class. He spoke of the difference between people who openly express their closeness with H', and people in which this closeness is less revealed. He then gave a story about a man who gave his life for Judaism. The man was in Auschwitz, and he was still completely agianst all things Jewish. As all the people around him were celebrating Simchas Torah, he sat with scorn. But when the Nazi's came in, with their guns in hand, he was the one that explained to them what they were doing. The song they heard, the man bravely said, was sung to express the Holyness of G-d and the purity of the Jewish people. He was shot on the spot. He gave his life for Judaism, the one thing he thought he didn't believe in before this trying moment.

A connected Shabbat

I spent Shabbat up north, in a very spiritual city called Tzvat. It is known for a city in which many people who contributed to the development of Kabbalah lived. I was even able to visit the grave of a very famous Kabbalist, the AriZal, whose order of prayers in the prayerbook Chassidim (such as Chabad) and Sephardim (all groups from Middle Eastern coutries, France and Spain) still use today.

The whole weekend was sprinkled with meaningful conversations, including the bus ride to and from the town. Many of the classes I attended there were open-forum, so I was able to get many questions answered. There were other classes that were at more beginner levels. Those too were great, because I was able to overview topics that I had learned parts in-depth. Thus, I was able to connect many of the ideas that are seemingly very separate.

On Sunday we took off on a hike in the woods surrounding the city. We walked about 30 mins up a long road, until eventually coming to the trail head. The woods were alder and olive. Every once in a while we would come to a clearing that overlooked the distant hills. The whole area was green, with small towns dotting the scenery. We decided to turn back as the sun went down, but not before we sat and watched the rich colors of the sky turn from light blue and orange to red, to finally purple.


The walk back was cold, which just made the warm food at the restaurant back in town feel even better.