And I know things now, many valuable things...

I shall begin with an anecdote and then tell you more about my Shabbat.

Today after Shabbat morning services and lunch with friends, I came home to my apartment. As you may (or may not) know, I have an elevator in my building. I try to avoid the elevator on Shabbat, but as I was wearing heels and my feet hurt I decided to take the elevator today. I got in with an armload of stuff and a pressed the button to go to the second floor. After moving briefly, the elevator suddenly stopped and all the lights went out in the elevator. Great. The following thoughts immediately went through my head.

Oh no. This is bad.
Don't move.
If there's no power in the elevator, will it plummet to the ground?
I really should have taken the stairs.
This is the first time I've been trapped in the elevator...it's a shehechiyanu moment! (really, I thought that. You know you should be a Jewish educator when...)
Where's my phone and who can I call?

There was a bunch of cursing going on in between these thoughts, but this is a public blog so I'll spare you. I called Nancy (who is such a blessing!) and she said she'd come right over to help me and suggested that I call my landlord for help. Rivka (my landlord) called one of my neighbors and they where somehow able to get me out. It was only about 20 minutes I think that I was stuck, however still very scary. I have now found a new appreciation for stairs.

This weekend was filled with lovely people from home. Temple Beth Elohim from Wellesley, MA is here in Israel on their congregational trip (this is the synagogue where I taught first grade). There are 60 people including 30 children. I don't know how they have managed to organize such a trip but everyone looked incredibly happy and excited when I saw them.
I went to their hotel down the street from my apartment for dinner. Two of my students from this past year, Jonah and Danny, were on the trip. I had told Mara earlier that I would bring Moshe the Turtle with me. When Jonah heard about this he apparently could not stop talking about it all week. So of course, Jonah was thrilled to see that I had brought Moshe with me. We sat and talked for a little while after dinner and he told me about all the different things he had done so far in Israel on the trip. He told me a new word he learned in Hebrew (glidah - ice cream...very important for a 7 year old to know!) and consistently said todah (thank you) to me when he got up from the table. Jonah was also wearing the kippah he made the first day in class which he decorate with the words "I love being Jewish." It made me so incredibly happy and proud to see my student embracing Hebrew and Judaism and to know that I had helped in doing that for him. I really enjoyed being with TBE for my Shabbat evening. It was a special experience to be with them.

In the morning, I went to synagogue at HUC because I was reading Torah. The aliyah went incredibly well! Perhaps one of my best readings in awhile. I was nervous to not only chant in front of TBE folks (Danny and Jonah's families came to hear me...so sweet!), but in front of my classmates and professors as well. I want nothing more than to learn as much as I can while I'm here from all the people I can. I found that everyone was incredibly supportive and kind. The potential of my fellow cantorial students to be caddy was entirely non-existent. I feel so luck to be studying with such a kind class of people.

After the elevator escapade and a nap, I went with my classmates to visit Rabbi Michael Marmur's family in Talpiyot. He gave us a general tour of Talpiyot and then led us back to his house. We sat for about an hour and discussed the different minhagim (traditions) that we liked best about Shabbat and how they will play into our lives this year and in years the years to come in this very special profession. Some people loved being with friends and family for dinner; that made Shabbat special for them. As the discussion continued, we discovered different traditions in eating at home or eating out with friends. If we eat out, does that break Shabbat? someone asked. Do we have a responsibility to our future congregants to have explored being shomer Shabbat before handing out advice to congregants? It's a question that I have often thought about and grappled with. How do I tell my congregation about keeping kosher or keeping Shabbat rituals or about t'fillah when there are parts that I myself have never explored? Rabbi Marmur responded that he didn't think we had a "responsibility" to be shomer Shabbat. However, he did emphasize the opportunity that we have this year as students in Israel to explore different possibilities and minhagim. Through this exploration we will be able to become better and more enriched community leaders.

I hope that you have had a wonderful weekend! Keep in touch!
Love,
Sarah

Parallel Lives

Throughout the year, there are different activities offered to HUC students which allow you to connect to the greater Israeli society. I have decided to participate in a program called Parallel Lives. HUC students are joined by a group of Israeli soldiers for a day of activities. Today's opening event was about making initial connections.

The day started HUC where we met the 7 Israeli soldiers who have chosen to participate. They all have amazing English. They made it very apparent that they do not mind speaking in Hebrew (despite our slowness and many mistakes) with us. It will definitely be a fun opportunity to practice Hebrew. After basic introductions we got on the bus and went to Ein Kerem. We visited a monastery and our tour guide made the point that there are many parallels between religions as well as people. The monastery was beautiful. Very ornate.

After we went to a garden were we sat in small groups that included one soldier and a few HUC students. We had the chance to ask them questions about the army: Were you scared going into the army? Do you think it's fair that girls don't have to serve as long as guys? Do you want to be an officer? What do you want to do after the army? What sort of unit do you belong to? Their answers varied. The soldier I spoke with had been nervous to enter the army, but it seemed to be such a natural part of life that it didn't matter. He is very glad to serve his country because if he didn't, Israel wouldn't exist. Although he couldn't provide a lot of details he was connected to the paratrooper unit and said that he had jumped out of a plane 5 times. Where you scared? Yes. Every time a little more.

We then went to a nearby spring and had dinner and had more time to sit and chat. It was a very low key day, but very good overall. I was happy to meet them and I can't wait to sit and talk with them more. Hopefully the next time we'll be able to talk a little more about why we're at school. One of the soldiers was curious about our choice to become rabbis because "it had never occurred to me that it was a choice." I think it will be a great year with them.

More soon,

Sarah

An update before a Shabbos nap

I started writing this post on Tuesday. Really! However, time got away from me and I never got to finish writing my thoughts. I apologize. Here we go:

Tisha B'av, a Jewish holiday normally not so prominent in the states, was very pronounced in Jerusalem. I spent twenty-four hours fasting, studying, and praying. It was quite the experience. It began as Shabbat ended on Saturday night. Our Rabbinical interns led ma'ariv services and then led a creative reading of Eicha (The Book of Lamentations). There are five chapters in Eicha. The first chapter I participated in. I chanted the first two verses and then continued with a soft niggun. As I sang the niggun another Rabbinical student, Rachel, read a translation in English. I closed by singing the last two verses in Hebrew. It was a very cool affect. The second chapter was a text study, the third chapter was read by Rabbi Kelman, in place of the fourth chapter each of the interns gave their personal views about Tisha B'av, and the fifth chapter was time for personal reflection.

After the service ended I walked home and did a lot of reflecting. I have fasted in the past, but with more of a feeling of obligation than a specific reason. I realized that this bothered me. I personally needed a reason. One of the reasons given for the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD is because of sinat chinam (senseless hatred). This prompted me to think about hatred in our world and in my life. I feels rampant in the world and I can only hope that some of my work now and in the future will help to lessen it. It also made me think of gossip and the large amount of it that surrounds my life. I don't like that I gossip, but also find that there is a blurry line surrounding it. In the coming days I hope it's a line that I can begin to elucidate and then eliminate from my life.

The next day included a day of study and more reflection among my friends and future colleagues. It's so enjoyable having intelligent conversations with friends on topics that I have loved for years. I'm suddenly no longer the "only one" who wants to have conversations about our personal ideas of Judaism, kashrut, God, prayer, observance, Israel, etc. I love it.

The same thing happened a few nights later when I went out for a sushi dinner with Jillian. Our entire dinner conversation was about school and Judaism and life...it was fabulous conversation and I had a great time! Not to mention that it's always fun eating sushi. Yum!

Thursday we had a day called "Masoret Day" which involved a series of workshops on different traditional rituals. The workshops included learning how to lift the Torah for hagbah, learning how to properly call someone for an aliyah and also be called for an aliyah, the choreography of a service (ie. what's with all the swaying, bowing, standing, sitting, kissing, etc?), and learning to put on tefillin. It was an interesting day. Although much was a review, I learned the reasons for a lot of things which I always love. It's good to have the reason behind an action.

Now we're at Shabbat! Friday afternoon I cleaned (Amy and I have a deal. I clean the apartment, she goes grocery shopping. I love it!) and then went shopping with Rachel. I got two fantastic summer dresses. I feel one step closer to being Israeli now. It's great! I went to services at Kol Haneshama and then over to Nikki's apartment for Shabbat dinner with friends. I really enjoyed everyone company. The food was absolutely delicious as well. After dinner we sat talking for awhile and then pulled out the guitar and sang for at least an hour. My fingers ached so much afterwards and still do actually. It was lots of fun though. I love singing and playing guitar. We finally left around 1 am and then I crashed. This morning I went back to Kol Haneshama because Amy read Torah! She did great. Hearing my classmates slowly begin to lead services and participate more is so exciting! It's all slowly coming together. In that respect, it's going to be a great year!

And now, my favorite part of Shabbat....a nap!

Tzur Hadassah: A special Kabbalat Shabbat evening

This Friday I chose to join 20 of my classmates at Tzur Hadassah, a small moshav right outside of the West Bank, for Kabbalat Shabbat services and then dinner at a synagogue member's house. We arrived and met with a member of the synagogue who gave us a tour of Tzur Hadassah and a brief history of their community. The community was establish in 1960 and has grown today to have around 4000 families. Our guide explained to us that he arrived back in 2000 and found that he and his family yearned for some sort of Jewish religious experience, particularly around the High Holidays. Because there was no established synagogue in Tzur Hadassah, he would go to a Conservative synagogue in Jerusalem but found that he didn't like how strictly they followed halacha (Jewish law). He decided to create his own kabbalat Shabbat services in Tzur Hadassah and found the his community also loved the idea. Slowly it grew and became a permanent part of their community.

The actual location of Tzur Hadassah is gorgeous. Lots of mountains surrounding it with foliage and plants and flowers everywhere. It reminded me very much of the Poconos -- small and quiet and peaceful.

Services were held in a tiny building. It was explained that the original synagogue were actually two large storage boxes that had been welded together! You would never know to look it though. There were lots of colors and paintings in the room. It had a very homey feel. The service was absolutely lovely. Like the rest of the country, it was very casual and laid back. Things flowed from one to the next like it was the most natural thing in the world. Between the Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv service, the rabbi explained that it was their tradition to have a short study session with a large question. Tonight's question went as follows: Most Progressive (Reform) Jews believe that the Torah was written by many authors and not written by Moses (from God) at Sinai. If this is true, then is the Torah still holy? The congregation then began to participate and discuss this topic. I don't remember everyone's opinion, but the consensus was that the Torah is still holy. It's part of our tradition and it's part of our history. And more than that, it has seen b'nai mitzvah of generation and generation of children and at other significant moments in the generations of the Jews. That makes it holy. I found it an interesting discussion, although at times hard to understand because people mostly spoke in Hebrew. It took a lot of my concentration.

After services I went with Joel and Meredith to a family's house for dinner: Ido and Galit with their children Dolev (13), Lilach (8), and Naama (6). We arrived at their house and were introduced to the entire family (only Ido had gone to services). I asked Naama one question about her dog and we immediately became best friends. We sat on the couch for 5 minutes and then she took me upstairs to explore her bedroom. She showed me her treasure box of special objects and papers. She spoke to me in Hebrew very fast and rarely pausing for a breath. I maybe understood 60% of what she said, but as long as she didn't ask me a question I could generally get by in the conversation. And like any other 6 year old, she LOVED to talk so it didn't matter so much that I didn't do so much Hebrew speaking. She just wanted someone to listen. We talked (or she did) for awhile and then we started to play cards. We played "Milchama" or war. She was so cute. I kept on loosing my hands and I would make a face and she would giggle and giggle. It was very cute.

We said the blessings at dinner and while we munched on veggies and challah, Ido conducted a little study session on texts of Tisha B'av. The kids would read and answer his questions. It was really very nice. I got the feeling that something like this happens every Friday night at dinner. Dinner was fantastic! Chicken and potatoes, rice and meatballs, roasted veggies, and salad...delicious! The conversation at the table was wonderful as well. Their family is just charming!

After dinner we sat on the couch for a little while and sang a few songs on guitar and had dessert. Lilach wants to be a singer when she grows up. She had a beautiful voice. I wish I had been able to speak with her more. She seems like a very sweet girl. Before we knew it 9:30 arrived and so we had to go back to the bus. We were all very sad to have to leave such a lovely family. We're already planning our return to Tzur Hadassah so that we can visit again.

Beit Cafe: Bereshit

The first official Beit Cafe of the year was a huge hit! The theme of the evening was "Bereshit: Getting to Know you." The plan was to have a nice relaxing evening for our classmates to display their talents in a casual setting. In addition to fun, we also wanted the evening to have a tzedakah component to it as well. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was one of the three organizers along with Joel and Daniel. We decided that for this beit cafe all of our proceeds would be donated to the International Movement of Progressive Judaism. I was in charge of organizing the talent show portion of the evening. I put together a program of different acts. They included everything from a dramatic of "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe, to a performance of "Tribute" Tenacious D, to an original poem, to a performance of West (Jerusalem) Side Story, and more. Everyone worked so hard on their acts. It was really nice to see. We have really talented members of our class! Our MCs for the evening were Meredith and Ari. They wrote a really cute song to the tune of "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid. I'll post the lyrics below. They were incredibly amusing.

In the middle of the evening was an auction to help raise money for the IMPJ. Some of the items were from students last year that wanted to sell things from their apartment like a hairdryer, heater, map of Jerusalem, a cooking bowl, a shuk cart, etc. These were auctioned off in a silent auction. In our live auction there were services donated by current students such as dinner, a yoga lesson, guitar lesson, etc. Some of the items went for more than 200 sh'kalim! I also happen to be the proud owner of 4 guitar lessons. I can't tell you how excited I am to start brushing up my guitar skills formally.

Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time and did a great job when performing! But the most successful part of the evening for me was that we raised 2400 sh'kalim (approximately $675!) to be donated to the IMPJ. Not bad for one evening of fund raising!

A quick note to those interested: My m'karer (refrigerator) is now fixed! I have cold food again! Life is good.

M'karerrrrrrrrrrr

M'karer is Hebrew for refrigerator. Freshman year I sat in my dorm with Helaina (Matt, too maybe?) memorizing vocabulary words. We decided to come up with different mnemonic devices to help us with memorization. We got to m'karer. Here was my idea: At night when the house is quiet all you here is the buzzing of the refrigerator going rrrrrrrrrrrrr. That's how you remember refrigerator. M'karerrrrrrrrrrrrr. Of course, the story is much better when I tell it in person, but you get the idea. Never did I think that m'karer would come in helpful in my daily life. I was proven wrong. My m'karer appears to be dying. Despite the fact that we have it set for a cold temperature, the m'karer is warm. This is the second time it has done this. Luckily we were able to save the food and put it in a neighbor's m'karer. I shake my fist at you m'karer! The landlord is fixing it tomorrow.

Today was a tremendously busy day. It was one of the first days in Ulpan that I did not feel on top of the material we covered. We studied different prepositions and when to use them with certain verbs. It's a concept that I've never been very good at in the past. It was a fairly frustrating so a classmate and I decided to meet later in the day to review it. Good. Immediately after class I went to a meeting and then choir. Choir was lots of fun as always with Jay. I still find it amazing how caring he is about our vocal health and at his apparent abundance of patience. This is how a music director should be! The music is also fantastic. We sang a setting of Ashreinu by Bonia Shur. It's a relatively simple tune, but very beautiful for a choir. After choir I review Hebrew (definitely a good thing) and then worked on music theory for awhile. It was a very long day, but I happily went home and had sushi for dinner with Amy. Yum!

Tomorrow is the Beit Cafe! Beit Cafe (translated to coffee house) is sort of like a cabaret. We'll be having food, a talent show, and an auction with all of the proceeds going towards the Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ). They are in a lot of debt and so our class is very excited to help our future colleagues in Israel. I'm one of the three organizers of the evening. It's shaping up to be a fantastic night! It's been a lot of work, but I'm incredibly excited. I think it will be well worth all the extra meetings, emails, and phone calls.

Shabbat this past weekend was wonderful (as always). I went to the southern side of the Kotel on Friday night to pray with Rabbi Medwin's congregation (our intern Dan Medwin's mom). The southern side of the Kotel is where people would go to enter into the Temple. As Rabbi Medwin said, "they can have their mishigas [craziness] with the Western Wall. This is just as holy a spot, if not more! This is where the kohanim entered to go to the Temple." Sitting on the steps overlooking Jerusalem was spectacular. The service consisted of mostly English readings that Rabbi Medwin had compiled from different sidduring, writers, and liturgy: Mishkan T'fillah, Gates of Prayer, Psalms, the Talmud, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Yehuda Amichai, and more.
It was a spectacular compilation that I will keep for further use.

In the middle of the service, I noticed a congregant who appeared to be on the older side. I caught her eye at one point during the service and we smiled. I decided to introduce myself after the service. I went up to her and told her what a beautiful smile she has and we became immediate and fast friends. We spoke for maybe 5 minutes before we had to go our separate ways. Those 5 minutes were probably the holiest I felt that entire Shabbat. I still find it so spectacular to meet and connect with the elderly -- being in maybe a hundred feet away from the Kotel only heightened the experience for me. What a wonderful gift to have met Rachel that Shabbat.