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