A Restful Shabbat

As it turns out, I was able to relax and catch up on some sleep this Shabbat, which is exactly what I needed. After barely sleeping for about a week, I was beginning to run myself into the ground. I left Eli's place around 1:30 in the afternoon and made my way back to the central bus station in Jerusalem. What a zoo. My God. It seemed like the whole country was trying to escape the city before Shabbat came and everything shut down. I arrived at the central bus station in TA about an hour later, where Alex was waiting for me. We wandered through a shuk for a little while, looking at clothes and goofing off, before eventually buying some baklava for that night and hopping a sherut to his apartment in Petach Tikva.

We got a little turned around en route and had to ask the driver to drive us back to Petach Tikva. Alex has only been living in this flat for about a month, so he still doesn't know the area very well. He shares a place with 5 other lone soldiers. The apartment is very nice, supplied by the army for the use of its lone soldiers. The life of a lone soldier in the Israeli army is not the easiest life to lead. The people I met were the picture of mental exhaustion. They were young, on leave and just trying to forget about the army as much as they could before they had to return to base. Alex is a cook in the army, so we made a feast last night. Roast chicken, fried chicken, stuffed peppers with meat, rice, salad, pita and hummus. Some girls who lived in the building came by and we ate seemingly forever.

The artist at work in his studio

We watched a movie and then went to sleep. It was glorious. I slept until 10:30 in the morning and I needed every minute of it. I got up and got dressed, and at noon my cousin Itzik picked me up. Itzik and his family live in Givatayim, a wealthy suburb of Tel Aviv. Before March of this year, I didn't even know that I had family near Tel Aviv, but after much prodding from my dad, I ponied up and called him. I ended up spending all afternoon with him. First I met his mother at her home. She noted how much I look like my Bubbie Nacha (I didn't know that), and sat down to ask me all about my family over a piece of cake. A proud Yiddishe Mama. Next I went with Itzik to his family's home for lunch. I met my new cousins (although I'm having trouble with some of the names so I will get back to you when I am more certain of them) and we talked and ate and relaxed.

The Weiss family and I in Givatayim

Eventually Doron and Rina (Itzik's son and one of his daughters) took me on a short walking tour of Givatayim. It's a beautiful neighborhood, very different from Haifa. I don't know that I can really explain the difference, but the cities have a different feel to them. I did snap this photo of Tel Aviv from a distance.


The best thing about the afternoon was that four whole hours, I threw caution to the wind and spoke nothing but Hebrew. And I did pretty damn well with it too! I am finding that my Ulpan combined with my real life experiences are combining to enhance and expand my Hebrew vocabulary on a daily basis. I'm learning new words and phrases, and putting them to use almost immediately. Speaking Hebrew still requires more concentration than English, so after the visit was over, I was once again drained. I went back to Alex's and we hung out for another 2 hours, before I caught a 6:15 bus back to Haifa. Travel is great, but it's always nice to return home. Things get crazy again tomorrow, so I'm going to take the opportunity to get another full night's sleep tonight.

A Night In The Capitol

I stayed up too late last night, and yelled way too much, so I have a sore throat this morning. It was well worth it though. I'm at Eli Wald's dorm on Mount Scopus right now, near the Hebrew University campus. For those that don't know, Eli is one of my oldest and closest friends and is interning with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until February. There are a lot of things I had forgotten about this city since the last time I was here. For one, it is one enormous maze; A true urban planning nightmare. Because parts of the city are so old, they were built before cars were common. I am amazed that my bus was able to make it through some of these streets on the way here from the central bus station.

Eli and I in his dorm on Mount Scopus

Another thing to note about Jerusalem is the way the neighborhoods change in the blink of an eye. I counted at least 4 distinctly different areas along the way, and I'm certain that I missed the nuances of several others. The central bus station is in a relatively affluent downtown type area, with shops, hotels and construction projects along the way. We followed this through to an ultra orthodox neighborhood. It breaks my heart to see the way the orthodox live in this country. These neighborhoods are filthy, squalid and dirt poor. More than 50% of orthodox Israeli families live below the poverty line, most by choice. Most orthodox men choose not to work, preferring around the clock Torah study instead, and orthodox couples often have 6 or 7 children. We then pulled into a Palestinian neighborhood in Jerusalem. I'm as in favor of a united Jerusalem as anyone you will meet, but I can tell you that in 2007 Jerusalem is united in name only. There are no Jews in these neighborhoods, all the signs are in Arabic. It's total segregation. Eventually we wound our way up to Mount Scopus and the neighborhood changed again. This time the streets widened and the buildings looked a little more modern, and eventually I reached the student dorms. Eli and I chilled at his apartment for a few hours and I met all his roommates. Cool guys. While here, we heard the Muslim call to prayer twice through his bedroom window. Just another strong reminder that this is a religious city. Eli likes to joke that he is getting the "Jerusalem Syndrome."

Some of the local Jerusalem "flavor"

The reason for my trip was last night's "Hadag Nachash" concert at the Jerusalem Theatre. Hadag Nachash is my favorite Israeli group. I've seen them once before in concert in Chicago, and they put on a fantastic show, so I was really excited about seeing them on their home turf. The event was organized by the Masa fund, a scholarship program that gives young, non-Israeli Jews money for long term programs in Israel. Once in Israel, Masa organizes programs for it's participants. I guess this knowledge should have tempered my expectations but I was too excited about the concert to consider the organizers or the other participants. Eli and I bused to the theatre with a friend of his, and it became apparent immediately that this was just an American concert located in Israel. I felt like I was at a USY convention.

Sitting on the stage before the show

I did locate the Nativ program while I was at the concert. (Surprised?) Know that they all look very happy and healthy and are enjoying their program immensely. I also saw my old friend (and my brother's old counselor) Alex Freedman, who is studying at the Conservative Yeshiva. The concert itself was somewhat disappointing. Hadag Nachash only played a half set, and there was no opening band. In addition, the sound guy really blew it with this concert. We couldn't here any of the words because he kept screwing with the settings, and their were no outward facing speakers on the stage. We were up against the stage, usually the best place to be at a concert. Last night this meant all the sound was being projected to the back of the hall from speakers behind us. Just terrible. I guess I should have lowered my expectations for a canned Masa program like last night. If those were real fans in the audience, I don't think they would have played us like that.


Hadag Nachash performing "חליפות"

This afternoon I'm heading to Tel Aviv to meet up with Alex Judd, another childhood friend of mine who came to Israel to find himself. For Alex, this meant joining the army. He is now a cook in the army. We are making Shabbat dinner tonight and I'm looking forward to seeing what tricks he has picked up in the kitchen. More adventures to follow, but probably no more sleep. I'll check in soon and post pictures on my weekend. Shabbat shalom.

Me and Nativ 27.

This is Alex Freedman, the best staff member that Ramah has ever seen.

In Israel, they spell Brener correctly. In the U.S., not so much.

Culture Wednesday

We have a relatively large, open grassy area alongside the main building, and and up away from the dorms. Until today all I've seen it used for is people sitting and chilling. There is a cafe next to it but the grass itself was not used for much. Apparently it is going to be used a lot. Every Wednesday on campus is designated "תרבות יום ד", or Culture Wednesday. The student union (who I am growing more fond of as the semester progresses) puts on concerts and performances around lunchtime on Wednesdays. In addition, they hand out free cups of Tuborg and Carlsberg for anyone on campus. Can you imagine this in the states? Never in a million years would it happen. The band today played rock, both local and international. I really warmed to them during their excellent cover of Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb."

Two of my roommates (Hamza and Samer) are completely moved in now. The strike will be stretching into its third week on Sunday, so I'm really grateful to have people in the house now. I think they sort of see me as a novelty though. I'm the American Jew who is studying Arabic. They had some friends over last night and they were all focusing on me. I liked the attention and all but it gave me a strange feeling like I was on display. I don't know. It's probably just me. I've decided that I will not have any alcohol in the kitchen. I don't know if my roommates are religious, or even if they are Muslim, but I don't want to offend anyone. It's the same license I would want to maintain a pork free kitchen.

I have a big Hebrew test tomorrow morning so I've put in a solid couple hours in group study this evening. Tonight's pleasure was gathering a couple of friends to cook dinner and then eat and talk over the meal. I'm thinking of starting an informal cooking club (מועדון בישול) for me and my friends. Just get together one night per week during the school week, make a big elaborate meal as a group, and then feast. Plus if we cook in someone else's flat, I will have access to a toaster oven...

That's all for now. I want to look over my notes a little more for the aforementioned test and then hit the hay. I'm going to Jerusalem tomorrow for a Hadag Nachash concert. Posts and photos to follow.

Soapathy

When I get really busy or really tired, the first thing that I forgo is regular showers. It's not something I'm proud of but it's just how it is with me. As it stands now, I haven't showered since Sunday morning. I intended to get clean this morning, but instead I snoozed my alarm three times, and then there was only time for a quick bite to eat before I left for my 8 AM Hebrew ulpan class. I do plan on grabbing a shower this afternoon before "Terrorism and Responses."

Mondays and Tuesdays are just really long for me. Yesterday I had seven hours of classes, another 3 hours of homework and somewhere in between I found time for two other activit ies: First of all, my volunteer program 'began' last night. I will be tutoring young Ethiopian olim in English. We were supposed to go to meet the kids last night. We drove to Kiryat Chaim (a low income suburb of Haifa) to a community center where we were meeting them. We got about 5 minutes of face time before they all left, and then we had 2 hours to sit around and do nothing before the bus came back to pick us all up. What an absolute waste of time. I'm usually pretty comfortable with minimal levels of organization, but this was total disorganization.

As frustrating as that was, I had the opportunity to do something fun that I never EVER considered doing in Israel. An Israeli friend of mine is a baseball fan, and he borrowed 2 gloves and a baseball from his younger brother. We played catch! Just like in the front yard with my dad, or back in Champaign on the quad. Such a merging of two of my greatest passions (baseball and Israel) I had never thought possible.

Rina is loading us with more Arabic homework than I can believe. I'm picking it up quickly, which is good, but I also need time for my other classes and a little time to relax during the week. We had 2 hours last night, and she gave us about 3 for an encore tonight. My sourpuss countenance didn't last long though. The student union was handing out cotton candy on the main pedestrian walkway between the dorms and the school buildings! I was thoroughly enjoying this childhood pleasure when one of the Israelis told me what cotton candy is called in Hebrew: grandmother's hair (שערות סבתה.) It's a revolting image, and the cotton candy became immediately became less appealing. This gave me an idea.

What if the solution to America's weight problem is giving horrible names to otherwise alluring junk food? Could this work? Would people really be less inclined to eat something that they know tastes good if it had a vile name? Of course being the amateur scientist that I am, I needed to test this hypothesis. We're going to go with something that is universally believed to have no health benefits whatsoever: soda-pop. People argue about whether to call it 'soda' or 'pop' but I'm dispensing with both of these terms. From now on, the only phrase you'll see in this space is "roadkill juice."

Who wants a cold bottle of roadkill juice?!

Here's what I need from you: Tell me if this is having any effect at all. For my college-age readers: do you find yourselves more likely to take the vodka straight instead of mixing it with roadkill juice? For my fellow KS members: are there fewer roadkill juice rewards caps available for me at the end of a kiddush lunch? Don't tell me now. Assess after a few months of random reinforcement from this page.

I want to close today's entry on a serious note. Today is an international solidarity day for Israel's 3 kidnapped soldiers: Gilad Shalit, being held captive by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev who are being held by Hizbollah, captured in the cross border attack that provoked the Second Lebanon War. Whether you are participating in an organized program or not, please take a few moments today to think of them, or pray for them if you are inclined to do so, that we will not forget them. Hopefully soon they will come home.

Sunday Study Sunday

Today was a homework day for me so nothing terribly exciting happened. We have a group project for "Terrorism and Responses" in which we need to prepare a security briefing on a non-Middle East terrorist organization, including a 5-7 page paper and a 20 minute class presentation. My group is presenting on the LTTE (Tamil Tigers.) I did 3 hours of research on the Tigers to learn that they are not really nice guys.

Finished up my Arabic this evening with Doris. Our teacher is gonna load us up with work this semester, but it's fine with me. I'll learn Arabic much more quickly with extra repetitions, and working with a partner has kept me honest and motivated. Now I'm watching football (the American variety) with a couple other guys in the moadon. It's become somewhat of a Sunday night ritual for us. Unfortunately, we only get one game per week, and the Bears haven't been the featured game yet.