Playing Catch Up: Part 2

Here's our July so-far update. It's hard to believe we've only been here for three weeks!

July 1: Gavi's first day at Conservative Yeshiva and Jason's first day as a househusband. After a slightly delayed start to her orientation, we were given a tour by the head of the Yeshiva and received a very nice welcome from the staff. Gavi signed up for two TaNaCH classes, a class on Conservative Respona taught by Rabbi Joel Roth, and a social justice class taught by Rabbi Elyse Winick, whom we know from Brandeis Hillel and Gavi knows from Ramah Berkshires. At dinner Jason said a shehechiyanu over his first attempt at schnitzel.

July 2: We got a tour of the HUC campus which happens to be BEAUTIFUL. It will be a fantastic place to get to learn. Later that day we went for a walk to the Tayelet which (as you can see here) has some incredible views. The day wrapped up with a Brandeis Alumni event where we found some old friends and met some interesting older alumni who were very excited to talk to a newlywed Brandeis couple.

July 3: Hot dog night! Gavi's cousins who live in Israel love American hot dogs (Israel hot dogs are a-weird and b-made out of chicken). So, whenever someone in the family comes to the States, they buy some CostCo sized packages of kosher franks and gather the family for a barbeque. We sat under the stars and had a great time eating and talking (even in Hebrew sometimes!) with our family.

July 4: Finally made it to the Old City. We walked around a lot and spent a fair amount of time in the Muslim Quarter. Of course, we also went to the Kotel and each took a moment on our respective sides of the wall to think and reflect. Later that night we gathered with the HUC crew to eat hot dogs and burgers and drink some beer to celebrate the 4th. We were sure to be nice to our British program head.

July 5: IT'S ALMOST GAVI'S BIRTHDAY! We traveled to Tel Aviv to celebrate and on the way found a Kosher McDonald's, so, obviously, we had to partake. We made it to the hotel and went for a nighttime walk on the beach with some ice cream. Jason maybe asked for tomato flavored ice cream when he forgot the word for cookie. An honest mistake. (It is striking that most of our adventures have to do with food...On second thought, that doesn't surprise us at all.)

July 6: BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY!! A fantastic day in Tel Aviv. Here's a quick rundown: yummy brunch, walk through Nachalat Binyamin, the artist fair, where we picked up some great pieces, borekas in the shuk, sitting on the beach to watch the sunset, Piccola Pasta for super delicious Italian dinner. If you are in Tel Aviv...go there. It's a great little place for a special occasion. While we were at the shuk, we also bought a little challah and some honey to make sure we continued our minhag of challah u'dvash for Shabbat. Oh, and did we mention? BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY!

*It should be noted that Jason currently has control of the keyboard and really likes birthdays.

July 7: Hayom Yom Hof HaYam. Beach day! Lots of sitting, relaxing, reading, and avoiding jellyfish in the water. Also, ribs and chicken wings for lunch. Did we mention that ALL of the meat here is Kosher?! That night we went for hummus with close friends who are getting married in two weeks before heading back to Jerusalem. Birthdaymoon success.

July 8: Sunday was Jason's last day before HUC orientation started, so he spent the day joining Gavi in her classes to get a taste of CY. The classes were fantastic with lots of knowledge to be shared. Gavi and Jason had their first chevruta together and also went to an incredible lecture from Rabbi Joel Roth on a responsa he wrote in 1984 advocating (successfully) to ordain women as rabbis at JTS.

It is still a controversial decision because, while his responsa found a legal way to ordain women, it was not an egalitarian answer. When it was passed, it was controversial because it elevated the role of women in Conservative Jewish prayer; today it is controversial because that responsa did not make a definitive egalitarian argument to include all women in all aspects of traditional Jewish life. Whether you agree with Rabbi Roth or not, it was truly fascinating to hear how he developed and defended his argument and how he recalls the history and continued effects of the debate. Clearly, it gave us a lot to think and talk about.

But, let's get back to what's really important: that night we had homemade buffalo wings at our friends' house.

July 9: Jason got started with HUC orientation, meeting classmates, being introduced to the big questions that will be asked this year, for the next 5 years of school, and for a (hopefully) very long career in the rabbinate. HUC often invites "SO's" (Significant Others) to events for the students, so Gavi came to join for dinner. Afterwards we walked to the wall outside the old city, and had a brief shiur (lesson) on a line from the Torah service: כי מציון תצא תורה. Out from Tzion (Israel) comes teaching and the words of Torah.

Sitting with our backs to the Old City, facing outward toward West Jerusalem, we were in an usual position. Normally, we focus and our attention toward our ancestral holy places and direct our prayers and thoughts toward the center of our people's collective history, memory, and dreams. Facing out, all 51 of us were empowered to try and live the words of כי מציון and bring our experiences and knowledge outward; to bring words of Torah to our communities and to use them to bring light and love to the world.

(Ok, enough Rabbi soapbox-ing. I'm just very excited to get started!--Jason)

July 10: Another good day of learning and we continued the process of trying to make our bed feel more like a bed than like a cement block.

July 11: Gavi successfully navigated the bill payment process at the post office on Yaffo Street while Jason took Hebrew and Biblical History placement exams.

July 12: Coolest. Night. Ever. We went to an event called "Contact Point" at the Israel Museum. First of all, this museum has some of the most incredible archeological artifacts either of us had ever seen. Our favorite was a small scroll from an amulet that contained the Hebrew words of ברכת הכוהנים, the Priestly Blessing (Numbers, 6:23-27), that predates the Dead Sea Scrolls by 400 years. The event that night though, was more than just the artifacts. The museum was packed with people and filled with interactive exhibits, performance pieces, and, the highlight, a silent dance party that lasted through the wee hours of the morning. Everyone was given a pair of noise canceling headphones and listened to music played by the party's DJs. There were hundreds of people on the roof of the museum dancing in silence.

Gavi's artistic contribution

"Mom! You won't believe it,
I'm on display at the Israel Museum!"

July 13: Today! It's almost Shabbat and we have to get ready for services and dinner at HUC!

Whew. That was a long one. Hope you enjoyed the update! Looking forward to sharing more adventures with you all soon!