Shana Tova! Our September Update

Wishing you all shana tova amd gmar tov!

Shana tova from the Holy Land!

We can't believe that so much has happened in the time since Fall classes and the high holidays began. There is a phrase we have heard a lot in our three months in Israel: "אחרי החגים" or "After the holidays." Time in this country ticks around major Jewish holidays, and while the academic year starts at the end of August/early September, it seems nothing really starts until after Sukkot.

So, we've been up to a lot, settling into life of the Fall semester, but just enough so that we can change from school to holiday mode in not much time.

September 2-5:
These were a funny few days for us because we both had this weird residual feeling of still being on a boat. Not in an "I feel ill" way, more in a "wooooahhhh why is the room moving? Does anyone else feel that?" sort of way.

Jason studied with all his might for his Biblical History final from the summer semester with several friends. Eventually, the test was defeated, and he can now tell you lots of random information about the various dynasties of the Judean kingdom during the Iron Age. Gavi was busy helping prepare for and participating in Conservative Yeshiva's Fall Orientation.

September 6-8:
One of the principal components of HUC’s Year in Israel program is a set of three tiyulim (trips) that take place throughout the year. The first was the weekend after we got back from our honeymoon. From Thursday-Saturday, the class made our way up north for a study tiyul focusing on Zionism and Zionist conceptions of what it meant to be a Jew in a new era.

Morning services on the Kineret

Needless to say, the tiyul was a fantastic experience. We visited Tel Hai, an interesting landmark that had historically been used to depict the image of the New Jew taking to arms to defend the land (it is also the site where Joseph Trumpeldor was killed and where he was purported to, with his dying breath, have said
"אין דבר, טוב למות בעד ארצנו" (don’t worry, it is good to die for one’s country). That night we got to swim in the Kineret and had stayed at the same hostel where Gavi stayed when she came on her 7th grade Israel trip with Schechter.

Some of the other highlights from the trip were a great presentation from Muki Tzur, a key figure in the Kibbutz Movement and Labor Zionism, a trip to Moshav Avivim where we could literally see the border with Lebanon. Shabbat was spent at Kibbutz Hanaton, a newly revitalized kibbutz that is centered around pluralism and communal living. A truly fascinating experiment in a multi-denominational Jewish community finding ways to live, work, and pray together.

Over the course of Shabbat, we learned from kibbutz members, did some learning and discussing of our own, and had some much needed relaxation time. On Friday night after dinner, a number of us sat out on the lawn singing and sharing Shabbat songs until late in the night. Jason took it upon himself to teach the group a lovely song about the 10 constipated men in the Bible. A good time was had by all.

September 9: Gavi's first day of fall classes at CY, it was announced when she arrived that her first class of the day will not be held until...you guessed it, "Acharei HaChagim/After the holidays" so she took the extra hour and a half to catch ice cream with a fellow CY student who is in the midst of his rabbinic program at Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. At Gavi's first Tanach (bible) class of the school year, she had two "holy-crud-you-just-blew-my-mind-regarding-the-Torah" moments. Which is a clear indication that this is going to be an awesome class. At night we went out to dinner with a dear family friend of Jason’s (the daughter, recently married, and mother, who is one of the more wonderful people the world has ever seen). Fun Fact: September 9, 2012 marked the 12th anniversary of Gavi becoming bat mitzvah. Dear family and friends, please help her remember to throw a "bat mitzvah of Gavi's bat mitzvah" party around this time next year.

September 10 - 13: Rosh HaShana prep week! 

A gaggle of Brandeisians!

This was a very fun/crazed week when we enjoyed the music festival on Emek Refaim (Jason even bumped into a gaggle of Brandeisians in the middle of the street). We also watched the 2003 Israeli film Broken Wings with Jason's classmates at HUC's "Culture Night". Gavi started morning Ulpan at Beit Ha'am (where many recent immigrants go to learn the language). Jason’s Israel Seminar class took a walking tour of Jerusalem to discuss the impact of the British Mandate. While many things were learned, a trip to the top of the YMCA’s tower overlooking the Old City and the western expansion of Jerusalem was pretty incredible.

The week included a fair amount of shopping for Rosh HaShana. Jason made a few shuk runs and learned that, while cheesecloth (a key tool for Gavi’s soup making) may be easy to find in the Young household, when you ask for it in the shuk or in Israeli supermarkets, people look at you like you are a crazy person. That, or they tell you to use an old fashioned diaper. Eventually, Jason stumbled into a fabrics/homegoods store and made friends with the shop owner, a lovely South African woman who had made aliyah. She also happens to use cheesecloth for her soup and, as such, carried it in her store. Success!

On the 13th Gavi started her volunteer work with an English enrichment program at Kehilat Kol HaNeshama (one of the progressive synagogues in Jerusalem...more on them later). We celebrated by meeting at Burgers Bar for delicious delicious sandwiches and french fries.

September 14: A pretty perfect day. We woke up early to prep for Gavi’s first Israeli Edition chicken soup! We had a fun morning chopping veggies and coordinating and re-calibrating and tweaking one of Gavi’s favorite soups to make (and Jason’s favorite to eat!) in our funny Israeli kitchen. Jason is an awesome husband and stayed home to watch the soup while Gavi lunched and shopped with some amazing HUC ladies. For Kabbalat Shabbat we went to Shira Hadasha (an “Orthodox, Feminist, Congregation” according to their website) we saw many new and old friends from different walks of our lives and then headed to a wonderful potluck Shabbat dinner with some of Jason’s classmates. The dinner was delicious and the company was fantastic. The highlight of the night was a very spirited hour long Shabbat song session lead by our generous and energetic hosts. It was beautiful.

September 15: Another Fenster-Yerushalmi shabbat! We relaxed, had lunch with a professor of Gavi’s from the summer, relaxed some more, and then went for some motzei shabbat sushi and board games with friends.

HUC's married couples at
Erev Rosh HaShana dinner

Mmmmm. Potatoooooooes.

September 16: Rosh HaShana is coming! We spent the day cooking and prepping for chag. We made world-famous Catherine Potatoes (which were a huge hit at Erev Rosh HaShana dinner that night), Gavi made matza balls for her soup, and Jason prepped chicken for our meal on Rosh HaShana Day #2. Once sundown came, we made our way to HUC for Erev Rosh Hashana services. Jason sang tenor in the choir (his first time in a high holiday choir and his last time as a congregant for the holiday). After services, we joined a number of classmates for a wonderful, fun, and TATSY dinner to welcome in the new year.

September 17: Rosh HaShana Day #1. We went to Kol HaNeshama, a well-regarded Reform synagogue in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem, for services. It is always fascinating to see what “Reform” looks like and means in Israel. Just like in the US there is a wide range of practice and custom at the different synagogues we’ve been to. Kol HaNeshama seemed like a wonderful community, and the rabbi leading services helped bring a lot of kavannah (intention) to the prayer service. The sermon was all in Hebrew and, while we missed some of the intricacies, we were both proud that we understood the main themes and were able to follow a solid 40-60% of it.

(Musical aside: The video above is a recording of a particularly beautiful version of Un'taneh Tokef--a central prayer to the Rosh HaShana liturgy. The music for this version was written after the Yom Kippur war and is done in synagogues throughout Israel. It was very moving during services and we wanted to share it with you.)

The rest of the day, as is to be expected, was full of lots and lots of eating. We went to a friend’s house for lunch and finished with enough time for a quick nap before heading to dinner. Dinner was at the home of Gavi’s parents' camp friend. The food was great, and it was nice to share a meal with people who were close to the family.

All set for the meal.

September 18: Rosh HaShana Day #2! We went to services at Nava Tehila, a Jewish Renewal minyan that met for services under a tent in Jerusalem’s Nature Museum. The services were full of lots of “Yai nai’s” (niggunim...wordless melodies) and some beautiful and meaningful prayer moments. Some of the other highlights included a fellow HUC-nik playing the mandolin in the quar/quintet, a break after the Torah service for kiddush, and getting to sit and absorb the day with friends.

So nice to spend the holiday with
old and new friends!

We left services a little early to head home to prepare for our Rosh HaShana lunch. Of course, Gavi’s soup was a hit. We provided the main dishes and friends brought over side dishes, challah, and dessert. Jason was particularly proud of the pomegranate seeds he had prepared for the meal (if you open it up under water you don’t make a mess at all!) so we could all say the Shehechiyanu over the year’s first taste of a new fruit. We welcomed friends from HUC, NFTY, and friends of friends to our home and had a really nice time eating and shmoozing with friends. Once they left, we cleaned and then conked out.

September 19: Back to school! After classes, Gavi had dinner with a friend from Kivun (a Jewish professional program she did in 2011) who is also in Israel for the year and enjoyed the opportunity to have some girl time. That night Jason had the first session of the Shalom Hartman Institute Rabbinic Student Seminar. Jason was lucky enough to be selected for the program which includes 20ish students from American rabbinical schools who are spending their year in Israel. The seminar will meet weekly and include time for pluralistic study, conversation, and, as with any good Jewish program, meals together. Meeting the community of students and scholars was very exciting and the program promises to be an excellent opportunity to learn and building relationships with future colleagues.

September 20: During our lunch break we both registered for absentee ballots at HUC thanks to the help of iVoteIsrael. After school Gavi had her second week volunteering at Kehilat Kol HaNeshama. Jason had dinner waiting for her when she got home (best.husband.ever)

Keep the hill alive!

September 21: Fridays are the closest thing Israel has to American Sundays, especially if you aren’t preparing shabbat dinner. We took advantage of not having to cook and went out for hummus brunch with Annie and Josh F. After beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat services at Shira Hadasha (two weeks in a row!), we headed over to a very special Eisner Shabbat Dinner! Grilled cheese and tomato soup plus lots of Eisner jokes were made and many songs were sung. Gavi was very happy when the Simon & Garfunkel portion of the evening began.

September 22: We woke up for HUC Services, which were the first Shabbat services of the year lead by Cantorial and Rabbinical students which were quite lovely. We were honored to be hosted for Shabbat lunch at the Epsteins (family friends from New Rochelle who now live part-time in Israel). They had invited a few of their “younger” friends and family for lunch and we got to meet some amazing people around our age who are doing exciting things in this country. After shabbat we had a much needed mini-Brandeis reunion. We met Esti S. and Shaked H. for dinner at Gavi’s new favorite restaurant, Cafe Kadosh. The night was completed with a skype with Catherine H. (DC friend/neighbor, Brandesian extraordinaire, of potato fame, and avid blog reader - Hi Catherine!). Before we went to bed we set the clocks set back. The result is the fast on Yom Kippur will somehow be shorter (although the fast is 25 hours, no matter what. But we supposed it means it makes the fast FEEL shorter). The most noticeable result of this change (besides the awesome extra hour of sleep) is now it gets dark super early. On the bright side; until the US changes their clocks, there is only a 6 hour time difference between us and NY!

Very happy after a delightful/delicious dinner
with Dod Reuven and Doda Shelley.

September 23: After classes Dod Reuven and Doda Shelley came into the city to have dinner with us. They took us to an awesome place in Talpiot where they bring you lots of salads, spreads, and breads and you order whatever you meat you want and they bring it to you on skewers. The the food was fantastic - Gavi couldn’t stop saying how happy she was - and the dinner provided some time to sit and talk/debrief with family about our experiences in school and classes so far and how we are finding Israel after almost 3 months of living here (the answer, in case you’re wondering, is extremely beautiful, often overwhelming, and super delicious).

September 24: Whew...we’re finally caught up! After classes today, Jason went to visit a classmate who has been in the hospital for a few days after a minor procedure. Thankfully, she is getting ready to go home tomorrow, and is, as always, in good spirits and a constant source of laughter and good times (1up!). Gavi had Midrash class all about the lulav and etrog. Once she got home she made tomato sauce thanks to guidance from Annie F. (Thanks Annie F.!) And after all of that, we finished writing this blog post.

Thanks for bearing with us during this long post. Congratulations for your perseverance. We’re getting ready for Yom Kippur and our Sukkot break which both promise to be full of interesting experiences. Shana tova!