All the delicious things Gavi ate this week (and other stuff too)

Greetings from our living room!

Gavi here, Jason is busy learning about biblical history and I did my ulpan homework during lunch today. So I get to write this post and take this funny picture of myself pretending to be quiet because Jason is studying in the background.

It has been another fun filled and busy week in Jerusalem.

July 18: The temperature in the city climbed to 102F (39C if you will). Luckily, the Conservative Yeshiva (CY) is air conditioned (our apartment is not). I spent the very warm morning with a fellow HUC SO (Hebrew Union College Significant Other) whose wife is in Jason's class as a cantorial student. Ben V. and I walked up to the shuk together (bubby carts and water bottles in tow) and had a wonderful morning introducing each other to our personal shuk favorites. I was quite proud to introduce Ben V. to both kabbanos (made with kosher beef, not pork - duh - this is Jerusalem!) and bourekas (potato is the best kind, but I'm partial to any starch wrapped in starch). He showed me a yummy home-made trail mix place and we walked back on the route that passes by 15 Shekel shwarma in a lafa. $3.75 for a HUGE yummy wrap of fresh flatbread and kosher meat?  YES PLEASE! This country is magical. Ben V. is a really cool guy, we come from different backgrounds but are both here for the same reason. The people we love found what they want to do and we are here to support them and have our own adventure and Jewish discoveries at the same time. Ben V. and his awesome wife also got married just before moving to Israel this year. It felt good to spend the morning with a new friend.

Finding a Rhythm

Getting ready for Orientation Shabbat!

And we're back! We left off the last post as we were running out of the house for Shabbat. It hasn't even been a week since then, but it feels like a month's worth of things have happened. So, let's get to it!

July 13: Orientation Shabbat at HUC. We started with a very interesting talk from Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Dean of the Jerusalem campus, about בנות צלפחד, the daughters of Tzelafechad. We talked about the role of women in text and how the rabbis raised up these exceptional women in the commentary.

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.

Playing Catchup: Part 1

Ok! Let's get started. The blog is up and running, the internet in our apartment works, and we know how to walk to the shuk and back. Here are some quick quips from our first few weeks in the Land!

June 21: Arrival day! After taking two separate flights (which meant we were apart for 18ish hours), we both made it to Jerusalem. Gavi was greeted by her Dod (uncle) Reuven and cousin Yoni. Yoni office happens to be on our street! We live on George Washington Street which happens to intersect with every American's favorite street to say...LincoLIN. Craziness happens when you try to transliterate. Anyway, that night we had dinner with a fellow HUC married couple. We socialized, playing Cards Against Humanity with some early arrival students until the fact that we had been awake for about 36 hours set in.

The Honeymoon Begins!

The past few months have been quite the exciting and busy time. We left our jobs, moved out of DC, moved into a basement, got super duper married, and then moved across the world to start an incredible adventure. Actually...we're starting a few adventures.

Adventure 1: Jason is starting the rabbinic program at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (read: Reform Movement's Rabbi School), and Gavi is spending the year studying at Conservative Yeshiva.
Adventure 2: That first year takes place in Jerusalem! (Just for the first year...after that we get to have a 4-year Manhattan adventure)
Adventure 3: Celebrating our first year of marriage.