Being in Jerusalem: a positive

One of of the best parts of the “Jerusalem experience” is the plethora of prayer options, even just in the German Colony. I’ve tried to take advantage of doing some shul shopping while here. I used to do more shul shopping in Chicago, but only when I had parterns-in-crime. After my co-workers moved away, that stopped.

But here, lots of people are interested in trying out new things. I was disappointed because I wanted to check out the “alternative” minyan, Kedem. But, I got sick and missed the last Saturday morning service. I have checked out the Progressive synagogue, but both experiences have been unusual, so I’m going again tonight. (once I was sick and once was the Gan dedication).

I’ve also attended the Reconstructionist Minyan, which is monthly. That was a really nice experience, especially after feeling fish-out-of-the-water experiences at Pardes where it is normatively “halakhic”. And then, for erev Tish b’av I attended a renewal service. The egalitarian options I haven’t explored are “conservative” or masorti.

I feel privileged to have these opportunities. And, if there’s something I’ll miss about Jerusalem, it would be the access to these explorations–with buddies!

Letting my brain rest

I’m in the midst of the 4 day break between Pardes sessions. I was so ambitious when I thought about these 4 days. Of course, I always am. I thought I’d get a good deal of blogging done, of processing. Maybe of Jerusalem sightseeing. That has not happened in the “successful” way that I dreamed it would. I realized though–well someone asked me–that I did not stop thinking hard since last September. I really didn’t have a break before I got here, since I had to write 2 papers. And then, when I get home, I have one more to write. This realization has forced me to just let my brain rest and go with the flow. If I had access I would watch tons of dumb television. Here, I am struggling to find full episodes on youtube…and I only brought 2 dvds. I’m almost done with the second movie.

Yesterday (thursday) I went with a friend to Caesarea, spelled in English translation as Quesaria. We thought we might do the educational–walk amongst the Roman ruins–part of the trip, but we didn’t muster up the enthusiasm. Instead, we rested our brains at the beach. It was really quite beautiful. The Mediterranean Sea was warm and gorgeous. I only got sunburned on my shoulders and my neck. Neither of us got sick from the heat: perfect. It was also a great day of the week to go to Caesaria. It was not packed at all. There were plenty of beach chairs and the water wasn’t chock-full of people. It was even kind of quiet. And, we even made it back by midnight.

In our traveling, we used both buses and commuter trains. It was so easy to “do” transportation, I couldn’t believe it. Traveling in Europe sometimes felt so difficult. The oddest moments in the travel experience were on the bus back to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. There were some incredibly rowdy teenagers on the bus who even lit up cigarettes. They screamed and yelled throughout the whole trip. The bus was stopped twice to discipline them. It was rather entertaining because EVERYONE became involved in the “crisis.” They were even obnoxious even after they got off the bus, on the street.

Some visual highlights:

Pardes July Session is nearly over

I have all these posts I keep meaning to write, but tend to run out of time/energy before they are written. I promise that they’ll be up soon!

The July session of Pardes is nearly over. This week has been remarkably busy, I think more remarkable since last week I was sick so did nothing. I have ventured out more, now that I’m feeling better and adjusted to the heat. I cooked dinner with some new friends twice this week. I also went to Gush Etzion (a settlement) with a group of Pardes students to visit a teacher’s house. I think it is very important to see both sides of an issue (since I have now also visited Bethlehem…post will come eventually I promise!). It was an informational and insight-bringing visit. My teacher is observant–I don’t know what her label would be but I assume it would be Modern orthodox or the like. A lot of Pardes faculty would be considered Modern Orthodox and there is a vibe of literalism that runs through our studies. Although it is not as oppressive or intense as it could possibly be. But, if I was young and questioning my religious identity, it could be considered a bit dangerous. I find it oppressive, especially feminist issues and the narrow view of what is “correct” Judaism.

Last night (Shabbat) I went to the Kotel (Western wall) to watch what I dubbed “the show”. I literally sat on the steps facing the wall and watched the hundreds of people pray and dance and what-have-you at the wall. No pictures are allowed. But, it was fascinating to see. There were so many different types of Jews–mostly Haredi (hasidic), but also of other flavors. In contrast, today, I went to Shabbat morning services at the Reconstructionist Minyan. Where women were wearing Tallit and kippot (not the only place this happens, of course). And there was much singing and activity in both Hebrew and English. Tonight, I will be going to Seudat Shlishit (3rd meal) at a teacher’s house. This teacher straddles the orthodox line and I’m interested in hearing more about her views. I haven’t uploaded new pictures yet, so here’s one little story to round out the week:

On Wednesday, my friends and I went shopping for food for dinner. The grocery stores in Israel are veritable madhouses, I’ve never seen people buy so much food at one time. Awful! One of my friends discovered an express lane (unlabeled of course). I stood in that line with my 11 or 12 items (including lots of veggies). When I got to the front the cashier yelled at me–I had over 10 items. She insisted that she couldn’t check me out and forced me to pack up and back out of the lane (inconveniencing several other people). It was so ironic that I just started laughing–Israelis don’t follow rules and THIS is the one that they decide to enforce.

What is summer?

I know I’ve promised posts on religious observance/belief/etc. as well as posts on my life here in Israel. I’m at home sick today (it is Saturday). And to quell my boredom, I’ve been reading the NYTimes. Today, the travel section (and dining) have an article about the Chesapeake Bay area crab shacks. While reading the article I suddenly realized why Jerusalem feels cognitively dissonant to me. This is the first place I’ve “lived” where there is no body of water within easy accessibility. I’m a water child. I must have my body of water. And for me, throughout my childhood, summer has meant water.

Days spent on the boat, fishing or cruising. Or renting canoes or kayaks for a paddle. Watching a water ski show. Fishing from the shore. Biking or walking by a river or lake. The sand and the smell of algae and seaweed are the smells of home. And the greenery that surrounds the lake is just as important. It’s there for picnics, grilling, and camping.

I have never felt the reverence that others feel for Israel. Partially, it’s because of my political bent, I don’t have the trust or love of the government. It’s a place that inspires a lot of emotions. It’s a place where the old woman with 2 packets of yogurt cons her way to the front of the grocery line and gets yelled at by the store manager. People love Israel. But people get angry with it and at it. But for me, it’s just not the environment I want to be in.** I desperately crave green–midwestern/coastal green. And it’s all stone and craggy trees in this city. There’s no water (it’s kind of deserty). And it’s really hot. And if you know me, you know I hate the heat. Heat, for me, is completely uninspiring. It’s something to retreat from, it keeps me away from exploration. Everyday since I got here, when I wake up and take a shower in the little shower in the bathroom where the floor is always wet in the mornings, I look forward to finishing my summer in Wisconsin. Where it’s cool and wet sometimes, and sometimes humid and oppressive. But where there’s really green grass and trees and there are beautiful lakes to look at and swim in.

**I’m not saying that I’m hating my time here or something of the sort**

Friday walk

Friday is a day without school. So, I decided that I should do some sort of sight-seeing, even if it wasn’t that far out of my neighborhood–the German colony–or that hardcore. So, after a lovely morning of sleeping in, I ventured forth. Typical of my personality, I search out the green spaces first. I planned to walk to Liberty Bell park which is kind of at the end of German Colony. Then I planned to cross the street and visit the park on the other side (all part of the Jerusalem garden system). This park borders Yemin Moshe, an old neighborhood just outside the old city walls. The walk would be both historic and picturesque. Friday was incredibly relaxing, and after this walk, a nap, and some more internet, I joined fellow Pardes summer students for shabbat services and dinner at school. A few pictures follow (of the walk).

more photos can be found in my flickr photo stream

What am I taking at Pardes?

I have now had two full days of classes at Pardes. We did not have class on Friday, to give us a full 2-day weekend. We have class tomorrow, on Sunday. Thus far, I am really liking my classes (even Hebrew!). I feel refreshed and more intellectually open with the mesh of both lecture/group participation and chevruta (pair) style learning.My first two classes are taught by the same teacher–who I really like and who appears to have great pedagogical prowess.

My first morning class is entitled “Esther”. It is an introductory tanakh (bible) course on the book of Esther. The teacher is very good at weaving in both excerpts from other books (of the Torah) and various midrash and rabbinic  texts. We learn in chevruta for about 1.25 hours of the 2 hour class. Thus far, in the first 2 days, we have read (in English in the bilingual tanakh) the first 24 lines of the book. I have not always agreed with some assumptions that have been made fact by my classmates throughout the class, but I definitely find it interesting. One thing I like about this class is that its a popular story that we are reading–the one read on Purim each year. But, I’ve never sat down and studied it in depth.

My second class is called Personalizing Prayer. Personalizing Prayer is a class about both spiritual growth and the service in the siddur (prayer book). Physically, this class is very large and the classroom is very small. So it is slightly unpleasant to sit in there for 2 hours without a desk. The class will be discussing obstacles to prayer, how different thinkers think about prayer, and the specific prayers in the siddur. We’ve started with Modeh Ani and moved on from there. I like this class, because I feel both ambivalent and indifferent about prayer at different times. It has been good to hear that others have the same feelings/thoughts. This class is mostly discussion thus far, although there will be chevruta. It’s just that time moves quickly with a large class.

My third class is called Law, Love, Justice and Power in Rabbinic Stories. This class will be dealing with rabbinic stories that have these subject matters within. This class meets only twice a week in the afternoons, so I’ve only experienced it once. This is also my highest level clas, which makes me a bit nervous but it’ll be good to have the challenge. I really like working with rabbinic texts–the one we took on was agaddah (a rabbinic story). We mostly worked in chevruta and then, like my first class, we also discussed as a course. I think that I will be learning a lot from this course.

And then I’m in Ulpan, which is hebrew class. I am in a lower level than I’d like but I plan to work hard and pass into a higher level for August. I also like this teacher. But there really isn’t much to say about ulpan.

I’m definitely happy with my learning–in my very short experience thus far–at Pardes. Later, hopefully, I’ll talk about the different sorts of students that are here and the environment, etc.

Jet lagged…still

Today was the end of the “week” at Pardes. I had 2 days of real class and one day of orientation. I will write a post about that tomorrow.

I’m still jet-lagged. I wake up at 6ish and when I get home at 5 all I can think about is going to bed. I have to keep myself busy to stay awake. Writing this, at 9 PM, is keeping me awake.I don’t know if it’s jet lag, the heat, or me just having fatigue issues right now, but I’m wiped.

A list of what Israel currently means to me:

dirty feet

heat, but dry so kind of tolerable but not really

that “personality” that is cowing for little midwestern me

meat in one restaurant, dairy in the other

****

I’m fascinated by the amount of religious people I see in the German Colony where I’m living. It so interesting to try to “code” them. I saw a girl with 3 –the typical 3/4 length sleeve shirt under a sleeveless dress, but apparently, her dress was not long enough, so instead of putting a pair of leggings on, she added another skirt. Interesting…It’s just a rich diversity of visual religious expression.

The neighborhood I’m in is funky/trendy. I like that. Architecturally, as I said, it’s all about the Jerusalem stone. But, what I notice, that is so different from Switzerland and the U.S. (my two cultural points of reference) is the “messiness” of the property–for lack of a better word. I know it’s desert, but still…I don’t dislike it, I just think it’s different.