Tel Aviv
Pre-Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat Dinner
Temple
Tea Party
Shavua Tov
Know Your Talmud
So much has happened in the past few days that I hardly know where to start! I've had so many new experiences and met so many amazing people.
Tel Aviv
Thursday I went to Tel Aviv to hang out with my fellow program-mates!
Tel Aviv is less... nasty than I remember it being. It's still super hot, but it's less humid and less dirty than I recall. I think it's because in the past I've mostly hung around in South Tel Aviv and this time I got to see some North Tel Aviv which is very different. You shouldn't really judge Boston based on Southie, either ;).
We went to Gordon Beach! (Photo courtesy of Sam)
The Mediterranean... Gorgeous. Cool enough to be refreshing but warm enough you can stay in it forever.
And Jews everywhere! Out on the rocks that block off the swimming area there are Israeli flags and I would just get randomly overcome with emotion, haha. Jewish beach town. In the historic homeland of our peeps. THAT IS EPIC.
Kiyomi and me at the beach!
It was great to have time with the other fellows. I miss them, they are so fun. I chilled with them in their apartment that night and they are so sweet and supportive! Sam even tucked me in, hahahaha. Love.
I saw this shirt in a window and I liked it. Also, you can see my bra, which is totally acceptable in Tel Aviv. Everyone walks around like they're just from the beach and about to go back, the most casual place on the face of this Earth.
Pre Shabbat
Still, it was lovely to get back to Jerusalem on Friday. Fresh, clean, comparatively cool mountain air <3. Jerusalem on a Friday is CRAZY! The traffic is insane, and there are lines in all the stores. Everyone is rushing around getting ready for Shabbat (which I will explain in a minute). At the last minute, Shai, a program-mate and new friend, asked if I would host a thing on Saturday (which I'll also explain in a minute) since he didn't have chairs yet. So I was running around like everybody else, buying groceries and flowers and all of that.
I need to learn numbers REALLY FAST. For some reason they're so hard for me to understand. So when people tell me prices I generally give them a bill larger than I believe the price to be and hope they're honest in giving me change (so far they've been honest and usually amused). Like this:
Ariane: Hi! How much are the sunflowers?
Flower Guy: Hi. They're blah blah blah.
Ariane: They're...?
Flower Guy: Blah blah blah.
Ariane: Um... okay.
Flower Guy: That's 100 shekels.
Ariane: Isn't that what you said?
Flower Guy: No! They're flowers! Now you're handing me 50...
Ariane: Uh huh?
Flower Guy: *shakes head and gives a lot of change* You're beautiful.
Ariane: Thanks! Shabbat Shalom!
I think that every guy here tells every girl she is beautiful, which is actually kind of nice. I wonder how often those interactions escalate. Does the flower guy get lots of phone numbers?
Also I feel stupid a lot here. I have to remind myself that I'm not stupid, I'm just a foreigner, which is not actually the same thing, despite some popular sentiments. Like this happened:
AwesomeIsraeliDudeInMyKitchen: Do you have any cheese?
Ariane: Yeah! But... it kind of tastes funny.
AIDIMK: o_O is it expired?
Ariane: No! I just got it! But it tastes weird! *gives it to him*
AIDIMK: I'll tell you why it tastes funny. It's 9% fat. You have to get at least 30% fat for it to taste normal. *eats it anyway*
I was at a party and someone asked for an explanation of Existentialism and I was able to give it and I felt better about myself.
So then I went home and it was time for pre-Shabbat cleaning! Thank God my roommate has her shit together. I thought pre-Shabbat cleaning would mean... sweeping, dusting, doing the dishes... you know. But we CLEANED. I got out a bucket and I mopped and squeegied the entire floor! That was a nice looking floor when I was done with it, if I do say so myself. Then I showered and I got all gussied up!
Shabbat
Okay, so for my gentile readers, Shabbat is the Jewish Sabbath. It takes place from about Friday Sunset through Saturday evening. Different kinds of Jews observe Shabbat differently. Some don't observe it at all (like myself, most of the time, and most American Jews I know), and some observe some aspects of it, and some are very dedicated to it.
In the Torah and Talmud, we have instructions on how we're supposed to observe Shabbat. It symbolizes the day God rested in the creation story in Genesis, so everything is supposed to rest on Shabbat. No causing a spark (no starting a fire, no turning electricity on or off, no vehicles, etc), no working (no writing, no planting/watering, etc), and sometimes it can be taken much further. For example, many Orthodox Jews pre-cut toilet paper because you're not meant to "tear" anything on Shabbat.
There are some positive commandments too, though! We are commanded to enjoy Shabbat! We're commanded to eat three meals. And it's a double mitzvah (good deed/law) to have sex on Shabbat... with your spouse.
Anyway, in Tel Aviv, Shabbat is observed by some and not by others, and there are still many things open and lots of secular people.
Jerusalem, on the other hand, is probably the most observant place in the world when it comes to Shabbat. Busses all over Israel stop running, no public transportation. In Jerusalem, almost every single business is closed, there are actually fines on businesses that remain open. There's hardly any traffic, you can just walk down the middle of empty major streets. I wish I could post pictures from Shabbat, but of course I couldn't take pictures ;).
I decided since it was my first Shabbat in Jerusalem that I was going to really keep it, try to go the whole nine yards. I think I went about... 8 yards.
Anyway, in Jerusalem, 38 minutes before Shabbat, a special siren goes off reminding everyone to get ready and power down. It's a very distinct siren from the air raid siren, so no one gets confused. My roomie is awesome, and she got out two sets of candles so we could both light them. Lighting the candles starts Shabbat, and it's a beautiful ritual. It felt amazing to look out our windows at the Jerusalem hills and light the Shabbat candles <3.
Shabbat Dinner
The thing about Shabbat in Jerusalem is, it can be absolutely gorgeous, but it can also be lonely, if you don't have a place to be. Everything is closed, and like any holiday, you're reminded that you should be with people who love you. Luckily for me, I had places to be :). You might remember the Cohen from my first blog entry, well I think it all turned out really well because now we're friends! And I think we'll be good friends, he's awesome. I'll call him actual name, Yisrael, from now on on the blog!
Anyway, I posted on FB looking for Shabbat plans and Yisrael invited me to come along with him to his friends house. It was a long walk from Rehavia, but it was a gorgeous walk. I will never stop waxing poetic about Jerusalem at sunset. There's a gorgeous breeze, and everything is so still, and the colors... it's really ethereal.
Ariane: Uh... Shabbat Shalom. Ulai.... Atah.... Yudeah.... eiffo.... Yisrael Cohen?? (TERRIBLE HEBREW)
Man: Oh goodness, just speak to me in English.
Ariane: Oh! Whew! Do you know where Yisrael Cohen lives?
Man: You mean my neighbor across the hall? Yes. Have fun! I was young too, once!
So Yisrael and I went to his friends' place in Baka, which is a neighborhood in Southern Jerusalem. As much as it felt like a huge kindness to me, it's pretty normal here in Israel to go to random people's houses for Shabbat dinner. There's actually a website that matches people with hosts just for Shabbat dinner... I think I'm going to try it this year! It's a great way to meet people and see how different families observe Shabbat. There was great conversation and great food and it was a lot of fun. I think I made some new friends!
I did make my first faux pas (that I know of) of many this year, I'm sure. Before the meal, you wash your hands, but I forgot that you're not supposed to talk between washing and saying the prayer over the bread. So everyone just smiles at each other and gestures and kind of grunts until the leader is washed and ready to recite. But their dog, Aryah, was sniffing me, so I said "I can't pet you right now Arya, I just washed my hands," which was ironic because what I REALLY couldn't do was speak, but I did that anyway. No one seemed offended :)
I walked back after, and I was actually feeling a little homesick for the first time. Just missing my friends and family, and that feeling of security that comes with being surrounded by support. And when I got home, I contemplated breaking Shabbat to turn on my phone and call home, but I stumbled upon the letter my brother wrote me before I left, and it really comforted me and I persevered :).
Temple
Saturday morning I headed off to shul (temple) with Shai and his girlfriend Sahar. I've never actually been to shul on a Saturday morning, only ever Friday evenings. They're actually almost exactly the same except Saturday also includes Torah reading. We went to a beautiful reform shul in Baka, the rabbi of which was friends with the founder of Dorot, my fellowship!
It was a really nice service. I didn't know a lot of the prayers, but people were really chill and I didn't feel out of place. Plus Shai and Sahar helped me. There was a bat mitzvah, and she was adorable! She did a great job, and her family was so proud, crowded around her. Afterward, everyone in the congregation threw candy at her, and the rabbi shielded her with his tallit (prayer shawl) and it was so cute and heartwarming. Her mom gave a little speech about her, and I couldn't understand most of it but the love was obvious.
It made me extra nostalgic because it was the same chapter that I did for my "bat mitzvah" on Taglit 2 years ago! Cyclical time, man. Here we are again, in August, talking about Justice and persistence.
Another reading was done by this young guy who did a nice job, and whose family seemed equally proud, but he seemed too old to be a Bar Mitzvah. After he read, we all sang a prayer of thanksgiving, and then Shai leaned over and told me we'd just thanked God for saving his life since he just returned from Gaza. The shul lost two of their young congregants in Gaza this summer.
The rabbi laughed and said, "You served us in Gaza, and now you've served us today in Shul. Hopefully today was more pleasant!" and everybody laughed, but...
Man. I'm not sure I'm going to get used to seeing 18-year-old kids bearing the brunt of the rest of our safety. But that's the reality of the situation. I could write an entire blog entry about this another time, maybe I will. I was talking to a former officer the other day, and he was telling me that he became an officer at 20, and the soldiers under his command would come to him with all kinds of problems, about family, fears, life in general, and he wanted to be like... I'm only 20! I don't know the answer to that! I'm not any wiser than you are! But of course he couldn't, he had to figure it out. Crazy.
Tea Party
So apparently it's traditional to have a "light dinner on Saturday evening" towards the end of Shabbat called Seuda Slishit, which means something like "Third Meal." Shai wanted to host, but his apartment isn't set up yet, so I agreed to do it for the Jerusalem Dorot fellows, since my apartment rocks.
I was planning to just put the stuff I bought out on the table, but Rebecca is a natural amazing hostess and she was like "Ariane, do you want me to help you set up...?" and before I knew it, the hummus and cheese and tuna salad and crackers and chips and pretzels and all the rest were in beautifully arranged bowls. Rebecca also had the right bowl/cup thing for washing (it's special, with 2 handles) and a Havdalah set. And a Shabbat kettle (automatic water heater so you don't have to turn it on and off). She's pretty much my guardian angel because I wouldn't have thought of those things.
Anyway we had a lovely afternoon noshing and chatting, and then we did a really nice Havdalah. I loved that we figured out it was time the traditional way Jews have been doing it for millennia... we looked out the window to see if we could see 3 stars :). I think Havdalah is my favorite Jewish 'holiday' besides Passover. It's just beautiful! I love the melodies, I love the ideas, I love it as a way to start a week.
I told Rebecca she should, as the superstition says, hold the Havdalah candle very high over her head to indicate the height of her future husband, but she didn't want to get wax on the table.
My second faux pas was related again to speaking. We did a group "call to prayer" type thing, and then everyone went quiet. Jess pointed to a line in the prayer book, and I thought she wanted me to read. Well, my Hebrew reading is almost as bad as my Hebrew speaking, and I was like "Okay.... Baruch... Atah... Adonai... Eloheinu... Okay guys seriously somebody help me out here because this is going to take forever if I'm the one reading."
Then I noticed them all mumbling and I realized it was quiet personal prayer time. Ooooops.
Shavua Tov
After they left, I cleaned up and went for a run. Running in Jerusalem is amazing, especially at night when it's cooler. The air is just perfect, and very low humidity. And it's gorgeous, of course. I went running with the recycling. And as I was feeding bottles into the bin, I noticed that the side door to the bin was open and bottles were spilling out into the street. I wasn't sure what to do about that.
Now I hate to say it, but I think in America, most people (including myself) would just shrug and figure the garbage crew would get it and move on. But as i was feeding the bottles, a young couple walked by and actually DID something. They closed the door thing and set to picking up all the bottles. So of course I joined in and the three of us got it done really fast. I've noticed this here... people go out of their way to do civilized things. It shouldn't be exceptional, but it kind of is. We wished each other shavua tov (good week!) and went on our separate ways.
And when I got home, Rebecca had already turned on the water boiler for my shower because I am seriously convinced she is my British Fairy God Sister.
And when i turned my phone back on, it took me about five minutes to see the things I missed and respond to the people I needed to respond to. And when I think about how much time I would have spent looking at it over the weekend if it had been on despite that, it's pretty sickening.
Know Your Talmud
And now, I will share with you some pieces of Talmud (um... long long story short, it's an important ancient Jewish text) that I learned over the weekend from various people I met.
-If you surround your bed with a circle of sawdust or ashes, you can see little chicken feetprints in the morning from the demons that come and sit on you when you're sleeping.
-It is strictly forbidden to use a baby to cool yourself on Yom Kippur (how would you manage this??)
-If a man udders "Rahab Rahab!" he will... well, ejaculate in his pants. Because she was so beautiful in the Tanakh. Anybody want to test this out and let me know if it's true? I'll wait here.
This is the same book that says I'm not Jewish enough for full citizenship rights in Israel.
But seriously, here's the thing. Good, bad, and ugly, life here amazes me. There was this prayer in shul today that was something like "Lord, thank you for separating the days, and setting apart shabbat, lest all my days would be the same as the ones before." That's not a good recollection of it. But it resonated with me, and it's the biggest reason I'm here. The days never blend together here, for me. I experience each one fully.
Shavua Tov from Jerusalem <3.
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