When we last left our hero, he was venturing into the Holy City to watch the Americans lose at a sport they usually don't care about...
(cut to Jerusalem flag with spinning background zooming in and then out)
I went into a pub with some Americans (as well as one Swede and one Englishman) to watch the USA v. Ghana game. It was quite the international experience! Americans, Russians, Israelis, and the Dutch could all be found at the pub: drinking an international assortment of beer, watching the match (though most people were rooting for Ghana, the pride of Africa, and against the Americans who "win too much already"), and eating Israeli chicken wings (that were mild at best by American standards). I got to speak to a lovely Dutch reporter about religion, theater, and stereotypes abroad (apparently the Dutch have as bad a reputation as Americans abroad for being loud and disrespectful). After the bitter defeat, we walked around Modern Jerusalem until about 1AM checking out the sites, sounds, and tastes. It was the most non-tourist-related fun I have had here so far!
The next day I had another Biblical Hebrew class for six hours... which I also loved! The pace is incredibly fast, but its so enjoyable. I also enjoyed today's class (despite some obstacles you will hear about later). I feel like Neo from that scene in the Matrix:
(twitches in class, opens eyes, looks right at Professor)
Ryan: "I know Hee-Brew"
Professor (who looks nothing like Morpheus sadly): "Show me..."
(cut to epic Kung fu fight on the temple mount to make this joke funny and understandable)
...It's been a long day...
Anyway, after class we headed to just outside of the Old City to an archaeological site, The City of David ruins, which included an awesome attraction called "Hezekiah's Tunnel." Hezekiah, the King of Israel, had this tunnel dug in the 8th Century BCE to provide Jerusalem with water during the Assyrian invasion. Its around 550 meters long and deep under the mountain supporting Jerusalem. It's pitch black and the water is up to your waist. I felt like Indiana Jones, it was such an interesting experience. The darkness in that tunnel is so thick you cannot see in front of you without a powerful light (which they will sell to you for five sheckles). Like most things here, you have to experience it to really get what its like.
Another interesting discussion/thought came up while we walked back up the mountain after the tunnel. A traveling companion of mine continued to ask me the difference between the ultra-orthdox (Haredim is the proper term for them), chasidic orthodox, regular orthodox, modern orthodox, conservative orthodox (or conservadox as we call them in the states at times), conservative, reform, reconstructionist, and people who are Jewish but don't practice yet live in Israel. I realized: Americans love to classify religion.
It is a weird habit I have noticed back home, but not here. People say they are Christian and I have the sudden urge to ask "What kind?" and then realize it is rather rude and invasive. Here there are not 9+ types of Judaism; the rhetoric suggests that there is just practicing Orthodox, not practicing Orthodox, and Haredim who are only designated as such so you don't accidentally offend them by being immodest. This brings me back to my question: How, What, and Why is religion so different here? Specifically, Judaism.
Here are some preliminary thoughts:
Americans do Judaism very differently. There are different flavors, intensities, and regional shifts, but we are all working towards a similar goal of being Jewish in a non-Jewish world. Americans do Judaism as best as they personally can. Someone like me may not do it as much as someone who had the up-bringing, background, familial support, and community, but they still do it and that is okay. Even more Orthodox sects see this as good as it shows the beginnings of a journey towards more stringent Judaism that will follow (which is why we have so many Hillels and Chabads). Some see this as a cop-out, here and at home, but it is a generally acceptable view. The positive thing tied to this cop-out is that American are more accepting of different faiths and varieties of faiths. We understand and empathize mostly (many fringe sects do not, but that's why they are fringe sects) with other peoples in a similar struggle for identity and righteousness.
This is much less prevalent here in Jerusalem (as I have experienced), and its absence saddens me. Here, people are Orthodox or not Orthodox because there is no reason not to be. The restaurants are mostly kosher (aside from the delicious 9 sheckle falafel place down the street) and everything closes on Shabbas. If you want to learn how to be Jewish, the world literally stops here to do it for you and there are a hundred happy open hands who want to mold you into their interpretation of kashrut living. If you don't, well, good luck. If you are a man, be prepared for glances and glares for not leading the right kind of life. If you are a woman, be prepared for much worse. There is more judgment then acceptance here, and such a condition, though good for my Judaism, I would not want back in New York. I would not trade American (or at least New York) tolerance for every restaurant in the city becoming Kosher! Plus, wouldn't that ruin all the good pizza places?
I feel as though Americans want to go out and find God using their own paths, making religion our own modern Western frontier. It is our destiny to quest high and low for God as Americans.
Of course... these are only my thoughts and opinions. Not fact (necessarily).
So after some studying for class and some homesickness at night, I went to bed and woke up for class. Woke up for class being a relative term meaning an HOUR AND A HALF LATE. On the third day! Meh. I jumped through the freezing shower (which requires five minutes I didn't have to heat up), grabbed a yogurt and headed out. I even grabbed a cab to cut the 15 minute walk up hill in half, but the Israeli driver's English was poor and he began to drive me to Jerusalem instead of Hebrew University of Jerusalem... Yeah. That was a waste of 10 sheckles ($2.60). I made it to class in time for the first break so I could explain myself to the professor and catch up on what I missed. Class was great. I really love learning languages, especially this because it is so different from English or French. After class I studied (making many MANY flash cards with words and word forms on them) and came back to campus, to find every one leaving on a trip. The place was deserted for a good couple of hours which got me lonely, which got me homesick. Again. I am getting so tired of being sad and mopey. It did give me to clean, relax, study more, and discover I need to go to the store because (tragedy, like comedy, comes in threes) my bread went bad. I salvaged what I could and stuck to my deli meat and hummus. I have been studying, relaxing, being homesick, reading, and trying to keep busy since.
One such activity was uploading pictures so here are pictures from the Western Wall (which I wasn't allowed to really take pictures of), the City of David, Hezekiah's Tunnel, and whatever else has been going on lately:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanjewinjerusalem/show/
Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Christianese
I am happy to report I am not the only spiritual traveler in Jerusalem (duh, but its nice to find someone who jumps around to religious institutions differing from their own)!
I had a lovely conversation with a girl who is studying here for two years (thus putting my homesickness to shame) with a lot of the same thoughts and feelings about the goings on. She went to a Christian college but studied at Jewish institutions having a similar experience as me at Catholic and Christian institutions. She is now studying for her Masters in Semitics (Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, etc.) and applied to many of the same schools I will be applying to in the Fall.
Despite not being accepted to any of them but this one, her outlook was optimistic and infectious. She really brightened my day with her story.
I am about to travel into Modern Jerusalem to watch the USA v. Ghana match at a pub for my first night of legal adventuring (also my first night doing so in Jerusalem) with a group of international students. Wish me luck!
I had a lovely conversation with a girl who is studying here for two years (thus putting my homesickness to shame) with a lot of the same thoughts and feelings about the goings on. She went to a Christian college but studied at Jewish institutions having a similar experience as me at Catholic and Christian institutions. She is now studying for her Masters in Semitics (Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, etc.) and applied to many of the same schools I will be applying to in the Fall.
Despite not being accepted to any of them but this one, her outlook was optimistic and infectious. She really brightened my day with her story.
I am about to travel into Modern Jerusalem to watch the USA v. Ghana match at a pub for my first night of legal adventuring (also my first night doing so in Jerusalem) with a group of international students. Wish me luck!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Western Wall
I ventured again today to the top of the Mount of Olives and then walked down into the Old City, through the Lion's Gate along the Via Dolorosa, but this time into the Jewish Quarter to watch Shabbat/Shabbos/Sabbath in Jerusalem at the Wailing Wall.
I already had my note written to put into the wall, but as I ventured down to it, a friendly Chassidic Jew (who claimed to be 92) pulled (literally) my suite-mate and I over to the side and had us put on tefillin. He had us praying and rocking, and everyone singing to us in congratulations. It was a truly amazing incident in the shadow of the Western Wall.
I prayed at the Western Wall for all my friends and loved ones, and placed my note inside it.
Then I sat back and watched as everyone came in from 6-8:45 to pray at the wall for Shabbat. Birthright people came. Jews of every shape size and color followed suit. Even the Israeli army took a break and prayed at the wall. Everyone was singing and dancing; it leaves me speechless.
At first, I thought the Birthright trips were being loud and obnoxious but as I stayed longer and longer I saw every age and group do the same chanting and dancing. I don't know if it is the wall or the Sabbath that brings this out in people.
I apologize for the shortness of this post for such an incredible event, but there are no words for it (also, it was, in truth, a lot of waiting around, I am tired, and I have my first headache here.)
There are a few pictures posted below (the ones I was allowed to take):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51452299@N07/
I already had my note written to put into the wall, but as I ventured down to it, a friendly Chassidic Jew (who claimed to be 92) pulled (literally) my suite-mate and I over to the side and had us put on tefillin. He had us praying and rocking, and everyone singing to us in congratulations. It was a truly amazing incident in the shadow of the Western Wall.
I prayed at the Western Wall for all my friends and loved ones, and placed my note inside it.
Then I sat back and watched as everyone came in from 6-8:45 to pray at the wall for Shabbat. Birthright people came. Jews of every shape size and color followed suit. Even the Israeli army took a break and prayed at the wall. Everyone was singing and dancing; it leaves me speechless.
At first, I thought the Birthright trips were being loud and obnoxious but as I stayed longer and longer I saw every age and group do the same chanting and dancing. I don't know if it is the wall or the Sabbath that brings this out in people.
I apologize for the shortness of this post for such an incredible event, but there are no words for it (also, it was, in truth, a lot of waiting around, I am tired, and I have my first headache here.)
There are a few pictures posted below (the ones I was allowed to take):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51452299@N07/
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Righteousness, Kippah Confusion, and Being Ghetto in the Holy Land
So I did not end up in the Old City when I thought I would. The next two days did go over better then I thought they would though.
After some minor nesting issues (i.e. internet, cleanliness, etc) were attended to, I headed over to the University to quickly check up on something only to get roped into another orientation for my specific class. At least this time, I walked the short way. While waiting for the orientation, I was mistaken for a Sephardic (Jew of Spanish or Middle Eastern descent) Orthodox (strictly observant of Jewish law and custom) Jew by a future NYU student who was going to be studying Arabic in my program. He saw my tan (which gets darker every day), my yarmulke (which is apparently the material and color that the Orthodox here where), and my clothes (I was wearing long pants and a button down white collared shirt in case we did go into the Old City), and was then pleasantly surprised to find out a Jew from New York. We talked and I told him of how I came to be what and where I am, and he was impressed. He did say that I looked very misleading and that it might not go over well here. Interesting advice coming from a native Israeli. He did offer to teach me the Jewish practices I didn't know, making him the first non-Orthodox person to do so.
After orientation, I walked around Hebrew University and the Rothberg School taking pictures and what not. They can be found in the link at the bottom of the post. I went with a couple of other students from the orientation to grab food. We saw the glorious victory of the USA in the World Cup over 52 sheckle hamburger dinners. Walking back, we met up with some more Hebrew University students and started talking about Kosher Laws and Shabbat and it led to an interesting conversation with one funny joke:
Orthodox Jew: "Chassids wear clothes from 18th century German ghettos. It's out of respect for their father's traditions!"
Conservative Jew: "Wow. I never thought of Chassidim as being so Ghetto."
Me (in my head): Ba-dum-chick!
There were four of us: me (the semi-Reform Jew by their standards), a egalitarian conservative Jew (he keeps kosher and shabbas, but allows women to do the same duties as men), and two Orthodox Jews. I explained my beliefs, and why I believe them and biggest of all: why I wear my kippah. They began to berate me in a way. They said it wasn't kosher for me to wear my kippah. They worried that I would lead other Jews astray into un-Kosher practices. They took a very condescending tone and explained that Orthodoxy draws from a long tradition that is passed down father to son, mother to daughter, generation to generation, and provides multiple answers for many big questions that you need to follow to stay in the tradition. They continued that I needed that tradition to even understand the things I was doing, and that I was not currently understanding them. One of the Orthodox Jews explained it quite nicely and patiently, but the content stayed the same. The other was much more aggressive with a take-it-or-leave-it style. The Conservative guy just stayed out of it.
The conversation really struck a nerve that actually kept me up all night. I tossed and turned in my tiny, low to the ground bed, wrestling with the labels they placed on me, how Judaism functions, and is this what I really want/need/should think that this is all it is.
-What am I in the grand spectrum of Judaism?
-Is Orthodoxy right to dismiss Reform Judaism?
-Why doesn't Reform Judaism exist here (as it seems you are either practicing Orthodox or non-practicing Orthodox) when the Reform Movement was one of the earliest supporters of a Jewish state?
-Will I ever fit in to Judaism, despite lacking the family, tradition, and up-bringing? If I do, do I want my kids to think like this?
It's odd. I really feel like wearing a yarmulke here alienates me from everyone (both Jewish and Gentile), less then it did back in New York. I don't fit into categories from either side, so I get dirty looks and condescending speeches here. In New York, Jews sought me out as a friend, regardless of faction and flavor. Gentiles recognized me with the yarmulke as a religious person, but because I wasn't in the Orthodox or Hasidic garb, as approachable.
So after another sleepless night (and another adventure with Dexamol PM, Israeli Tylenol PM with an extra-heart-slowing kick), I woke up and went to my first Elementary Biblical Hebrew course. And guess what....
I enjoyed it. All six hours of it! I liked the people, the professor, and the subject! I talked to an older gentleman in the class, who is studying to be a Reform Rabbi, and was facing a similar Kippah Konundrom (ba-dum chick!). He told me he wears it where it is safe and acceptable and explained to me the difference between righteousness and religious, as his justification. The religious man prays loudly and wears his god on his sleeve for everyone to know. The righteous man prays quietly and wears his god on his head, whether it be in his thoughts or literally on his head. This is my elaboration of his explanation; his point was that God demands righteousness most of all. There is nothing wrong with being religious, but there are those who are meant to be and those who aren't not. All people are meant to be righteous though.
He is gonna be a great Rabbi. He helped a lot and I plan on telling him so next time I see him.
After that, a bunch of us grabbed a cab and went into Jerusalem. We went through the poor section of East Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. We then walked down, past all the tombs of ancient Hebrews waiting to be resurrected by the Messiah, to the Sanctuary Dominus Flevit, and then further down to the Garden of Gethsemane. We then stopped briefly in the Church of All Nations and then walked up into the Old City through the Lion's Gate.
I have pictures posted below of all this, but they do not do it justice. I know I have been complaining a lot, but this by itself has made the trip worth it. I am still homesick, but that does not compare to the awe I felt at these sites. This is where Jesus walked, where he wept, where he fought the devil. This is where David founded a city, where wars were fought ancient and modern, where the holiest of people walk every day.
Everything is impossibly big. You can barely take it in. I plan on going back without a camera just to see each and every sight. It is truly amazing.
We then walked through the Muslim quarter through all the shops and bazaars, out the Damascus Gate, around the walls of the Old city to the Jaffa Gate, and then into the Christian quarter for more interesting sites. We hopped a taxi back, grabbed some falafel, and headed to our dorms.
I cannot stress enough how amazing this all was. I am scared and excited for what this weekend, my first Sabbath/Shabbas in the Holy Land holds for me.
Stay righteous!
Don't forget to check out my pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanjewinjerusalem/
After some minor nesting issues (i.e. internet, cleanliness, etc) were attended to, I headed over to the University to quickly check up on something only to get roped into another orientation for my specific class. At least this time, I walked the short way. While waiting for the orientation, I was mistaken for a Sephardic (Jew of Spanish or Middle Eastern descent) Orthodox (strictly observant of Jewish law and custom) Jew by a future NYU student who was going to be studying Arabic in my program. He saw my tan (which gets darker every day), my yarmulke (which is apparently the material and color that the Orthodox here where), and my clothes (I was wearing long pants and a button down white collared shirt in case we did go into the Old City), and was then pleasantly surprised to find out a Jew from New York. We talked and I told him of how I came to be what and where I am, and he was impressed. He did say that I looked very misleading and that it might not go over well here. Interesting advice coming from a native Israeli. He did offer to teach me the Jewish practices I didn't know, making him the first non-Orthodox person to do so.
After orientation, I walked around Hebrew University and the Rothberg School taking pictures and what not. They can be found in the link at the bottom of the post. I went with a couple of other students from the orientation to grab food. We saw the glorious victory of the USA in the World Cup over 52 sheckle hamburger dinners. Walking back, we met up with some more Hebrew University students and started talking about Kosher Laws and Shabbat and it led to an interesting conversation with one funny joke:
Orthodox Jew: "Chassids wear clothes from 18th century German ghettos. It's out of respect for their father's traditions!"
Conservative Jew: "Wow. I never thought of Chassidim as being so Ghetto."
Me (in my head): Ba-dum-chick!
There were four of us: me (the semi-Reform Jew by their standards), a egalitarian conservative Jew (he keeps kosher and shabbas, but allows women to do the same duties as men), and two Orthodox Jews. I explained my beliefs, and why I believe them and biggest of all: why I wear my kippah. They began to berate me in a way. They said it wasn't kosher for me to wear my kippah. They worried that I would lead other Jews astray into un-Kosher practices. They took a very condescending tone and explained that Orthodoxy draws from a long tradition that is passed down father to son, mother to daughter, generation to generation, and provides multiple answers for many big questions that you need to follow to stay in the tradition. They continued that I needed that tradition to even understand the things I was doing, and that I was not currently understanding them. One of the Orthodox Jews explained it quite nicely and patiently, but the content stayed the same. The other was much more aggressive with a take-it-or-leave-it style. The Conservative guy just stayed out of it.
The conversation really struck a nerve that actually kept me up all night. I tossed and turned in my tiny, low to the ground bed, wrestling with the labels they placed on me, how Judaism functions, and is this what I really want/need/should think that this is all it is.
-What am I in the grand spectrum of Judaism?
-Is Orthodoxy right to dismiss Reform Judaism?
-Why doesn't Reform Judaism exist here (as it seems you are either practicing Orthodox or non-practicing Orthodox) when the Reform Movement was one of the earliest supporters of a Jewish state?
-Will I ever fit in to Judaism, despite lacking the family, tradition, and up-bringing? If I do, do I want my kids to think like this?
It's odd. I really feel like wearing a yarmulke here alienates me from everyone (both Jewish and Gentile), less then it did back in New York. I don't fit into categories from either side, so I get dirty looks and condescending speeches here. In New York, Jews sought me out as a friend, regardless of faction and flavor. Gentiles recognized me with the yarmulke as a religious person, but because I wasn't in the Orthodox or Hasidic garb, as approachable.
So after another sleepless night (and another adventure with Dexamol PM, Israeli Tylenol PM with an extra-heart-slowing kick), I woke up and went to my first Elementary Biblical Hebrew course. And guess what....
I enjoyed it. All six hours of it! I liked the people, the professor, and the subject! I talked to an older gentleman in the class, who is studying to be a Reform Rabbi, and was facing a similar Kippah Konundrom (ba-dum chick!). He told me he wears it where it is safe and acceptable and explained to me the difference between righteousness and religious, as his justification. The religious man prays loudly and wears his god on his sleeve for everyone to know. The righteous man prays quietly and wears his god on his head, whether it be in his thoughts or literally on his head. This is my elaboration of his explanation; his point was that God demands righteousness most of all. There is nothing wrong with being religious, but there are those who are meant to be and those who aren't not. All people are meant to be righteous though.
He is gonna be a great Rabbi. He helped a lot and I plan on telling him so next time I see him.
After that, a bunch of us grabbed a cab and went into Jerusalem. We went through the poor section of East Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. We then walked down, past all the tombs of ancient Hebrews waiting to be resurrected by the Messiah, to the Sanctuary Dominus Flevit, and then further down to the Garden of Gethsemane. We then stopped briefly in the Church of All Nations and then walked up into the Old City through the Lion's Gate.
I have pictures posted below of all this, but they do not do it justice. I know I have been complaining a lot, but this by itself has made the trip worth it. I am still homesick, but that does not compare to the awe I felt at these sites. This is where Jesus walked, where he wept, where he fought the devil. This is where David founded a city, where wars were fought ancient and modern, where the holiest of people walk every day.
Everything is impossibly big. You can barely take it in. I plan on going back without a camera just to see each and every sight. It is truly amazing.
We then walked through the Muslim quarter through all the shops and bazaars, out the Damascus Gate, around the walls of the Old city to the Jaffa Gate, and then into the Christian quarter for more interesting sites. We hopped a taxi back, grabbed some falafel, and headed to our dorms.
I cannot stress enough how amazing this all was. I am scared and excited for what this weekend, my first Sabbath/Shabbas in the Holy Land holds for me.
Stay righteous!
Don't forget to check out my pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanjewinjerusalem/
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
"May the Force be with you!"
Shalom!
So I am in Israel. This is surreal. I have been talking about doing this [this being coming to Israel to study Ancient Hebrew] for months now, and BAM! It is finally here. I have actually been here for about 40 hours, and am finally settling in. It is about 11PM here and 4PM in New York. I miss New York.
This blog is meant to catalog my experiences with the people and with the Judaism I encounter here. That means full access to everything I am thinking and feeling because it all factors in to the big questions: What, How, and Why are American Jews different then Israeli Jews? It's a big question. A question I cannot answer now, nor will I be able to at the end of this 5 five week adventure. Hopefully though, each interaction will shed a little bit of light on the topic.
That being said: בראשית, Beresheit, In the beginning...
I entered the Newark International Terminal at around 12PM New York time. I was feeling very alone until it so happened that I found some one I knew from my summer camp, Betsy, a nice Jewish girl who attends NYU. She too is going to Jerusalem for five weeks, but with a different program at a different school. It's too bad, because I would love the company right now. More on that later. While talking to her in the terminal, I had my first interesting encounter studying the groups of people on the flight. There were three distinct groups:
-The college-age travelers going to Israel to study different things in different places. Their dress ranged from conservative to less then covered up. Some of the men had yarmulkes/kippahs/head coverings, some didn't. All were nervous and busily trying to interact with one another. Many of them came from all over the country to fly out, but all were quite friendly.
-The very religious orthodox Jews going to Israel because it is Israel, duh. Their dress was obviously quite conservative. They had with them tons of children. Everyone seemed to have at least 3 children or two older relatives. They mostly kept to themselves. I have two interesting interactions with them; one in the terminal and one during the flight.
While waiting outside the gate, an older Orthodox Jew asked me to come pray with him. He needed men for a minyan (10 Jews are needed to pray, this quorum is called a minyan) to say Kaddish (the prayer of remembrance for the Dead, he must have been mourning). I was taken aback. No one has ever asked me to pray with them before, nonetheless an Orthodox Jew, especially given the circumstance. I was engaging in a light-hearted conversation with two young unmarried women who were dressed immodestly by Orthodox standards. [Side note: Before walking up to me, he was glaring at the girls I was speaking to, and after our brief interaction turned from them with a look.] How strange that a community I am used to staying private and secluded would reach out like that? Why was it happening now? It is not like there is a shortage of Jewish people where I live or where I pray. What made this setting different? I couldn't help him unfortunately because I do not know the full prayer and was boarding the flight at the time he wanted to pray. It made me think: Does Israel give Jews such a stronger sense of community that this a normal practice?
That question only became apparent on the plane. A family with a baby was sitting two rows in front of me (my noise-canceling headphones were quite useful) and the baby was not handling the flight well. The father rocked the baby back and forth, but to no avail. Suddenly, the elderly Orthodox Jewish man sitting down the aisle from me stands up and goes to the father. He whispered something to him, and then the father tried it and the baby got quieter. Other orthodox people from around the plane began to get up and aid the family. It was an instant connection, as if they were family, and yet they all seemed to have just met. Was this happening just to get the baby to stop, or was there an honest connection between them all? Many orthodox people tell me of this sense of community, but I have never seen it so intense like this.
-Finally the third group: teenagers and family members going to perform (not attend, this was a part of the party) a Bat Mitzvah in Israel. They were loud and dressed in short shorts and comfy clothes for the very long plane ride (11 hours with a 7 hour time difference when you land). I couldn't get over the picture this sent of American Judaism: a rather opulent display of wealth for a supposedly sacred ritual with a bunch of teenagers in booty shorts reading Cosmo, and gabbing family members. No doubt the service will be beautiful and solemn, but it still seems weird to me. Perhaps I haven't gotten over the private-ness I associate with ritual. It all just seemed unnecessary to me, but I am not the parents and I do not know the full story of how and why this Bat Mitzvah came to be.
The flight was long. My plan to stay up the night before failed, and I did not sleep at all during the 11 hours. I did a little reading. Took the occasional half hour nap. Noshed (snacked on little bits of food). Listened to music. I sat between a Yale Divinity student, who is converting to Judaism currently, and is studying Modern Hebrew here at Hebrew University of Jerusalem (same school as me, but different program), and an Israeli soldier who was returning to New York for a funeral. He was/is stationed in the West Bank, and has seen action and death. He only has two more months left to serve, so my thoughts and prayers go out to him for his safety. I only spoke to him briefly though, between the sleeping pills he took. I was quite jealous of those sleeping pills.
So after 11 hours of boredom and anxiety (I was freaking out quietly to myself about being 13 hours away from home and everyone I care about, more on that later), I arrived in Israel at 7AM (my body thought it was midnight though, and was running on 3.5 hours of sleep). We waited for bags and then drove from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I didn't get to see much because of the orientation we were getting on the bus from the Madrachim (kinda like Resident Assistants but less hands-on).
I then began to unpack. Once my sheets were on and my bed was clear, I accidentally took a nap when testing out the softness of my pillow, which lasted two hours. I then walked to the University (which is ten minutes away from the dorms, across the mountain it is on, Mt. Scopus) to check-in and pick up my phone. This was followed by a quick trip back via shuttle bus (for the first day only) to campus for a nap and to grab stuff. There was a campus tour at four, orientation at five, and then a trip to the mall at six to pick up stuff you may need. All this made me realize how good Residential Life staff is at Fordham. The Office of Student Services (Res-Life) here is not accessible, nor friendly. Their programs are simple and repetitive (absurd amount of tours upon tours of the university facilities), and the staff has been curt and unhelpful. Having been a summer RA and a regular RA for international students, I can say Fordham has done a much better job. Go Fordham RA's! You really do make the difference between a dorm and residence hall!
This leads me to my biggest problem of the first day: home-sickness. When I got back to the dorm at around 10PM, I was still jet-lagged. I was hungry and tired, but I couldn't fall asleep. I began to get incredibly homesick. That combined with the lack of sleep kept me up for the next five excruciating hours. I tried sleeping, watching TV on my laptop (which is very hard in Israel), talking to people, nothing really worked. I called home, but that just made it worse. Last night, I was regretting coming. I finally fell asleep at 3AM.
I woke up the next day at 2PM. As I got ready to go to the University to register and pick up some things, my suite-mate, an former-Israeli soldier who now went to school and worked security, began to talk to me in broken English. It was fun, despite the barrier. He is very quotable: "You are from New York? Huh? Big city, no? WoW! (makes grandoise gesture, ending in a two fingers pointed at me) Big shot!" I told him how I was amazed at the connection people had in Israel. I said it was from the Judaism, and he told me "No no. Not everyone Jewish. We are Israeli, it is small country. That is why we we are connected. Judaism. It help." It reminded me of the pan-New Yorkism we had after 9/11. I told him this, but he didn't understand so I explained it in terms of movies, like at the end of the first Spiderman, when the New Yorkers throw stuff at the Green Goblin saying: "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!" He understood and agreed. As I left, he didn't say goodbye or Shalom! He said, "May the Force be with You!' Some things stay awesome no matter where you are.
I then walked took the long way to the University. The very long way. I walked down the entirety of Mount Scopus, and then around it, and then back up it to get to the University. The heat was intense, but there was a breeze every now and then which was nice. I registered for the class and then met up with some people who decided to go into Jerusalem (not the old city, but the more modern part with shops) for dinner and some supplies at more affordable prices then the mall had. Interesting encounter I had here, that I have yet to think of a comment on: A group of Orthodox Jewish children dancing in the street to Hip Hop while a much older one collected money from everyone who watched. It was odd and reminiscent of Oliver. After some shopping and delicious falafel, I headed back to my dorm, where I unpacked and relaxed and talked to people. The homesickness has gotten better, but its still there. It will be gone one I get busy.
Tomorrow, I am heading into the Old City, so expect pictures and more interesting stories and thoughts. Please forgive any typos or grammatical mistakes. I am quite tired and out of it from all this.
Feel free to post questions, requests, or ideas for me to do or think on!
Shalom!
So I am in Israel. This is surreal. I have been talking about doing this [this being coming to Israel to study Ancient Hebrew] for months now, and BAM! It is finally here. I have actually been here for about 40 hours, and am finally settling in. It is about 11PM here and 4PM in New York. I miss New York.
This blog is meant to catalog my experiences with the people and with the Judaism I encounter here. That means full access to everything I am thinking and feeling because it all factors in to the big questions: What, How, and Why are American Jews different then Israeli Jews? It's a big question. A question I cannot answer now, nor will I be able to at the end of this 5 five week adventure. Hopefully though, each interaction will shed a little bit of light on the topic.
That being said: בראשית, Beresheit, In the beginning...
I entered the Newark International Terminal at around 12PM New York time. I was feeling very alone until it so happened that I found some one I knew from my summer camp, Betsy, a nice Jewish girl who attends NYU. She too is going to Jerusalem for five weeks, but with a different program at a different school. It's too bad, because I would love the company right now. More on that later. While talking to her in the terminal, I had my first interesting encounter studying the groups of people on the flight. There were three distinct groups:
-The college-age travelers going to Israel to study different things in different places. Their dress ranged from conservative to less then covered up. Some of the men had yarmulkes/kippahs/head coverings, some didn't. All were nervous and busily trying to interact with one another. Many of them came from all over the country to fly out, but all were quite friendly.
-The very religious orthodox Jews going to Israel because it is Israel, duh. Their dress was obviously quite conservative. They had with them tons of children. Everyone seemed to have at least 3 children or two older relatives. They mostly kept to themselves. I have two interesting interactions with them; one in the terminal and one during the flight.
While waiting outside the gate, an older Orthodox Jew asked me to come pray with him. He needed men for a minyan (10 Jews are needed to pray, this quorum is called a minyan) to say Kaddish (the prayer of remembrance for the Dead, he must have been mourning). I was taken aback. No one has ever asked me to pray with them before, nonetheless an Orthodox Jew, especially given the circumstance. I was engaging in a light-hearted conversation with two young unmarried women who were dressed immodestly by Orthodox standards. [Side note: Before walking up to me, he was glaring at the girls I was speaking to, and after our brief interaction turned from them with a look.] How strange that a community I am used to staying private and secluded would reach out like that? Why was it happening now? It is not like there is a shortage of Jewish people where I live or where I pray. What made this setting different? I couldn't help him unfortunately because I do not know the full prayer and was boarding the flight at the time he wanted to pray. It made me think: Does Israel give Jews such a stronger sense of community that this a normal practice?
That question only became apparent on the plane. A family with a baby was sitting two rows in front of me (my noise-canceling headphones were quite useful) and the baby was not handling the flight well. The father rocked the baby back and forth, but to no avail. Suddenly, the elderly Orthodox Jewish man sitting down the aisle from me stands up and goes to the father. He whispered something to him, and then the father tried it and the baby got quieter. Other orthodox people from around the plane began to get up and aid the family. It was an instant connection, as if they were family, and yet they all seemed to have just met. Was this happening just to get the baby to stop, or was there an honest connection between them all? Many orthodox people tell me of this sense of community, but I have never seen it so intense like this.
-Finally the third group: teenagers and family members going to perform (not attend, this was a part of the party) a Bat Mitzvah in Israel. They were loud and dressed in short shorts and comfy clothes for the very long plane ride (11 hours with a 7 hour time difference when you land). I couldn't get over the picture this sent of American Judaism: a rather opulent display of wealth for a supposedly sacred ritual with a bunch of teenagers in booty shorts reading Cosmo, and gabbing family members. No doubt the service will be beautiful and solemn, but it still seems weird to me. Perhaps I haven't gotten over the private-ness I associate with ritual. It all just seemed unnecessary to me, but I am not the parents and I do not know the full story of how and why this Bat Mitzvah came to be.
The flight was long. My plan to stay up the night before failed, and I did not sleep at all during the 11 hours. I did a little reading. Took the occasional half hour nap. Noshed (snacked on little bits of food). Listened to music. I sat between a Yale Divinity student, who is converting to Judaism currently, and is studying Modern Hebrew here at Hebrew University of Jerusalem (same school as me, but different program), and an Israeli soldier who was returning to New York for a funeral. He was/is stationed in the West Bank, and has seen action and death. He only has two more months left to serve, so my thoughts and prayers go out to him for his safety. I only spoke to him briefly though, between the sleeping pills he took. I was quite jealous of those sleeping pills.
So after 11 hours of boredom and anxiety (I was freaking out quietly to myself about being 13 hours away from home and everyone I care about, more on that later), I arrived in Israel at 7AM (my body thought it was midnight though, and was running on 3.5 hours of sleep). We waited for bags and then drove from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. I didn't get to see much because of the orientation we were getting on the bus from the Madrachim (kinda like Resident Assistants but less hands-on).
I then began to unpack. Once my sheets were on and my bed was clear, I accidentally took a nap when testing out the softness of my pillow, which lasted two hours. I then walked to the University (which is ten minutes away from the dorms, across the mountain it is on, Mt. Scopus) to check-in and pick up my phone. This was followed by a quick trip back via shuttle bus (for the first day only) to campus for a nap and to grab stuff. There was a campus tour at four, orientation at five, and then a trip to the mall at six to pick up stuff you may need. All this made me realize how good Residential Life staff is at Fordham. The Office of Student Services (Res-Life) here is not accessible, nor friendly. Their programs are simple and repetitive (absurd amount of tours upon tours of the university facilities), and the staff has been curt and unhelpful. Having been a summer RA and a regular RA for international students, I can say Fordham has done a much better job. Go Fordham RA's! You really do make the difference between a dorm and residence hall!
This leads me to my biggest problem of the first day: home-sickness. When I got back to the dorm at around 10PM, I was still jet-lagged. I was hungry and tired, but I couldn't fall asleep. I began to get incredibly homesick. That combined with the lack of sleep kept me up for the next five excruciating hours. I tried sleeping, watching TV on my laptop (which is very hard in Israel), talking to people, nothing really worked. I called home, but that just made it worse. Last night, I was regretting coming. I finally fell asleep at 3AM.
I woke up the next day at 2PM. As I got ready to go to the University to register and pick up some things, my suite-mate, an former-Israeli soldier who now went to school and worked security, began to talk to me in broken English. It was fun, despite the barrier. He is very quotable: "You are from New York? Huh? Big city, no? WoW! (makes grandoise gesture, ending in a two fingers pointed at me) Big shot!" I told him how I was amazed at the connection people had in Israel. I said it was from the Judaism, and he told me "No no. Not everyone Jewish. We are Israeli, it is small country. That is why we we are connected. Judaism. It help." It reminded me of the pan-New Yorkism we had after 9/11. I told him this, but he didn't understand so I explained it in terms of movies, like at the end of the first Spiderman, when the New Yorkers throw stuff at the Green Goblin saying: "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!" He understood and agreed. As I left, he didn't say goodbye or Shalom! He said, "May the Force be with You!' Some things stay awesome no matter where you are.
I then walked took the long way to the University. The very long way. I walked down the entirety of Mount Scopus, and then around it, and then back up it to get to the University. The heat was intense, but there was a breeze every now and then which was nice. I registered for the class and then met up with some people who decided to go into Jerusalem (not the old city, but the more modern part with shops) for dinner and some supplies at more affordable prices then the mall had. Interesting encounter I had here, that I have yet to think of a comment on: A group of Orthodox Jewish children dancing in the street to Hip Hop while a much older one collected money from everyone who watched. It was odd and reminiscent of Oliver. After some shopping and delicious falafel, I headed back to my dorm, where I unpacked and relaxed and talked to people. The homesickness has gotten better, but its still there. It will be gone one I get busy.
Tomorrow, I am heading into the Old City, so expect pictures and more interesting stories and thoughts. Please forgive any typos or grammatical mistakes. I am quite tired and out of it from all this.
Feel free to post questions, requests, or ideas for me to do or think on!
Shalom!
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