Check Mate (09/29/2009)

Woke up, got out of bed
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
And looking up, i noticed i was late
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke
Somebody spoke and i went into a dream
Ah!!!
-A Day in the Life by The Beatles

Well only part of the song describes my day this morning. I got up and got out of bed and certainly dragged the comb across my head. I then put on my Kippah and got dressed and brushed my teeth to quickly head to davening. After davening I went and took a quick shower before I had to be at class at 9. I knew today was going to be a good day because I had my Advanced Tanach class with Vered this morning. We started our newest prophet, Amos. What could be bad about a guy named Amos? He is the Amos from Famous Amos Cookies isn't he? Regardless of his baked goods he was a confusing man and one that I am sure to blog more about when we get farther into our study of him.

After a great discussion I headed into my break for lunch. I had a lunch meeting with Rabbi Paul, Avi Marcovitz a former teacher of mine from The Academy, and a man named Avraham who is an Eithiopian Jew who came to Israel and now works to get the reamining Eithopian Jews to Israel. Our meeting was about ways that we can help advocate and get the remaining Jews to Israel. We were told that there are about 8,700 remaining in Africa trying to get to Israel. Their is supposed to be a plane full of them arriving to Israel on October 27th, and I had suggested to the members of the meeting that I would be happy to greet them at the airport or at the absorbtion center. Everyone loved the idea and it was even approved by the Aliyah Department of the Jewish Agency. If it ends up working it will be very exciting to welcome to immigrants to Israel.

We ended the lunch meeting and I headed back to the Yeshiva for my Modern Jewish Thought class. I have come to a conclusion about this class. I think it is an extremely fasinating class and their is a lot to learn and share from our brilliant teacher. However, the class is all over the place. I am the kind of student who enjoys learning the subjects of Zionism and the History of Israel, however my only complaint is that our teacher, Aryeh, jumps around from topic to topic and it is difficult for me along with others to follow. I was always taught if you have an issue with someone you should always go directly to the source of the issue and I plan to do just that.... in two weeks when we meet next.

As Thought class ended we left the Yeshiva to go outside to a beautiful evening in Jerusalem with the sun setting about an hour before we had finished. I ran up to my room and put my stuff down, grabbed a jackets cause it is getting cool at night in Jerusalem and headed for dinner at Beit Nativ. After dinner we had Erev Nativ seeing that is was Tuesday. Tonights session was the first of many lectures on the topic of Conservative Judaism. Tonight we heard from Rabbi Joel Roth who is a professor at JTS in New York as well as one of the most respectable Halachic Authorities in the Conservative Movement.

Rabbi Roth has been known to be a controversial speaker with his views on Conservative Judaism, and tonight was no exception. I am going to share several points that Rabbi Roth spoke about that were very interesting to me and that stuck out. For the most part, I agreed with what Rabbi Roth had to say about Conservative Judaism and specifcally agreed with what he said are the faults and weaknesses of the movement.

Most authentic Jewish religious movement in the world today. The problem is that its members don’t know why that is the case”

*It is a halachic movement – committed to Jewish law: has done some ‘radical things’ but did so because thought it to be halachically defensible to do so.

*Greatest success stories of the Conservative Movement begin to feel uncomfortable in average Conservative shuls, so they begin to daven at Orthodox shuls. Greatest success stories feel like go Orthodox or go to Rabbinical school. CAN’T HAVE A MOVEMENT WHERE THE GAP/CHASM BETWEEN THE LEADERSHIP AND THE CONSTITUENTS.

*BIGGEST FAILURE OF THE CM: Inability/unwillingness to convey to our constituency to our commitment and obedience to Jewish Law.

Rabbi Roth then went on to give his 4 underpinnings of the Conservative Movement.
1.The Mitzvot of the Torah are COMMANDS.
2.The particulars of the fulfillment of the mitzvot can be determined only by authorities of Jewish law.
3.Jewish Law is not monolithic, but is subject to legitimate controversy by among its authorities. PLURALISTIC.
4.Jewish law is evolutionary and needn’t look today the way it did 50 or 500 years ago.

Rabbi Roth ended with an amazing explaination about the differences between Reform Judaism and Conservatives as well as the differences between Conservative Judaism and Orthodox Judaism. If you look at the title of this blog post it says, "Check Mate." The reason for this title is because Rabbi Roth relates the three sects of Judaism to a game of chess. There are rules. Certain moves you can make, as long as you do so while following the rules. This is how the game of interpreting Halacha was played until Josef Karo completed the Shulchan Aruch. When that occurred, a DOME was placed over the board and now decisions cannot be made by moving the chess piece. The Reform Movement illegally moves their pieces and that is that. The Conservative Movement moves their pieces legally and is constantly doing it which is a integral part of the Halachic process according to Rabbi Roth. The Orthodox Movement still has their dome over their Halachic process from the time of R. Karo.

Rabbi Roth certainly left everyone thinking about what he had said. I was am still thinking about what he had to say and I will continue to think about it because it is a constant struggle that I deal with and it is a constant topic of discussion on Nativ as well as within my family. I am excited to hear the different views of Rabbi Brad Artson of AJULA as well as Chancellor Arnold Eisen of JTS when they come to speak about the Conservative Movement.

All I have to say to this entire thing is... Check Mate!

Yom Kippur in Jerusalem(09/27&28/2009)

Sunday September 27,2009

This morning we woke up at a little bit of a later time for davening and then we had Yom Kippur classes that our staff lead. I went to a session led by Elkana, who is the Nativ corridnator in the office, who spoke about the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and the second session I went to was lead by Yossi was about the Machzor and the services for Yom Kippur.

After the sessions, we had a twenty minute break before we had to meet again and Daven Mincha as Nativ. After Mincha was lunch and then we went to the Mikvah once again to ritually purify ourselves before Yom Kippur. After getting back from the Mikvah we had about an hour and a half before we had to be at dinner. Dinner was at 3:30pm. I felt like an old couple from Florida eating at that time, but I did it nonetheless. After dinner I finished getting dressed, I met Josh, Seth, Tyler, Seffi, Gabe, and Michael, and we all walked in the middle of the street to Kol Rina for Kol Nedrei.

Kol Rina was a very nice Kol Nedrei. The chazzan had a great voice and usem some very pretty tunes. It was a good service to welcome in Yom Kippur. After we finished at Kol Rina we headed back to base. As we were walking, we took a short detour and went through Ben Yehuda Street as well as the side streets near it just to see how dead it was. We were the only people on the streets. It is incredible to walk through such a busy and populated city and have no cars on the road and no people in the streets. It was a brand new experience. As we were walking up Agron street we saw at the top of the hill at the junction of Keren Hayasod and King George all of Nativ sitting in a circle in the middle of the street singing songs. This has been a Nativ tradition for many years and I was glad that I was able to do it also.

My night ended as we all sang Hatikvah facing the Prima Kings hotel. I was excited for what tomorrow would bring me. I went to bed early cause I was going to be getting up at 6am to make sure that I could get a seat at Shira Chadasha the next morning.

Monday September 28,2009

This morning I woke up at 6am and started waking up other people who had asked for a wake up call so we could get to Shira Chadasha on time to try to get seats. Judah and I got seats no problem, as did the girls who went with us early. Their were about 10 open seats on the mens side and about 4-6 open seats on the female side. Services started at 7:30am and we finally broke for a break at 2:15pm. It was a lot of davening and stand up sit down. It was probably the most inspirtational and moving davenings I have ever experiences on Yom Kippur. The person who davened Musaf is a professor of a bunch of the Nativers at Hebrew U and the man seriously knew how to daven. It was a beautiful and ruach filled Musaf, but I felt bad for him because he was on his feet and singing at the top of his lungs for a long time without breaking. The man deserved an award for nicest Musaf on Yom Kippur.

After a beautifully long morning, I went with Asaf and Cookie to Yemin Moshe for Mincha and the end of the fast. I was physically and spiritually drained by the time we started Mincha that I thought I was going to pass out. Luckily, I pulled through it and made it all the way to the end of Neeilah and the Shofar Blowing. As we finished saying Havadalah, the three of us rushed outside to what we thought would be a break fast, but there was nothing at all. We were so dissapointed. I did't think I was going to make it back to base with out falling on my face. We quickly made it back to base and we ran straight for the cake and chocolate milk in the bag and I quickly crashed on the chair in the lobby of Beit Nativ. What a relief.

We broke the fast with the rest of Nativ and just had dinner back at base a hour or so after the fast ended. I went to bed at a good hour cause I was so dead from such an amazing Yom Kippur in Jerusalem.

Reflections of Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur in Israel was one of the most inspirtationally filled 25 hours I have ever experience. The entire city is dead; no cars, no noise, no nothing. Just people walking to and from shul who pass you in the street and exchange greetings of Shanna Tova or Gmar Tov. One of the most memorable experiences will certainly be sitting in the middle of the street and singing with the rest of Nativ as we offically welcome in Yom Kippur. I believe that Yom Kippur is a happy day and is one of if not the happiest days of the year and it was certainly proved by us singing. I am not sure I would come back to Israel again for Yom Kippur because it was probably to inspirationally moving for me, but I certainly enjoyed it regardless.

L'Shana Habah B'Yeushalyim!!!

Early Rising and Late to Bed(09/25&26/2009)

Friday September 25,2009

This morning I opted for getting up at 4 am to go on a Selichot tour of the area of Nachalot in Jerusalem. We visited about 5 or 6 different shuls to get a feel for what their selichot practices were. It was really interesting to see how each shul, despite saying the same prayers, had different customs and styles. We were not the only group going out so early in the morning. I saw at least 10-15 other groups of students, soldiers, and tourists who were out to observe selichot because it was the last day of selichot in the world just prior to Yom Kippur.

After we finished our selichot tour we ended up at the world famous Marizpan and we all got goodies for breakfast as well as Shabbat. I bought 2 kilos of the famour rugalach for Shabbat as a treat for everyone in honor of my birthday. It was a good morning because it ended with me going right back to sleep around 6am and not getting up until lunch at around 1ish. After lunch I met my friend from high school, Micah, for ice cream and then headed back to base so I could get ready for Shabbat.

I davened with several people at Yakar on Friday night and then headed back to base for dinner and a Nativ-a-Tisch. A Nativ-a-Tisch is when we all get together on Friday night and sit and eat, schmooze, and sing songs. It was a great Tisch full of lots and lots of rugalach that everyone seemed to buy for Shabbat. I also shared my birthday cookie cake with everyone at the Tisch that my family had sent me.

Shabbat Shalom


Saturday September 26,2009


This morning I went to Shira Hadasha with my friends Judah, Gabe, Michael, and Jacob. It was a great davening for a Shabbat. Everyone at the Shul was still in the mood from Rosh Hashanah and were excited for Yom Kippur so the Ruach was incredible. After Shul we headed back to base for lunch and my personal favorite, a nap. After I napped, we had a Parasha class and then Mincha followed by Seudat Shlishit. After Shabbat ended a bunch of people wanted to go out to celebrate my birthday so I said why not. They asked me where I wanted to go and I immediately said, lets go to Emek Refaim and get waffles and ice cream. So we did just that. We ordered four huge waffles with a scoop of each snickers and twix ice cream and split them amongst 15 people. After we ate waffles and ice cream everyone sang to me, and not only my Nativ friends, but the people in the ice cream place. We then decided we would walk off our fabulous desert and head to Ben Yehudah street and meet the people who spent Shabbat off base. We got to Ben Yehudah and I decided I would be myself and started jumping over parking meters and then when we got to Ben Yehudah I continued to be myself and dance crazily to some Israeli street drummers. It was a solid time. We then met up with more people at Ben Yehudah street and went to a place for some people to get drinks and we ran into our staff member Cori who also shares the same birthday as me. We took a picture and here it is. She looks so happy to see me... or does she?


We all got back to base around 1:30am and went straight to bed after we all set our clocks back one hour. What a great Shabbat and great way to spend a birthday. I am adding pictures for everyone to see. I hope you enjoy.

David

Yom Kippur Drasha

I am posting my Drasha on Yom Kippur. After Yom Kippur I will blog about the past few days for everyone to read. I wish everyone a Tzom Kal, and easy fast, and a meaningful Yom Kippur.

L'shana Habah b'Yerushalyim
Gmar Chatima u'Chitiva Tova
David


Last week we celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is a New Year along with three other New Years in Judaism. The others are, the 1st of Nissan, TU B’Shvat, and the entire month of Elul.

Have you ever thought about Yom Kippur as being a New Year? Think about it for a second. On Rosh Hashanah we start asking for Teshuvah/Repentance for all the things we have done in the past year to our families and friends. On Rosh Hashanah the Book of Life and the Book of Death are opened. When the books are opened, God begins to judge us on how we have been in the past year. God also starts to think about which book we should be written in based on the past year. From the time that Rosh Hashanah starts until Yom Kippur we enter the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah/ The Ten Days of Repentance, which are used for Teshuvah.



On Yom Kippur, we as Jews are written and sealed for the upcoming year in either the Book of Life or the Book of Death. In those Ten Days of Repentance, we are atoning for the sins in the last year, from the previous Rosh Hashanah until the next Yom Kippur. So the Jewish New Year we just celebrated almost ten days ago is only part of the reason for it being called the New Year. Yom Kippur in my mind is the Jewish New Year because everyone is wiped clean and everyone starts over for the next year. Without Yom Kippur our New Year would be incomplete because we would still be working off of an old slate and there is not way to earn your brownie points and eat more brisket, that you can’t even eat on Yom Kippur.

I want to share with you a short story from Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z'l about Yom Kippur:

Imagine you are on a subway and suddenly realize that your soul mate, the one you've been waiting and praying for your entire life, is standing beside you. You're full of love and disbelief; you can't speak. Then your soul mate is leaving, walking off the train. Frozen, you manage, "What's your number?" You hear only the first three digits. Then the doors close. At the next stop, you run to a pay phone, frantically trying every combination of numbers imaginable. Failing that, you drive through the streets, crying, searching. Overwrought, you drive dangerously, running red lights. You are arrested for reckless behavior.Imprisoned, brokenhearted, and alone, you await your trial. You prepare yourself, terrified of the possible judgment. As you enter the courtroom, you see the judge you have feared is your soul mate, the very person you've been seeking and whose absence created the sadness that made you lose your way. You break down. Your soul mate says the words that change your life. "I know you've made mistakes, but let's not think about that now. Today, I just want to be close to you." On Yom Kippur we stand in judgment before G-d. We beg forgiveness for our mistakes. If we listen closely we will hear God’s voice, "I know how hard this world can be. I know you long for meaning and sometimes make mistakes. But now, I just want to be close to you." When things fall apart, may we be blessed to hear God's voice.


With that I Wish you all a Happy and Complete New Year to you and your families. May you all be inscribed in the Book of Life for now and always.

Gmar Chatimah Tovah, May you be inscribed in the Book of Life

Beware of Flying Chickens(09/24/09)

I woke up this morning and I didn't really feel that great. A lot of people were not feeling well and I had been trying so hard to keep healthy and prevent myself from getting sick, but sadly I wasn't 100% successful. I was all congested and my sinus' were hurting so I decided to take the day off from the Yeshiva and take it easy. So I went back to my room and slept and took more medicine and slept for a majority of the morning and afternoon. When I finally woke up for lunch I went downstairs and had soup for lunch and then went back to bed until everyone was back from Hebrew U taking the Jerusalem Class final and everyone was done at the Yeshiva.

Around 4:45ish all of Nativ met in the main lobby to go towards the shuk for the ancient and pagan custom of Kapparot.
I must put a cautionary note on this section because what I am about to describe is somewhat graphic and not suitable for children and woman who are pregnant. Also if you are a vegetarian, I apologize in advance. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVICED!!!!


Kapparot is an ancient custom that the Jewish people do to rid themselves of sins before Yom Kippur. In my family it consists of swinging money over our heads during the meal before Kol Nidre, but to some Jewish people it is common to use a chicken and swing it over your head. So I did just that. We all went to the shuk and five of us bought a chicken for 10 sheckles each and began to swing the chicken over our head while reciting some prayers. It was one of the most interesting things I have ever done. I have always wanted to do it, but I had never gotten around to doing it in Kansas City. PETA would definitely have issues with this whole ceremony. After we swung the chickens over our head we took it to the Shochet,the ritual slaughter, who would basically bend the neck of the chicken and slit its throat in a way that would be least painful to the chicken and then threw and I mean threw the chicken into a container for the blood to seep out. After they were dead for a few minutes they would send them across the room to two people who would clean them by taking the feathers off and doing all the necessary things to get them ready to give to people who can't afford chickens for meals. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and I think I am going to stick with money from now on.

After Kapparot we headed back to Beit Nativ for dinner. We were all placing bets on us having chicken for dinner, but instead we had beef kabobs and turkey, shucks... After dinner we all hung out for a little bit and then about 18 people headed to Gan HaPaamon to play basketball for fun. It was a great workout and a great game we had going and I can't wait until we start the NBA, Nativ Basketball Association in a few weeks.

After basketball I came back to the room to get showered, check email and head to bed early cause I was going to be getting up at 4am for the old city Selichot tour.

That will do it for today. And now for those of you who are not animal activists or not vegetarians.

A Little Too Much of One Thing(09/23/2009)

Today was a long long day. I woke up this morning and headed to Minyan like I normally do and I had a feeling that it was going to be a long day; boy was I right. After Minyan I went back to my room and showered and got dressed and ready for the Yeshiva as I do everyday. I head to the Yeshiva and get all settled and started learning with Judah. Things were going smoothly until I found out that our teacher for Poskim, Rav Shmuel, wouldn't be in class today because of the Bris of a grandson of his. We ended up having my Talmud teacher for a second three and a half hour block. I like the guy a lot but it was a little much for us to handle. The topic of the material in Poskim today was Children Fasting on Yom Kippur and their restrictions. It was very interesting material and I learned a lot and I am excited to punish my kids when I have them by giving them prohibitions on Yom Kippur.

Tonight I just hung out at base with some people from the Yeshiva and the Ulpan track because all of Hebrew U had a large study gathering because they were taking their first Final Exam in their Jerusalem class that they have been taking every day. It seemed like a really awesome class going to different sites in Jerusalem with two amazing guides, JJ and David Karen. I am slightly jealous that I couldn't go. Anyways, just another day in the Paradise known as Jerusalem. Until tomorrow.

Lilah Tov

Double the Update(09/21&22/2009)

Monday September 21,2009

After coming off a pretty solid weekend with Rosh Hashanah, I began a new week at the Yeshiva and here on Nativ. Classes resumed as usual on Monday and continued for the rest of the day. Nothing to special took place on Monday with the exception of Tzom Gedaliah. Tzom Gedaliah is a minor fast that takes place the day after Rosh Hashanah that marks the memorial of a leader of the people as well as the completion of the destruction of one of the Temples. It is a minor fast, meaning that you only fast from sunrise to sunset, which was a large discussion in my Contemporary Halacha class last week with Reb Shlomo. They gave us a really easy and stress free schedule at the Yeshiva because of the fast. After Talmud we broke for Mincha and after Mincha I had Halacha Le'Maseh class. After Halacha Le'Maseh I had Advanced Midrash with Reb Mordachai who is beyond brilliant. We just did discussion because the class was shortened. We learned several Midrashim on Sukkot which I will share in a post we get closer to Sukkot. It was a great class full of interesting discussion about Sukkot. After classes ended I went back to my room for a little R&R before the fast ended. I ended the fast with some others and then I just stayed in for the night and took it easy and got to bed relatively early.


Tuesday September 22,2009

I can't say that I have had a bad day thus far on Nativ. Today was a great day though. This morning I had a great Chevruta discussions with some of the AJU Rabbinical students about the different Prophets that we are discussing in our Advanced Tanach class. They were impressed with my ability to take a text from the Tanach and analyze it and throw something brand new at them that they never thought about before. I felt accomplished. After a great Tanach class I met my friend Moshe and we went to Meah Shearim for a little bit. It was my first time in Meah Shearim, and I made the wise mistake of wearing a blue polo shirt and definitely stuck out like a sore thumb. Oh well!! After getting back from Meah Shearim I had my three hour lecture in Modern Jewish Thought. Today we spoke about Friedrich Nietzsche and his writings. Let me tell you, it is some pretty powerful stuff that I am learning in that class, but I am enjoying it nonetheless. After "Thought" I ate dinner and had Erev Nativ with the rest of Nativ. We had a speaker come and talk to us about a program called B'yachad which pairs American teens who work at Jewish Summer Camps in the States up with Israelis who go to American camps during the summer. It was a great idea and I would certainly partake in it if I knew what camp I would work at in the States. After that discussion we had several announcements about the week ahead and Yom Kippur from Yossi and then we broke up into four groups, two for each track. Within the groups we spoke about Shabbat in Israel and on Nativ. We had discussions of what we thought was allowed and not allowed on Shabbat. It was interesting to hear what some people thought of Shabbat and what made Shabbat unique for them. After the Shabbat program several of us were asked to go up to the office and meet with Yossi about something. So without knowing what we would be talking about we all headed upstairs to the office. Yossi then proceeds to congratulate us on making Magen David Adom. It was a great feeling to hear that. He then told us that we have the option of working in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh during the first semester, something that was brand new this year. He also told us when the training would be and that he would help us with our class schedule. He asked us if we would accept the offer to do MDA and of course I said yes. He told us a bit about what it is like to volunteer for them and that it is 8 hour shifts at a time and that we can do it as often or as little as we like during the first semester. I left that meeting very happy and excited to get started with the training and get right into the action. I headed back to my room after the meeting and just hung out with my roommates and a few other people and then I headed to bed somewhat earlier then average.

Until next time..... DBH

Rosh Hashanah ba'Aretz/ראש השנה בארץ

Shana Tova from Jerusalem:

Friday September 18,2009

Today we had the opportunity to sleep in late for the first time all of Nativ. Davening was set for 8:30; however I was up at the regular hour of 7am so I could Skype my parents who were spending the Chag in New York with my Aunt and cousins. It was certainly worth waking up early considering it was the first time I had seen them since I left for Israel. After Davening at 8:30 we had a bunch of different sessions about Rosh Hashanah led by our Madrichim/Staff. I went to a session about the Torah Readings for Rosh Hashanah, the Minhagim/Customs of Rosh Hashanah, and a Advanaced Machzor session. They were all very interesting and I got something out of each of them. After the sessions were over, we had the rest of the afternoon open for Rosh Hashanah prep, sleep, and other fun activities that were all up to us. I decided that it would be fun to go with some people to lunch and then go do something that we hadn't done yet since getting to Jerusalem. We decided that we would go to the Mikvah before Rosh Hashanah and purify ourselves. So 6 of us went to the near by Mikvah for a little swim in the pit. It was a great bonding experience as well as a spiritual rejuvination before the Chagim. I am glad we went and I am pretty sure that we will be heading back their on Sunday before Yom Kippur.

After the Mikvah we all came back to Beit Nativ and just relaxed and got ready for Rosh Hashanah. I took a little nap and did some work before I had to shower and shave. We were all meeting in -3 of Beit Nativ at 6:00pm for Mincha and Ma'ariv. We all Davened together to welcome in the New Year. After a great davening to start the New Year we all headed upstairs to eat dinner as Nativ. We had the traditional Rosh Hashanah Seder with the new fruits and new food for the year. Something new this year that they added to the seder was the Rosh Dag/The Head of the Fish, which after all of the years I have been doing a Seder for Rosh Hashanah, I have never had before. A bunch of us dug right into the Fish Head and tackled it like it was our jobs. I was one of the ones who went right for it and I must say it really wasn't that unbearable. After a nice dinner their were a few groups of people going to different places. One group was going to walk to the Kotel and just hangout there for a bit. I didn't feel like going to the Kotel because you can't really hangout at the Kotel and besides which it was probably a zoo. So I roped a group of about 15-20 people into going on a walk to Yemin Moshe which is the giant windmill in Jerusalem. It has a beautiful look out of the golden walls of Jerusalem. We were at Yemin Moshe for about 45 minutes. We sang, heard words of Torah, but most importantly took in the amazing surroundings of the Jewish Capital, Jerusalem. After singing and gazing we headed back to Beit Nativ where I then called it a night cause I was needing to be up at 6:30 the next morning for davening.

Saturday September 19,2009

Wow... 6:30am is way too early to wake up for anything, especially for going to Shul on Rosh Hashanah where services are over much before the American services start. However, I was willing to wake up early because it was Rosh Hashanah. For both of the days of Rosh Hashanha, each group would be hosted on one of the days by one of two Masorti shuls in Talpiyot, about a 45 minute walk from Beit Nativ. The first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Kehilla Group was hosted. The two different shuls were, Mayaanot and Moreshet Avraham. I went to Mayaanot for davening the first day. It was an ok davening, nothing special. For lunch, my friend Seth and I were hosted by a British family who had made Aliyah to Israel about 15 or so years ago. It was a very nice lunch with very nice people. We headed back to the shul around 4:00pm so we could meet back up with the entire group to daven Mincha. We davened Mincha and started to make our way back to Jerusalem to Beit Nativ. On the way back to Beit Nativ we had a special guest meet us while we were walking. The guest was none other then RAIN!!! It only rained on us for a few minutes and it wasn't very heavy, but it was still a very nice surprise. We finally got back to Beit Nativ around 6:15-6:30ish just in time to change clothes and sit down for a few minutes before we went to get ready for Ma'ariv and candle lighting for the second day. We all davened together at Moreshet Yisrael, next door to Beit Nativ. After Ma'ariv, I went to dinner at some people who go to the Yeshiva with my friend Ariella. It was a great dinner and we had many different new fruits to add on to the theme of new things on Rosh Hashanah. Ariella and I left around 11:30 and headed back to base and I headed straight to bed cause I didn’t nap all day and I was sleepy.

Sunday September 20,2009

Day 2 of Rosh Hashanah.

Today I got to sleep in a bit later but not a whole lot. Today I went with about 10 people to a Shul called Kedem, which is an egalitarian shul that is lay led on Emek Refaim. It was a much better davening then the day before. The davening at Kedem reminded me of the davening that I remember back home when my brother and father do. I felt much more connected today then I did yesterday. After davening I went with a rabbinical student to lunch at our Tanach teachers house. On our way to lunch we had another guest give us a visit. This time it was HEAVY RAIN!!!! It poured on us for the entire 15 minute walk. It was a beautiful rain and a much needed one. I asked my Tanach teacher about the rain and she said as long as she can remember that she had never seen a rain this heavy before and never seen rain on Rosh Hashanah before so it was a good sign. I guess God was listening to our prayers. After a solid lunch and great company, I headed back to base for the rest of the afternoon. When I got back to base I went with my friend Josh to the Wilf Park across the street to do a short Tashlich service. It turns out that we were doing Talshlich all together as Nativ later in the day. Oh well! After we all do Tashlich we did Mincha and then waited about 15 minutes after Mincha to end Rosh Hashanah all together as Nativ in the outdoor amphitheater outside of Beit Nativ. That was really all that took part today. After we finished doing Ma’ariv I ate dinner and just stayed in for the night and caught up on my sleep. What a great end to such an inspirational and memorable Rosh Hashanah.

Thoughts on Rosh Hashanah in Israel

Coming into this Rosh Hashanah I was nervous about being away from home. Rosh Hashanah is one of my most personal and spiritual times for me. This year was going to be tough because I would be without my family for the first time and it would be a completely different environment. I think for the first of the Chagim away from home I was still connected. I think the reason for being so connected to my daevning and Chag was because I was in Jerusalem. This Rosh Hashanah brought new thoughts to my mind about how I will act as a person in the year to come. I don’t want to say that I have New Years resolutions in the traditional sense of the phrase, however I have goals for the upcoming year. This coming year is going to be a true challenge for me. I am away from home for a full year, I will be entering college in the fall, and I will start leading more of an independent lifestyle. It will be challenging at first however I am fairly confident that I will have enough will power to get my way through.

Gmar Chatimah Tova

ראש השנה דרשה/Rosh Hashanah Drasha

This is something I have been working on all week and it was based off of material that I had learned this week at the Yeshiva. I also sent this to all the members of the International USY ListServ. I put this one up with slight modifications to make it more general and not USY oriented. I hope you enjoy it and get something out of it. Shanah Tova!!!

We are nearing the end of the month of Elul and the year of 5769 is drawing to a close. We are preparing for the welcoming of the year of 5770.
We have been blowing the Shofar for the past three and a half weeks now. This blowing of the Shofar reminds us of the climb to the top of the mountain that Moshe did after the repentance he made on behalf of the Jewish people because of the Egel haZahav, The Golden Calf.
This past Saturday night we began the ancient practice of Selichot/Repentance. The essence of the Selichot service is the recitation of the 13 Attributes of God/Mercy. Just like Moshe asked forgiveness to God after the Golden Calf, so do we ask forgiveness to God by reciting the 13 Attributes of God.
As we approach the New Year I urge you all to look back on this year and think. What have you done for others in the past year? What have you done for yourself in the past year? Think about the year to come. What can you do for others in this year to come? What can you do for yourself in the year to come?
There is a Midrash that I recently learned while studying at the Conservative Yeshiva while on Nativ. It comes from Peskita d’Rav Kahana, which is a collection Aggadic Midrashim that deal with the calendar year. This Midrash says:

R’ Abba bar Yedan said: What God regards as unfit for sacrifice is an animal, He holds fit in a human being. In an animal,” Anything blind, or injured, or maimed, or with a wen, boil-scar or scurvy- such you shall not offer to the Lord; you shall put any of them on the altar as offerings by fire to the Lord”(Levticus 22:22); but in a human being He holds “True sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God, You will not despise a contrite and crushed heart”(Psalms51:19) to be fit for an offering to him.R’ Alexandri said: If an ordinary person makes use of a broken vessel, it is taken as a reflection upon him. But the Holy One is unconcerned about His use of broken vessels- indeed His entire use is broken vessels: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; those crushed in spirit He delivers” (Psalms 34:19). “He heals their broken hearts, and binds up their wounds” (Psalms 147:3)” “True sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God, You will not despise a contrite and crushed heart” (Psalms 51:19)” Hence, admonishing Israel, Hoesa says to them, “ Return, O Israel(Hosea 14:2)”
-Peskita d’Rav Kahana 24:5

This Midrash comes to teach us several lessons, the first of which comes from the book of Vayikra. It says in Vayikra that the only way to purify a vessel that becomes impure is to break it into many pieces and it will begin the process of purification. God uses the term broken vessels in the context of this Midrash to describe people. There are two types of people; one who is whole and one who is broken. God is more favorable to people who are like broken vessels, meaning they are open to making themselves better people and people who appreciate the fact that they are not perfect in anyway. People who are like whole vessels are not going to want to change because they see nothing wrong with themselves. So this Midrash elaborates on the fact that people should always be open for changing for the better and become one step closer to a whole vessel.

The famous saying from Pirkei Avot, “ lo alecha hamlacha ligmor, lo alecha ligmor. V’lo atah ben horin lhebttel memenah” - “It is not for you to complete the work, but neither are you free to abstain from doing it” - reminds us that it is essential that though we will never be perfect, it is not an excuse to refrain from trying to reach our potential.
It is your job as to pick up where you left of in the last year and continue on the right path for the year to come. This year will be so great because of the path we will choose as – this is a new beginning and it can be as great as each person helps to make it!!!
I just want to wish a Shana Tova uMetukah, A Sweet and Healthy New Year, to you and your families, as well as a Chatima u’Ketivah Sameach. May you be written and sealed in the Book of Life in the year to come. May this year bring you nothing but much Bracha (blessings) and Hatzlacha (success). I hope you have a great one!!!

שנה טובה ומתוקה

End of the Week(09/17/09)

Well today was the end of the week of classes and it was a good week. I had Talmud this morning as usual and ended on a very good note and a good stopping place before the Chagim. We are learning about the laws of Sukkot and the different ways and materials that one can use for their Sukkot. We have learned about using animals as walls, to using trees. It is quite an array of things you can use for walls. After Talmud we had our weekly one hour session with the Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Shmuel. This week he spoken about Rosh Hashanah and some of his personal theories and philosophies on the holiday. One thing in particular stuck out to me about what Reb Shmuel was talking about. Someone posed the question about doing Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah. Reb Shmuel told us that he is the wrong person to talk to about Tashlich. He reason was absolutely amazing to me. Reb Shmuel doesn't take place in Tashlich because of a very logical reason that I had never thought about. He says that when he was learning, his Rabbi was opposed to doing Tashlich because it is not only littering but the act of throwing the bread into the water is not an accurate removal of your sins. The bread will continue to remain whole in the water and therefore your sins are still whole but are drowning in water and it defeats the prurpose of throwing them away. Now, I can't say that I am about to adapt the custom of Reb Shumel, but from now on it will seriously make me think about what I am throwing away when I do Tashlich.

After Sicha with Reb Shmuel, I ate lunch that was provided by the Yeshiva and then we had Halacha Today as I like to call if with Reb Shlomo. Today in class we were talking about Tzom Gedalia and other fast days and the Halachot concerning them. It was a fairly simple study session for me cause I studied an entire Tractate of Talmud at school last year dealing with fast days. The one thing that I did learn that I had been curious about was ending a fast day in the middle of the afternoon after one says Mincha. Their is a source that says in order for a fast not to take place you must have Shalom in the Land, with Shalom purposely being undefined, as well as no persecution. However if you have one without the other you must fast but the middle ground is if you don't have either Shalom or persecution then it is up to the person as far as if they fast or not. The origin of ending the fast at Mincha comes from the undecided conclusion of not know what to do if their is no Shalom and no persecution. It was a good answer for me as far as when I end a fast, however I was slightly disappointment that their was no textual support for the conclusion, but it was an answer none the less.

After class ended around 3, I davened Mincha with the Yeshiva and then I finalized my Rosh Hashanah plans. Friday night I am davening with all of Nativ and eating with all of Nativ at Beit Nativ. Saturday morning I am schlepping about 45 minutes to Mayyanot with my friend Seth and we are going to lunch being hosted by a family there. For Mincha and Maariv, I am going to Moreshet Yisrael, which is attached to Beit Nativ, with my friend Ariella and we were invited to some fellow Yeshiva students. Sunday morning I am headed to Kedem which is on Emek Refaiem, and then I will head across the street to my Tanach teacher, Vered's house, for lunch. To end Rosh Hashanah I will be going to Moreshet Yisrael again for Mincha and Maariv. I am excited to see what this Rosh Hashanah brings me.

Around 5 o'clock I went to meet a good friend and my Pilgrimage Rosh, Moshe Levi, for coffee. We schmoozed for a long time and caught up on life and just spent a great afternoon together. I am so lucky I have people who I can hang out with in Israel. I also got to go to dinner and do laundry with a good friend from St. Louis that is in Israel for the year. We went out to dinner at Sushi Rechavia, which I had been told is very good and they were correct. It was a great evening. Food, friends, clean laundry, blogging, and tomorrow is Rosh Hashanah. What could be better?

I guess that is it for now. The next post you will see from me is the Rosh Hashanah Drash that I have been working on. Enjoy and speak to you all next year.

David

Safety First(09/16/09)

I know that I already wrote a post for the 16th of September, but I had something else in mind that I wanted to share so I apologize for the repetitiveness.

It is kind of ironic that the title of my blog today is Safety First. The first question that I was always asked when I told people I was going to Israel for the year was, "is it safe and will you be safe?" I always responded with the following, I feel more safe and protected in Israel during a time of war then I do in the United States during a peaceful time. More about safety in a bit.

Today was a good day, as most days thus far have been. Today I once again had Talmud, so nothing new with that regard. After Talmud I had about a two and a half hour break where I once again did my ritual of lunch, Mincha and work. I then went to Poskim class with the Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Shmuel. It is funny to be sitting in that class because Reb Shmuel was a classmate of the Rabbi I learned with at school for two years and they have practically the same teaching style. Unfortunately, I was unable to stay in class the entire time because of my interview for MADA, Magen David Adom which is the Israeli Red Cross. As part of the Kehilla track which goes to Yerucham, which is a small city in the south, we have an option of training and volunteering as a paramedic for MADA. Something that is new this year is the option of training earlier in the first semester to then volunteer in the busy city of Jerusalem as well as another city near Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh. The interview went very well and was conducted primarily in Hebrew so I hope I did well. At the end the woman asked me what size t-shirt I wore so I thought that I had made it. It turns out she asked everyone what size shirt they wore, so my bubble was popped.

After my interview and what would have been the end of Poskim class, I met up with my Chevruta and friend Judah and we went to dinner with the former International Director of USY, Rabbi Paul Freedman, and his wife Nina for a nice dinner at Cafe Joe. It was a great evening full of Schmoozing, catching up, Torah, and of course good food. After dinner we had a mandatory program that was split up by gender and by track. The program was about healthy choices and about relationships for the most part. It was a good mix of humor as well as information about some serious issues. Everyone got a lot out of it and it took a lot out of us that no one wanted to go out afterward and we all went straight to bed.

I promised I would explain the reason for me titling the blog entry for today, "Safety First." I never really had any interest in going into the medical field when I was younger, but I had always had a dream of being an EMT for fun either during high school or college. I was never good with science or math but their was something about the human body that just fascinated me enough to want to do something like this. I chose to go out for MADA because their is a feeling I get when I am able to help someone in need whether a boo boo at day camp, a sprained ankle from sports, a throwing up friend from a bit too much Manischewitz, and many other things. I feel that if I were to be able to volunteer for MADA and have to answer the emergency call of a terrorist attack, God forbid, it would make me feel accomplished that I was able to do a huge Mitzvah of helping someone in need. Safety is always first and hopefully, I will be able to practice that while on Nativ this year.

Just Another Day in J-Town (09/16/09)

Well today was just another day at the office. Early morning minyan and then off to the Yeshiva for four hours of Talmud followed by lunch. Lunch today was a slight bit different. We had a all Nativ Yeshiva meeting with my Talmud teacher, Dr. Josh Kulp who acts as the head adviser for the Nativers. We were all then given a different sub adviser to go to for problems. I got really lucky and got an amazing adviser who not only knows me, knows my brother and my Zaddy, Reb Shlomo. He is a great guy who I will be able to talk to and have as a great resource.

After lunch I had a break for about an hour and a half so I did some work as usual and listened to music. After my break I had Poskim 2 which is basically in depth study of commentators of Halacha. During my class, I had my interview for MADA, Magen David Adom also known as the Israeli Red Cross. My goal for the second semester of Nativ is to be a volunteer paramedic in the south of Israel in Yerucham. It is new this year for us that you can do volunteering in Jerusalem during the first semester. The interview went very well and it was conducted in both Hebrew and English. I am not sure when I hear back from them about it, but I assume its within the next week cause the training course starts the first week of October.

Today I also finialzed my plans for Rosh Hashanah. I am going to be davening with Nativ the first night and going to Mayanot for shul on Saturday morning, which is about a 45-50 minute walk from me. I am also being hosted for lunch by a family near that shul with my friend Seth which is going to be really fun. I am also excited for that meal cause it is going to be my first time buying a bottle of wine and bringing it to a home for a gift. I will probably daven Mincha and Maariv at Moreshet Yisrael right next door to Beit Nativ. On Sunday for the second day I will most likely be going to a shul called Kedem on Emek Refaim. After that I will be going to lunch at my Tanach teacher, Vered's house, as well as some of my classmates in her class. I will once again probably daven Mincha and end Rosh Hashanah at Moreshet Yisrael. I am excited for the Chagim but at the same time it will be very weird not being with my family at shul at home and not leading Junior Congregation services. I can't wait for the Chagim.

Tonight for dinner, Judah and I went and met Rabbi Paul and Nina Freedman for dinner. They are such a cute and sweet couple who are so hospitiable it is amazing. We ate dinner at Cafe Joe and sat and schmoozed for a while and caught up. It was a great chance to be with them and hopefully we can do this more often.

After dinner we had an all boys Yerucham night where we discussed several key issues that would be considered Lo Matim/no appropriate to say on the blog. It was a good conversation that needed to take place and was especially important given the time of year we are in.

Today was a pretty good day in the life in J-Town. Stayed for tomorrow post as well as the first of many Drashot/Commetaries on something Jewish.

חלומחת פז/Sweet Dreams!

Typical Situation (09/15/09)

Well today was about the most standard day I have had on Nativ thus far. Morning Minyan followed by Tanach with Mefarshim, commentaries, where we finished studying the Book of Jonah just in time for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Jonah is quite possibly one of the most fascinating books I have ever studied before. I got so much out of the in depth study that I am surprised we have adapted the custom of reading it on Yom Kippur. After Tanach class I had a few hour break which I did some work for USY stuff, blogged, finalized my plans for Rosh Hashanah meals and teffilot.

After my productive few hours of work I went to my Modern Jewish Thought class that only meets once a week for about 3 and a half hours. It is turning out to be a pretty interesting class with a unique approach to Zionism. Our teacher is a very interesting and engaging individual so it helps make the pace of the class enjoyable.

After Modern Jewish Thought class it was time for dinner and then Erev Nativ, which is the once a week opportunity for an all Nativ program. This week, we learned about a certificate that restaurants receive that is called The Tav Chevrati/התו החברתי. It is a seal of approval granted free of charge to restaurants and other businesses that respect the legally-mandated rights of their employees and are accessible to people with disabilities. It was something that I had never heard of and it will make me think the next time I go out to eat in Israel.

After Erev Nativ, I took it easy and just enjoyed the night and went to bed at an early hour. Today was definitely a typical day, nothing to out of the ordinary.

We will see what tomorrow brings.
לִילה טוב

A Night on the Town (09/14/09)

Wow.... What a day. Sundays and Mondays are the busiest days because I am in the Yeshiva from about 8:30 in the morning until about 6:30 in the evening. On a given day I will be studying throughout that entire period of time with no more then a 45 minute break for lunch. It is quite a switch from high school let me tell you. Today was no exception. Today during Talmud class, my chevruta Judah and I sat and looked at the same four lines of the Talmud for about 2 hours. It was the start of one of those days. Normally, Judah and I are very into the studying but today we just weren't feeling it. So after we did our one on one studying we went to Shiur/class where we discussed what we were learning and we finally got into it a bit more.

After Talmud we broke for our usual lunch of Beit Nativ food. After lunch I joined the Yeshiva as I do everyday for Mincha. After Mincha I went to Halacha Le'Maseah class which is a class that covers the basics of practical Jewish Law. The class is made up of a lot of Nativers and some CY students but also we are joined by the Cantorial Students from JTS which is a nice addition. After about an hour and a half of Halacha class I went to my next and final class of Advanced Midrash with Reb Mordachai. It was a great class. We were studying a Midrash about different people who were doing Teshuvah over the history of time. It was a very illuminating Midrash. I will be posting a piece of it later this week before Rosh Hashanah and I will be discussing it also. Midrash put me into a great mood for the evening.

After Midrash ended around 6:30 I went to dinner with a large majority of Nativ at Beit Nativ. After dinner we had auditions for the Accapella group of Nativ, Kol Nativ which translates to the Voice of Nativ. I sang HaTikvah in my two auditions. We will see what happens next. I am pretty confident that not only I will make it but everyone who tried out will make it also.

All this leads up to the great night I had. If you look at the title of this blog post it says a night on the town. The title doesn't lie, I did indeed have a night on the town. Tonight on Emek Refaim, the German Colony, there was a street fair with live music, foods, and other performances. A bunch of people went for a post dinner dinner and hung out and listened to the many different types of music. It was a great and relaxing conclusion to a busy yet educational day.

That will do it for today. I am sleepy and I need to get up at 7 for davening. I guess we will see what tomorrow brings me.

Lila Tov

Using an Elephant as a Sukkah? (09/13/09)

I know at first glance the title of today’s blog is slightly odd, but let me explain. Today was a busy day at the Yeshiva. This morning we had Talmud for 4 hours. For 2 and 1/2 of the hours we were learning one on one. My Chevruta, my learning partner, and I were discussing the different possibilities of animals and other objects that can be used for walls of a Sukkah. We came across a case where it was acceptable to use an elephant as a wall for the Sukkah. I thought to myself that this would be quite the scene in the States. Thankfully, in Israel we don’t have to worry about using animals as Sukkot because we have walls made out of wood.

Anyways, today was a great day at the Yeshiva. We learned a lot this morning and are making progress through the sections dealing with Sukkot. After Talmud class this morning I had Pirkei Avot for the first time. It was a great discussion and I was able to contribute to the discussion based on some of the things I learned in one of my independent studies during senior year. After Pirkei Avot I had one of my favorite classes of Adcanced Tanach with Commentaries with the sweetest woman ever. It was another great learning session where we continued our discussion of the 3rd chapter of the Book of Jonah. This concluded a great day at the Yeshiva and a great week ahead to come leading into Rosh Hashanah.

Tonight I had the amazing opportunity to take part in an ritual that is special for Israeli Soliders. I went with some people to the Kotel tonight for the induction ceremony for one of the units of the Israeli Army, the Nahal Unit. The Nahal Unit which is an Hebrew accronym for Noar Halutzi Lohem, which literally translates to Fighting Pioneer Youth. It is an infantry division in the IDF. It was a very moving ceremony. We got to the Kotel as it was starting and about halfway thorugh the ceremony we decided to go and daven Maariv at the Kotel. As we were finishing davening Maariv they started to play HaTikvah, the Israeli National Anthem, over the speaker system. I got so emotional as this was going on because everyone there was silent and at attention to honor and give thanks to the State of Israel. It was also incredible to see the soldiers at attention as they were recently inducted into the Nahal Unit. It is certainly an event that I will remember for a long time.

After the induction ceremony, we headed back to Beit Nativ and a bunch of us are on our computers following the opening day of the new football season. My boys in Red were down at half time and now they have just come back to tie it at 17 with 10 minutes to go in the fourth. I actually just spoke to soon; they are now down 24-17. I guess something’s just never change with the Chiefs. Oh well...

Anyways I think that is it for tonight. Stay tuned for more blogging and a special for Rosh Hashanah later this week.

Ad Macher/Until Tomorrow

Conservative Yeshiva Shabbaton and Selichot (09/11/09 and 09/12/09)

Shavuah Tov:

This weekend I spent Shabbat in Ein Gedi with the my fellow Nativers who are studying at the Conservative Yeshiva as well as the other students who are studying at the CY. We went early Friday morning to Ein Gedi for a hike and swimming in the waterfalls. Their was a group of people who wanted to go to the Dead Sea after we had finished our hike, but I didn't feel like going so I went straight to the Youth Hostel for a nap before I had to get ready for Shabbat.

We had a great Friday evening with a beautiful and inspirational Kabbalat Shabbat, Welcoming the Shabbat, and Maariv, evening service. After praying we had dinner and then after dinner their was a Tisch, a gathering full of learning, food, songs, and schmoozing. It was a great Friday evening experience.

Shabbat morning was a great experience also. A favorite teacher of mine at the Yeshiva led Schacharit, the morning service. It wasn't that special of a rendition, but the man has the voice of an angle. I always thought that the voice of God was either Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones, but I was wrong. Reb Shlomo is certainly the new voice of God. I had the opportunity to read Haftarah, the Prophetic reading, this morning so that was a nice opportunity. After prayers we had a session with the Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Shmuel about Choosing Life. After that session we had lunch and then I had myself my traditional Shabbat nap. After napping we prayed Mincha, the afternoon service, and then had the chance to pick from three different sessions led by staff of the CY. I choose a class that dealt with the 13 Attributes of God primarily because it was taught by a teacher that I don't have, so I wanted to hear him teach. It was very insightful lesson and one that I will think about over the next few weeks.

After Shabbat ended we headed back to Jerusalem for Selichot. Selichot are the prayers of forgiveness that are said leading up to Rosh Hashanah and tonight was the "opening round" of Selichot. Their were many options to choose from and so many people flooding the streets getting to their locations for Selichot. A bunch of us wen to a shul called Kol Rina which is located in a bomb shelter, but we got there 45 minutes before they were starting so we moved else where. We ended up in a few locations for a little time at each. It was a great chance to go Shul Hopping.

Anyways, tomorrow starts a brand new week at the Yeshiva. Bright and early at 7 am for Davening with Nativ and then back to work learning til 6. This week we have Rosh Hashanah over the weekend which will be one of the hardest times for me on Nativ so we will see how I deal with it.

Lila Tov from Jerusalem and Shavuah Tov.

The End of a Good Week of School (09/10/09)

Today was the end of the first week of classes. I really enjoyed all the classes I have taken. Today I had the opportunity to begin my last two classes. The first one is a Shiur/Lecture for all the students of the Conservative Yeshiva led by the Rosh Yeshiva Reb Shmuel. It was an incredible lecture about the Kingship of God through Creation leading up to Rosh Hashanah. That lecture happens once a week and I am excited for those to turn out. The second class was just for the Yeshiva students on Nativ. This class is Contemporary Issues in Halacha/Law with Reb Shlomo. He has the soothing voice of an angle, one whose voice I wouldn't mind listening to all day. It will be a great class, just today wasn't the best leading off discussion.

After my morning and afternoon at the Yeshiva, I went with a friend to the old city to buy a book that we both were going to need for classes for the rest of the semester. We then hung out at Beit Nativ until a few of us ran and got dinner before the all Nativ program tonight. Tonight's program was a program for 9/11. We watched United 93 and everyone was blown away because of the movie and a powerful speech that Yossi, the Director of Nativ, gave before and after to bring it all home. It was a perfect segway into the weekend as well as into the time for the Holidays and Selichot on Saturday night.

This weekend I am going to Ein Gedi for the Conservative Yeshiva Shabbaton. We are leaving bright and early on Friday morning and we will be driving to Ein Gedi to do a hike, play some games, swim at Ein Gedi as well as the Dead Sea and then off to the Youth Hostel for the Shabbaton. We will be back in Jerusalem Saturday night for Selichot, the repentance prayers said one week prior to Rosh Hashanah.

It is hard to imagine that next week is Rosh Hashanah and it is the first time in 18 years that I will not be spending the Holidays with my family. That is going to be the biggest adjustment for me, however I am excited for what will come.

Shabbat Shalom m'Yerushaliyim.
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem!!!
-DBH

09/09/09 What An Awesome Date!!!

With a date like 09/09/09 it is bound to be a good day. Today was my first day at the Yeshiva to learn Talmud. I was placed in the second highest level of Talmud and I am in a class with Rabbinical Students from the American Jewish University. My teacher, Dr. Josh Kulp was a former teach of my brother Corey's also so that was pretty cool. It is pretty cool to be in a class level that high given that these people are already in Rabbinical School and are so close to being a Rabbi and I am just out of high school. I guess that 13 education that I received from the Academy is really paying off. In Talmud class for the first few weeks we are learning material about Sukkot. We will then start discussing a Tractate called Bava Kama just after the Holidays. We had Talmud for about 2 hours just one on one and then we moved into a discussion setting with the rest of the class which is about 12 people give or take a few.

After Talmud class I ate lunch and then took a little nap which I completely regret because I continued to fall asleep during my last class for the day, Poskim 2. In that class we are learning the Halachot/Laws of the blowing of the Shofar. That class is being taught by the Rosh HaYeshiva,Head of the Yeshiva, Reb Shmuel, who was a classmate of the Rabbi that I learned from all of last year back at the Academy. It is a great class and I am excited to see where it takes us. That class is also full of Reb Students from the AJU also.

After a long and tiring day at the Yeshiva, I went to dinner with some people and then we went out for the night to a Jazz Concert in the Gan HaPa'amon, The Garden of the Bell. It was a nice evening.

That's about it for now. Tomorrow is another busy day at the Yeshiva with 4 hours of Talmud, an hour session with the Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Shmuel, and a class in Contemporary Issues in Halacha and then tomorrow night we are doing an all Nativ program in remembrances of 9/11.

Lilah Tov for now....

A Hard Day's Night (09/08/09)

Well my first day at the Yeshiva was quite an experience. I had my first class bright and early at 8:45. This class is Advanced Tanach with Mefarshim, which are commentaries. The teachers name is Vered Hollander-Goldfarb, who is very interesting and very engaging. We are learning the book of Jonah from start to finish and going much more in-depth that I have ever taken it before. I look forward to continuing that class.

After 3 hours of that class I took a break for lunch and met some people back at base and we went for a walk to the Shuk. It was my first time to the Shuk this year so far and my first ever trip to the Shuk in my times to Israel. It was quite the site to see. Fruit, veggies, nuts, fish, bread, I was in heaven. I even saw a former Regional USY staff members father who has a fruit stand in the Shuk. It was a great time.

After the Shuk we went and grabbed some pretty solid pizza by my standards. After eating pizza we headed back to base to daven Mincha with the Yeshiva and stayed for announcements. I then had a break for about an hour and a half which is when I stayed in the Yeshiva to work on some stuff and write yesterdays post. After my break I ran across the street to SuperSol to grab a bottle of water for the next class which, well lets just say is a little tortuous.

This class meets once a week on Tuesday for 3 and a half hours for all the Nativers studying at the Yeshiva. The class is called Modern Jewish Thought with Aryeh Tepper. It is a mixture class that covers Zionism, the History of Israel, and the inside scope to the Arab-Israeli Conflict. It is a great concept, however it is something that I have been studying for many years and tends to be repetitious because everyone is at such a different level.

Dinner with the rest of Nativ after a long day of learning at the Yeshiva and then we had a first of a weekly program with all of Nativ called Erev Nativ, Nativ Evening. Every Tuesday all 80 of us come together for various types of programming. We start all together and then depending on the week split up by group. I am in the Kehilla Group and the other group is the Kibbutz Group. Our program last night was improv games. It was pretty funny at times and not necessarily the most PG ratings.

After Erev Nativ a bunch of us went to Ben Yehudah for the IDF Concert. It was a pretty amazing thing to see so many people packed into such a small area with music and large military vehicles. We were there for a while and then I walked some people back and forth from Ben Yehudah to Base about 3 times and then came back to Ben Yehudah around 1am with some friends cause we were hungry. Got to love the late night of Israel compared to the non existent night life of Kansas City.

Anyways that was it for today. Tomorrow is the first day that we are learning Talmud at the Yeshiva so that is something to look forward to.

Until next time...

Welcome Home!!!

Shalom from Israel

I have finally arrived in Israel. It is crazy to think that I will be in Israel for a year studying, traveling, eating and taking in the amazing homeland of the Jewish people. This year I will be participating in a gap year program called Nativ, which in Hebrew means the path. I am one of 80 post graduates from high school who will be spending the year in Israel on this program learning Judaic Studies intensively, learning Hebrew intensively, taking courses at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and working in a communities in the south of Israel during the second semester. I am going to be a student at the Conservative Yeshiva, which is located on our home base and during the second semester I will be volunteering hopefully as a volunteer paramedic for the Israeli Red Cross in the south of Israel in a city called Yerucham.

I arrived on Monday morning at 7:30. By the time I got my bags and met one of my Madrichimg(staff) and got on a sheirut(shuttle) to our home at Beit Nativ in Jerusalem it was already 10am. Time flew very quickly for the day. I was over exhausted and nervous at the same time. I was coming about a week late to meet the 79 other people on my trip.

Once I arrived at our base and got settled it was time for me to go and eat lunch. I was overwhelmed with unpacking that I just sat on my bed and looked out my window to see the amazing views of Jerusalem, and slowly came to the realization that I would be doing this for an entire year. As I finally unpacked and got all situated it was about 4:45. My friends who are on my program and studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem were supposed to be back to base at around 5ish and I was trying so very hard to stay awake but I couldn't do it. I feel asleep for about 25 minutes and was woken up by a dog pile of people welcoming me to the group and to Israel. What a great way to wake up from a snooze.

At night I went with a few friends out to dinner off of Ben Yehudah Street for Schwarma and Falafal, and of course a Coke in a glass bottle, the only way to drink Coke in a non-American country. After dinner we walked up and down Ben Yehudah Street for about an hour and a half and I was begged by a few people to take them Kippah shopping cause they trusted me with this task. We went to one of my favorite Kippah places and I introduced them to my friend who is the owner of the place. Everytime I take people to this guy I always get an enormous break in price on a Kippah for myself. He picked out a Kippah style that I have never tried before. I am now the proud owner of a muliti-colored sqaure kippah with four rainbow clips. We then went to a bookstore cause they wanted to get siddurim for themselves. I suggested that we all take a walk to pray Ma'ariv, and where better to go then the Kotel. So we walked to the Kotel to pray and walked back in the heart of Jerusalem on an amazing night which even included random fireworks. Don't worry they weren't rockets.

My night concluded back at base with meeting some new friends that I will be spending the year with. I went to bed around midnight and was able to sleep through the night. I can't wait for what is in store for me tomorrow.