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.
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