Day 1 in Tsfat

I'm realizing now that lack of wifi is not a problem for learning or journaling (and yes, we have journaling parties at seminary), but it is for updating a blog. The past few days have been intense, but a great experience in realizing both my physical and spiritual limitations.

Starting off -- I have a new appreciation for onions.

On a bus at 7:30am, we were off to a farm to go pick onions. The organization we were picking onions with helps give food to the poor - by running their own farms, picking the leftover fruits and veggies from existing farms, and working with other organizations and restaurants to get their leftover food.

Interestingly, I always imagined onions to grow in the ground, but in fact, they're not really. They live above ground and are relatively easy to pick, unless they're stuck under a thorny bush. It was a very meaningful experience as you got the real feeling that every extra onion you picked would go to someone who needed it.

After the onions, we went on a hike to Mount Arbel. I thought that it would be challenging, but I did not expect to hold onto little metal ropes and have my friends tell me where to put my feet. I guess it was what you could call a trust building exercise. It was definitely terrifying, but the views were amazing and it was a real accomplishment to get through it. I had a well deserved ice cream at the bottom.

Next on the list was the kever of Rabbi Akiva. I find it difficult to connect to the graves of our tzaddikim. They're very holy places and have great meaning, but it's hard for me to get the 'divine inspiration' that others encounter. Maybe that's a normal thing, but I do wonder about it.

We finally visited a synagogue that was being built stone by stone based on a computer algorithm. It was destroyed many years ago, but all the original stones were kept. Thanks to that, they've been able to computerize what the synagogue used to look like.

Unlike every other day, this day was the most physically demanding a long time. I wish I could truly capture that moment of holding onto a rope and looking down.  Similar to life, there was no other option than to go forward. It was scary and terrifying and I probably wouldn't go through the experience again, but it pushed me past anything that I thought that I could do. It made me challenge myself and for that I'm thankful.

Stay tuned for more.

Group after onion picking

Selfie before the hike

The scary wall (doesn't look quite so bad here)

The view

Numbered stones so they can build it back together

The old Torah ark from the in construction shul

25 years old!

25 years old!

It's been a lovely day. I discovered the Israeli shuk for the first time. Included in this is the best bakery ever -- named Marzipan, though the bakery itself doesn't really have Marzipan. I ate them too fast, so unfortunately there's no pictures of my yummy rugelach. I also discovered how delicious fresh lemonade is and how a real shuk beats any other place for fresh food and produce. 

Into more philosophical thoughts... 

When I was younger (aka a teenager or elementary school kid), I saw 25 as this mythical age where everything in my life would be exactly where I wanted it to be. I'd have a good job (✓) that I love (✓) and would have great friends (✓) and an awesome apartment (✓). I'd also be happy (✓) and maybe have a spiritual connection with something greater than me (✓). Maybe I'd also be married and have kids, but I still have time for that. And, while I feel like I have so much more to do and so much more to learn, I am happy with where I am today.

I think the best thing that I've learnt over the years is to be grateful (the religious me has to add: to G-d) for what I have and to learn to see that everything is good in its own way (or for the good, but that's a whole other discussion). When I wake up in the morning, I am thankful to be alive. When I go to sleep, I am thankful that I lived another day. No matter what the day was like, I always try to see something good. And sometimes, it's hard to do and I fail. But I always try. And that has been an incredible shift in how I see the world.

A very small example of this is my phone. I came to Israel with my original phone + a phone that I was hoping to get unlocked and add an Israeli sim card to. It didn't seem like a hard task at the time, but it turned out to be a true nightmare. I bought a sim card + pre-paid plan at a phone store (that I conveniently never found again). Once they realized (after they had processed my payment) that my phone was locked, they looked at me with a typical Israeli expression on their faces and sent me to some location where they could either unlock or sell me a new phone. Obviously, there was no 'money back guarantee' on this. The story goes on to an adventure to go unlock the phone, long calls with my carrier back home, and finally just adding a travel pass after a week and a bit without a phone. So. Why this long winded story on a phone? I think until recently, I would have seen this as an (a) frustrating and (b) discouraging experience. And it partially was. But there was a greater part of me that didn't know why and couldn't explain it that trusted that somehow there was a greater plan to this and that no matter what, it would be for the good. Now, I don't think I ever found a reason for it, but I do know that at the end of the day, it really didn't matter. I was able to be more focused on my studies, get to know the girls around me, and I ended up not really needing anything. I would have gotten to the same result if I was worked up about all of this. But it didn't accomplish anything. Somehow, by trusting that there was something more, I was able to deal with the situation in peace and with a smile on my face. It didn't stress me out and I was able to deal perfectly well without it.

All that to say it's been an incredible year. I helped win an election and elect someone that I truly believe in to run the country. I finally converted to Judaism and become the person that I was meant to be. And I'm celebrating my birthday in the most holy place on earth, Israel, while spending my days making incredible friends and learning from the holy texts of the Torah and all the incredible breadth of knowledge that came with it. 

In the end, I learnt to be myself. And that is the best gift I could ever receive.

Some pictures:

Me and Vivian at the Kotel

The Shuk

The Shuk 

I don't even know where to start

I don't know where to start, so I'll start at this moment (a few dozen minutes before Shabbat starts). Jerusalem is different on a Friday. There's a sense of urgency on the streets, shops closing up, and a general sense of excitement as Shabbat is set to come in. There's no last-minute feeling like the minutes before Shabbat and you feel it in the air. 

I can hardly believe I've been in Israel since Monday. Since then, I've learnt to overcome the fear of staring at a text in Hebrew and actually analyze and learn from it (while looking up every single word). I've also learnt that in one sentence, you can discover 2 hours worth (and more) of wisdom. And I learnt to write Hebrew script! (Basically cursive but Hebrew)

In just a week, with many to go, I already feel changed. 

This is definitely not your typical vacation. Up early and in classrooms all day. A three hour break followed by another class. But it works. And it's still a vacation. It's a vacation from material things, an opportunity to connect with my faith and everything that it is. It's a spiritual and all-encompassing experience, I can barely find the words to describe what it feels like.

A thought on Shabbat from what I learned in Chumash class: It says that G-d completed the world in 7 days and that he also rested. How can G-d both rest from creation and complete something on the same day? Rashi says that G-d, being beyond time and space, could complete his work until the very very last second, a hairsbreadth before Shabbat. There are other explanations but this one is particularly meaningful because it teaches us how precious time is and that we should take advantage of every single second that we have.

Glossary

Shabbat: From sundown on Friday to sunset + 1 hour on Saturday, it's the Jewish day of rest. I don't touch my phone or turn on the computer. And there's lots of other fun laws like no writing, no turning on or off lights and no cooking.

Chumash: The 5 Books of Moses, so basically the Old Testament.

Rashi: A famous commentator on the Torah.

Hashem: Another word for G-d.

Why do I never include the "o" when spelling out G-d?: Although it is not the Hebrew name of G-d, the name still is holy and therefore don't spell it out in full (we do the same in Hebrew)

And a few pictures