The week that Sean left was also the first week of "real" classes at HUC. I am taking Modern Hebrew (a continuation of my summer Hebrew ulpan), Biblical Grammar (I have an amazingly hilarious teacher named Hanna Saggie for both classes), Rabbinic Literature (Mishna, Talmud, etc etc), Liturgy (learning the what, why, author, meaning, etc of prayers), History of the Zionist Movement, 2nd Temple History, and Israel Seminar (which is a little bit of class combined with all kinds of cool field trips around the country, learning about the current society of Israel). I am also taking Reform Jews Reading Sources, an elective class with the Dean of the school, and Cantillation for Cantors (chanting Torah, Haftarah, Megillot, etc, with the cantors so that I don't have to take the class with the rabbis!). On Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, I have class from 8:30am until about 4:30pm, while Thursdays are a short day, with class until noon! Wednesdays are reserved specifically for Israel Seminar, so that we can go on field trips. We are also required to participate in Liturgy Workshop, which means that rabbinic and education students team up with cantorial students to plan and lead a service (nothing too new for me, but definitely a first time thing for many of the students)- in addition, rabbinic students are required to read and translate Torah and to deliver a D'var Torah (sermon).
Israel Seminar started with a three-day tiyul to the beautiful North- the Galilee and the Golan Heights. We stayed on the banks of the Kinneret- the Sea of Galilee, and travelled all over. We visited some of the first Moshavim- colonies started by immigrants to Israel in the late 1800s and early 1900s. We learned about Baron Rothschild, a weathly European Jew who financed a good portion of the building of the state of Israel. We also met with residents of the Golan Heights, a disputed area of Israel (the "Land for Peace" movement advocated giving this area to Syria- VERY controversial), and learned about the struggles of the people who live there. One day included a tour of the Tel Dan archeological dig site, directed by the head of the archeological school at HUC, David Ilan. We of course got to do some great, relaxing "North" activities, such as swimming in the natural pools and waterfall of Sachne, having an Israel song session on the banks of the Kinneret, and going to some great lookout points. The entire tiyul was great with one exception- I had an awful cold and ended up going to bed at 10:30 every night! Even so, it was good bonding opportunity for the class AND I got to buy Naot clogs (the Israeli Birkenstocks) at the Kibbutz where Naots are manufactured.
tomb of Baron Rothschild
Dr. David Ilan showwing us around Tel Dan
the view of the Kinneret from the Kinneret cemetary (burial place of LOTS of famous Israelis)
Lisa, Jimmy, Joel, and me having fun at one of the moshavot, Tel Hai
I am getting involved in several activities here at school. First of all, I'm on the Kef (fun, but really meaning social) Committee, which plans social events for the entire class to do together. We held our first event on the Saturday night following the first week of school- this was a Havdallah potluck in the park to celebrate making it through our first crazy week. I am also continuing on with the Parallel Lives program, which has some of the HUC students teamed up with Israeli soliders in one of the elite units- we recently met up with them for a tour of the Old City and a dinner at school. I am re-attempting Tae Kwon Do, since one of my classmates has agreed to teach a class- it's been about ten years since I've done it, so I'll keep you posted as to how this goes! Finally, the thing I'm MOST excited about- I've joined the community choir sponsored by HUC, called the Hallel Choir. The choir is composed of about 60 people, including ten-ish HUC students and lots of (mostly older- and I mean like 70 or 80 years old!) community members. It's been a great experience, especially meeting people from the community AND learning music completely in Hebrew (I don't mean that the lyrics are in Hebrew but rather that the conductor teaches entirely in Hebrew)! I am also singing in an octet for a special benefit dinner at HUC- very exciting!
First Kef Committee Program- Havdallah Sababa lead by Ari and me
One of the best parts of the last few weeks was my cousin Melissa's visit to Israel! She had been several times as a kid, but was last here in high school ten years ago! She came for a week with her friend Brian, who is Catholic, which meant that they got to see all kinds of interesting sites that she (and/or me) wouldn't have gotten to see otherwise. The first two days of their visit were in Jerusalem, so I met them right after they arrived and took them for lunch at Ben Yehuda Street... what we didn't know was that this would start a VERY interesting day! While we were eating our falafel on Ben Yehuda in a HUGE Friday afternoon crowd (and I was 10 feet away throwing away our garbage), someone walked away with my purse... OY! After a quick trip to the Shuk (we were almost there, we just had to keep going!), we had to return to my apartment so that I could spend the next few hours on the phone with the credit card companies! After the Great Purse Snatching of 2008 (this event's official name), Melissa, Brian, and I explored the Jewish Quarter and Christian Quarter of the Old City. I hosted Shabbat dinner at my apartment that night so that Melissa could meet my friends, and then slept a few hours before my exciting Saturday with the travelers! On Saturday, we went to the Israel Museum to see the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. Afterward, we headed back to the Old City to explore the Church of the Holy Sepulcher- a truly unique and amazing experience for me. The Church is said to be the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. We made a return trip to the wall, and Melissa and Brian walked the ramparts of the Old City while I went to the Kef Committee Havdallah party! We went out to dinner together in the German Colony, and then I took them to a bar with hookah/nargila (water pipes with tobacco) for the Israeli bar experience! They continued on with their tour of Israel while I went on my three day tiyul, and then I met them for a final day together in Tel Aviv on Friday to explore the Nachalat Binyamin craft fair and Old Jaffa (the oldest city in Israel outside of the Old City in Jerusalem). It was wonderful to see Melissa and definitely cool to be in Israel with Brian as he saw it for the very first time.
Site of the Crucifixion, Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Brian touching the stone where Jesus was laid out and cleansed prior to burial, Church of the Holy Sepulcher
Melissa and me at the overlook by the Kotel
Out to dinner in the German Colony
Melissa, Brian, and me on the beach in Tel Aviv (Old Jaffa is in the background)
Happy New Year 5769!
Love, Meredith
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