Sep 2010
A happy start to 5771!
Sun September 12, 2010 Filed in: Israel 2010-2011
SCOTT’S BLOG
A picture of “Beit Kadima,” the building where we are living, taken
some time in the 1950’s. Recently borrowed and scanned from our
neighbor, Savta Rachely.
Shana Tovah u’Metukah v’ G’mar Khatimah Tovah! Aviva and I wish all of you a happy and sweet new year. May we all be inscribed only for good in 5771!
Reporting live from our kitchen and stuffed to the gills from two days of Rosh Hashana meals followed by Shabbat, here is how we spent our first Khag (Holiday) in Jerusalem and the preceding days:
We have been very busy since school started. On one hand it has been exciting to dive into the studies that are the main purpose of our being here. On the other, it means living like residents and not tourists. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it happened to be last Tuesday. Not having had the opportunity to get to the market in the days before, I went the day before Rosh Hashana. Not having had the opportunity to even get there that morning, I went at 5 pm. What a balagan (mess)! I won’t bore you with all of the details, but everything just took longer and I probably should have been wearing a helmet and pads.
I finally arrived home and rested up for the following day of cooking and cleaning. Aviva and I ended up hosting seven guests around our table for an erev Rosh Hashana meal. However, our holiday preparation was not without a bit of adventure. To make a long story short, Aviva has been dealing with an abnormal amount of insect bites for the past two weeks. At one point before the holiday began, we feared that the marks on her skin might be some sort of allergic reaction or who knows what else. About two hours before Rosh Hashana began, Aviva finally agreed to see a doctor. Aviva called our insurance company to see if there was any chance of getting an appointment two hours before Rosh Hashana. The woman on the phone gave Aviva two options. She should travel to the other side of town to a 24hr clinic, or we could have a doctor come to our house! The next logical question seemed to be, “What is the difference?” Now, when Americans ask this question, we realized that we are talking about the difference in cost. The woman on the phone answered, “Well, if he comes to your house it will be much more convenient for you.” There turned out to be no difference in cost at all. So, for less than five dollars, on erev Rosh Hashana, while I chopped up fruit salad in the kitchen, a doctor came to our apartment to examine Aviva. He was very pleasant and wished us a happy new year as he left. In the end, Aviva is just fine and we have another great story to add to our repertoire!
Our guests came and we had a lovely holiday meal. One of our guests was a former participant in one of Aviva’s programs at the David Project. She happens to be studying at Jerusalem University College, so Aviva connected with her and asked her to join our table. Not wanting to make her walk home alone, Aviva and I escorted her back to her campus after dinner. Prior to dinner, we had never heard of Jerusalem University College. Without someone pointing it out, you would never even know it was there. It happens to be located overlooking the Hinnom Valley and just a stone’s throw from the walls of the Old City. We consider ourselves lucky to have experienced the view from our friends campus. I hope to return there soon and capture some of it on film.
On the first day of Rosh Hashana, we prayed with the community at Kedem, an anglo and egalitarian minyan nearby. The services were spirited and well-organized for a completely lay-lead minyan. On day two, we found our way to the very unique, Minyan Degel Yehuda. Degel Yehuda is the only egalitarian Sephardic minyan I have ever heard of existing in the world. They generally meet on Friday nights in Talpiyot. The community is a mix of forward-thinking members of Sephardic communities, their families and other local folks in the know. Aviva, some of my classmates and myself made up a community of only 35 or so that morning. The minyan straddles the border between the old and the new by including Sefardim, Ashkenazim, men and women in their traditional style of prayer. It was quite remarkable! We look forward to going back soon for Kabbalat Shabbat.
On the way home from Rosh Hashana lunch, we were walking with our friend Hal, an accomplished ba’al tekiyah (shofar blower). Hal recently purchased a beautiful looking and sounding shofar in Jerusalem. We had the opportunity of hearing Hal sound his new shofar at Minyan Degel Yehdah. One of the first turns we made on our way back to our neighborhood after lunch led us through an active Jerusalem playground. The moment the children noticed Hal’s shofar they immediately stopped and waited patiently for him to give them a demonstration. Hal let out a few calls and we exited the playground to applause. On our 35 minute walk back home, Hal was stopped seven times and asked to sound his shofar. Children and adults alike wanted to hear its beautiful sound. We could not walk from one block to the next without being stopped. After being stopped the sixth time, Hal went off in a different direction. I’ve copied below Hal’s account of what happened next:
“On my walk home, I was stopped by random kids and adults about 7 times to sound my shofar, awestruck by its size... They loved hearing it. However, the last time was the best. 15 minutes before Shabbat came in, I encountered a Haredi (ultra-orthodox) man waiting outside a shul to see if anyone was there to blow shofar for his wife, who had been home taking care of a sick child all day. But the shul was strangely locked (since most people would be gathering for Mincha at that time). He asked me to help his wife fulfill this mitzvah. I, of course, was more than happy to oblige. He took me to his apartment, his wife came out, said the blessings and called out the calls as I blew shofar for her, with Shabbat approaching in 10 minutes. Amazing. Only in Jerusalem...”
Soon after this, Rosh Hashana came to an end and led us into a very restful Shabbat.
Stay tuned for the following updates in our next post:
Yom Kippur
Sukkot
Scott’s Pardes Retreat
Aviva attends the 10th annual World Conference on Counterterrorism
and more!
A picture of “Beit Kadima,” the building where we are living, taken
some time in the 1950’s. Recently borrowed and scanned from our
neighbor, Savta Rachely.
Shana Tovah u’Metukah v’ G’mar Khatimah Tovah! Aviva and I wish all of you a happy and sweet new year. May we all be inscribed only for good in 5771!
Reporting live from our kitchen and stuffed to the gills from two days of Rosh Hashana meals followed by Shabbat, here is how we spent our first Khag (Holiday) in Jerusalem and the preceding days:
We have been very busy since school started. On one hand it has been exciting to dive into the studies that are the main purpose of our being here. On the other, it means living like residents and not tourists. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it happened to be last Tuesday. Not having had the opportunity to get to the market in the days before, I went the day before Rosh Hashana. Not having had the opportunity to even get there that morning, I went at 5 pm. What a balagan (mess)! I won’t bore you with all of the details, but everything just took longer and I probably should have been wearing a helmet and pads.
I finally arrived home and rested up for the following day of cooking and cleaning. Aviva and I ended up hosting seven guests around our table for an erev Rosh Hashana meal. However, our holiday preparation was not without a bit of adventure. To make a long story short, Aviva has been dealing with an abnormal amount of insect bites for the past two weeks. At one point before the holiday began, we feared that the marks on her skin might be some sort of allergic reaction or who knows what else. About two hours before Rosh Hashana began, Aviva finally agreed to see a doctor. Aviva called our insurance company to see if there was any chance of getting an appointment two hours before Rosh Hashana. The woman on the phone gave Aviva two options. She should travel to the other side of town to a 24hr clinic, or we could have a doctor come to our house! The next logical question seemed to be, “What is the difference?” Now, when Americans ask this question, we realized that we are talking about the difference in cost. The woman on the phone answered, “Well, if he comes to your house it will be much more convenient for you.” There turned out to be no difference in cost at all. So, for less than five dollars, on erev Rosh Hashana, while I chopped up fruit salad in the kitchen, a doctor came to our apartment to examine Aviva. He was very pleasant and wished us a happy new year as he left. In the end, Aviva is just fine and we have another great story to add to our repertoire!
Our guests came and we had a lovely holiday meal. One of our guests was a former participant in one of Aviva’s programs at the David Project. She happens to be studying at Jerusalem University College, so Aviva connected with her and asked her to join our table. Not wanting to make her walk home alone, Aviva and I escorted her back to her campus after dinner. Prior to dinner, we had never heard of Jerusalem University College. Without someone pointing it out, you would never even know it was there. It happens to be located overlooking the Hinnom Valley and just a stone’s throw from the walls of the Old City. We consider ourselves lucky to have experienced the view from our friends campus. I hope to return there soon and capture some of it on film.
On the first day of Rosh Hashana, we prayed with the community at Kedem, an anglo and egalitarian minyan nearby. The services were spirited and well-organized for a completely lay-lead minyan. On day two, we found our way to the very unique, Minyan Degel Yehuda. Degel Yehuda is the only egalitarian Sephardic minyan I have ever heard of existing in the world. They generally meet on Friday nights in Talpiyot. The community is a mix of forward-thinking members of Sephardic communities, their families and other local folks in the know. Aviva, some of my classmates and myself made up a community of only 35 or so that morning. The minyan straddles the border between the old and the new by including Sefardim, Ashkenazim, men and women in their traditional style of prayer. It was quite remarkable! We look forward to going back soon for Kabbalat Shabbat.
On the way home from Rosh Hashana lunch, we were walking with our friend Hal, an accomplished ba’al tekiyah (shofar blower). Hal recently purchased a beautiful looking and sounding shofar in Jerusalem. We had the opportunity of hearing Hal sound his new shofar at Minyan Degel Yehdah. One of the first turns we made on our way back to our neighborhood after lunch led us through an active Jerusalem playground. The moment the children noticed Hal’s shofar they immediately stopped and waited patiently for him to give them a demonstration. Hal let out a few calls and we exited the playground to applause. On our 35 minute walk back home, Hal was stopped seven times and asked to sound his shofar. Children and adults alike wanted to hear its beautiful sound. We could not walk from one block to the next without being stopped. After being stopped the sixth time, Hal went off in a different direction. I’ve copied below Hal’s account of what happened next:
“On my walk home, I was stopped by random kids and adults about 7 times to sound my shofar, awestruck by its size... They loved hearing it. However, the last time was the best. 15 minutes before Shabbat came in, I encountered a Haredi (ultra-orthodox) man waiting outside a shul to see if anyone was there to blow shofar for his wife, who had been home taking care of a sick child all day. But the shul was strangely locked (since most people would be gathering for Mincha
Soon after this, Rosh Hashana came to an end and led us into a very restful Shabbat.
Stay tuned for the following updates in our next post:
Yom Kippur
Sukkot
Scott’s Pardes Retreat
Aviva attends the 10th annual World Conference on Counterterrorism
and more!
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There ain't no party like a Torah party.
Tue September 07, 2010 Filed in: Israel 2010-2011
SCOTT’S BLOG
Scott takes his turn kissing a new Torah scroll as it is welcomed
to its new home.
School has officially begun! While I am settling into my routine at Pardes, Aviva has been traveling to Herzliya almost every day to complete two prerequisite courses for her master’s program. We miss our daily adventures, but we remind ourselves that our schooling is the primary reason we came over here. Even so, we learned that it is still possible to stumble upon an adventure once in a while.
As we walked home from an orientation dinner at the Conservative Yeshiva last week, we heard loud music coming from the end of our street. It seemed as if people were pulling up in their cars, parking quickly and running out toward the music. We thought it might be a wedding, but followed the crowds for a closer look.
As it turned out, one of the local sephardi synagogues was having a hakhnasat sefer Torah, or welcoming a new Torah scroll into its community. On a random Tuesday evening, angry Israelis honked their horns as they could not pass through the streets because people were singing and dancing with a Torah scroll. Only in Israel!?
It was quite a scene. The parade had police escorts. Behind the police car was a large van with disco lights and mounted speakers playing joyous music. Behind the van a huppah (Jewish wedding canopy) was pushed along on wheels. People took turns holding the new Torah under the huppah and marching it around the neighborhood. Members of the synagogue danced around the Torah. At every turn, passersby who heard the music left their houses to join the celebration. It was quite a scene. Download this video of the parade--->Hakhnasat Sefer Torah
When the caravan made its way to the doors of the synagogue, the tone of the event grew very solemn. The community recited the words, “Shema Yisrael...,” and the Torah was placed into the aron kodesh of its new home. People handed out pastries and candies and the celebration continued inside the synagogue. This was definitely a rak b’yisrael, only in Israel, moment!
Before I turn this post over to Aviva, there are a few things I’ve been wanting to randomly mention. I figured it would be nice to get them out before the end of the year:
Cats: Jerusalem is full of street cats. At any given moment, we might count a dozen of them within a few steps from our front door. There are different stories as to why this problem exists. Some say that under the British Mandate, Jerusalem had a big mouse problem. The story goes that they released cats as the solution. This led to a street cat problem that exists over half a century later. (Not sure I buy this one, but it is the only story I’ve heard.) So, this leads me to a funny story about my lovely wife. Aviva has taken to naming the cats that we see regularly in our neighborhood. They are just too funny not to share. For example, the red cats are all called, Gingi (readhead). There is one cat that is all black with a white belly. Thus, he is called Captain White-belly. We make sure to salute him each time we pass him. After all, he is a captain. One evening we passed a cat with mottled coloring. Aviva decided that his name should be the tailor Mottle Kamzoil.
Rak Giluakh: My friend and classmate shared a story with me where he had a funny mix-up witht he Hebrew language when he first moved to Israel. He brought a shirt to the cleaners and wanted to be sure that it was only pressed, not cleaned. He looked up the word for pressing (gihutz) and set off for the cleaners. When he arrived, the word that jumped out of his mouth was giluakh (shaving) and proceeded to ask the proprietor to shave his shirt. Therefore, his family decided that from here on out all Hebrew mistakes should be written down in a collection called, “Rak Giluakh.” (Only Shaving)
If you can believe it, Aviva and I have had our fair share of “Rak Giluakh” moments. Aviva tends to mix up the word mikhnasayim (pants). Once she was looking for her sunglasses (mishkafayim), and asked rather if I had seen her pants. A similar mix-up occurred when she was reading the sign above a local electronics store called, Makhsanay Khashmal (Electronic Storeroom). Aviva read this as, mikhnasey khashmal, or electric pants.
When I went into a local store to buy some glue, I asked a salesperson if the glue would be gibor enough for its intended task. He corrected me and reminded me that I was looking for the word khazak. Khazak, means strong. Gibor means brave, courageous or heroic.
The Jewish State: Life in the Jewish State is very different from life in the US this time of year. On Sunday morning I took a bus from the synagogue where I was for morning services, to my school. As the bus pulled up, I noticed that the LED screen that usually flashes with the bus number and destination was also flashing with the words, Shana Tovah. The public busses drive around wishing residents a good Jewish new year. In the US, bottles of coke change around Christmastime to show their classic picture of St. Nick. Coke bottles in Israel this time of year wish everyone a Hag Samayach, or Happy Holidays.
Babies: Jerusalem is full of haredim. It follows that Jerusalem is also full of super-cute and brandy-new babies! You cannot get on a bus in town without spotting mothers and their babies. They shlep their babies and their strollers around the city on busses. Sometimes I will notice a new mother with one child who hasn’t yet gotten the hang of traveling around town with their few month-old. Other times it will be a more experienced mother with a small flock of children. The youngest of the flock can be a month old while the oldest is in their teens. Either way, getting around with the little ones can be difficult. On several occasions, I have seen mothers getting on busses with their babies and baby accouterment. They will bypass the driver so that they can get on quickly and find a place to sit. But, of course, they still have to pay! So, they hand off their babies to the closest capable-looking adult to “babysit” while they walk back to the front of the bus to get a ticket. I can almost hear the sound of my sister and sister in-law gasping while they read this. I assume they wouldn’t ever imagine handing off their infants to perfect strangers. Yet, there is something beautiful about this little custom. The babies are always accepted with love and taken care of until the mother returns to claim them.
There is plenty more where these came from. Check back for more soon.
I wish you all a Shana Tovah u’Metukah, a good and sweet 5771. May we all be inscribed only for good in the year to come!
AVIVA’S BLOG
This week Scott and I both started classes at our respective schools. For now, I am taking two prerequisite courses in preparation for my 'real' classes which begin in October. The IDC is sort of disorganized and makes a lot of assumptions. For example - before my first day of class, I had only been on campus once. I met with some administrators and showed my self around. When I asked for a campus map, I was told I would get in during my orientation week in October. Not very helpful when I need to find classrooms and buildings in September. Each of my courses has a website where, ideally, the syllabus of each class and assignments can be posted. Less than a day before my first class I received an e-mail with instructions on how to log into the IDC e-mail system. No one told me that I could also log into the course website and download assignments and readings. Good thing I wasn't the only one a bit unprepared for my first day of school.
As Scott and I mentioned in a previous post, Herzliya is not near Jerusalem and it takes several buses and/or trains to get from my house to school. Thankfully, my friend, Joe, an oleh hadash, or new immigrant to Israel, lives in Jerusalem and has a car. This drastically cuts down on my commute time and I am happy to help pay for gas and keep him company on the trip. The other day in the car we even got a few drops of rain on the windshield and we were both very excited to see rain in Israel in the summer.
On Shabbat we decided to check out an egalitarian synagogue on Emek Refaim called Kedem. Kedem is popular with a lot of the Rabbinical students from the CY and Schechter but this past shabbat there was a small crowd since it was right before Rosh Hashana and many of the rabbinical students have not yet arrived in Israel. The services were fine, the crowd was friendly and the kiddush was very nice. One of the leaders of the minyan is a girl who went to Yavneh with me and another is the daughter of a close friend of my mother.
Speaking of Yavneh, I got to see some old buddies from Yavneh this past week. I hadn't seen most of them in over 8 years and it was great to catch up. I also got to host some Rutgers pals this week when Taly and Ashley came to Jerusalem to play with me!
Scott and I are getting ready for hagim (Jewish Holidays). We were invited out for most meals but we decided to host Wednesday night dinner so that will take a bit of advanced planning. The menu is pretty much done. We were also glad to be forewarned to bring our own machzorim (Festival Prayer Books) to services with us. To that end, we went to a book store around the corner and picked up some prayer books. We also bough two CDs of musicians we have heard recently. We decided that they are both great 'pre-shabbat' artists and they really help set the mood.
It has been a busy week of seeing friends, starting school, getting oriented and preparing for the start of a new year in so many ways. We are really looking forward to 5771. Shana Tova U'Metuka Le’kulam! A Good and Sweet Year to all!
Scott takes his turn kissing a new Torah scroll as it is welcomed
to its new home.
School has officially begun! While I am settling into my routine at Pardes, Aviva has been traveling to Herzliya almost every day to complete two prerequisite courses for her master’s program. We miss our daily adventures, but we remind ourselves that our schooling is the primary reason we came over here. Even so, we learned that it is still possible to stumble upon an adventure once in a while.
As we walked home from an orientation dinner at the Conservative Yeshiva last week, we heard loud music coming from the end of our street. It seemed as if people were pulling up in their cars, parking quickly and running out toward the music. We thought it might be a wedding, but followed the crowds for a closer look.
As it turned out, one of the local sephardi synagogues was having a hakhnasat sefer Torah, or welcoming a new Torah scroll into its community. On a random Tuesday evening, angry Israelis honked their horns as they could not pass through the streets because people were singing and dancing with a Torah scroll. Only in Israel!?
It was quite a scene. The parade had police escorts. Behind the police car was a large van with disco lights and mounted speakers playing joyous music. Behind the van a huppah (Jewish wedding canopy) was pushed along on wheels. People took turns holding the new Torah under the huppah and marching it around the neighborhood. Members of the synagogue danced around the Torah. At every turn, passersby who heard the music left their houses to join the celebration. It was quite a scene. Download this video of the parade--->Hakhnasat Sefer Torah
When the caravan made its way to the doors of the synagogue, the tone of the event grew very solemn. The community recited the words, “Shema Yisrael...,” and the Torah was placed into the aron kodesh of its new home. People handed out pastries and candies and the celebration continued inside the synagogue. This was definitely a rak b’yisrael, only in Israel, moment!
Before I turn this post over to Aviva, there are a few things I’ve been wanting to randomly mention. I figured it would be nice to get them out before the end of the year:
Cats: Jerusalem is full of street cats. At any given moment, we might count a dozen of them within a few steps from our front door. There are different stories as to why this problem exists. Some say that under the British Mandate, Jerusalem had a big mouse problem. The story goes that they released cats as the solution. This led to a street cat problem that exists over half a century later. (Not sure I buy this one, but it is the only story I’ve heard.) So, this leads me to a funny story about my lovely wife. Aviva has taken to naming the cats that we see regularly in our neighborhood. They are just too funny not to share. For example, the red cats are all called, Gingi (readhead). There is one cat that is all black with a white belly. Thus, he is called Captain White-belly. We make sure to salute him each time we pass him. After all, he is a captain. One evening we passed a cat with mottled coloring. Aviva decided that his name should be the tailor Mottle Kamzoil.
Rak Giluakh: My friend and classmate shared a story with me where he had a funny mix-up witht he Hebrew language when he first moved to Israel. He brought a shirt to the cleaners and wanted to be sure that it was only pressed, not cleaned. He looked up the word for pressing (gihutz) and set off for the cleaners. When he arrived, the word that jumped out of his mouth was giluakh (shaving) and proceeded to ask the proprietor to shave his shirt. Therefore, his family decided that from here on out all Hebrew mistakes should be written down in a collection called, “Rak Giluakh.” (Only Shaving)
If you can believe it, Aviva and I have had our fair share of “Rak Giluakh” moments. Aviva tends to mix up the word mikhnasayim (pants). Once she was looking for her sunglasses (mishkafayim), and asked rather if I had seen her pants. A similar mix-up occurred when she was reading the sign above a local electronics store called, Makhsanay Khashmal (Electronic Storeroom). Aviva read this as, mikhnasey khashmal, or electric pants.
When I went into a local store to buy some glue, I asked a salesperson if the glue would be gibor enough for its intended task. He corrected me and reminded me that I was looking for the word khazak. Khazak, means strong. Gibor means brave, courageous or heroic.
The Jewish State: Life in the Jewish State is very different from life in the US this time of year. On Sunday morning I took a bus from the synagogue where I was for morning services, to my school. As the bus pulled up, I noticed that the LED screen that usually flashes with the bus number and destination was also flashing with the words, Shana Tovah. The public busses drive around wishing residents a good Jewish new year. In the US, bottles of coke change around Christmastime to show their classic picture of St. Nick. Coke bottles in Israel this time of year wish everyone a Hag Samayach, or Happy Holidays.
Babies: Jerusalem is full of haredim. It follows that Jerusalem is also full of super-cute and brandy-new babies! You cannot get on a bus in town without spotting mothers and their babies. They shlep their babies and their strollers around the city on busses. Sometimes I will notice a new mother with one child who hasn’t yet gotten the hang of traveling around town with their few month-old. Other times it will be a more experienced mother with a small flock of children. The youngest of the flock can be a month old while the oldest is in their teens. Either way, getting around with the little ones can be difficult. On several occasions, I have seen mothers getting on busses with their babies and baby accouterment. They will bypass the driver so that they can get on quickly and find a place to sit. But, of course, they still have to pay! So, they hand off their babies to the closest capable-looking adult to “babysit” while they walk back to the front of the bus to get a ticket. I can almost hear the sound of my sister and sister in-law gasping while they read this. I assume they wouldn’t ever imagine handing off their infants to perfect strangers. Yet, there is something beautiful about this little custom. The babies are always accepted with love and taken care of until the mother returns to claim them.
There is plenty more where these came from. Check back for more soon.
I wish you all a Shana Tovah u’Metukah, a good and sweet 5771. May we all be inscribed only for good in the year to come!
AVIVA’S BLOG
This week Scott and I both started classes at our respective schools. For now, I am taking two prerequisite courses in preparation for my 'real' classes which begin in October. The IDC is sort of disorganized and makes a lot of assumptions. For example - before my first day of class, I had only been on campus once. I met with some administrators and showed my self around. When I asked for a campus map, I was told I would get in during my orientation week in October. Not very helpful when I need to find classrooms and buildings in September. Each of my courses has a website where, ideally, the syllabus of each class and assignments can be posted. Less than a day before my first class I received an e-mail with instructions on how to log into the IDC e-mail system. No one told me that I could also log into the course website and download assignments and readings. Good thing I wasn't the only one a bit unprepared for my first day of school.
As Scott and I mentioned in a previous post, Herzliya is not near Jerusalem and it takes several buses and/or trains to get from my house to school. Thankfully, my friend, Joe, an oleh hadash, or new immigrant to Israel, lives in Jerusalem and has a car. This drastically cuts down on my commute time and I am happy to help pay for gas and keep him company on the trip. The other day in the car we even got a few drops of rain on the windshield and we were both very excited to see rain in Israel in the summer.
On Shabbat we decided to check out an egalitarian synagogue on Emek Refaim called Kedem. Kedem is popular with a lot of the Rabbinical students from the CY and Schechter but this past shabbat there was a small crowd since it was right before Rosh Hashana and many of the rabbinical students have not yet arrived in Israel. The services were fine, the crowd was friendly and the kiddush was very nice. One of the leaders of the minyan is a girl who went to Yavneh with me and another is the daughter of a close friend of my mother.
Speaking of Yavneh, I got to see some old buddies from Yavneh this past week. I hadn't seen most of them in over 8 years and it was great to catch up. I also got to host some Rutgers pals this week when Taly and Ashley came to Jerusalem to play with me!
Scott and I are getting ready for hagim (Jewish Holidays). We were invited out for most meals but we decided to host Wednesday night dinner so that will take a bit of advanced planning. The menu is pretty much done. We were also glad to be forewarned to bring our own machzorim (Festival Prayer Books) to services with us. To that end, we went to a book store around the corner and picked up some prayer books. We also bough two CDs of musicians we have heard recently. We decided that they are both great 'pre-shabbat' artists and they really help set the mood.
It has been a busy week of seeing friends, starting school, getting oriented and preparing for the start of a new year in so many ways. We are really looking forward to 5771. Shana Tova U'Metuka Le’kulam! A Good and Sweet Year to all!
