“Barukh Ata Ado-nai, El-oheinu, Melech Ha’olam, shelo hasair b’olamo kloom, ubara bo briyot tovot v’ilanot tovot, leihanot bahem b’nai adam.”
“Blessed are You, G-d, our Lord, King of the Universe, whose world is not lacking anything, and He created in it good creations and good trees for the pleasure of mankind."

The spirit of this blessing prevails during this time. There is a sense of abundance and beauty as Israelis prepare for the Passover holiday. Aviva and I were fortunate enough to be invited months ago to attend seder (the “order” of the Passover meal) at my Rosh Yeshiva’s (Head of School) home. We were warned that we would be given cooking/cleaning responsibilities, would share the obligation to teach at the seder table, and that his family’s tradition is to stay at the table all night singing and learning until it is time for morning prayers. We accepted this invitation with excitement and anxiousness.

Before I get to the seder, the lead-up to Passover included several “rak b’yisrael” (only in Israel (and perhaps Brooklyn?)) experiences that must be shared. The first is Passover shopping. In the US, we find ourselves rushing to the supermarkets well before the holiday to get our hands on their limited supply of Kosher for Passover food before things run out. Here we did not have that fear. The shelves in the markets were well stocked. Even if we were not able to get something we wanted, we knew that there would be many restaurants open during Passover that would serve the things we wanted. Therefore our preparations were much more relaxed than in the US.

Speaking of preparations, in most places in the US Passover preparations are done in the home. In Jerusalem it is a public effort. People take the streets for help with preparing dishes that are kosher for Passover and fulfilling some of the other mitzvot of Passover. See the pictures below for examples:

On Jerusalem street corners before Passover, you will find large vats of
boiling water for “hagalah,” one of the processes for making utensils kosher
for passover. Many corners also offer “libbun,” another of these processes.


On the morning before the Seder, the city of Jerusalem puts out large bins for
“Biur Hametz,” or the removal of leavening. This is done by burning the remaining leavening found in the final “Bedikat Hametz,” or search for leavening, the night before. With all that burning bread, the entire city of Jerusalem smells like toast!

Supermarkets in Jerusalem are Kosher for Passover too! Areas with products
that contain leaven are shrink wrapped until after the holiday.

After joining in all of the pre-festival fun, we were ready to begin the holiday. (The first seder happened to fall on my birthday this year!) In preparation for our all night seder, we napped a good portion of the day and made sure to have a solid snack as we were warned that our meal would not be served until 3 am. To most people (myself included) an all-night seder sounds like a bit much. What would we do for all of that time? What would happen when we got tired? Our hosts, the family of Rabbi Daniel Landes, have been doing Passover this way for a long time. Their seder was like nothing we’ve ever experienced. For each step of the seder, someone at the table was assigned to give a teaching. Between these teachings and Rav Landes’ instructions, we approached each step of the meal with great intention. I am a firm believer that enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm. Rav Landes had enough enthusiasm to share with all of us. We discussed, learned, sang, acted etc. all night long. Shockingly, there wasn’t a moment where Aviva and I were bored or felt like things were dragging on. In fact, we had to interrupt our singing at the end of the meal because the sun was coming up and it was time for morning prayers! I am grateful to the Landes family for including us in their celebration this year. It added immensely to my enjoyment of the holiday.

Also unlike the US, in Israel there is only one festive seder meal on Passover. (I won’t go into detail right now, but if you are curious why, click here.) So after our 12-hour seder extravaganza, we slept for a few hours and the first part of the holiday was almost over. Hol ha-Moed, the informal intermediate days of the holiday, was a blast. Most of the country is off from work and school during this time, so people are out and about. We enjoyed eating in Kosher for Passover restaurants and wandering about the city. On the last days of the holiday, we ordered in our festive meal from a local Italian place that served top-notch Kosher for Passover pasta and gnocchi!

A few days after Passover was Yom ha-Shoah v’ha-gevurah, or Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day. It is a day of mourning in Israel. Restaurants close early in the evening, mournful music plays on the radio and for two minutes the entire country stops in its tracks in silent memoriam to those who where murdered in the Holocaust. See my video of the Yom HaShoah siren here-->Yom HaShoah Jerusalem 2011Siren. Our friend Yael came to visit us from Herzliya in order to attend the giant memorial service at Yad Va’Shem, Israel’s Shoah Memorial. Those two minutes were a microcosm of the entire day. For one day Israel mourns and at sunset the country returns to “normal.”

Following Yom HaShoah, a week later comes Yom Ha-Zikaron. Yom HaZikaron is Israel’s memorial day to its fallen soldiers. This year the country mourned 24,000 fallen soldiers and victims of terror in this history of the Modern State of Israel. As evening approaches, the songs on Israeli radio again switch to the minor key, restaurants and shops close and residents flock to the many communal and national tekesim (ceremonies) to memorialize their fallen. We attended a ceremony at Sultan’s Pool outside of the walls of the Old City. The ceremony began shortly after the first of two sirens that occur on Yom HaZikaron. The first being at the start of the day (holidays in Israel begin at sunset as days begin in the Hebrew/Lunar calendar) and the second in the middle. Here is a video of the first Yom HaZikaron siren as we waited for the memorial ceremony to begin-->Yom HaZikaron 2011 Siren 1.

The ceremony was very powerful. That is to say as powerful as we could experience not having served in the IDF or (Thank God) having lost dear friends or family in any of Israel’s wars or terror attacks. Poems were read, songs were sung, and speeches were made. All the while we contemplated the loss of 24,000 of our brethren.


As a pre-State immigrant and former journalist, Marlin Levin (with his wife, Betty) share with the Pardes community their story.

The next morning at Pardes, we had the great honor of hearing from Marlin Levin, a former journalist for the Palestine Post (the predecessor to the Jerusalem Post) who shared with us his stories of working as a photographer and journalist in pre-State Israel. His presentation was perfect for the afternoon of Yom HaZikaron. He told us of the hard work and loss endured by his generation so that there could be a Jewish State. His slideshow was interrupted by the second of the two Yom HaZikaron sirens-->Yom HaZikaron Siren 2011 2.You can see a sampling of Marlin’s photography and read his heroic story here.

Toward evening on Yom HaZikaron things begin to feel a bit bizarre. Immediately following Yom HaZikaron is Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. The country transitions from its lowest low to its highest high in a matter of minutes. I am not sure if this sort of feeling exists in other religions/national observances. It strikes me as being very Jewish. At the end of a a Jewish wedding we break a glass to symbolize the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. At the height of our joy we remember that we are somehow still in mourning. We seem to be able to switch between these emotions with ease. As Jews traditionally recite in their prayers each morning, “One may lie down weeping at nightfall; but in the morning there are shouts of joy.” (Psalm 30:6) As Yom HaZikaron comes to an end there are more tekesim (ceremonies). These are called tekesay ma’avar (transition ceremonies). We spent our transition time between the two holidays at Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue. There we prayed the afternoon service in mourning, heard some words of consolation from one of Israel’s Chief Rabbis, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, and then prayed the evening service with Hallel (songs of praise).

A transitional ceremony between Memorial Day and Independence Day
inside of Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue.

We had no idea what we were in for when we left the Great Synagogue. We had heard stories of Israel’s Independence Day celebrations, but had no clue if some if its seemingly outdated customs were still observed today. We did not know if restaurants would be open or just how many people would be out in the streets. From the moment we hit the streets, we were in the middle of a raging party. Vendors sold plastic hammers and spray “snow” with which children ran around and attacked each other. There was live music in all of the towns major squares. The closest parallel I can draw is to say that the entire city was like Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Celebrants on Ben Yehudah Street at the very beginning of the holiday.

Jerusalem’s Mayor, Nir Barkat, was out greeting the people!

Fireworks over the city in honor of Independence Day.

Even security guards got into the spirit! This one pulls out his inflatable hammer and challenges our group to a duel. No one seems to know why this tradition exists. Same with the spray cans of “snow”. Who really cares? It’s fun!

One of Jerusalem’s public squares had Israeli dancing going on all night long.

Try to see the sea of people in the background. There wasn’t room to move. This was near 1 a.m. and there were no signs of the party winding down.

The next day we joined the rest of the country in Israel’s parks for festive barbecues.

After spending Yom HaAtzmaut in Israel, I just can’t imagine ever spending it anywhere else. It was amazing to experience the diversity of Jerusalem and the expressions of pure joy over Israel’s existence.

Next up: Lag B’Omer! The period between Passover and Shavuot is called the omer. The Torah commands us to count each of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. On the second day of Passover the “omer” or sheaf offering was offered in the Temple. From that time we count seven weeks and then have another festival, called Shavuot (weeks). The period of the omer is one of self reflection and mourning. We reflect because the rabbinic tradition teaches us that on Shavuot we received the Torah from God at Mt. Sinai. So the omer is partially a time to prepare ourselves for revelation.

There is another rabbinic tradition that there was a plague (likely the Bar Kokhba revolt) that killed 24,000 of the famous Rabbi Akiva’s students that ceased on Lag B’Omer, which literally means the 33rd day of the omer. Thus, the 33rd day of the omer is seen as a day when we take a break from the omer’s mourning rituals. Another tradition ascribes Lag b’Omer as the yahrzeit (anniversary) of the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (RASHB”Y) is believed to be the author of the Zohar, a book of Jewish mystical traditions. Therefore, on Lag b’Omer there is a tradition to light huge bonfires to represent the mystical light that RASHB”Y brought into this world.

In Israel, these fires are taken very seriously. I mean that in two ways. In the northern town of Meron, at the site of RASHB”Y’s grave, there are huge bonfires. Attending them is seen as a very spiritual experience that can be a folk remedy for all sorts of afflictions. In other parts of Israel, children begin gathering wood the entire week before Lag b’Omer because who just doesn’t love setting huge piles of kindling on fire? Did I say kindling? That also includes old furniture, shipping palettes and anything else that will burn.
This bonfire was prepared two days before in Jerusalem’s neighborhood of
Har Nof.

One of the local fires in the Valley of the Cross. We are standing 30 ft. away and up on a large mound. There is still a hole in the asphalt from where the fire burned.

Students unload a truck full of wood from a nearby overpass that will eventually become the bonfire pictured above.

There is a custom not to shave during the period of the omer. Myself and some of the boys at Pardes decided to honor our newfound ability to shave on Lag b’Omer by celebrating ‘Stache Sunday.

The final two celebrations of this season were Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) and Shavuot. Yom Yerushalayin is a celebration of the reunification of the Old City of Jerusalem following the 1967 Six Day War. Some people spend this day touring in the Old City and visiting the Western Wall. We celebrated in the hills of Jerusalem wine tasting with friends. I hope to write more about that in our next post

On Shavuot, we were invited out for a festive meal at a friend’s house. Afterwards, we participated in a tikkun leil shavuot, an all night learning session in preparation for revelation. Well, not all night. Unlike in past years, we eventually succumbed to a solid night of revelatory sleep.

Thus ended the festive spring season in Israel. It was unlike any we’ve spent outside of Israel in our lives.

Coming soon: Our trip to the Temple Mount, the last Hebrew College Shabbaton, finishing a year of learning, our anniversary celebration and a few thoughts on American rabbinical students and their relationship to the State of Israel.

אולי רק ציפורי מסע יודעות
כשהן תלויות בין ארץ ושמים
את זה הכאב של שתי המולדות.

Perhaps only migrating birds know,
For they hang between earth and sky,
The precise pain of two homelands.

Goldberg was born in Lithuania and made aliyah in 1935 at age 24. In the rest of this poem she fondly recalls the winters of her childhood. The poem ends with the line, “ושורשי בשני נופים שונים”, “and my roots are in two different landscapes.” We continue to live this struggle daily.
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It seems that winter has finally come to Jerusalem. Technically speaking, we are still experiencing a drought. Traditional communities are still inserting prayers for rain in their daily prayers. However, the cold and the rain make that seem rather unnecessary. For a bit of time during the US academic winter break, the roads were filled with tour busses and the tourist sites were bursting with Birthright Israel participants. For the most part we avoided these crowds at all costs, but when we heard that our alma mater, Rutgers University, was bringing 40 students on Birthright, we braved a very crowded Mahane Yehuda market on a Friday afternoon to see them. We had a fantastic lunch with our former Rutgers Hillel Director, Andrew Getraer, and Associate Director (and also the mesaderet kiddushin/officiant of our wedding), Rabbi Esther Reed. We also met up with Andrew, Esther and the group after shabbat on Ben Yehuda Street for some shopping and waffle-eating at Babettes.

After the Rutgers students headed back to begin their spring semester, we were fortunate enough to have Andrew as our guest for a few days. I was on my winter break and able to join Andrew for a couple adventures that week. For Andrew’s first evening with us, I invited him to help me use a coupon I had for an all-you-can-eat Brazilian-style steak house. He graciously accepted. As if plate after plate of roasted meat was not already the highlight of the evening, Andrew got word of and an invitation for us to a farbrengen (a term used by Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidim for a joyous gathering including Torah study, food and liquor). The event was being hosted at the Tekoa Hesder Yeshiva which is under the leadership of HaRav Adin Even Israel Steinsaltz. The farbrengen was in honor of the upcoming Hebrew date yud shevat (the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat). In Chabad Lubavitch circles, this date commemorates not only the yahrzeit (anniversary of someone’s passing) of Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Shneerson, known as the “Previous” rebbe, but the taking of the reigns by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Shneerson, the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidim.

Rabbi Steinsaltz spoke about three great rabbis using the model of the biblical Elijah and his successor, Elisha. He expounded upon the lives of Rabbi Nahman of Bretslov, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter and Rabbi Menahem Mendel Shneerson. Speaking in Hebrew, VERY softly, and from behind an impressive beard, it was difficult for me to catch every word. Just the feeling in the room was magnificent. The Tekoa Yeshiva students were very impressive. Former students of the yeshiva were being skyped in from all over the world to hear their rebbe speak. Among them, was Rabbi Shmuel Green, a teacher and friend of mine from our days at Rutgers Hillel. Shortly after 1 am, our ride was getting tired and decided to leave. Rabbi Steinsaltz had not yet finished speaking. Andrew and I arrived home around 2 am. I had a blast with Andrew that week (including a little stroll he and I took around the Muslim Quarter of the old city, getting very lost!), Aviva and I were sad to see him leave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While on my winter break, I also had the opportunity to go with Aviva, as part of her work, to test out a new tour guide for when she takes students to Sderot. Sderot is a city in the Northwestern Negev just 2 kilometers from the Gaza border. Very sadly, it is most famous for the more than 1,000 of Kassam rockets that have been launched from Gaza to within the borders of this small town. Our tour began at the Sderot police station where we saw a portion of the Kassams that have landed in the town. We learned about how they are made from simple materials that are easily acquired, how they are packed with shrapnel in order to afflict the most damage possible, and how although tens of rockets a day are not falling as they were a couple of years ago, they haven’t stopped falling completely.

A portion of the Kassam rockets that have fallen on the town of Sderot.

After leaving the police station, we rode around town looking at some of the bomb shelters that have been built in Sderot to protect its citizens. Bomb shelters at bus stops, on playgrounds, over schools and in each and every home. The Israeli government has paid roughly 80,000 nis (about $22,000) per shelter and more for many of the larger public shelters in schools and playgrounds. As we talked about that day, this is difficult money to spend. On one hand, the government has a responsibility to protect its citizens. On the other, one could argue that money would be better spent fighting those launching the bombs in the first place rather than sending the message that their behavior is acceptable and asking families in Sderot to just hunker down in their shiny new bomb shelters.

This school in Sderot has had its roof reinforced
to protect students from falling rockets.

A trailer outside a school in Sderot that used to be used as overflow
classroom space. Now it sits empty and filled with holes from Kassam
shapnel.

One of Sderot’s newer schools. Built more like a fortress than a school.

After touring the neighborhood we went on a little walk to see precisely how close Sderot is to the Gaza Strip. At the first, our backs were facing a row of homes at the edge of the town over looking a nearby highway. This was our view:

You can see the road we were overlooking at the bottom of this picture. In background you can see Gaza city and get an idea of just how close the two places are to one another.

Here is the view from the other overlook:


All in all, Sderot’s story is a sad one. Between folks who feel stuck in the town, unable to sell their homes and its residents just beginning to see and feel the psychological aftermath of living under such intense circumstances, Sderot is sure to to be a part of the discourse on the Arab-Israeli conflict for some time to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For happier news, Aviva and I finally made our way to the newly renovated Israel Museum! We had been to the museum together in 2004 just as renovations were getting underway. I remember being very sad not to be able to visit the famous Shrine of the Book due to the renovations. We were on the grounds of the museum for a wine festival over the summer, but were too distracted by the free flowing wine to make it into the museum. The museum is gorgeous. As I expected, I was completely enraptured by the Shrine of the Book. The exhibit highlights the 2000 year old scrolls left behind by a community of Jews living near the Northwest corner of the Dead Sea. The story of this community and the finding and acquisition of its artifacts from 1947-1956 is one of the most fascinating finds of the 20th century. The Shrine of the Book also currently houses the Aleppo Codex, a thousand year old manuscript of the Hebrew Bible used as the base for many of the printed Hebrew Bibles we know of today.

The rest of museum is also very impressive. Another oft-raved about section of the museum is the Synagogue Route. Several synagogues from all of the world have been dismantled and reassembled inside the Israel Museum. Visiting this section takes one on a tour of world Jewry and the different ways Jewish identity has been expressed worldwide through the creation of holy space.

In order to get to the Israel museum from our apartment, we must walk through and up out of Emek Hamatslayvah, or the Valley of the Cross. We have become very familiar with this valley over the past months as we live just at its base. In order to go anywhere, we have to walk up and out of the Valley. In addition to being home to the Israeli parliament, museums, and a park, there is also a Greek (originally Georgian) monastery known as the Monastery of the Cross. Over the summer we walked past this Monastery almost daily, but never entered as they do not allow people to enter in shorts. On our way home from the Israel Museum, we finally entered.

As it turns out, the Monastery of the Cross is believed to be the site upon which grew the three saplings from which grew the wood that would make Jesus’ crucifix. There is an exegetical piece that describes Abraham giving these three saplings to Lot to care for them as penance for him engaging in incest (after the events that took place in Genesis 19:30-38). The story goes that Satan did everything he could to keep Lot from watering the young trees, but good persevered over evil. The monastery was quite gorgeous. Nothing is labeled and one can just walk around poking their nose everywhere and anywhere. Many of the dining and living quarters are no longer used, but the worship areas and gift shop looked to be open and thriving. Aviva and I were happy to finally know the story of the valley we must hike out of each day.


The altar at the Monastery of the Cross.


Scott playing in the monks kitchen. Pizza anyone?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On January 20th we celebrated Tu bishvat (the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat). In the Mishnah, this date was decided upon as one of the four New Year’s celebrations. This New Year’s celebration is the one by which Jews calculate the timeline of agricultural laws in Israel. In modern times, the holiday has also become a sort of Jewish Arbor Day and a time when people concentrate on environmental concerns. I spent the morning cleaning out the garden in front of our apartment of all of the clovers that took over during the winter. In the afternoon, Aviva and I visited the Jerusalem Bird Observatory. There were children there planting trees in honor of the holiday. We walked around looking for birds and for any signs of spring we could find. This time of year gardens and wildflowers are blooming throughout the country. It is absolutely gorgeous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few days later we had a visit from our dear friend, Andrew Summey. Andrew used to work with Aviva. We have kept in touch with him and his family since they left Massachusetts and headed for Texas a few years ago. Andrew was visiting and doing some consulting work for a company called Zion Oil and Gas. Zion Oil and Gas is in the process of drilling deeper than any company ever has to try to find oil in Israel. They are spending a million dollars a day with a goal of bringing Israel toward energy independence. They are a Christian company that relies on biblical sources as proof that there is, in fact, oil to be found in the Land of Israel. It is quite an interesting endeavor!

Andrew, Aviva and Scott in their Zion Oil Gear!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My friend and hevruta (study partner) directed a play at a local community theater. She asked for my help taking portraits of the actors and various stage shots for playbills and newspaper ads about the play. I also helped create two slide shows used in the play. In high school I helped out with a couple of plays on the tech. crew and in the pit orchestra. This was a new aspect of production that allowed me to practice my photography skills. It also got Aviva and me two free tickets to the show. Rumor has it that I might be asked to take portraits for the theater’s upcoming production of Grease.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We finished out January by spending shabbat in Alon Shvut at the home of my Talmud teacher and his family. Rabbi Zvi Hirschfield had my complete respect and admiration before spending shabbat in his home, and even more so after. We had a completely simple and relaxing shabbat with abundant and tasty food, pleasant services at the local synagogue, and lots of time for naps. Zvi’s family is really a pleasure. (Aviva and I helped to introduce his wife, Dena, to birding on a trip to Kibbutz Tzora in the fall.) Building a relationship with and learning from Rabbi Hirschfield has been one of the highlights of the past six months and a connection from whom I hope to continue to grow and learn.

From Wikipedia: Alon Shvut means "oak of return", and is a reference to
the return of those Jews expelled from Gush Etzion by the Jordanian Arab
Legion in 1948 following the Kfar Etzion massacre. After the destruction of
the Etzion Bloc of communities, the survivors and their children would
gather yearly on the Israeli–Jordanian frontier to glimpse the sole remaining
tree, an oak, which became known as the 'lone oak.' The town was
constructed adjacent to the 'lone oak,' and the tree maintains a central
place in the identity of both Alon Shvut and Gush Etzion at large as a
symbol of renewal and continuity. The 'lone oak' is incorporated in the
emblem of the Gush Etzion Regional Council.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following weekend we went on a little getaway as a belated birthday present to Aviva. Over the past several years, the concept of a tzimmer (lit. guest room) has taken off in Israel. They are very similar to American bed and breakfasts. A friend recommended Maof Hatzippor (the flight of the bird), a tzimmer located on a moshav (village/settlement) called Netiv HaShayarah. The owners, Ruti and Yehudah, have built three guest houses in their beautiful back yard. In front of the guest houses were exquisite gardens, an outdoor kitchen, hammocks etc. The three houses are named khokhit (finch), saknai (pelican), and dukhifat (hoopoe). We stayed in saknai. The guest houses back up to beautiful fields beyond which is the city of Haifa. The fields are home to many species of birds that gave us much enjoyment the entire weekend. Ruti and Yehuda were the most gracious of hosts. They delivered breakfast to our room in the morning, brought us an urn and a hot plate to keep our food warm on shabbat, and consistently impressed us with surprise snacks, wine, cake etc.

We arrived late Thursday evening and enjoyed the grounds and our room until bedtime.

Aviva enjoys the wine, cake and fresh flowers that Ruti and Yehuda
had in our room when we arrived.

When we woke up Friday morning it was raining. We decided to be adventurous anyway. We drove just a bit south to Akko. Neither of us had ever been to Akko before. The Old City is gorgeous and tells the tale of the many peoples that have inhabited the city in the past. Our first stop was to an 18th century Turkish bathhouse, now a museum. Aside from the completely racist (albeit hysterical) video they show there, it was really fascinating to walk through the site.

After the bathhouse, we walked through the local market on the way to our next destination. We stopped and took a look at all of the gorgeous produce up for sale. One stand had some particularly delicious looking fish for sale. We were enjoying looking at all of the varieties until we got to the end of the table and noticed several sharks sitting atop a stack of buckets. At first we watched for a bit as two local guys were inspecting the dead sharks and laughing that the stand’s owner had shoved an orange into the shark’s mouth. Apparently this was not funny enough for them. One of the men took a cigarette out of his pocket and pressed it onto the sharks tooth. The other passersby thought it was quite amusing.

After the market we walked through the Templar’s Tunnel, part of a 12th century Templar’s fortress that was discovered in Akko in 1994.

Given the rain, we glanced at some of Akko’s other historical sites just before we got wet and cranky enough that we needed to go back to the tzimmer. Before we left we grabbed a cup of hot sakhlab and enjoyed it on our way back to the car.

We had a very relaxing shabbat in the tzimmer. We slept late, watched the birds, read etc.

When we left the tzimmer on Sunday, we drove by way of Zichron Ya’akov, one of the earliest Zionist settlements in the Israel that neither of us had visited before. (I won’t bother sharing the unique history of the town here, but click the link and read...it’s worth it.)

After driving around and catching some of the monuments etc. around the city, we walked up and down the pedestrian walkway in the center of town to find a place for lunch. I wasn’t feeling so well, so we did not partake in the variety of opportunities for wine tasting in the area. (A reason to go back!?) But we did have a lovely lunch before heading back to Jerusalem.

Sadly, all things must come to an end. We arrived back in Jerusalem, returned our rental car and got back to our books. More news to come soon!

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A note from Aviva:

The last six weeks have been very busy for me.  I finished all of my first semester exams and I did well enough over all that I decided not to take any Moed Bet exams. (Side note: In Israel, every student gets two chances to take their final exams.  If a student fails their first final, or doesn't take the final that student is automatically registered for Moed Bet.  In addition, if a student is not satisfied with her grade she can choose to take the exam again.  When I found out about this system my instinct was to do well enough on my first round of exams to not take any again.  I didn't give myself the opportunity to fail so I didn't have to worry about studying a second time for the same exam. 

Also, in Israel multiple choice exams are called 'American tests' maybe because of the SATs?).
I still have two more papers to write from last semester.  They are not due until Pesach but I am going to try to get them done in the next few weeks.  In the meantime, my second semester has started and I am looking forward to most of my classes.  I am especially excited about the research seminar on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the workshop in Track-two diplomacy and peace-building.  The second semester seems much more serious than the first and I am sure there will be more work as well. I welcome it.

There have also been some changes at work which will mean me taking on some more hours.  I am excited about these new challenges and I will have to manage my time more closely this semester (including making sure I have time to write blog entries - clearly I have been slacking).

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