Call off the dogs! I’m here! I’m here!
I have heard your calls, and I am back to blog about life here in J-town!
One of the reasons why I haven’t blogged in so longs is because I have fallen into an everyday pattern of going to school, coming home, and studying. Life has been really busy with schoolwork, as finals quickly approach! In fact, I had my first final yesterday! It was an oral exam in Hebrew. My partner, Jordana and I had a dialog that we created and memorized that involved me dressing up, going to the post office, and having a conversation with the clerk (Jordana). It went really well! Our teachers loved our script and loved my costume. They even took a picture of me in the middle of our skit!
Now since I am so far behind, I figure that I’ll just update you on the recent, most exciting things that have happened, specifically in the last week!
Anyways, back to the previous week. On Friday December 11th, 2009, I woke up and said goodbye to everyone from Nativ. The Yerucham (Kehilla) track (my track) was going to Yerucham for the weekend, and the Kibbutz track was going to a kibbutz up north. I was staying back at base because… MY PARENTS WERE COMING TO ISRAEL!!!! I spent the entire day cleaning up my room, reading and I going to the shuk to get some marzipan and other fun food. At about 4 PM, I walked across the street to the Prima Kings hotel and sat in the lobby, awaiting the arrival of my parents! No longer than 2 minutes after arriving, I saw two familiar faces pull up in taxi! I ran out of the hotel and gave them both a huge hug and kiss. It was SO good to see them for the first time! It made me really happy that I got to spend the next week with them! Side note: Friday night was the first night of Hanukkah. In Israel, Hanukkah is a huge deal and all of the streets are filled with menorahs and it’s an incredible experience. So after my parents got situated into their room, and showered and everything, we walked over to Beit Nativ, (literally right across the street) and lit the Hanukkah and Shabbat candles on my balcony. It was great to welcome in the holiday with my family, truly something to be blessed for! We had Shabbat dinner at Beit Nativ and it was actually a lot better than what the Nativers eat for our meals. I feel like we are being cheated out of our delicious meals, which included an amazing orange Tang drink that we are never served! After dinner, we put on some warm clothes (it was relatively cold for me, not so much for them) and I took them to Yemin Moshe, a neighborhood with a beautiful overlook of the old city. It was stunning to see Jerusalem’s golden façade at night. We then went back to the hotel and hung out in the room for a while. It was a relaxing way to end an amazing day!
The next morning, I woke up, got dressed for shul and went over to the hotel to pick up Dad. We went to Kol Rina, a synagogue in a bomb shelter, and Mom went to Moreshet Israel, a conservative synagogue located at Beit Nativ. Because it was both Shabbat and Hanukkah, the services that I was used to at Kol Rina were a little different and longer than normal. But that was ok; it was still a fun experience. After services, Dad and I walked back to base, where we meet up with Mom for Shabbat lunch. Again, I felt like the Nativers were getting the short straw by not getting the Tang juice. It was so good, and it’s never served to us. It would indeed be an upgrade! After a great lunch full of hot dog barakeas, chicken schnitzel and more, we walked back to the hotel to take a nap. After a 5 hour (!) nap, we all woke up and realized that Shabbat was already over! Wow, that went by fast! We got dressed to go to dinner at La Guta, a really nice restaurant (one that I wouldn’t go to on my Nativ budget, but since my parents were here, I had to make the most of the opportunity) =). The food at La Guta was absolutely incredible and it was a wonderful way to kick off the evening. We took a cab from La Guta to Ben Yehuda, to see what exciting activities were going on there! We got off at the top of the street and started to make out way down, with mom stopping at stores, searching for looking for things to get. We stopped at “Ann”, my favorite kippuh and judaica store. We went in, and spent a good amount of time in the store. At one point, Dad tried on a tallit, and absolutely fell in love with it. After spending some time debating if it was worth getting, he decided that it was perfect for him on the high holidays and other chaggim! I also got 2 kippot, which I have been wearing all the time now! We walked around town and I showed them where we like to go out to the bars, and a bunch of other places. When we got back to the hotel, we climbed into bed, and put on the movie “Up”. I have never seen it before, and I absolutely loved it. It was funny, cute and told a great story of friendship. Needless to say, it was a late night, and we all had a hard time falling asleep after our 5-hour nap!
Sunday brought up an exciting day for us! We got off to a late start, and went to make a reservation for a car for them for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. After that was settled, we walked to Babet for a waffle breakfast. After walking all the way to Ben Yehuda, we got to babet to find out that it was closed! So, using my vast knowledge of food in Israel, I guided them to a place, which makes delicious crepes. It was great! Afterwards, we headed towards the old city, to go shopping and exploring the old city! We stopped in a couple of stores, but didn’t purchase anything. It was around lunchtime, and we were all getting a little hungry, so I decided it was time to introduce my parents to the wonder, known as Burgers Bar. We sat in the old city and had a great meal. Afterwards, we walked down to the Kotel, also known as the Western Wall. It was here where I realized how fortunate I am to be living here in Jerusalem. While my parents were wowed and religiously motivated to go pray and touch and kiss the wall, I did not feel the same need as them. To me, I could do this any day of the week, and although it was still amazing and special, it wasn’t a one-time thing for me. I know how fortunate I am and I can’t thank my family and friends who supported and continue to support my decision to spend a year of my life living here. After we left the old city, we went to the new Mamilla shopping center right outside the old city. It was a cool experience to show my family one of the up and coming places.
We went back to Beit Nativ and waited for the Nativers to come back home, so I could introduce them to my parents! It was kinda harder than I expected to do this because everybody walked in at the same time and it was a mad rush to get back to their rooms. But Ann and Mitch got to meet a bunch of my friends! That night, we went out to an Italian restaurant with David Helfand, who my parents met when he stayed at our house for a night before Nativ. It was a great dinner, and after hearing David speak Hebrew, they no longer thought mine was that impressive =( (just kidding, they were still impressed, but they were also really impressed with David’s ability)
For the next two days, Mom and Dad went to Haifa and Caesarea to spend time with family and friends that we know. Maybe I can get one of them to “Guest Blog” about their experience, so you can hear about it!
Ok. Fast forward to Wednesday, I get home after a long day of school, and meet up Mom and Dad, who got back earlier in the day. We walked over to Beit Nativ, and met up with a Adam, Hadley, Tyler, Shira, Sender, Ally, Josh and David, who all joined us for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Caffit. It was a great dinner, and my parents really got to know a group of my close friends. My parents loved everyone there and really had a great dinner with them. It was a great meal, and the company of all of my closest friends and family made the meal that much better!
Thursday was an absolutely incredible day! After waking up on the later side, the parental units and I took the 19 bus to Hebrew U and I got to show them around school! I showed them where my classes where, where we hang out, and of course, the Frank Sinatra lunchroom. I decided that we should eat there, and show my parents why I can never get enough of “Franky C”. The only downside of the day was that the weather was actually really sucky, and it was almost impossible to see the beautiful sight of Jerusalem through the dust and fog. I thought that was really unfortunate, because it is amazing to look outside your classroom and see clear across the entire country. After a terrific lunch, we took the 19 back to Beit Nativ and met up with a bunch of Kehilla-nicks who were going to volunteer at a place called Shalva, so we tagged along. Shalva is a home for kids with special needs, where they can go and have fun with other kids. It was an incredible experience and it was great to see the kids lighting the Hanukkah candles. That night, my parents were “lucky” enough to experience a rare Jerusalem rainstorm. As I’ve said in previous posts “We never complain when it rains in Israel” however, this rain was really frustrating. I was going to take my parents to my favorite place in the entire country to eat, Moshikos, where we were going to eat schwarma. But because of the storm, we had to change plans, as there would be no place to sit (it’s a stand) and we didn’t want to walk. Needless to say, I was sad that my dad wasn’t able to experience the beauty that is a “Schwarma Laffa Shel Moshikos Im Hummus, Salat, Mayod Chamutzim, Chips, Falafel Balls v’Tichina” (A large schwarma wrap with hummus, Israeli salad, lots of pickles, fries, falafel balls and tichina). Hopefully I’ll be able to take Mom and Ashley there within the next week. Anyways, we wound up going to Café Joe, a local café with good food for dinner. It was a nice dinner and relaxing! It truly was an incredible day
I woke up Friday morning, and walked over to the Prima Kings, where I met up with Mom and Dad, and hopped in a cab to take us to Tel Aviv. The drive took about 35 minutes. When we got to our hotel, the Dan Panorama, we unpacked a couple of things and watched some ESPN, something I haven’t done in a LONG time, and missed it a lot. As we looked outside, it started to rain. So we hung in the room for a little longer, watched more ESPN (not complaining!) and kept checking on the weather. When it finally appeared to stop raining, we took the elevator down the 17 floors, and by the time we got to the main entrance of the lobby, it was raining like there was a hurricane! We toughed it out and went to an indoor mall where we hung out for a while. As we waited in line at Agvania (literally translates to “tomatoes”), I felt someone jump on my back! I was confused, and when they found finally got off of me, I saw that it was Aaron Leven and Gabe Cohen, 2 Nativers who were in Tel Aviv! We decided to pull up a table and eat together! It was a fun meal, and my parents got to meet more of my friends! After lunch, Aaron and Gabe left, and the Lerman clan stayed and shopped for a little. I wound up getting an external hard drive and a new case for my computer! On the base floor of the mall, there was a shuk (market), so we stopped and got some food! We had delicious pomegranate (“Rimon” in Hebrew) seeds and other stuff too! That night, we had a GREAT Shabbat dinner at the hotel and a great time enjoying each other’s company. It was our final meal together, as Dad had to catch a flight after dinner.
Thank you Seth for this opportunity to guest blog – here goes:
Well – the Chicago Blackhawk’s continue their fearsome presence in the NHL as each day moves forward. The recent shutout against the Detroit Red Wings, by Cristobal Huet, marked his third of the season – adding to the three others posted by his teammate Antti Niemi. That makes Chicago the NHL leader in shutouts for the season as of today!
Oops…..wrong blogging……..
As I traveled back home over the long 12 hour flight to New York just the other day – it was an appropriate time for me to reflect over the past 10 days. The opportunity to visit Israel, in itself, is rather fortunate. But to do so while visiting Seth as he journeys along, marks the travels as a life-time adventure.
Seth was a great host – sharing his home, his community, his surroundings – and his soul of the Land of Israel with me. He was truly my guide, my interpreter, my planner – along with being the loving son, as always. He welcomed me with great excitement upon arrival – as the expectations I may have put upon myself were immediately cast aside – so I could experience the days with an open mind, heart and soul.
He shared with me the street he walks on, the synagogues he prays at, the school he studies at and the friends of his community. It became very clear to me – and of great comfort also – that he is well settled in this environment, fully accepting and taking ownership of the challenges of his decision to spend this year in Israel.
The moments were many that we shared together – too numerous too detail in this one message. Whether it was Shabbat at a synagogue located in a bomb shelter, the ‘Frank Sinatra’ cafeteria at Hebrew University, sharing the holiday of Chanukah or simply walking the streets of Jerusalem - they all combined for chapters of their own.
And when I was not with Seth, Ann and I had the opportunity to travel to Haifa, Caesarea and Tel Aviv – to visit family, friends and the country itself.
I think there are three aspects of this trip that have left a special mark upon my life:
- I traveled there in a different capacity as compared to before. My earlier opportunities were as guided tours with the congregational community I belong too. Those were important in their selves - to teach me about the Land of Israel. However – this time was just on our own – as a traveler picking and choosing what to see, where to go, what bus to ride, take a taxi to wherever or walk to Ben Yehuda street. Tour buses out – personal decision making in.
- The opportunity to be in Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel, during the Chag (holiday) of Chanukah. It is a deep and moving feeling for me to have experienced lighting candles, every night, in a Jewish state. To walk the street in the evening and see Chanukiah (Menorah’s) burning brightly in nearly all windows – was a visual and constant reminder of the miracles that happened in that land. The holiday will never be the same for me again.
- Most important though to me was the opportunity as a parent – to see a child – fulfilling a dream of theirs that was beyond our thoughts years ago – and to share it with him. That is the true miracle today.
It is most appropriate to also share that Ann, of course, has been a significant part of this experience – along my side nearly every moment. Though it is inappropriate for me to assume her thoughts were similar to those I have expressed – my guess is that they are probably pretty close! Many, many (many) years ago Ann made a ‘wish book’ of dreams she had for us to share experience’s together. Israel was in that book. However, this may have even surpassed the dreams of that page she created – thank you Annie…..
In closing, I need to say thank you Seth - for opening yourself to share this experience with me. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity – and your willingness to let me be a special part of your life.
B’Shalom….
Hi, Me Again: Here are some pictures!
Talk Soon!
Seth
