Worst pick-up line ever, and other adventures from Succot so far

I have to work backwards chronologically on this one because I am still amazed that I heard this. I just came back from "Ted and Zev's big succot wine tasting event." I was that cheap person who comes, doesn't pay, and just shmoozes without participating in the wine part. Ted is the owner of the Wii that I've talked about before, and Zev is the founder of janglo so I blame him for the potential employers I've been screwed over by. But anyway... I intended to stay for twenty minutes, but found myself sitting comfortably and enjoying myself enough to not bother getting up... except for this person across from me who's like the token creepy guy at parties that Shira always winds up talking too much to. I was trying to immerse myself in the conversation to my right, but didn't succeed enough to stop this guy from making random comments to me and asking for details about my roommate (she might not know that part until she reads this). So suddenly this guy says, "Your hebrew name is Rivka? So if I bring camels to you will you give them water?" Thankfully Yoel's choked laugh covered up me saying that I would throw the water on him. Needless to say, I wasn't very impressed. The evening continued with more references in my mind to Shira as Yoel explained that he was type 5 of the nine personality types. I am intrigued. Shortly after that I talked briefly with a possible member of the mosad who admits to changing his name often, so I won't even bother recalling it here, and he "snuck" me a sip of wine. It was good, but until I am employed I'm not about to shell out 35 shekalim for an event like that.

Now I can backtrack to shabbat. For shabbat I went with Sam and Michal to our cousins on Har Hadar. Their backyard is the memorial to the Harel brigade, and features genuine bunkers and tanks. Also at the site is a tower from which you can see most of Israel. It is pretty incredible. It's like the view Avraham could have seen when Hashem showed him every inch of the land.

Friday: It was weird. I was so confused about what day it was! This one day yom tov stuff is confusing. Alissa, Lisa, and I did a fabulous job cleaning the apartment, and then I had to leave for Har Hadar. Harriet had a terrible day locked up in Alissa's room so we could clean without her splashing in the water. We have no learned that when Harriet would be sent to Alissa's room and not cry, it was really because she was going out the window, onto the narrow ledge, and into our neighbor's bedroom. Glad we figured that one out. As I type this Harriet is curled up against me dozing. So cute. I think I am rather attached.

And now I finally get to the first day of yom tov itself. For dinner I was invited to a family I had been in touch with at one point about babysitting. I turned them down for the first family things well through with. At least I got a great meal out of it. They have six kids and the youngest three are adorable two year old triplet boys. There were nine guests total, all of whom were more or less close to my age (my standards have changed dramatically), and everyone was really friendly. Unfortunately many of the guests were tourists, but it was still great being in a comfortable social environment. For lunch I went to Ted's succah. He asked me to bring a vegetable side dish, but I am not sure why. All he provided was meat. Lots and lots of meat. It was incredible. Who needs a side dish? I met more people over the age of thirty, but had a good time. I guess every person counts somehow.

One more thing- over shabbat I read The Phantom Tollbooth. It is the most amazing book ever. If I tried to explain why, I wouldn't know where to start. If you care to have a deep philosophical discussion about it, you know where to find me.

Yad Vashem

Today I went to see the new exhibition hall at Yad Vashem. It is incredible and definitely worth checking out. It is shaped like a triangular prism and forms a bridge through the end of the museum's campus. When you enter you see a screen showing a video of life before the war... of children learning in cheder and men going to shul. Then you proceed through a criss-cross series of exhibits that go through the rise of the Nazis and deportation of Jews to ghettos and concentration camps. Throughout the entire hall you hear a combination of eerie sounds but also of survivors telling their stories on video screens in each exhibit. The combination of pictures and artifacts with firsthand accounts make each section extremely powerful. The final section has a video of children singing Hatikvah in Israel, and of Ben Gurion announcing Israel's independence. When you exit the hall, this is what you see: Could they even have imagined this?
As I stood looking across the valley and out to Mevaseret, I pulled my teudat zehut out of my bag and realized how incredible it is that I had in my hand an official document that I am a citizen in the State of Israel. Six million Jews who barely had this as a dream....

Getting of out Jerusalem for a day

It is easy to forget amidst all the ideological reasons I'm in Israel that I also live in the Mediterranean and just 45 minutes from the beach. Yesterday Lisa and I went on a little field trip. One of our objectives was to do tashlich by the water, but also we just really, really, really needed to get out of Jerusalem. The bus ride to Tel Aviv goes along some long winding roads and can be really nausiating, so it's tempting to just close my eyes and pass out for the trip. Somehow I can never do that. I've been on that trip so many times by now but always find new things to look at. And it's really exciting seeing a beautifully new paved highway or completed train track where just a year ago there was a pile of rubble and some construction workers sitting around all day eating and smoking. This country is beautiful! I can't believe how quickly even entire new neighborhoods go out. I have to see everything.


When we got to Tel Aviv we did our best to avoid looking at the people who made poor choices when buying bathing suits suited to their body types and finally found a place for tashlich. The water was nice and warm and the waves looked great. Wish I had a boogie board. After that we wandered around, and I got some amazing Italian gelato ice cream... mmm. We also saw this tree and were quite amused. We always wanted to rent a tree.
Lisa and I parted ways so she could go see our friends at Bar Ilan and I could get back to Jerusalem to meet with the family that just hired me... that's right-- I have a job!!!! More about that later. The bus ride back was just as incredible. How could I close my eyes even for a second? The sun was a huge pink ball settling over the horizon and lighting up the sky. At the same time the almost full moon was getting brighter. When I got closer to Jerusalem I saw a small car shlepping a giant pile of schach on its roof. The sign at the city entrance wished me a shana tova and chag sameach. That's right up there with the TV stations having messages on Friday afternoon that their broadcast would continue after Yom Kippur, and that we should all have a gmar chatima tova.

I went straight from the Jerusalem bus station to Arnona to visit my new employers-- Sammy, Odelia, and Liam. I got to read them bedtime stories! I'm going to love this job.

Yom Kippur in Jerusalem

Jerusalem never seemed to silent. At 5pm we could hear the siren go off, signaling the beginning of the fast and Yom Kippur. Then it seemed like two very different things were going on-- all the grown ups were going to shul, and all the kids were flooding to the parks and biking down the empty streets. There was an article on jpost.com saying that Yom Kippur has the highest incidence of accidents involving children. Go figure. This morning was pretty much the same, though there were some adults out jogging in the empty streets. To each their own. The amazing thing about Yom Kippur is the day is so intense and you're praying so much that you really can't pay attention to anyone but yourself.
I had trouble figuring out where to daven. It's hard enough finding information on the zillion of shuls in the area, and I can't exactly afford to pay for a seat. Thankfully I, as my mom put it, found myself a new surrogate grandmother. Lee is my chumash chavruta at Nishmat, and she insisted that I could join her as her guest. Lisa came along too. The minyan took place at a little building less than a five minute walk from my apartment. Lee says that it used to be the "young people" minyan. Yeah, I'm sure that was once true... a couple decades ago. Despite being a room full of old people, the davening was really nice. I couldn't tell what was more lacking-- spirit in the davening, or being surrounded by my peers. Ari Ross and David Stadler- I miss you guys. Please come to Israel and be the chazan wherever I choose to daven. And Ari Israel- bring on the fire and brimstone. I missed it terribly. Yom Kippur (and Rosh Hashana) were always special times at UMD.
I am now on vacation from Nishmat for two weeks. I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself. Can't believe I am keeping only one day of yom tov for Succot! Should be exciting...

Rosh Hashanah, Shmitah, Harriet, and my still elusive ATM and credit cards

It was kind of a letdown that for my first chag in Israel I had a yom tov- Shabbat doubleheader. One day yom tovim was clearly one of the top five reasons I made aliyah. I spent Rosh Hashanah with the only people I couldn't see myself getting sick of after three days-- the Fischers. I called it my three day playdate with Raphi. While Raphi has little if any memory of his two years in College Park, he knows that he's known me for a long time and that we always have fun together.
Pesha: Becca is here!
Raphi: Now it's Rosh Hashanah!
Pesha: That's right, tonight is Rosh Hashanah.
Raphi: YOU said that when Becca comes it will be Rosh Hashanah!!!!
I like being associated with a holiday. Makes me feel special. If you ask Raphi what Modiin is like, he will tell you that it's bourgeois because it has lots of playgrounds. Besides playgrounds, it has an interesting mix of religious and non-religious, anglos and Israelis. One of the city's problems that was brought to like this year is it's severe shortage of shuls. Every inch of the city has been planned out, but they never imagined that so many religious people would want to live in a brand new city equidistant from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. What a shocker. Modiin has 6 shul buildings and 42 minyanim. The Fischers daven at a shul at a yeshiva high school. The first day's davenning was like being in a cafeteria. There were screaming kids everywhere and I couldn't hear a thing. For the second day I toughed it out and walked 20 minutes for a 6:30am (!!!!) minyan at someone's house. It was totally worth it.

With the new Jewish Year comes the mind boggling issue of Shmitah. The Torah tells us that on the seventh year the land of Israel must rest. This literally means that the land can't be worked at all, and of course that presents us with zillions of logistical issues-- mainly what we can possibly eat for a year. There are a couple main loopholes I leave you to look up on your own. I have decided to follow "Otzar Beit Din." I decided this because it supports the farmers who make some effort to observe the laws of shmitah, as opposed to heter mechirah which makes shmitah almost unnoticeable for both farmers and consumers. Today was the first time I went to the marketplace since Rosh Hashanah. I wasn't sure what the different certifications referred to, so I asked one vegetable seller if he had otzar beit din or heter mechirah. He totally flipped out. Lets just say like every other Israeli, he believes that what he does it right and no one should question it. This year will be interesting. Rav Leshem (head of my program at Nishmat) told us that we're privileged to be in Israel for this special time. I'm hoping as time goes on it will become less of a head ache!

Most people are shocked to hear that we have a pet cat, Harriet the Spy. Cats are like squirrels in Israel and become pretty repulsive creatures. However our cat, unlike the ones lurking in dumpsters outside, will not contribute to the out of control cat problem in Jerusalem... or well, that was the goal of today's vet appointment. We had noticed that Harriet was acting very mellow and sleeping a lot, and today we found out that she has a heart murmur and until that is treated she cannot be spayed. I got her a new toy for when she comes home from her day stuck at the vet. Poor Harriet. Guess she gets to keep her femininity for a few more days.

I was under the belief that my credit card would be sent to my apartment and I would have to pick up my ATM card at the bank. Having received neither, I went to the bank today and they told me to wait longer. I though extended Monday hours were so they could be more helpful to their customers.

Back from the bakery...

... with some incredible looking treats. Sticky gooey challot, fresh cakes, and amazing chocolate covered orangey-oatmealy-crunch cookies (Lisa and I sampled them already). The smell is unbelievable.

A Happy and Sweet New Year to all my friends all over the place-- especially to the ones I am missing so much right now!

Shana Tova!

I just completed my third week here as an olah chadash. I have no idea if my ATM card is ready because I don't want to disappoint myself by trying. Yesterday I finally tackled the challenge of figuring out how to use my oven. My brownies came out burnt on top and raw on the bottom (but still taste amazing) and finally on a different setting I successfully made a honey cake. Well... we'll see how successful it is when I take it out of the pan. After Nishmat yesterday I went to the marketplace which was a madhouse. The produce looked unbelievable. I wanted to sample a little of everything. Makes it that much more frustrating that next time I go there I will have to keep in mind the rules of shmitah that apply this coming year in Israel.

I am about to go get challah, which will probably be another madhouse. I can't wait.

So far this year I've been good and I've made it to selichot every night. It help that there's an old men minyan around the corner from my apartment that davens at 10pm every night (as opposed to the traditional 6am). Really it's old men and people my age who are just as lazy. Rosh Hashanah will be a breeze after selichot every night... or maybe not. Guess I am a real Israeli if I'm also overwhelmed by the thought of three days straight of long davenning.

I am spending Rosh Hashanah at the Fischers! Who else could I spend three straight days with? Pesha and I will be switching off between shul and playing with the kids. Pretty good deal if you ask me. THREE DAY PLAYDATE WITH RAPHI! Woohoo!