"Truly it may be said that the outside of a mountain is good for the inside of a (wo)man"

The thing that I love about sukkot in Israel is that it feeds my hippie tendency to want to be outside. I went on a three-day camping trip to the north of Israel with my roommate and his friends from school. It was a perfect opportunity to relax and unwind, explore a different part of Israel, and be inspired by the beautiful, great outdoors.

On day one, we went on a water hike. It was really fun and I only fell in the water, oh, 15 times? Unfortunately, there are no pictures from this comical adventure, but here is everyone afterward setting up camp in a forest.

Building the fire.

Todd, Jay, Aaron, Sam, and Jay Shir. 

Jay Shir was our fearless guide for the trip.

 Sam, me, and Lindsey 

After cooking a delicious dinner, we sat around the fire relaxing for a while. It was a little colder than we expected, and when it was time to fall asleep, a Druze wedding nearby started blasting Arab music. So, yea, I'd say sleeping conditions were pretty optimal.

Day Two: A small lake at the bottom of the mountain.

New friends hiking up Mt. Bental

 Well, I look awkward. But a pretty good view!

At the top of Mt. Bental

Roomies at the top of Mt. Bental

The group at the top of Mt. Bental!

Jay, Lindsey, Ziggy, Aaron, Sam, Jay Shir, Me, & Todd

Lunch break in the afternoon. We did a lot of eating.

:)

Hiking to our campsite for the night.

Hiking at sunset... so pretty.

Sunset on day two. 

Day 3: Playing cards before starting our 15k hike on the Golan Trail.

The view... beautiful!

Taking a little break.

Making sure we're not lost.

Ziggy, Lindsey, & Aaron

Cooling off.

More hiking...

...more hiking...

Dear Israel... you're gorgeous!

Sunset over the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). A great end to a great trip. 

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. 

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. 

The winds will blow their own freshness into you, 

and the storms their energy,

while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

-John Muir

"How Great it is that you have come Home"

Egyptian Interviewer: "Gilad, what can you say about the 

4,000 Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli prisons?" 

Gilad: "I hope they will be released as long as they don't go back to terror. I hope this deal will promote peace"

After more than 5 years in Hamas captivity, Gilad Shalit is back home in Israel.

For the past 5 years, Israel and the Jewish world have been pleading, protesting, and praying for his release. At almost every prayer service that I've attended in Israel, there has been an added prayer for the well-being and speedy release of Gilad. His family has been living in a protest tent outside the prime minister's home for over a year. There have been banners, bumper stickers, marches, and rallies around the world to release him.

Because military service in Israel is mandatory, his captivity really hit home for Israelis. Gilad became everyone's son, everyone's brother, everyone's loved one.

Today, finally, he is free.

But unfortunately, it comes at a very heavy price. Over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners are being set free in exchange for Gilad. That's 1,000 for ONE. All of these prisoners were directly involved in terrorist attacks in Israel. My heart breaks when I think about the families of these victims, and the emotions they must be feeling right now. My mind races when I think about what this means for the future of Israel.

And just as Gilad is being welcomed back to Israel with open arms and tears of joy, so too, are these prisoners, as they return to Gaza and the West Bank as heroes.

Israel's leadership is consistently placed in unfair and impossible predicaments. Do you keep the promise of "bringing home any soldier, at any cost?" Do you save the life of one innocent man if it comes at the price of possible future violence? What is the value of ONE human life?

These are extremely difficult questions, and I certainly don't have any answers. While Israelis are rejoicing at the return of Gilad Shalit, they are also expressing feelings of sorrow for the bereaved families, and anxiety about the future.

One of my classmates very eloquently wrote:

"Whatever your view on the circumstances of his return, I have been proud these past few days to be surrounded by strong moral voices who have pushed me to think about how we value life, and about how we...demonstrate that value."

Today, Israel demonstrates that it values life. Welcome home, Gilad.

Some notable articles:

• Netanyahu's Remarks Following the Release of Gilad Shalit
• "Bravo for these people, these Israelis"
• "Everyone's Son"
• "Netanyahu reaches out to families of terror victims"

Time of Our Joy (!)

Art by Kyle Lebell

Sukkot is a Jewish festival (yes, another one!) celebrating the autumn harvest. The word "sukkot" means "booths," and it refers to the temporary huts that the Israelites dwelt in when they wandered in the desert for 40 years. 

In contrast to Yom Kippur, Sukkot is meant to be a happy holiday, and is often referred to as the "season of our rejoicing." We are actually commanded to be happy.  

During the festival of Sukkot, we build a sukkah in order to dwell in it for 7 days. My experiences with building sukkot in the states have been minimal. The past 3 years, I've helped to build the one at work, which usually resulted in multiple splinters, my boss getting hit in the head with a 2x4, and an article in the campus newspaper making us sound like total weirdos. Happy times, indeed.

But in Israel, the experience is much different. First of all, most schools have off during the festival of Sukkot. Everyone that has the space builds a sukkah. Everywhere you turn, there are people carrying sukkah supplies and the "four species." Restaurants have set up sukkot so that customers can eat in them. In Israel, it's not weird, or odd, or foreign... it's just what Jewish people do.

So, my roommates and I jumped on the Sukkot-bandwagon and built a sukkah. We are actually very fortunate to be able to build one (on our balcony), as many apartments don't have space. We anticipate many good, happy times over the next week...

It took us a while to find the supplies...

 Great job, guys. I'll just stand here and take pictures.

 Ok, this picture is totally posed. But I swear I helped to build it. Really.

 Making decorations!

 Todd's a rabbinical student AND an artist.

Be Happy, it's Sukkot!

My contribution. Chag sameach (happy holiday!) from Na'omi 9!

Exploring the Old City

"Once I sat on the steps by a gate at David's Tower, 

I placed my two heavy baskets at my side. 

A group of tourists was standing around their guide and 

I became their target marker. 

'You see that man with the baskets?

Just right of his head there's an arch from the Roman period. 

Just right of his head.' 

'But he's moving, he's moving!' 

I said to myself: redemption will come only

if their guide tells them, 

'You see that arch from the Roman period? 

It's not important: but next to it, left and down a bit, 

there sits a man who's bought fruit and vegetables 
for his family.'"
-Yehuda Amichai

Last Thursday, my school took trips around Jerusalem. I was fortunate enough to visit the Old City of Jerusalem.

I have been to the Old City before, but this trip was a bit different. The goal of the trip was to learn about the residents living in the four different quarters of the city. Instead of focusing on the typical tourist sites, we wanted to learn about the people: their identities, their narratives, and the struggles that they face living at the center of the monotheistic world.

The Old City

Until the mid- to late-1800s, the Old City was the entirety of Jerusalem. It is roughly divided into four quarters: Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Armenian. The area of the Old City is approximately one square kilometer, and is the home to 37,000 people. Aside from 2 cities in India, the Old City is the most densely populated area of the world. 

I find the Old City to be a beautiful, yet complicated place. Inside its walls, I feel a unique intensity that is different than any other place I've visited. The city palpitates with a religious and spiritual energy that is breath-taking, yet overwhelming.

In other words, if I stay in the Old City too long, I get totally freaked out and feel like it's a little hard to breathe normally. Here are some pictures from the four different quarters:

This is the entrance to the St. James Cathedral in the Armenian Quarter, where we started our tour. The Armenians are a very small, close-knit community. The quarter is actually surrounded by its own wall, further insulating the community from the rest of the Old City. At 3:00pm on weekdays, anyone is allowed to enter the cathedral to see the daily prayer service. It was BEAUTIFUL (but no pictures allowed).

St. James Cathedral

St. James Cathedral. The service took place through the reddish doorway.

Outside the St. James Cathedral

Young men from all over the world come to this seminary to become Armenian priests.

Walking through the streets of the Old City

A rare open gate to the Armenian Quarter. As I mentioned above, it is very difficult to have contact with the Armenian community.

Next, we went to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This is the quarter that I'm most familiar with, yet I wouldn't say I feel "at home" here. The Jewish Quarter is full of homes, yeshivot (Jewish learning institutions), small stores, art studios, and much more. The Western Wall, the holiest place in Judaism, is in the Old City (though we didn't go there today). 

School's out!

Israeli soldiers having a meeting in the Old City.

Israeli girls play outside of school.

Enter the Christian Quarter. Most of our time in the Christian Quarter was spent at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a beautiful and sacred site in the Old City. The church is believed to be the place where Jesus was buried, and is therefore an important pilgrimage site. 

On the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

We had the pleasure of speaking with a Franciscan friar, who told us about the people and the history of the church. He also spoke about the delicate "eco-system" within the church, because of all of the different denominations represented there.

Photo credit: Daniel Shibley

Inside the church.

Photo credit: Daniel Shibley

Inside the church.

Photo credit: Daniel Shibley

Last but not least, we went to the Muslim Quarter. The Muslim quarter is the most densely populated, and is the home to perhaps the most recognizable site in Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa mosque. The Muslim quarter is also where you can find the best hummus. Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures from this quarter because it was nighttime and difficult to take pictures. 

Photo credit: Daniel Shibley

This is the gold dome of the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site in Sunni-Islam. 

As we were finishing up our tour, overlooking the Old City, the Muslim "call-to-prayer" began at several different mosques. It was a rich and beautiful mixture of sound, and a very appropriate way to end our day. Overall, I found the day meaningful and enriching, yet I wish we had the chance to speak with more people. It certainly gave me the desire to learn more about the communities within this diverse city.

After a long day, it was time to leave the walls of the Old City and breathe normally again.

Yom Kippur

Growing up, Yom Kippur was a day that was set apart from the rest of the year: I got a day off from school, making my non-Jewish friends sick with envy (suckas!); I sat through services at synagogue, hungry, grouchy, and trying to not talk smack about people in the congregation; and the tradition concluded with going to my cousin's house in Philadelphia to break the fast, with ridiculous amounts of food and loud conversation. Yom Kippur was, and always will be, a time to spend with family.

But after studying Yom Kippur for the past few weeks, I have a new appreciation and reverence for this very holy day. Yom Kippur is translated as the "day of atonement." It is the culmination of the period of time in which we ask for forgiveness for our sins. For 25 hours, we communally confess our sins, we physically afflict ourselves (fasting), and we petition to be inscribed in the symbolic "Book of Life" for the coming year.

We stand before God, and essentially say, "I can do better. I want to do better. Please help me to do better."

I learned many things over the past month about the laws and philosophies of the High Holy Days. It's all very fascinating, and gives me a greater understanding and insight into what the day is really about. But the most meaningful learning that I did was a "Practical Repentance Workshop." 

We were asked to write down our answers to a series of questions. Here is a selection of them:

• How can I be a better daughter/son? A better sibling? A better roommate? A better student?
• Who are two people (that love me) that I should ask for forgiveness from?
• Who are two people (that might not love me) that I should ask for forgiveness from?
• Two things that I did this year that I'm most proud of.
• Two things that I did that don't reflect the "real me."
• How can I go about becoming the best me?

The word for "sin" in Hebrew can also mean to "miss the mark." This workshop was a time to honestly reflect and ask myself: How have I missed the mark this year? What are the areas that I need to improve in the coming year? And what are the practical steps to do this?

"I can do better. I want to do better. Please help me to do better."

For all of you out there who are observing the holiday, I wish you an easy and meaningful fast. And as all the buses in Israel now say, g'mar chatima tova! May you be inscribed in the Book of Life!

Happy Shiny People

Here is a picture of my morning class! We are celebrating having just finished our first unit of study. 

In this class, Introduction to Mishnah, we studied the Jewish laws surrounding Rosh HaShanah, in very intricate detail.

We answered questions that I never would have thought to ask, like how many blasts musts be sounded through the shofar (horn) on Rosh HaShanah? What should a shofar be made out of? Who can legally blow the shofar?

And even more bizarre and seemingly pointless questions, like, on Rosh HaShanah, can you get your shofar from under rubble? Or from up in a tree? Or from across a lake? Spoiler alert: You can't. Just check out this handy and hilarious drawing that is found in our books:

I'm still getting used to this new way of learning, and also, trying to articulate (to myself as well as my friends and family) why I find it important, relevant, or meaningful. Luckily, I have another 8 months to figure it out...

Rosh HaShanah Recap

Here is what my schedule consisted of for the past few days:

Pray
Eat
Sleep
Pray
Eat
Nap
Pray
Eat
Sleep
Pray
Nap
:Shabbat Begins: 

Pray
Eat
Sleep
Pray
Eat
Nap

It was a holiday full of new friends, good food, and warm feelings! However, I'm glad to be back to school this week, and back into the swing of things...