Wow, It's Been Forever ... .

I have been avoiding this for a really long time... so much has happened in the past three months, but it's hard to take the time out from school to relay everything.

I'm finally on vacation and can put my first semester of rabbinical school into perspective. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am exactly where I need to be. It really is an incredible feeling- being in Israel, studying Judaism, creating new bonds with classmates and teachers. Enough mush.

Now that finals are over, I can safely say that I will not be failing out of rabbinical school. I really love all of the material we've been covering. I wrote a paper on the representation of the Mizrahi culture in film for my Israel Seminar class and another paper on how the Protocols of the Elders of Zion affected Hitler and Nazi Progaganda for my history class (if you want to read them, email me). My Hebrew has really improved this year and I can carry on full conversations with the natives (if they haven't grown weary of my stumbling and bumbling Hebrew and switched to English). I am also very comfortable in services- leading as well as being a participant. It is still really hard to do both of these things at 830 in the morning, but it's required, so what can you do?

I just had a wonderful visit with Mom and David and Mom asked me if I ever just stop and think about what an incredible place I am in. I didn't think anything of it at the time, because I've been here for 6 months now, and I guess it never sunk in. It's dawned on me within the past few days just how awesome Israel really is- the people especially. In one moment, a person can come up and spit on you for being a Reform Jew. In another, you strike up a conversation with a random person and they insist that you come to their home for Shabbat dinner. A few weeks ago, I accompanied my friend Jen on her community service outing. She works with prisoners from a minimum security prison who get to come to a kibbutz for one morning a month to plant, build, discuss life... it was a fantastic experience--- and the Israeli prison system is so interesting. Anyhow, afterwards, the rabbi on the kibbutz took us to lunch in Ramla (not Ramallah) which is a city in which Jews and Arabs have lived in peace for many years. Our food was not ready when we arrived, so the owner's son took us to his own home to show us all of the art he had been working on. That's what I'm talking about--- where else would people be that hospitable?

Since it's vacation, I have been doing quite a bit of exploring Jerusalem with my friends who stayed in town. First, Hannah and I had the fortune of getting on the wrong bus and ending up in the much debated settlement town of Gilo, where a nice girl from "Samaria" (that's West Bank right wing it's MY land settlement goodness for you all) directed us back to the right bus.

We went to the Museum of Islamic Art, which naturally, is run by Jews (ha) and saw the world's biggest nargila (hookah) and a picture that looked strikingly similar to a depiction of the Binding of Isaac, entitled the Sacrifice of Ishmael (go figure). We also pretended to be serious American tourists and went to East Jerusalem (which I suppose is the off limits ethnic equivalent to East LA). So what do you do when all of the signs are in Arabic and you don't know where you are? You go to the American Colony Hotel for afternoon tea, obviously. Quite an adventure.

This week, Dad is coming in. I'm sure it will be interesting as he has never been to Jerusalem before...

In April my classmates and I will be traveling to the Former Soviet Union to lead Seders and educational programs for the Reform communities there. I will be in Simferopol, Sebastopol, and Yevpatoriya- all in the Ukraine. We have been trying to raise money to get all 40 of us over there (with money left over to donate to our respective communities). A huge thank you with my whole heart to those of you who have donated already! If you haven't and would like to, please visit http://www.pesachproject.com/index.html to make a donation in my name- it would be greatly appreciated.

Kisses to everyone----I miss you all. Really. Only a few short months until I return....