Come join me on my journey in Jerusalem!

I've come here for the year to study at the Conservative Yeshiva, and life is very exciting, especially since this is my first year in the "real world" (whatever that actually means). It's my first time renting an apartment, my first time having to buy groceries for myself, my first kosher kitchen, my first time finding the closest post office, the cheapest pharmacy, the best place to buy tupperware...and half of the time, I'm figuring these things out in Hebrew! I've made plenty of mistakes so far, but I'm managing, and feeling more and more settled every day.

This year is an exciting journey for other, less day-to-day reasons as well. I'm here studying at the Conservative Yeshiva, which means that for the first time in my life I am completely immersed in the study of Jewish texts, and surrounded by an active, passionate, observant Conservative community. I feel like this is my first serious step to becoming a rabbi, a far greater step than any I have taken so far. I feel at home in this community in ways I've never felt before. I never thought I would be making Talmud jokes over lunch and having discussions about halakha (Jewish law) in between classes. I am also learning an incredible amount, and I'm thinking about things I never really thought about before. But for each thing I learn, I come up with two more questions, and every time I feel a little more at home hear, I wonder how I will adjust to going back to your average Conservative Jewish community in the U.S.

In addition to all the Jewish learning I am doing, I have found my mind running wild with thoughts of how to create communities of coexistence, where people of different faiths make a genuine effort to understand each other. I have placed myself in a country and in a city where issues of interfaith understanding are incredibly prevalent, and incredibly problematic. Although the focus of my studies has little to do with interfaith dynamics, simply living here, hearing what people say, and seeing different parts of Jerusalem, has made me think about ways to build interfaith communities and the incredible amount of work ahead of me.

So come join me through my successes and failures of life on my own, without the ease of living in a residence hall; my adventures in Talmud, Jewish thought, halakhah, and all the other fascinating things I will be studying; and my realizations about the realities of living in a multi-faith world. Let the journey begin!


Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Shuk


The Machane Yehuda shuk (market) is one of my favorite places to go. Yes, I did just say that I enjoy grocery shopping more than many other things. However, the shuk is not your average grocery store! Picture two different streets running parallel to each other, one outdoors and one covered over. There are hundreds, if not thousands of people crowding these streets, shouting and bargaining and bustling through with their little wheeled carts (this picture was taken right before the shuk closed one day. If you come during the afternoon, there are so many people you have to push just to get through!). You can buy dried fruits and nuts, fresh pita bread and pastries, meat, fish, cheese...but my favorite thing about the shuk (besides my whole wheat pita stand) is the fruits and vegetables. I am telling you, produce tastes ten times better here in Israel than it does in the US, especially if it comes from the shuk. And the selection! Friday morning, I went to the shuk to get ingredients for a fruit salad to bring to a Shabbat lunch. I picked up some pretty standard fruits - apples, nectarines, plums, grapes. I also was able to purchase a few mangos (which are finally in season!!), 2 pomegranates, and a couple passion fruits (which didn't actually go into the fruit salad). Walking around, I also saw a very pretty fruit, which I had never seen before. The seller had one cut in half on his stand, and it smelled very sweet, so I figured "why not," and decided to try something new. Turns out that this fruit was a yellow pitaya (aka dragon fruit), and it was delicious! It's also considered by many to be one of the top ten most exotic fruits, and here it is, just a bus ride away!
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