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!


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Let the Classes Begin!

Here I am, already at the end of my first week of classes. Studying at a Yeshiva is long and intellectually exhausting...so of course I love it! Here's what my week looks like right now:

SUNDAY:
7:10 am Halacha Yomit - every day we spend about 15 minutes studying a little bit of Halacha (Jewish law). Right now, we're looking at the laws of Yom Kippur. Unfortunately, since I'm not a morning person at all, I haven't always been able to make it every day, but whenever I do go I love it. It's incredible how much you can learn in 15 minutes!
7:30 am Shacharit - morning prayers. I'm proud to say, I've made it every day so far!
8:20 am Breakfast - what? A girl's gotta eat!
8:45 am Talmud - Right now, we are studying chapter 3 of Sukkot. I'm learning all about lulav and etrog. After the holidays, we'll be moving to Bava Kamma, chapter 8. It's quite interesting, and I'm proud to report that my rabbinic Hebrew vocabulary has improved already.
12:30 pm Lunch
1:40 pm Mincha - afternoon prayers.
2:00 pm Biblical Hebrew Grammar - umm, I learn Biblical Hebrew Grammar. It's pretty self explanatory. But very interesting.
3:20 pm Tanach with Mefarshim - right now, we're studying the book of Jonah (very appropriate, since we read it on Yom Kippur). For the rest of the fall, we'll be studying different books of the Prophets, which I can't wait for! I've never really had a chance to seriously study Nevi'im (Prophets), so I'm very happy to be taking this class.
6:30 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Women and Halacha - We study issues of women and Jewish law. It's very interesting, and very challenging, since it touches on issues that are very personal and important to me.

MONDAY:
7:10 am Halacha Yomit
7:30 am Shacharit
8:20 am Breakfast
8:45 am Talmud
12:30 pm Lunch and class on Conservative Judaism - one of my favorite classes (taught by Rabbi Jim Lebeau, for any of you Temple Beth El-ers following my blog), where we talk and learn about various topics pertaining specifically to Conservative Judaism. It's a small class with a lot of really interesting readings and conversations.
1:40 pm Mincha
2:00 pm Sifrut (Literature) - A class entirely in Hebrew (and I can understand most of it!). We read a variety of Hebrew literature, including songs and plays. We also practice speaking, and learn about Israeli culture.
3:20 pm Bekiut Mishnah - We read and study Mishna at a pretty fast pace (about 1 chapter a week, or so I'm told!). Right now, we're reading Chulin, so basically I'm learning how to slaughter kosher meat. I'm also learning a ton about the structure and language of the Mishna, so even if being able to slaughter my own beef is not something I'm really interested in, I'm really enjoying the class.
6:30 pm Dinner
7:00 pm Spiritual Counseling - unfortunately, this class doesn't begin until mid-October. So I can't tell you about it yet, but I've heard from second year students that it is great.


TUESDAY:

7:10 am Halacha Yomit

7:30 am Shacharit

8:20 am Breakfast

8:45 am Tanach with Mefarshim

12:00 pm Lunch and speakers on Israeli Society - this class hasn't met yet either, but I will let you all know about it once it does.

1:40 pm Mincha

2:00 pm Biblical Hebrew Grammar

3:20 pm Medieval Jewish Thought - so, I love this class. We talk about philosophy and theology. And Maimonides. And everything. It's a great topic, a great teacher, and a great group of students! And I'm getting to explore my new-found love of philosophy in a really challenging and inspirational way.

WEDNESDAY:

7:10 am Halacha Yomit

7:30 am Shacharit

8:20 am Breakfast

8:45 am Talmud

12:30 pm Lunch

1:40 pm Mincha

2:00 pm Sifrut

3:20 pm Midrash - We read and study Midrashim, which are essentially interpretations of stories in the Bible, and look at how those interpretations reflect the society in which they were written.

THURSDAY

7:10 am Halacha Yomit

7:30 am Shacharit

8:20 am Breakfast

12:00 pm Sicha (discussion) with Rosh Yeshiva

1:00 pm Linch

1:30 pm Parashat HaShavua - we study the weekly Torah portion. The class hasn't started yet, but the Rabbi who teaches it also taught over the summer, and if the clas is anything like it was then, it will be great.

2:45 pm Mincha

3:00 pm Gemilut Hesed - volunteering in the Jerusalem community. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but I do know it will be very exciting.

So, that's my week! It's very long, but I'm learning so much. I can't believe its only been 4 days! Keep posted for more detailed blogs about each class, coming soon

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2 comments:

  1. Jim TiedemannSeptember 12, 2009 at 3:12 AM

    sounds solid rachel, glad to hear you're enjoying your studies. i've actually started rereading some of my old religion textbooks. let me know how things are sometime, you know my email, and if you dont let me know!

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  2. dahlia42September 24, 2009 at 8:48 PM

    Oh my...I wish I were there with you. I've been studying Talmud weekly with a group for several years now and, if I had life to do over, would have started studying years ago. I keep consoling myself with the fact that R. Akiva didn't start till he was 40 or 45. (Not that I'm a R. Akiva.) Anyway, enjoy and have an easy fast!

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