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!


Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The Post You've All Been Waiting For

Hello everyone!

Yes, contrary to my recent posting activity (or lack thereof), I am still alive. Studying is going great, and I'm really settling into life here. We just started our winter vacation, so I will use some of my free time over the next couple weeks to update you as much as possible.

For now, I just wanted to share a bit of good news that I know many of you have been waiting for...

I had my interview for the Jewish Theological Seminary Rabbinical School today...

And it went very well...

And I was informed a few hours later that they would be honored to have me as a student next year!

So, I will be going to JTS next year as an official rabbinical student!
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