You know you're in Israel when...
You hear the "rock version" of Avinu Malkenu on the regular radio station during the week leading up to Yom Kippur. Not just that. They also play the Unetaneh Tokef (I hope I spelled that close to right)...that's my favorite High Holiday prayer by far.
Anyway, there is way way way too much to catch up on here. So I may do sprits of blog entries here on different topics. I've decided my summation of the entire experience in each country will come when I get back to the States and have the proper amount of time to absorb and compare my experiences. Kind of like how history takes time to write about. (Not that I would ever be so presumptuous in my comparison.)
So High Holidays in Israel are really something else. In Jerusalem, especially. I went to Selichot at the Kotel (Western/Wailing Wall)...people were out at all hours of the night praying to be inscribed in the Book of Life. I was there past midnight and it was packed. The people kept coming...whole crowds! Oh, one thing I read--the additional commentary in the Hertz Chumash really really sheds a lot of light on Egyptian morality, culture and history. I highly recommend it.
Anyway, my time here has basically comprised of a lot of walking around. I'll do a separate entry on my trip to the beach in Tel Aviv (it shan't be long). But otherwise, I've done quite a bit of shopping around in a meager attempt to help support the flailing and failing Israeli tourism economy. There was this Jewish star necklace I had that my parents got me about a decade ago, and after checking every single store on Ben Yehuda Street, the last store on the street, at the very bottom on the right had the exact necklace! Of course, I got it. For old time's sake, that is...and another one--for new time's sake. =)
In other news, my Hebrew has been greatly improving (although, strangely enough, my Arabic still seems to be a bit better--I suppose mostly because the vocab I learned traveling was kind of "utility vocab"). Anyway, after a very very nice Shabbat here with Devora in Jerusalem--she invited tons of people over for Shabbat dinner and lunch the next day--I've been thoroughly submerged in Hebrew, and I definitely feel a general improvement in my ability to get around/talk to people. We'll see how that goes.
Anyway, there is way way way too much to catch up on here. So I may do sprits of blog entries here on different topics. I've decided my summation of the entire experience in each country will come when I get back to the States and have the proper amount of time to absorb and compare my experiences. Kind of like how history takes time to write about. (Not that I would ever be so presumptuous in my comparison.)
So High Holidays in Israel are really something else. In Jerusalem, especially. I went to Selichot at the Kotel (Western/Wailing Wall)...people were out at all hours of the night praying to be inscribed in the Book of Life. I was there past midnight and it was packed. The people kept coming...whole crowds! Oh, one thing I read--the additional commentary in the Hertz Chumash really really sheds a lot of light on Egyptian morality, culture and history. I highly recommend it.
Anyway, my time here has basically comprised of a lot of walking around. I'll do a separate entry on my trip to the beach in Tel Aviv (it shan't be long). But otherwise, I've done quite a bit of shopping around in a meager attempt to help support the flailing and failing Israeli tourism economy. There was this Jewish star necklace I had that my parents got me about a decade ago, and after checking every single store on Ben Yehuda Street, the last store on the street, at the very bottom on the right had the exact necklace! Of course, I got it. For old time's sake, that is...and another one--for new time's sake. =)
In other news, my Hebrew has been greatly improving (although, strangely enough, my Arabic still seems to be a bit better--I suppose mostly because the vocab I learned traveling was kind of "utility vocab"). Anyway, after a very very nice Shabbat here with Devora in Jerusalem--she invited tons of people over for Shabbat dinner and lunch the next day--I've been thoroughly submerged in Hebrew, and I definitely feel a general improvement in my ability to get around/talk to people. We'll see how that goes.
posted by IJW at 1:47 PM
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