Rosh Hashanah's Coming!
Hi!

I'm apologizing in advance for this letter's brevity. Although I have had an incredibly exciting week, the computers in the lab have been down for the past few days so I haven't been able to access my email. Right now I am at my adoptive family's house, and briefly using their computer. I spent this past weekend in Jerusalem and it was absolutely incredible! I love that city so much. This week has been great, too. On Monday we went on a long trip that included a hike in Ein Gedi (an oasis in the Judean desert), a swim in the Dead Sea, and a climb up Massada. I had a wonderful time and met some amazing people studying in other ulpans all across Israel.

Rosh Hashanah begins tomorrow (I'm spending the holiday at my adoptive family's home), so I wanted to wish you all a Shana Tova, a Happy New Year, filled with blessings and love and all things good.

Shana Tova,
Sarah
- posted by sarah @ 9/25/2003 10:27:00 PM

 
First Full Week
Last you all heard, I was disappointed in having to stay in Ashkelon for the weekend. As it turned out, I ended up having a good time after all. Instead of having to wake up early to catch a bus, I was able to sleep in on Friday until past noon, what a treat! Then I went shopping and relaxed and read.

Shira, one of the girls in the group found out about a new synagogue to go to for Friday night services, so a group of six of us decided to check it out. The congregation itself was very interesting. We found out that the rabbi (originally American) was Chabad, but the syngogue itself wasn't, yet the nursery school attached to it was. There were about forty men there, five were black hat with full beards and all, and everyone else looked Modern Orthodox. The women's section was also interesting, there were five women, five teenagers who talked constantly, and us. The chazzan/shliach tzibur (prayer leader) was extraordinary, it was so wonderful to just listen to him as he chanted the psalms and prayers.

After services, we hurried back to the absorption center for dinner. Erica, an Otzma-nik from Savannah, Georgia, had already decided to wow us with her Southern hospitality by making a huge Shabbat dinner. However, though she was willing to cook for fifteen, fortyfive is a bit much. Instead, she organized a massive potluck. Since the forty of us were stuck in Ashkelon, and some of us had friends visiting from out-of-town, we reserved the common room in the absorption center. By eight o'clock, the tables were overflowing with goodies. Though none of us has an oven, we were able to pull together a hugely diverse menu ranging from salads and pastas to hash browns and fried okra. Dessert, including the standard Israeli watermelon, also included rugelach, fruit salad, and pink rice krispy treats.

Shira also found a place for us to have lunch on Saturday. It turned out to be the home of the Chabad rabbi we had seen the night before. About six of their ten children were home, although the mother wasn't, so you can imagine the craziness in the home. The meal was alright, and he translated the serman he had given to his congregation the previous night. (Although I understood the parts I had listened to that night, there was an incredibly adorable baby sitting next to me at that point, so I had been quite distracted. I was grateful to hear it again.) Later on, most of us went to the beach. I got a lot of reading done and also went for a nice walk. So far on this trip, I've finished reading "Sybil," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "My Name is Asher Lev," and "Jemima J." I'm currently in the middle of three more. Yay for time for reading!

Saturday night, Shira got five of us invited to a melave malka (literally, the queen's (Shabbat's) escort - an after Shabbat party of sorts). We had coffee and cake and fruit with three couples and a few wandering babies. The couples all recently moved to Ashkelon to work with a program that teaches new Russian immigrants about traditional Judaism. We talked with one of the women (whose parents are from New York and so she spoke fluent English) about her life here. It was very hard to imagine that the woman was twenty-two, our age, yet she had been married for three years and already had two children.

As I mentioned in the subject line, this was our first full week on Otzma. Sunday we had ulpan as usual from eight until one. After arriving back home, we had a quick lunch then headed over to a local high school. We will be meeting with twelfth grade students there on Sundays and Mondays after school. The students who chose to come will be taking their matriculation exams at the end of the school year, but want some extra practice speaking in English. Their reading and understanding of English is great, but they have trouble speaking, and part of the examination is oral. So for two hours after school, we meet with them and just talk. Somehow, this is considered tutoring and volunterring, though it mostly seems like fun. Some of the conversations I had ranged from where-the-best-malls-are and future-university-plans, to America's-use-of-force-overseas and the-separation-of-religion-and-state-in-Israeli-government.

Monday morning we had ulpan again. That afternoon, I was supposed to volunteer at the national park, but it got postponed (again). Instead, I went downtown with a friend. We didn't really buy much - just walked around, picked up some produce, and tried to find an internet cafe. (In case you were wondering, the absorption center where we are living, wonder-of-wonders, actually has a computer lab. Although half the computers are broken and the firewalls prevent us from viewing many websites and some of our email, the convenience is exceptionally. The lab is literally right downstairs. We've been looking for an internet cafe in order to access our alternate email addresses, bank statements, etcetera. Most likely, next track when I'm in Beit Shemesh, I won't have such convenient internet access and probably won't be able to write as frequently.) Monday night, I went to the beach with a friend to watch the sunset. Then we had coffee at a cafe overlooking the ocean before returning back to the absorption center for a group movie night.

Tuesday was an educational day, so at seven am we all got on a bus to Jerusalem. The focus of the day was the idea of a Jewish state. We had a range of speakers representing different points along the religious spectrum, including secular, pluralistic, and ultra-orthodox. A lot of the points brought up were very interesting, as we debated whether Judaism supported the idea of democracy, using texts ranging from the Babylonian Talmud to the American Declaration of Independence. At lunch I was able to meet with the contact people for the community of Beit Shemesh, where I will live from mid-November through February. The afternoon concluded with a walk through an ultra-orthodox neighborhood, guided by the religion correspondant for Israel's commercial television station. On the way back, we stopped at a mall in Mevaseret Tzion for dinner from the world's first (although no longer only) kosher McDonald's.

Wednesday morning I (along with a half dozen others) was quite sick. Food poisoning, we decided. So much for McDonald's. So I skipped my morning ulpan, but was feeling better that afternoon to go volunteering. On Wednesdays we go to nearby Kiryat Malachi to paint the apartments of elderly residents. This week two other Otzma-nikim and myself worked in an apartment of a Russian woman. When she wasn't hovering over us, pointing spots we needed to go over again, she was watching Brazilian soap operas dubbed in Russian. "Nyet, Santiago. Spasiba!" Very bizarre. However, she floored us when, after a pigeon flew into her apartment through an open window and our attempts at nudging it out with a stick failed miserably, she ran after it, grabbed it's flailing wings with her two hands, and tossed it out the window. You should've seen that! That night was Cafe Ivrit (Hebrew) in our staff member's apartment. Twenty or so of us just gathered to eat, drink, and talk, completely in Hebrew. After an hour and half, we were all completely exhausted from the effort, and also excited because of how much we were actually able to communicate, afterall.

Today, Thursday, we went to ulpan in the morning as always. [Ulpan, in case I haven't mentioned, actually takes place in another absorption center in Ashkelon. The center is called Kalanit and it is for students who immigrate alone. The people who live there are all about ages twenty to twenty-six, from Russia, Ethiopia, South America, India, and Eastern and Western Europe. This is the only absorption center of it's kind currently in Israel, and the residents stay there for five months, learning Hebrew, getting used to Israeli life and culture, and making connections with others in similar situations before continuing on to work or army or university.] Classes ended early, and we, along with the Kalanit residents gathered together for an hour of singing. Together we sang and swayed and banged and clapped to Israeli folk songs that everyone knew and learned some new ones. It was an amazing hour because although we literally come from all over the globe, and speak dozens of different languages, we can all sing together in Hebrew. Songs that I learned in America, he learned in India, and she learned in Belgium, were sung together with joy in the Land of Israel. Incredible!

In the afternoon, I volunteered with five others at the National Park in Ashkelon. Although the work was the same as last time (pulling up weeds and small trees from around archelogical ruins in a protected area), this time we were interrupted by a man who insisted on telling us the history of the place. Although some of his information actually contradicted what the sign out front said, the idea that any old Israeli, in the middle of his trip to the beach, can come climb over some ruins like they're nothing with thorough explanations was astounding. He pointed out that these column are similar to the ones Samson held up, over there is where Philistine ships sailed, that was a Canaanite gate, here is where Byzantines crushed wine, this is where the Christians had an alter, and that is an Arabic prayer phrase. It's very disconcerting to just be working alone with a pitchfork and hoe among such rich history.

This weekend, I plan on going to Jerusalem with some friends to see another friend. But before I go, look at what we discovered on the UJC website:
http://www.ujc.org/content_display.html?ArticleID=84718

Take care, watch out for Isabel, and have a good weekend,
Sarah....
- posted by sarah @ 9/18/2003 10:23:00 PM

 
Life (and Security) in Israel
Hi everyone, I hope this email finds you well.

Last weekend, I visited my adoptive family. I was really nervous because due to some major communication problems, they didn't even know I was coming, or anything about Otzma until I called them last week. As it turns out, the family is wonderful and I had a most incredible time. They have five kids, although the two oldest boys, Hillel (21) and Itamar (18), were currently away doing yeshiva/army. At home were the other two boys, Shai (15) and Yehuda (13), and Hani (8) their only daughter. They live on a religious moshav called Hoshaya in the central Galilee, a community the mother and father (Miriam and Binny) helped found twenty years ago. There are almost two hundred fifty families living there now, and it seems that they're all kippa sruga (Modern Orthodox-ish).

The parents are originally from New York, but all their children were born in Israel. In their home they speak a mix of English and Hebrew, so I was able to communicate with all of the family. It made me especially proud that, although I didn't feel comfortable participating in most of the conversations, I was able to follow almost everything they said, from the changing idealogical basis of their moshav to a lesson the father gave on this week's Torah portion. I went to synagogue with them Friday night, and mostly just hung around on Saturday. We went for a walk, read, played games, and worked on a puzzle. It was very relaxing. And how can I forget the food, there was so much and it was delicious!

One of the things I love most about them is how musical they all are. They sing songs together at every Shabbat meal, and every one of them is constantly whistling or humming some melody at all other times. As soon as Shabbat was over, Yehuda and Hani started blasting the Beatles as they did their homework, Miriam turned on some Matti Caspi, and Shai started playing some amazing piano. Wow. I will hopefully be able to spend Rosh Hashanah with them in a couple weeks.

Ulpan (Hebrew classes) seem to be going well, although we're still in the process of fitting everyone into appropriate classes. Due to some scheduling problems, only one of my volunteer options was able to happen this week, though hopefully next week I'll be able to do all three of the ones I am signed up for.

On Tuesday we had an educational day in Jerusalem. We learned about people moving to Israel from around the world, and it was very interesting. Did you know that people have moved here from 82 different countries, speaking 103 different languages? We also had speakers about the specific issues Russian and Ethiopian new immigrants face. We were given free time at lunch to go around Emek Refay'yim (a street in the German District) and chill and eat and stuff. Some of the kids were nervous, but the staff assured them that there's never been a terrorist attack there, and only one attempt, so we went. That afternoon we heard about a suicide bombing near Tel Aviv that killed eight. After returning to Ashkelon, we learned that that night, around eleven thirty, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Cafe Hillel on Emek Refay'yim, killing seven. The same Cafe Hillel that some of us had eaten at for lunch a few hours earlier. We are all sad and scared and nervous, but luckily we also all know that we chose to be in Israel right now, and we don't want to change that decision. We will continue to live our lives, being constantly aware of the security around us, and taking all possible safety precautions.

Today, after classes, we joined many other teenagers and young adults for a huge gathering at a park in the Negev desert. There was swimming and live music in the afternoon, a good dinner, and a concert of Ayal Golan and dance party in the evening. The hundreds of young people we saw were definitely the highlight of the day. Students came from all over Southern Israel to participate in this program of the Jewish Agency for Israel (one of the organizations Otzma is affiliated with). We were all involved in the Jewish Agency somehow, either as volunteers, residents and participants in the Partnership Communities, or new immigrants. To see such a diverse group of young Israelis gather together in the middle of nowhere for a night of fun was truly amazing.

I was supposed to go to Jerusalem this weekend to visit some of my friends who are living and studying there. Unfortunately, all of our plans were changed earlier today after an announcement that, due to the security situation, none of us would be permitted to leave Ashkelon until at least Sunday. While I understand the purpose of these warnings, it is greatly frustrating for the many of us who had plans of traveling to visit friends and families in other cities. I don't know what I will do for this week's Shabbat now. It will most likely be less exciting, though more relaxing, than the one I had been planning on spending in Jerusalem. Hopefully, the warning will end up being an unnecessary precaution and there will be no more terrorist attacks in the near future.

Oh! Have I mentioned the sunsets yet? They are truly one of my favorite things about where we are living now. As often as I can (usually three or four nights a week) I walk to the beach (about ten minutes away) and watch the sun set. My goal has been to watch as many sunsets as I possibly can while I'm here, since they set right over the sea. Every night is different and beautiful. Sometimes there are clouds that get painted the most beautiful colors, and sometimes the sky stretches out in endless fading blue. We can also walk out to a jetty past the coastline, and, sitting on the slippery rocks, watch the sun over the water with nothing but a light house and and occasional passing ship in sight. Truly breathtaking.

I wish everyone a good weekend and a Shabbat Shalom.
Sarah....
- posted by sarah @ 9/11/2003 10:49:00 PM

 
Life Begins in Ashkelon
This past weekend was quite wonderful. Like about half my group, I chose to stay in Ashkelon for the weekend. On Friday, we decided to have Shabbat dinner in our apartment for all the Otzma-niks in town. One of my roommates, Esther, coordinated the entire affair, while Debbie (another roommate) and I helped out for most of the afternoon. When all was said and done, Esther spent about seven hours preparing, and Debbie and I five each. So that everyone who wanted to could eat, the food was prepared in only two kitchens, both kosher. Unfortunately, as of Friday at noon, our was still the only kosher kitchen, so I spent an hour kashering (boiling water and pouring it and such) one of our neighbor's kitchen for them. This was a bit more difficult than expected since the power was out. In fact, the cooking itself was harder since none of us had an oven. In the end, all our week's groceries were used, and a huge dinner was made.

Before dinner, a group of eight of us decided to go to Friday night services at the local Conservative congregation in Ashkelon. The rabbi there was originally from Canada, and about half the congregation was from South America, so the sermon was spoken relatively slowly and we were somewhat able to follow along. After the prayers, announcements were given in Hebrew, Spanish, and partially in English. It was now about eight o'clock and everyone started clamoring up to our apartment for dinner. In the end, twenty-two people crammed into our tiny apartment for food, food, and more food. It was delicious! People stayed around just talking and hanging out until about twelve-thirty. Afterward, we packaged up the leftovers (they make an appearance at a communal third meal the next day) and went to bed.

Saturday was a beach day. Slowly, slowly everyone headed out to one of the beaches in Ashkelon. At it's height, probably twenty of us had towels spread out next to each other. We built sandcastles, swam out to the jetty, read our books, read each other's books, played cards, talked, slept, tanned, and burnt. When we finally came back to the absorption center, a dozen or so of us gathered back in our apartment to eat leftovers and eventually make havdallah (a ceremony ending the sabbath). Then, everyone went their separate ways for the evening.

I went with a few others to find some Israeli folk dancing we had heard about earlier. Unfortunately, after finding it and attempting to join in, we were asked (in a very blunt Israeli manner) to please dance away from the group, if we had to, because we were getting underfoot. They said we should try out the beginner's dancing on Wednesday evenings, but no one seemed able to tell us where that would be located. So we found a pool hall and hung out there for the rest of the night. Eventually, we went back to our apartments. Whew! What an exhausting/exciting weekend!

This week has been a lot less exciting, but we've begun to get into the swing of things here. Once I get a hold of how everything's working, maybe I'll have better stories. On Sunday we trained at an army base for one of our volunteer options. that evening, we had an educational program about Ethiopian Jewry (including yummy food!).

Monday was the first day of ulpan (intensive Hebrew language classes). [Groan for taking a 7:15am bus every morning.] They decided we weren't enough students for three classes, so they put us in only two. Somehow, I was placed in the lowest class. In my class, we slowly learned everything, starting with aleph-bet. It was excruciatingly slow, especially for someone who may not be too confident speaking, but certainly knows handfuls of advanced grammar. We (four other students and I who felt like we should be in an upper level) bugged the director, but she refused to let us switch classes or work on our own. After classes, one of my roommates and I went grocery shopping to restock our entire kitchen after the weekend. Since it was September first, we could use our monthly buses that began that day (yay for no more taxis!). Otzma is giving us monthly bus passes for the commute to ulpan, so we get to ride the bus for free within Ashkelon. [Note for worried friends and family: Absolutely nothing terror related has happened on Ashkelon buses ever. In fact, except for the two missiles, nothing terror related has happened here whatsoever.]

Tuesday was an educational day. It was about the political system of Israel, but we were all pretty bored. Most of us knew everything they talked about anyway, and none of us we ready to sit still and listen to lecturers all day. We thought graduation meant we were done with that!

Today was my first full day. After waking up at 6:30am, we ran to catch the 4-aleph bus to ulpan. Once there, the four other students and I who didn't feel like we deserved to be in the lower level, decided to switch classes on our own, without the director's permission. So we brought extra seats into the classroom (there was definitely a fire hazard there) and joined the upper level class. Although it was slightly above my head (eight or so students truly feel like we belong in a middle class, but they haven't formed one yet), it was challenging and not mind-numbing. I feel like I'm actually learning something and I worked hard on my homework tonight, yet was able to finish it in the end. Classes ended around 1pm, and we took the bus back to our absorption center.

After a quick lunch, I got on another bus at 2:30 with some of the other volunteers. We were about to start The President's Project in Kiryat Malachi. What this entails is quite simple: we paint and repair people's apartments. From 3pm to 7pm, three groups of five volunteers each go into someone's apartment and paint the entire thing. We moved furniture, "shpakteled" (spackled), and painted from floor to ceiling. The residents of the apartment we worked in were there the entire time, but spoke no English or Hebrew (only Amharic) so we couldn't really communicate with them. At 5:30 we were nearly done, an hour and a half ahead of schedule, when one of the residents decided to move his cabinets on his own. Big mistake! The entire thing broke! We spent the next hour attempting to fix the cabinets which was much easier said than done. Two people needed to hold the entire thing up at all times, to keep it from breaking further. One person was attempting to find makeshift ways of putting it back together. The rest of us tried to straighten rusted, bent old nails so we could use them again. Finally, we were somehow able to put it all back together, finish painting, and move all the furniture back by 7:00.

I hope to start doing my other volunteer options (tutoring English and working in a National Park) next week. This weekend I'm going to my new 'adoptive family,' so I'll be sure to let y'all know how that goes.

Thanks for keeping me updated on life b'Ahmereekah,
Sarah....
- posted by sarah @ 9/03/2003 10:17:00 PM