First Shabbat of the Year In Israel (yii)

Good Afternoon!

I'm writing to you this beautiful sunny Sunday (which in Israel is the first day of the week--this will take some getting used to) after having an incredible shabbat experience in Jerusalem.

I had an absolutely lovely time hosting some of my new classmates for shabbat dinner this week! Vlad, Aaron, Rachel, Jamie, and Lenette came over (and Brian made a cameo appearance) and we had a great time getting to know each other over dinner. Hilariously, nobody wanted to lead kiddush or motzi--I'm not sure if this was due to shyness or what but at one point we even nose-goes'ed to see who would say kiddush. After the blessings over the wine, challah, and candles, we dove into dinner. I'm still getting used to my kitchen, and this was by no means the best meal I've ever offered friends, but we're getting there. We moved the table out of the kitchen and into our living area, and I just generally had a really fun time. Hopefully everyone else did too!

Saturday morning I woke up (at 10:45 am...HUGE victory) and Rachel, Lenette, and I decided to venture into the Old City to visit the Kotel (sometimes also called the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall, or, just simply "the wall") on our first shabbat together here. We met at Mamilla mall, which, for the record, is very fancy shmancy, and walked through the Jaffa gate.

Since it was shabbat, I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures of the Wall, but it was an incredible experience. I have a different reaction every time I visit the Wall. This time, I stood facing it and thought of all of the people who had stood in that very spot, touching those very same ancient stones. It's really an incredible thing to consider throughout Jerusalem, and, in particular, the Old City, because everything is so astoundingly old. There was something simultaneously joyful and heart-wrenching about this trip to the Wall.

After we spent a brief time over by the Kotel, we retraced our steps through countless vendors selling anything from Jerusalem bagels to jewelry to t-shirts towards the Jaffa gate. Since yesterday was the hottest one we've had since I got here, the girls and I decided we could go for some freshly squeezed orange juice. We definitely got ripped off BUT it was amazing anyway.

Kites flying by the Damascus Gate

After leaving the Old City, we walked over to Rachel's amazing apartment. She's living in a really diverse area, and it was an interesting cross-section of the cultures in Jerusalem. Every day that I'm here, I hear so many different languages, and my inner linguist is absolutely loving it. From English to Hebrew to Arabic to Amharic to Spanish etc. there are just so many languages represented here.

Pretty gate would look right at home in Tzfat

After seeing Rachel's place, we walked back towards my apartment, just as the sun was starting to set. We walked back over to Yemin Moshe and took in the view, realizing that we could see the walls of the Old City, as well as the wall that separates East Jerusalem. It's a striking view, and once the reality of what you're seeing sets in, it's clear that there is a lot of reality here in J'lem, if that makes any sense.

Love people watching, love the sun.

After taking in the views (and watching 3 different wedding parties get photographed in the awesome park across the street from me) it was time to meet Aaron and Sam for dinner. We wandered around for awhile, grabbed something to eat, and then headed back to Sam's place for a bit. All in all, it was a great night, and I'm thrilled to have so much in common with the people I'm surrounded by.

Panoramic view--for a larger version click here

Thanks for reading!