Samachti

Today we had the ordination ceremony for the students in HUC's Israeli rabbinical school. Some of my class (HUC America?) put together a choir to sing Samachti (a song based on Psalm 122) and here's the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5cDUcKwBsg

I promise a proper update soon. But that's all for tonight. Shabbat Shalom!

The Joys of Autumn

I really love autumn.

The smells, the scarves, the squashes.

The colors, the breeze, everything.

I just really love it.

The problem with living in Israel is that fall didn't happen when I wanted it to. October was basically just as hot as the few months before it, and since the trees are different here, there was very little change in the leaves. It was still too warm for jeans, let alone scarves, and there were no pumpkins to be found.

Finally, November arrived. Saying finally seems ridiculous because I feel like I just moved here 2 minutes ago so how is it already November, but I digress.

November brought with it a shocking change. Suddenly, it was only in the 60s, and Israelis donned their thick down coats (I am absolutely not kidding nor exaggerating) to protect them from the wintry winds. Remember: I said it went down to the 60s.

Then, one day, I went to the shuk and saw pumpkins. Not just any pumpkins, folks. These pumpkins were giant, white, and chopped up into family sized portions for people to buy and make tasty fall treats with.

Giant white pumpkins at the shuk

Suddenly I was flooded with ideas. Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup...pumpkin soup? Yes. I was reminded by my epic discovery of butternut squash soup from the last couple of years (hi are you kidding it is so perfect) and I knew I had to use squash somehow.

So, Friday morning when I trekked to the shuk with my usual partners in crime, I was on a mission. I needed to procure butternut squash, and quickly.

Was I successful?

Clearly.

So I got back from the shuk, unloaded the bajillions of fruits and veggies I purchased for the week (is it bad that I'm already thinking about how hard shopping will be without the shuk next year?) and started on the squash. I decided to bring a roasted fall vegetable medley to shabbat dinner, so I paired my squash with carrots, onion, garlic, and red potatoes. Yes, it's okay to drool.

First thing first, I had to peel the squash. Luckily, a normal veggie peeler does the trick. Then I cut each squash into quarters, removed the gloopy stringy nonsense from within, reserved the seeds (more on those in a minute) and then diced the squash.

Inside of the butternut squash.

At this point I was trying to figure out how to get out of going to shabbat dinner so I could keep the squash to myself. I, however, am not a squash hoarder, so I let that train of thought go and kept on chopping veggies. I tossed them in some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then let my teeny tiny oven work its magic.

Veggies prepped for the oven.

And friends, that's exactly what happened.

Both batches combined after roasting! YUM.

Once both batches of veg were out of the oven, I rinsed and dried the squash seeds, poured some melted butter on them, sprinkled some salt, and then popped those into the oven to become a crispy little snack. Mission accomplished. They're awesome.

Squash seeds!

So I took the vegetables, which tasted exactly like Thanksgiving should, to dinner. Miraculously, there were leftovers, which meant one thing and one thing only: SOUP.

This morning, after feasting on some Na'aman Challah French Toast made by my roommate Becka (omg best french toast ever) I went to work on the soup. Which was really no work at all.

I warmed up the leftovers in a pot, while getting some broth ready in a saucepan. The broth I used was a parve (neither meat nor dairy in kosher law) chicken flavored soup. I'm pretty wary of meat flavored parve things. Some sort of Willy Wonka nonsense has to be involved to get something that has no chicken in it to taste like chicken, but there are certain circumstances that require sensitivity to people's kosher observance, so it's good to have an option. Turns out, this broth wasn't too bad. It's no homemade chicken stock, but it did just fine.

Stop.

I really love soup, guys. It's so warm and hearty and just is the best.

So anyway, veggies are reheated, broth is boiling, what to do next? Well, you just combine some broth with the veg and use your best friend, the immersion blender.

Immersion blender: every soup lover's best friend.

What you're left with is quite possibly the most perfect and delicious fall treat ever. A bright orange concoction filled with everything wonderful the season has to offer.

Get out of town. This soup rules.

So, even though today there's a high of 77 and it's the middle of November, I'm starting to feel like it's fall.

Life After the Holidays.

Rare clear view of Jordan from my window

When I arrived in Israel this summer, people were already saying "acharei hachagim" (אחרי החגים=after the holidays, meaning Rosh Hashannah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot). This excuse was used for anything from courses, programming, sales on food, etc. and it was EVERYWHERE. Well, now, finally we find ourselves in the part of the Jewish calendar that is affectionately deemed acharei hachagim. And now life can begin again.


That being said, it's been entirely too long since my last post; we should all see this as good news, because it means that I have been running around like a crazy person experiencing Israel and filling my brain with knowledge.

Way up north

When I last posted, it was still fully summer, and now it is fully autumn. And it's about time. No longer are the days long and sweaty. In fact, sunset happens around 5 pm now, and although the temperature rarely gets below 60, we all spend most of our days freezing. When there is no carpet and everything is made of stone, it's easy to get chilled. This change in the weather is really great though. Fall is my favorite season, and I'm glad it's here. Bring on the scarves, cardigans, and delicious fall treats (butternut squash, I'm looking at you.)

So what in this great world have I been doing since my last post?

Basically everything.

A few of us decided to kick off our fall break with a trip to the zoo. The zoo in Jerusalem is not any ordinary zoo. Nope. Instead, it is the Biblical Zoo, and it totally rules. Almost every animal has a biblical verse associated with it; sometimes the specific animal itself is mentioned in the verse, other times just the type of creature. In the water section with all the fish and stuff there are verses from Genesis about creation. It seriously was a great experience and we got to go on the giant Noah's Ark.

Crazy bird at the zoo. Giant. Terrifying.

After goofing around in Jerusalem for a day or two, I enjoyed an incredible week in the north with my cousins during Sukkot. I had only planned on going for the first weekend of the break, but I had so much fun (and so much food) I couldn't say no when they asked me to stay! It was a great opportunity to keep getting to know them, and I basically only spoke Hebrew for that week.

Bahai Gardens at night

While I was there, we went to a Moroccan pre-wedding celebration called a Hina (from the word henna). It's amazing how quickly you become one of the family with Israelis. Suddenly, a swarm of people I had never even seen before were delighted to share their table, stories, and traditions with me.

Some decorations from the Hina

One day we visited my cousin's wife Yael's family. They live in a moshav by the Kinneret, and it was the greatest day. The night we arrived at her mom's home, there were some 40 family members around (complete with a tiny new baby and a dog!---two of my favorite things) and every single person was so warm and welcoming that I instantly felt at home. The next afternoon I got to experience something called Al Ha-Eish (על האש––literally "on the fire" but basically a giant bbq) which was a great success.

Al ha-eish!

Cannot describe how delicious the druze pitas are.

Other highlights from the vacation: a day spent in Tel Aviv, beautiful sunsets in Haifa, some fun sightseeing, experiencing the Druze village and the shuk on Shabbat, and just generally loving being in a home and enjoying a break from the tension of Jerusalem.

Hi readers!

I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to spend time with family while I'm here. It's so refreshing to be up north, near the mountains and the sea, and just to feel at home.

Unexpected view of the Kinneret

Since break, things have picked up quickly. We're really in the crazy part of the semester; it turns out that having 9 classes means lots of tests, quizzes, and papers right about now. Between trying to figure out what in the world happened during the Second Temple Period, deciphering biblical stories into Modern Hebrew and English, and wondering why the rabbis of the rabbinical period decided it would be a good thing to say 100 blessings a day, I've been keeping pretty busy with schoolwork. In fact, my to-do list doesn't even fit on one page anymore. Crazy!!

Balloons at the wall....because nothing says mincha quite like balloons.

We've been doing a lot of cool stuff at school lately. A couple of weeks ago we had a session with famous Israeli author Etgar Keret. We basically had an open forum with him, where he told us about his writing process, read to us from some of his most recent pieces, and let us do a question and answer section. It was a very interesting evening!

Last week, my classmates and I participated in something called the Duma. Never heard of it? That's okay, I hadn't either. Basically what we did was we did a mock election for the Duma for 1906. We were each assigned to some of the Russian political parties/brands of Zionism from the early 1900s; then we had to read articles and prepare songs and speeches to get people to vote for us. It was a fun and informative night, and a lot of people really got into character.

In other hands-on learning opportunities, we've been exploring a lot of issues in our Israel Seminar. We've heard speakers from so many different perspectives, and it's been a great opportunity to see how Israelis interact with other Israelis, outside communities, and politics in general. Last week we used the shuk as our central text for examining mass immigration to Israel, which was delicious, informative, and just generally a great idea for an educational program.

In the realm of extracurricular activities, life is also crazy busy. Becka and I hosted another scrumptious shabbat dinner last week (fancy schnitzel, minestrone, and a million other tasty things) after I joined some of my friends at an egalitarian orthodox congregation for my favorite shabbat service yet. I also joined an amateur choir to get back into singing for fun (something I missed terribly--why can't we have a gospel choir here?).

Map of what you can see from where you're standing. So much!

Also, I'm volunteering once a week at an Ethiopian absorption center just outside of Jerusalem, which is AWESOME. All of us that go are partnered up and we have families that we basically just hang out with. It's a great chance to practice Hebrew, paint with watercolors, and get off campus for a few minutes every week.

Sunset in Tel Aviv

The moral of the story is that time is flying, life is good, and I'm learning everything I possibly can. I am thoroughly enjoying my time here, and I'm trying to experience everything I can and pick up as much Hebrew as possible. How can it be that it's already November?

Olive tree by my apartment

Thanks for reading!

Exquisite sunset in Haifa. Unreal.