It was EI-LOT of fun
Yes, I know it has been quite a while.
On the night of Monday, September 19, my cousin, Guy, got married. The wedding was in Caesaria, a port city about two hours north of Jerusalem. I arrived when it was almost completely dark outside to find about three-hundred people ready for the happy occasion. The wedding was on a sort of huge balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea with palm trees, tables, and a beautiful chupah that was covered in white cloth and softly lit. The atmosphere was really great - everyone was very relaxed (people were dressed in outfits that ranged from jeans to gowns) and the air was filled with a really loving sense of joy. When the ceremony started, the groom walked in with his parents followed by the bride who was escorted by hers. There was Israeli music playing and people clapped and danced as the couple walked down the aisle together. The ceremony itself was pretty short - the rabbi said the necessary prayers and it ended with the traditional breaking of the glass. Everyone watched as Guy, sticking to tradition, promised in Hebrew that he would never forget Jerusalem (or he would lose his right arm) and stomped on the glass with his foot. The moment his foot touched the ground, all of the family and friends around rushed to the chupah to congratulate the newlyweds and their families. The rest of the night consisted of a ton of food, dancing, and celebration. This was both the first Jewish and the first Israeli wedding I have ever attended and it was a very special occasion. It gave me a taste of my culture that I have never before had the joy of experiencing.
That Wednesday, I went with my Hebrew class to the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. The special part of this zoo is that all of the animals had some sort of significance in the Bible. Although we didn’t get to run freely around the zoo, we saw a lot of the exhibits with our class and heard explanations in Hebrew of many of the animals and how they appeared in the Bible. It was a fun day, especially because it gave us time off from our daily five-hour Hebrew class.
That Friday, I went with two of my roommates (Jen and Dana) to Shabbat services at a synagogue called Kol Hanishama. Kol Hanishama is a reform congregation that holds services that are very laid-back and spiritual at the same time. The service was really nice and afterward, Jen and I came back to our dorm where two of the boys who live upstairs from us cooked us a delicious Shabbat dinner. The boys totally impressed us with their cooking skills and we had a really great time welcoming Shabbat.
The next Sunday (September 25), I went to an OSA-sponsored trip to a football (American soccer) game. We watched Beitar Jerusalem, our home team, play against Macabee Haifa, supposedly the best team in the league. The entire trip was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Even on the way there, the road was filled with cars covered in Beitar Jerusalem gear and we couldn’t escape the car-horns continuously honking to spread Beitar spirit. When we arrived at the stadium, the security to get inside was the most intense that I have seen since I have been in Israel. After we waited in long lines and passed through the full body pat-down to make sure that we weren’t dangerous, we entered the stadium to find the entire place filled with the most enthusiastic fans I have ever seen (and I have been to sports games in Philadelphia). People were cheering, holding signs, and when the team came out, people even set off flares to create the appearance of a giant bonfire in the stands. The enthusiasm continued throughout the game, which unfortunately, Jerusalem lost. Despite the loss, however, the game was a great experience and showed me yet another side of Israeli culture that I had never seen.
The next night was the 20th birthday of Josh Goodman, another student here at Hebrew U. We threw him a big party to celebrate, which was a lot of fun, but for me, the most exciting part of the night was after the party when we went to a bar to find that Muki, an Israeli hip-hop artist, was performing there. Because I have been listening to Muki’s music since the last time I was in Israel (about a year and a half ago), I thought it was very cool that we just happened to stumble upon his concert. I had a great time and was really grateful that we just happened to go to that particular bar.
Now, I am sitting in my room after returning from a four-day trip to Eilat, a very touristy, beachy, relaxing city at the southern tip of Israel. I don’t have too many details from the trip because we spent the whole time (from Thursday until today) pretty much relaxing either on the beach or by the hotel pool, but it was definitely time (and money) well spent. On the way there (Eilat is about a four hour bus ride from Jerusalem), we stopped at the Dead Sea, where we put our feet into the both salty and beautiful water. When we finally arrived in Eilat, we were ecstatic to find that our hotel was pretty, had a great pool, was right by the beach, and came with free, all-you-can-eat breakfast and dinner. After finishing ulpan (Hebrew classes) on Wednesday, I don’t think that there is much more for which we could have asked. Not only was the city beautiful, but just about anywhere we went, we had a great view of the Red Sea and across it, Jordan. The trip was exactly what we needed: some time off with no obligations and lots of much-needed relaxation.
On the night of Monday, September 19, my cousin, Guy, got married. The wedding was in Caesaria, a port city about two hours north of Jerusalem. I arrived when it was almost completely dark outside to find about three-hundred people ready for the happy occasion. The wedding was on a sort of huge balcony overlooking the Mediterranean Sea with palm trees, tables, and a beautiful chupah that was covered in white cloth and softly lit. The atmosphere was really great - everyone was very relaxed (people were dressed in outfits that ranged from jeans to gowns) and the air was filled with a really loving sense of joy. When the ceremony started, the groom walked in with his parents followed by the bride who was escorted by hers. There was Israeli music playing and people clapped and danced as the couple walked down the aisle together. The ceremony itself was pretty short - the rabbi said the necessary prayers and it ended with the traditional breaking of the glass. Everyone watched as Guy, sticking to tradition, promised in Hebrew that he would never forget Jerusalem (or he would lose his right arm) and stomped on the glass with his foot. The moment his foot touched the ground, all of the family and friends around rushed to the chupah to congratulate the newlyweds and their families. The rest of the night consisted of a ton of food, dancing, and celebration. This was both the first Jewish and the first Israeli wedding I have ever attended and it was a very special occasion. It gave me a taste of my culture that I have never before had the joy of experiencing.
That Wednesday, I went with my Hebrew class to the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. The special part of this zoo is that all of the animals had some sort of significance in the Bible. Although we didn’t get to run freely around the zoo, we saw a lot of the exhibits with our class and heard explanations in Hebrew of many of the animals and how they appeared in the Bible. It was a fun day, especially because it gave us time off from our daily five-hour Hebrew class.
That Friday, I went with two of my roommates (Jen and Dana) to Shabbat services at a synagogue called Kol Hanishama. Kol Hanishama is a reform congregation that holds services that are very laid-back and spiritual at the same time. The service was really nice and afterward, Jen and I came back to our dorm where two of the boys who live upstairs from us cooked us a delicious Shabbat dinner. The boys totally impressed us with their cooking skills and we had a really great time welcoming Shabbat.
The next Sunday (September 25), I went to an OSA-sponsored trip to a football (American soccer) game. We watched Beitar Jerusalem, our home team, play against Macabee Haifa, supposedly the best team in the league. The entire trip was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Even on the way there, the road was filled with cars covered in Beitar Jerusalem gear and we couldn’t escape the car-horns continuously honking to spread Beitar spirit. When we arrived at the stadium, the security to get inside was the most intense that I have seen since I have been in Israel. After we waited in long lines and passed through the full body pat-down to make sure that we weren’t dangerous, we entered the stadium to find the entire place filled with the most enthusiastic fans I have ever seen (and I have been to sports games in Philadelphia). People were cheering, holding signs, and when the team came out, people even set off flares to create the appearance of a giant bonfire in the stands. The enthusiasm continued throughout the game, which unfortunately, Jerusalem lost. Despite the loss, however, the game was a great experience and showed me yet another side of Israeli culture that I had never seen.
The next night was the 20th birthday of Josh Goodman, another student here at Hebrew U. We threw him a big party to celebrate, which was a lot of fun, but for me, the most exciting part of the night was after the party when we went to a bar to find that Muki, an Israeli hip-hop artist, was performing there. Because I have been listening to Muki’s music since the last time I was in Israel (about a year and a half ago), I thought it was very cool that we just happened to stumble upon his concert. I had a great time and was really grateful that we just happened to go to that particular bar.
Now, I am sitting in my room after returning from a four-day trip to Eilat, a very touristy, beachy, relaxing city at the southern tip of Israel. I don’t have too many details from the trip because we spent the whole time (from Thursday until today) pretty much relaxing either on the beach or by the hotel pool, but it was definitely time (and money) well spent. On the way there (Eilat is about a four hour bus ride from Jerusalem), we stopped at the Dead Sea, where we put our feet into the both salty and beautiful water. When we finally arrived in Eilat, we were ecstatic to find that our hotel was pretty, had a great pool, was right by the beach, and came with free, all-you-can-eat breakfast and dinner. After finishing ulpan (Hebrew classes) on Wednesday, I don’t think that there is much more for which we could have asked. Not only was the city beautiful, but just about anywhere we went, we had a great view of the Red Sea and across it, Jordan. The trip was exactly what we needed: some time off with no obligations and lots of much-needed relaxation.