A Labyrinth

This Wednesday I went with my friend Jesyca to Netanya to clear my head. Netanya is one of my favorite cities. We didn’t check the bus schedule and we didn’t realize that the bus to Netanya takes two hours because it is not an express and goes through five other cities first. We were both chill about it because we just wanted to get out and be together. I decided spending four hours on a bus with Jesyca must have been exactly what I needed because that is what G-d gave me. About halfway there a Chayelet (female soldier) came on the bus with two tiny yellow chicks in a plastic container. Both Jes and I got to hold them, they were so soft and cute but the best part was watching an outwardly religious (payot and black kippah) little boy (maybe six years old) sit next to the chayelet and play with the chicks for half an hour. It was so Israel. Jesyca and I got to Netanya in time to watch sunset on the beach. We gave each other massages (after a two hour bus ride we needed them) and talked about how we both find teffilin incredibly attractive (Jesyca is a secular/traditional Jew). I love Netanya because it is a great mixture of religious, secular, native Israeli and immigrants. Something about the town just makes me feel calm inside, as does Jesyca and the beach at sunset. My mom called on the way home and I got to catch up. I miss her

On Thursday I made my mother’s classic pea soup with hot dogs (I can afford hot dogs Eema!) for my chavruta, Kfi. I have been friends with Kfi since third grade and I have loved and admired her for her bravery, kindness and friendliness since the day I met her. She is a beautiful person who I conned into a chavruta so she would have to talk to me at least once a week. We ate soup and learned the second perek of Joshua which is about Rachav, the prostitute who saved the two spies Joshua sent to check out the land. She was a brave and wise woman who used her sexual prowess for good. Sex is so much more complicated for women than men. Learning about Rachav made me think about all the women who I know and the woman in the world who have been taken advantage of in a sexual way. It never leaves you. Whether a woman is raped or coerced or taken advantage of in any other way, it changes her forever. Some women are incredibly strong and translate their experiences into something positive, others bury deep but many self-destruct and spiral forever into self-destructive tendencies. The one thing I do know is that most men have no idea how many women have had a destructive sexual experience… because it is nearly all of them.

On Friday I went for a walk in the forest with a friend before Shabbat. It was nice to be out in nature. We found a shtender out in the middle of the forest locked to a tree with a bicycle lock. I wonder who learns there.

A couple from my community back home is visiting their children in Arnona and they invited me for Friday night dinner. She is an artist who does Judaic paper cuts. She just had an exhibit in Tel Aviv. I got to leaf through the how-to book that she made for her grandchildren. I might try my hand at it, I have all the materials, I just need an idea.

On Saturday I walked from my apartment to my friends in Nachlaot. It is about an hour and a half walk. It was a beautiful morning. I walked straight to shul and the shul was empty. I had no watch and had no idea what time I left my apartment so I thought I might have missed it. I went to my friend’s house to find that it was only nine in the morning and prayers hadn’t started yet. So for the first time since I got to Israel I was on time for Saturday prayers, and I had walked an hour and half to get there!

This week’s Parsha was Trumah. In this parsha we get the instructions for building the Tabernacle. (The temporary temple that came with the Jewish people throughout their sojourn in the desert.) The commentators bring many reasons why we need this structure, because G-d doesn’t really need a house. My favorite reason is brought by Nechama Liebowitz who says that it was to build a sense of unity, community and common purpose. We as a people needed something positive to rally around. This physical world is holy and we need actions in order to bring out the holiness that is latent in everything and all of us. The temple gave specific instruction on how to access the spirituality of G-d and stipulated that we had to do it together.

This sense of community is one of the reasons I love visiting my friends in Nachlaot. When I am there I feel like family. Everyone participates in their own way. Whether it is bringing food, helping to set up and clean up or singing songs. No one sits back and does nothing but everyone does the part that they are comfortable doing. And even more so, they are expected to. It is just part of the culture and it is beautiful.

On Shabbat I learned that my Madrichah (councilor) from my gap year got engaged! I was so excited and I still am. After Shabbat while waiting for the bus so I could get home and call her I wrote a song for her because I was so happy. I feel like skipping all the time. She is one of the holiest, kindest, wisest, sweetest people I know. While I have only spent a few minutes with her Besheret I trust that he is wonderful because she is a smart woman who knows what she wants and what she needs. I wish her all the happiness and success that she deserves (which I know is a heck of a lot). Batel I have not seen you yet since your engagement but I know you are one of the most beautiful Calahs I will ever see. I can’t wait to see the rays of godliness coming off your beautiful face as you are soon to become Shalem (pun intended). 🙂

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Adar is one of the happiest months in the year and Rosh Chodesh was definitely happy for me.

I spent the weekend at my friend Jenna’s. She was my counciler in sleep away camp and I have not seen her since I was a teenager. It was great to see her and even better to meet her 5 month old daughter Hila (hebrew for halo, cute name). I got to play with Hila and many other children over the weekend. I even got to hold a one month old for 20 minutes. So basically I am cured of my no-baby-to-play-with blues, but if anyone has a baby that needs holding my arms are always open.

On Sunday, the first day of Rosh Chodesh I helped a friend write a proposal for a fellowship at an organization called PresenTense. They are a non-profit incubator. This means they help grow other start-up non-profits. My friend Kfi interned for them this past summer and my friend Batel has her office space in their facilities, so when my other friend asked me to help him draft his proposal I had some understanding of what to do. It was a lot of fun but also hard work so afterwards he took me to a Adar jam session and out for a drink. We met up with my friend Ariella and her husband. I haven’t seen Ariella in many years and it was the first time I got to see her as a married woman and meet her husband. I think she has good taste and they seem to be a great match. It was wonderful to catch up with her, I somehow forgot just how awesome she is.

The next morning I skipped class (first time and I don’t plan to make a habit out of it) went to a special, spiritual Rosh Chodesh davening at the Kotel. I was a little late but there in time for Barachu and I had a very good experience. Afterwards the chevrah got together for breakfast on a rooftop in the old city and some Torah to digest along with our eggs (something about how the Jews in persia got too absorbed in Persian culture and we should all make Aliyah, oh wait, I did that already). In the afternoon I went to Tel Aviv for an interview for an internship with Omanoot. Omanoot is a non-profit art organization that is building a website to host and represent Israeli culture to both Israelies and people abroad. They plan to have movies like Hulu, music like itunes and Pandora, videos of dance and sell the work of visual artists. The visual artists will all have images of their work posted and artist profiles as well. Omanoot would want me to write artist profiles and write for their blog (they are using wordpress, yea!). So now I have to decide if I want to work for free again. It will be good work and I will make valuable connections, but I need to decide if I can afford to work for free. Since I was in Tel Aviv I took a walk on the beach, it was beautiful. Adar is beautiful.

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