I would walk 500 miles

Monday was all about walking. In the early afternoon jessica and I went to Ben Yehuda street for lunch and spent a couple hours walking all throughout the City Center area. There is always something happening in the City Center, especially on Ben Yehuda. Street performers, musicans, singers, portrait artists, acrobats and the like are always trying to attract a crowd. Many of them are quite talented (some are not at all). At least one ultra religious person will usually be there trying to get all of the men to lay tefillen. Beggars go around asking for money from anyone who stops long enough.

It is a great place to get lunch, find a place to sit, then people watch while taking in the ambiance of everything that is going on around you.

After my late afternoon class we walked to the City of David just outside the Old City at the Dung Gate. This is the location where, 3,000 years ago, King David built the city of Jerusalem establishing it as the unified capital for the tribes of Israel. The City of David is mostly underground through the ruins of Jerusalem in the time before David's son King Solomon built the first Temple.

A view of the city from the lookout point at the City of David

our decent begins

It took FOREVER to walk out at the end of the City of David tour, always going up, up, up. Check Jessica's shutterfly account for the entire odyssey.

After the City of David, we spent the rest of the evening walking around the Old City, then finally walking home. Aside form the tour groups, it always amazes me how quiet the streets of the Jewish Quarter are in the evening. it's so relaxing to walk around and take in the city while almost nothing is going on around you.

Sheep go to heaven ...

Every week the Yeshiva organizes Shabbat hospitality, placing any student who needs a place for Shabbat dinner on Friday or lunch on Saturday with students or faculty of the program who are able to host others. Jessica and I did not have plans this week for Shabbat dinner, so we asked to be a part of the hospitality program.

We received an email that we were placed with Rabbi Jerome Epstein, USCJ Chief Israel Affairs Officer. Rabbi Epstein was the the chief executive officer of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism since 1986, as well as the executive vice president since 1989. He recently stepped down from those positions, but is still working for USCJ as the Chief Israel Affairs Officer. That's who hosted us for dinner.

We were joined by another yeshiva student (who happens to also be in my ulpan), that worked for Rabbi Epstein 30 years ago (Rabbi Epstein also officiated at his wedding, so you could say they had a bit of a history). Rabbi Epstein and his wife Jane we incredibly gracious hosts. Dinner was lovely, and the five of us had an extremely relaxed evening together. It was a very pleasant way to spend our Shabbat evening.

On Saturday afternoon Jessica and I made a picnic Shabbat lunch. We walked down to enjoy it on the Jerusalem Haas Promenade. The Promenade offers a fantastic view of the Jerusalem landscape, the Old City and its walls atop the hills, and the new city below. It is a common area for tour groups to visit upon entering Jerusalem for it's amazing view. While were were there it was much dirtier (litter ridden) than I remember it being on my previous trips to Israel, but the view was just as amazing.

After finishing or lunch we walked along the promenade, which was mostly uneventful, save for our trip being interrupted by a herd of goats which crossed our pass as they climbed up the hill. I have yet to have a herd of goats cause me any delays when traveling in Ann Arbor.

O'er the ramparts

Wednesday afternoon Jessica and I went into the Old City. We had decided to go on the Ramparts Walk, a walkway along the ramparts on the top of the Old City walls. On the walk you can look down into the Old City from above, or peer out into the new city on your other side. It was one of the more unique ways I have been around the city during my stay.

look how happy and smiley I am to have my picture taken

the lovely lady I brought with me

off we go!

company was a bit scarce on the ramparts

Jerusalem's sky smogline

Sundown Wednesday through sundown Thursday was Tisha B'Av, the commemoration of the destruction of both the first and second temples in Jerusalem. After spending the day in the Old City, in the evening we returned to the Kotel Masorti for Tisha B'Av services.

Several groups all met at the Kotel Masorti for Ma’ariv services and the reading of Aicha the book of lamentations (as apposed to our trip during the first session, when the yeshiva was the only group there). For me, even at the site where the bricks still lay after the Roman’s destroyed the second Temple nearly 2000 years ago, I found the service to be strangely unmoving. Much of it may have been do to the circumstances.

A tour guide from one of the others groups was the master of ceremonies. He spoke only in Hebrew, through one of the tour guide personal speaker systems – which of course was blown; it oscillated between garbled static and feedback. One of the other groups was a Russian-speaking contingent, which was either from or had just visited Natanya. Their Rabbi got up and addressed everyone in Russian. The chanting of Aicha was no better. The fanny pack speaker was used by each of the readers, rendering every chanted word unintelligible.

While the service itself was less than meaningful, thinking back on the occasion is intriguing. There we were, at the site of the 2000-year-old evidence of the destruction of the Temple, the place that was the epicenter of Jewish life and ritual for our ancestors. We mourned for the destruction of Jerusalem and the decimation of the Jewish people, even as we stood there in Jerusalem, the heart of the modern Jewish State of Israel.

Reflecting on all of the times in our history we have been massacred or expelled, it sometimes amazes me that we are still here. We have had every reason and every opportunity to disappear entirely, like so many other civilizations and cultures throughout history, but here we are. Thinking about that, much more so than the service, can be powerful indeed.

It's Friday, I'm in love

On Friday Jessica arrived in Israel. It had been over a month since we had seen each other; it was our longest time apart in seven years. I spent the morning shopping for food for us for her first weekend here in Israel. The plan was for Jessica to call me when she landed and gone through customs so I could have dinner in the oven, and ready for her after she showered off her two days of travel. Instead she called from the shirut (shared ride) and said she would be there in ten minutes. Oh well, the best laid plans … After she had showered (and then we waited for the food to cook) we did have a lovely Shabbat dinner together with our two roommates.

While we have both been to Israel before, the two of us had never been in Israel together, and Jessica hasn’t been here in ten years. So what’s a nice, young, Jewish couple to do on their first Shabbat together in Jerusalem? Saturday morning we walked through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and then into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (oh well)

It is traditionally believed by most Christians that the Church contains the locations where Jesus was crucified and the tomb where he was buried & resurrected. HThe Church of the Holy Sepulchre was first built around the year 326 CE. It was eventually destroyed in 1009 CE by orders from Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. A smaller version of the church was rebuilt two decades later from 1029-1048 CE. The church has been renovated many times, notably in the 12^th, 16^th, and 19^th centuries.

Control of the church is divided among many sects of Christianity, with each in charge of different areas of the church and holding different responsibilities. The common areas are strictly regulated, with designated times and places of prayer for each community. In addition, the common areas cannot be so much as rearranged without the agreement of each community. This has left some areas of the church in dire need of repairs. The territorial division of the church has also been a source of violence among the various sects, with brawls breaking out as recently as November of 2008. I’m glad the Jewish community isn’t the only one in Israel with problems of in fighting.

Jessica and I decided the church would also be a great location to shoot a horror film.

We spent the rest of the day walking through various parts of the Old City and to Ben Yehuda Street in the City Center, showing Jessica how to get around. I’m sure after a few days here she will know her way around the city better than I do since I spend so much of my time in the Yeshiva. It is so wonderful to have her here with me to share in this experience.

What did you say?

On Thursday our ulpan instructor Michal arrived to class without her voice. Somehow she had lost it the previous night. So we spent the beginning of our class conversing with one another and answering questions or taking notes from the barely audible whisper of Michal’s voice. After an hour, we went outside and took cabs down to the Israeli Supreme Court to go on the tour of the building. In Hebrew.

While in the ulpan I feel like I can usually understand at least 80% of what people are saying. On the Hebrew tour of the Supreme Court that was about how much I felt I couldn’t understand. Ah, well.

The building itself is a beautiful, modern structure, having only opened in 1992. The building was by philanthropist Dorothy de Rothschild, who wrote a letter to then Prime Minister Shimon Perez expressing her desire to donate a building for the Supreme Court in 1984. A contest was then held for the architecture of the building. The building’s design is intended to invoke the architectural styles from the entire history of Israel, from the time of the Temple through the modern city of today. It is an impressive structure with no one defining feature, built upon contrasts: Jerusalem stone walls across from plaster walls, enclosed spaces and open spaces, circles and lines.

In the center of the building is a pyramid shape with a library built around the bottom. The library is filled with books containing examples of law from all over the world.

At the end of the tour we sat in on one of the court cases taking place.

Looking up at the inside of the pyramid's peak

The library built around the base of the pyramid

Outside the courtrooms

One of the new classes I am taking during the second session here at the yeshiva is called "Prisms of gender in Rabbinic literature." So far we have been looking at sections of the Torah dealing with the creation of humans, man and women, and laws of purity following childbirth. Our discussions have been on the positive depictions -- or lack thereof -- of women and the differences between men and women.

The class has been interesting, both for the texts we are reading and discussing, and at least as much for the reactions (and in many cases, close mindedness) of the other students. Many of the texts that we are reading can be problematic, and at an initial reading can be quite negative towards women (especially when read and understood through our 21st century viewpoints and sensibilities). Many people in the class are so offended by their first reading of the texts that it is impossible to move beyond their initial reactions to explore the text, put it in context, and see if a deeper meaning or a progressive thought can be found.

As is the case with most talmudic or other rabbinic texts, there usually are deeper levels, or at least a way to understand it in the context of when it was written. Some of the people however would rather spend their soapbox moments speaking about how it is offensive and misogynistic, and no other meaning can be taken from it. Like I said, sometimes their reactions are even more fun than exploring the text itself. Fun stuff.

Feeling hot hot hot

Sunday morning, and the second session began. There are 20 students like myself continuing from the first session, along with about 40 new faces. It is hot in Jerusalem this week. So hot that during Sunday morning’s orientation the yeshiva staff cautioned against going out in the heat of the day if it could be avoided. In addition, they shared with us about an article in one of last week’s newspapers about the 20 most dangerous streets in Jerusalem, based on the number of vehicle accidents and pedestrian injuries. The three streets that intersect where the yeshiva is located, King George, Karen Hayesod, and Agron, as well as Azza, which is a couple blocks away (and the street I live off of), are all on the list.

I am remaining in the same ulpan, but the starting level of the students this session seems to be higher than last session. This is great for me and the others two students who remained in the class from the first session, as it means we are in some ways continuing on, instead of just starting the same class over. Rather than going to a class in the afternoon, I went with some friends from the yeshiva, in the heat of the day, to Ein Karem.

Ein Kerem is entirely built into the hills

Ein Kerem is a village in Southwestern Jerusalem which, according to Christian tradition, was the birthplace of John the Baptist. For this reason, there are many famous churches in Ein Kerem. The first church we attempted to visit was Church of the visitation, the top of a steep hill. The church is built on the location where the virgin Mary (mother of Jesus) visited the mother of John the Baptist, Elizabeth, while she was pregnant with him.

The Church of the Visitation

Outside the church is a wall adorned with tile artwork containing in languages from all over the world the words of the Magnificat, a blessing which Mary said to Elizabeth. Both the interior and exterior of the church are filled with paintings and mosaics depicting the life of Mary.

The Magnificat prayer in English ...

... and in Hebrew

The next church we tried attempted to visit was the Russian Gorny Monastery. After climbing all the way to the top of the steep hill where it stands, we discovered that the church was closed to visitors. We then trekked all the way back down the hill, though as a consolation prize we stopped for gelato. That was quite good on such a hot day.

The Ein Kerem Mosque

The last church we visited was was one of the two churches named for St. John The Baptist. Outside the entrance to the church was a sign, which read, "NO ENTRY ... EXCEPT ST. JOHN'S STAFF VEHICLES AND VISITORS" true story.

Whoa, we're halfway there

And just like that, the first half of my summer has come to a close. Thursday was the final day of the first session. The last three weeks have been an incredible experience that has flown by at a blazing speed.

Jerusalem has been amazing. The weather has been gorgeous. I have made several new friends and colleagues while here at the yeshiva. In many of the classes I feel as though I am far behind the level of many of the other students, who have spent much more time studying Jewish texts or learning Hebrew, but the teachers are very good and quite passionate, and I am learning a great deal.

The ulpan remained consistently difficult. We spent most of our time focusing on more advanced grammar, and learning the different types of “buildings” that Hebrew uses. For the most part the grammar comes easily to me, even though it is a challenge for most people. However, my vocabulary is still extremely lacking which puts me behind the other students. Still, I am able to follow all of the conversations, and get the gist of what is being said, even if I don’t understand all of the words. We celebrated the end of the session at the end of our ulpan by teaching each other and singing along to different Hebrew songs that we knew.

In the late afternoon I was the only person who showed up for the last community gardening during the first session. Of the 20-plus people who had signed up and participated in the gimilut hesed projects for the first session, only four people came for the final nursing home visit, and just me for the garden. I went to the other gardening location (instead of the bird observatory), Hansen garden, on the grounds of the Hansen Hospital. The hospital was originally built of a care center for leprosy, but today it is used mostly for children who have experienced mental trauma. At the garden I met with an elderly woman, originally from England (then Australia, then back to England, now in Israel) who worked at the garden.

I could tell she was a little disappointed that I was the only one who came, but by the end of the day I think she was very pleased with what we accomplished. I spent the time driving bamboo sticks into the ground to mark the location of each of the herbs that had recently been planted.

The sign outside the Jerusalem Cinematheque

In the evening I went to the Jerusalem Cinematheque, the main theater used during the film festival, to see another movie. Before the movie there was live music outside. The first performer was Yoav Guttman, an Israeli born American musican, who sang his original songs (in English). The second was an Israel group (whose name I did not catch) who also performed their songs (in Hebrew). Both were a lot of fun to have leading up to the screening.

Yoav Guttman

The Israeli band performing

The movie I saw was “Everyone Else” a German film which won the Silver Bear award for best actress and the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (runner up for best feature film) at the most recent Berlin international film festival. The writer/director, Maren Ade, and the lead actress, Birgit Minichmayr, were both at the screening to introduce the film and answer questions afterward.

So much has happened over the last three weeks, and yet somehow it’s hard to believe that the entire first session of the summer program is over. Tonight will be Shabbat services and the welcoming dinner, and Sunday morning will begin the second session.