Once I exit my room at the ungodly hour of 7 am every day, I head to Shacharit morning services, which take about 45 minutes. It really is nice to pray every morning, even though it's hard before eating to sit down and stand up for the different prayers. Our group of 40 (the entire Nativ program is 80 students-half are in my group, headed to Yerucham second semester, and half are going to live on a kibbutz next semester) prays beautifully together and we have a great community. There is never a time when, if there is only one seat available, I do not want to sit down next to the people on either side. I always want to sit. It's a great feeling.
Then we have breakfast. Meals here are an experience because they are the same everyday (which I don't particularly mind, but many of my friends do), but they are free with the program, and if I choose well, I can eat a balanced diet. I'm still working on cutting my own chicken, but I do eat eggs with every meal! Baby steps.
The first few days were less routine-we went on a beautiful hike through the Jerusalem hills, ate lunch at a mall, got a neighborhood walking tour, and learned a lot of rules (we are not allowed to get pregnant and then get hit by a car because we were skydiving because those things are not covered by our insurance policy. but other than that, there's no curfew, we are legal for everything here, and boys are finally, finally allowed in girls rooms after four years of behaving very well in USY).
Then we had Shabbat, which was really the most spiritually fulfilling experience of my life thus far. My Yerucham group prayed together at Yemin Moshe, a field near a windmill that overlooks the Old City. As the sun set behind us, the moon rose in front of us, and it was glowing pink and it was huge (yuuuge, for anyone who makes fun of me for that and misses it) and it was the most serene feeling to pray with my friends facing the most holy place for three major world religions and literally just feel GOD everywhere around. After services we had a nice dinner (meaning there were tablecloths and Shabbat chicken, as opposed to placemats and shnitzel), sang some Birkat Hamazon, and then we had Nativ-a-Tisch!!!! This was just the greatest. We gathered in a small room, probably fifty of us, and just sang Jewish songs at the top of our lungs. We sang songs about Israel, songs about friendship, songs about God, and even just melodies without words, ningunim. Everyone had so much ruach and we bonded (fun fact: the same bonding chemical released when a woman gives birth is released when people sing together-source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-08-06/just-the-fact/). The next morning, I went to Yakar, a modern Orthodox shul about 15 minutes walking from the Fuchsberg Center where I live. I went with my staff member Cori, who grew up in Queens, went to U Delaware, and then picked up and moved to Israel and served in the army. She recommended the shul to me and because I like her and I like Karlbach melodies, I decided to try it. Well, there is someone up there after all. The service was so filled with meaning and passion and harmony and learning and everything that you could ever want from organized religion. It was a small shul, not showy at all (people don't join synagogues here like they do in the states-the shuls are supported partly by the state and partly by donations so the politics are a lot different/less here), and it didn't feel like a performance by the hazzan, who had a really unique and middle eastern sounding voice, exactly what you would want from a small modern Orthodox shul in Jlem. The women sat behind the men and there was a shortish mechitzah of white cotton cloth. I could see through it though, and the bima was next to the mechitzah instead of in front by the ark. There was a study session in the middle of the service with a rabbi who spoke English and he did gematryia and it was really cool! (Gematriya is where ever letter has a number value, and numbers can be turned into words, and all kinds of cool connections are made that way-it's a secret code in the Torah!!). I even cried a little bit (not hysterics, I promise!!) during a particularly harmonious melody as they returned the Torah because it was so full of love and cavanah. The rest of Shabbat was restful, of course, complete with eating, singing, studying, and walking around to a park to watch the boys play basketball. I read a book and warmed myself in the sun (whilst wearing no less than 30 SPF. Not to worry, Ema!!) and even threw up the opening toss successfully!
Sunday was orientation at Hebrew University. We are taking a "MiniMester" because real classes don't start until after the festival of Sukkot in October, so we're just getting extra learned in the mean time. I am taking a four hour Ulpan (learning Hebrew from scratch...in Hebrew) every day and a two hour "Jerusalem Through the Ages" history course a few times per week. Today was my first day of classes and I loved everything! I am in the most basic of basic Hebrew classes, which is nice because I already know reading and writing so I can just focus on vocabulary and conversation. Both my teachers are awesome and the Hebrew University/Rothberg Intl School is gorgeous! There are botanical gardens on campus, an amazing view of all of Jerusalem and also the West Bank/East Jerusalem, and a great student center and oh just everything you could want. There are also feral cats EVERYWHERE (see my new profile picture on facebook)!!! They are not my kitties but they are good replacements because they are very cute and abundant.
Now we are tiiiired from walking around the neighborhood after classes and being so popular and social and learning so many new things. My roomies are asleep, except for one who isn't home yet, and my pillow is calling to me. More later!!!
Love from Eretz Yisrael!
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