Wednesday night started off with some extra time because Jewish Educator Training didn't meet. I made a really good decision and went running! Then I slapped on some deodorant, fluffed up my hair, put on some heels, and I was ready for Beer Pong! Beer Pong is always fun, and I brought the party camera this week! I got a lot of great pictures and I had so much fun dancing with my friends and watching the competitions. Not only is Herzl a great bar because they have books on the shelves there, or because they let us take over every Wednesday night, but they don't give you dirty looks when you don't order alcohol and ask for water instead! A true mark of a bar that Jordana likes.
I slept in on Thursday and went to Shalva in the afternoon to volunteer. "Shalva provides services to more than 500 participants with special needs, including infants, children, adolescents and young adults via a plethora of tailored programs and round-the-clock therapies, seven days a week. Shalva accompanies the child and his/her family from birth to adulthood. Individual programs are so designed that each participant reaches his/her full potential. By placing an emphasis on social interaction, the special needs child can better integrate into the community." (from the Shalva website http://www.shalva.org/index.aspx). I got a tour from the volunteer coordinator, Talia, who is a really positive human being and a beautiful woman. She placed me with a group of very low functioning children, and I got right to work. I worked with six non-verbal kids and four staff members (some are paid staff members, but most are religious girls doing Sherut Leumi, National Service, in place of military service), from 2:30 to 5:30 pm. We sang songs, played with Challah dough, made Kiddush (because it was the day before Shabbat started, so they have a "Kabbalat Shabbat" before the kids go home), and ate dinner. It was really hard for me to know such little Hebrew because I could not sing along to their songs or understand what the staff members were saying to each other, but I did learn some Hebrew and people were really nice. One of "my" kids actually understands English, although she cannot speak, and most know some hand signs, which I am quickly picking up. They are all extremely cute and lovable, speaking or not, and I was so happy during my time there. I can't wait to go back!
Meir was volunteering there as well on Thursday afternoon, and it was his second time so he was already a pro at getting the bus back home. We were late to Thanksgiving dinner anyway though, and we missed the program before the dinner for all the alumni and current Nativers. I didn't mind being late because my excuse was so good; volunteering is definitely the most meaningful thing I could have done on Thanksgiving. The turkey and pumpkin pie were excellent on Thursday, and I sat with some Nativers and Rabbi Paul Freedman and his wife, whose name escapes me, and it was so special because they started the Nativ program 29 years ago! We went around and said what we were thankful for, and I said the same lame thing as everyone else (family, new and old friends, this year in Israel) because I really was thankful for those things, and I know there are ten million bajillion other things I am also thankful for but in that moment I was only thinking-FAMILY, FRIENDS, ISRAEL! And I even choked up a teensy bit, though not noticeably, because I was so grateful for those three things.
After dinner on Thursday, all the Nativers watched a really funny movie made by a few girls featuring each Nativer saying something about Thanksgiving. There were some really good ones! Everything was really great, and although I hope I don't have to spend another Thanksgiving without any relatives around, I wouldn't have accepted any other substitute besides my Nativ friends this year.
Instead of the traditional weekly exodus to the bars on Thursday night, we decided to take advantage of a free jazz concert at the Southern Wall. It was a great concert that lasted about an hour, and about 15 Nativers came with. The highlight of the band was definitely the soprano sax, which is really an incredibly beautiful instrument. After the concert, a group of us walked out via the ramparts, which is a walk along the top of the Old City Walls (which were built about 400 years ago by the Ottomans, which I find terribly disappointing). There were a lot of really beautiful views and I was glad to be taking advantage of my time here. I walked home from the concert along a scenic route with Judah and Meir, and we climbed on cave rocks and walked through the empty Sultan's Pool (a huge outdoor concert venue) which was a lil sketch at night but very fun. I detoured to Crack Square before returning home, found it as grimy and pointless as usual, and went home for a relatively early night.
On Friday I woke up for lunch and headed out to Mea Shearim with LeeAnn. Mea Shearim (literally, "one hundred gates") is an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood just past our "shopping district" downtown, and it was about a half hour walk. We dressed modestly, covering our wrists and collar bones. I took a risk and wore billowy pants that kind of look like a skirt, because I figured that if anyone did anything (there are legends of people spitting on women dressed inappropriately) it would at least make a good blog post. It turned out that people were friendly, at least the few women we spoke to, and the store clerks. The men were all running around in black suits and coats and hats. It was a dirty place, and LeeAnn kept saying, "it feels like we are in a different world." There was popcorn at every two stores, and a toy shop was selling a memory card game with rabbis' faces. Every single aspect of life there revolved around religion, and in my opinion, a bastardized interpretation of it. The Haredim reject modernity as corruption, and as a result, their lives are very backward in my eyes. We saw a little boy and a girl playing with each other and LeeAnn said, "oh, they are still at the age when they are allowed to talk to each other." This is outrageous! How can God have intended for boys and girls to not speak to each other? Still, our walk to Mea Shearim was a really great experience. I am amazed that I live so close to a totally different universe than I have ever known.
I took a really excellent pre-Shabbos shower and frummied up (that is, I dressed in more modest clothing than those of you at home have come to know as my style, because I feel comfortable here in longer skirts and high necked shirts). Meir and I walked all the way out to Talpiyot for davening at his friend's house, a Nativ alum who went on the program three years ago and is now attending Hebrew University for the semester. This friend, Josh, was hosting Kabbalat Shabbat services in his living room. We arrived and found a living room full of university age men, and one of them came to greet us. He said they weren't expecting any women, and he looked awkwardly in the direction of an alcove next to the living room. There was a chair in the alcove, and it was safely hidden away from the eyes of the focused davening men on the other side. So I sat by myself during a lovely succession of Mincha, Kab Shab, and Maariv, and I enjoyed myself greatly. I had never been so thankful for a "mechitzah" either, as it shielded me from the socially awkward situation on the other side, gave me some personal time for introspection and prayer, and let everyone in the room feel comfortable in terms of religious observance.
We left pretty much right after services were over and walked a short way (in the really, really brisk weather!) to an apartment where Meir's brother David and David's girlfriend Yael were waiting for us with a delicious Shabbat dinner. It was just the four of us, and the food was great, and we had such a fun time. I didn't want to interview David about his army experiences, but from what he talked about, I learned it is quite amazing how he lives as a soldier in a combat unit. He only gets 30 minutes to make phone calls during the week, on Thursday nights, and he only gets a Shabbat off every two weeks or so. He wasn't even allowed to come to Thanksgiving dinner at Beit Nativ. I can't imagine living that way for three whole years, especially with a girlfriend to miss and a brother here for nine months as well. David and Yael walked us most of the way home, which was really nice of them since it was cold and a long walk, and then we ran into Josh (whose apartment we had visited earlier) and he gave us pumpkin cookies that were so yummy that I am still dreaming about them.
Saturday morning, I walked Aaron and Meir to Yedidya and didn't really feel like praying so I walked by myself to Shira Chadasha where I sat with Sue, Joshy's mommy. We chattered away again, like last week, but this time we got shushed! I didn't want to upset anyone so we stopped talking and just made eye contact every once in a while with the look of admonished children feeling guilty. At kiddush, Josh's family invited me to have lunch with them at their hotel, the David Citadel, and I gratefully accepted, especially once I heard that swimming was part of the deal!
to be continued...after Talmud class : )
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