Somehow, another long one

Another few days, and since it’s Shabbat today, I have some time to write another update. Last night was yet another somewhat different, but fun Shabbat experience. Someone in the class with an amazingly huge porch decided to host a big group for Shabbat, and also that instead of going to one of the zillions of synagogues around Jerusalem, we would have our own services. We all brought blankets and sat on the porch in a circle and had our own Shabbat service. It was so comforting and comfortable to have a service in the style many of us grew up with or went to camp with and is often hard to find in Jerusalem. After services, we stayed for dinner, picnic style on the porch. It was a really nice, laid back Shabbat evening.

Thursday we started to get slightly more of a feel for what the year will bring. Our actual academic orientation is next Thursday, before vacation, but this week we had some workshops. All morning we had a Reform Practices workshop. We were split into five groups and rotated around five stations. Unfortunately, each of the stations could have merited hours of study, and we got a very rushed 20 minutes. My group started with tallit, and while it had promise, including the ability to tie some tzitzit, we ran out of time very quickly, dwelling instead on how to put on a tallit, when to say the blessing, and interactions people have with their tallit during prayer service…all of which is printed in the bottom margin of the prayer book we use daily. The next station was about Aliyah, being called to the Torah. We learned the traditional phrasing used to call people to the Torah, and another version of the post-Torah-reading blessing. This one was possibly the only station where I thought they tried to give us the right amount of material for the amount of time we had. Our next stop was movement: standing, sitting, bowing during services. Again, there was not enough time to begin touching on the issues, so we discussed everything in a very superficial way: we were presented with the “correct” way to stand/sit/bow for about the first half of the service. We ran out of time before we got to the rest of the service, and there was no time to talk about alternative traditions or reasons behind anything. That was not exactly my favorite station. After that one, we moved to the tefillin room. I put on tefillin for the first time, which was an interesting experience, except that we did not have time to do anything more than put them on. We had no time to pray while wearing them, no time to discuss why they are worn, what’s inside the boxes, different traditions surrounding them, or anything else. It was interesting to wear them, if only for 3 or 4 minutes, but I have so many questions, and I really hope we return to the issue during the year. My final station was in the sanctuary, lifting and moving the Torah. Everyone in the group had to take a turn doing Hagbah, the lifting of the Torah scroll while it’s open. People who do it well make it look effortless, and have it open so that 3-5 columns of text are visible. I do not do it so well. Torahs are heavy. They are awkward when open. And when they are in Deuteronomy, as we are right now, they are very heavily weighted to the right arm, which is somewhat unfortunate for lefties like myself. But I did it! I had about a column in the middle and fractions of columns on both sides, I did a full circle, and I didn’t drop it. I’ll work on that. We also had to each take the Torah out of the ark, hold it, and put it back in. The challenge here is that the HUC ark is really high up. The ledge where the Torah scrolls sit is probably at or just above my shoulder height, which is not the easiest height at which to lift a heavy, awkwardly shaped object. The rabbi leading this station told us we had to lift and hold and return the Torah in a very particular, somewhat awkward manner, but it’s apparently what works for her. Many people struggled with her method. When it was my turn, I told her I was going to do it differently, because I’m left-handed and her method just was not going to work for me. I did it well! This is exciting.

After a lunch break, we had our Introduction to Reform Liturgy Workshop. Apparently during the year, we each have to lead one (1) service. A weekday morning Torah service. (Like the one I’m leading on Monday, except with more restrictions and a larger audience.) We lead with another rabbinic student and a cantorial student. (The cantorial students have to lead 3-4 times.) We also have to do one D’var Torah, giving an interpretation of the week’s portion. We have to chant or read Torah one time (over the summer and in optional services doesn’t count). We have to do Hagbah, lifting the Torah, one time. Many of us are a little surprised that these requirements are for only one time in the entire year, but we only have required weekday morning services once a week, which is when we all take turns doing these things. I plan to continue going to the optional services, which have an amazing community of people who are some of my closest friends here, are much looser about required melodies and things, and where I get many, many more opportunities to practice leading, chanting Torah, and participating with the community. I do plan to sign up for my Torah-lifting week though for sometime in February or March, when we should be right in the middle of the Torah and therefore have a more evenly weighted Torah. It also gives me a long time to make sure I can do it more effectively than I did on Thursday! In spite of my many complaints though, it was a very interesting day and I am looking forward to learning a lot this year.

Thursday night, I ended up hanging out with a great group of people, just walking around stores and going out for dessert. It was all people who I have spent fairly limited time with, and would love to hang out with more, because they’re all really fun and just great people. It was a very laidback night, but exactly what I needed and so much fun.

Friday’s lunch was another experience. A member of the Board of Directors from the LA campus was in Israel, and first said she was taking any LA-bound students to lunch, but then she amended that and said any interested students were welcome. Lunch was at the David Citadel hotel, probably the nicest hotel in Jerusalem. (Also, it’s where Condoleezza Rice stays when she’s here.) It’s next door to our campus. I think about two-thirds of the class showed up for lunch. It was amazing. Tables and tables of delicious buffets, with lots and lots of different options. So much delicious food. All greatly appreciated by 40 students.

Tomorrow I enter the final stretch of Ulpan: I have one week left, and then a week of vacation! In the last few weeks, many of us have gone to various student travel agencies and found package-deal vacations, where the price includes airfare and hotel and several hotel meals. There are groups going to Turkey, Cos (Greece), Rhodes (Greece), and I’m going with a group of friends to Barcelona. I’m very excited to see the city, lay on the beach, sleep a lot, and spend some time outside of Jerusalem. Because while it’s a great place, I’m ready for a vacation. One more week to go!

On a personal note…
Lisa: I am the tallest in the apartment, but I was wearing little (one-inch) heels in that picture. We’re not a tall bunch. We are a curly bunch. Good company for me.
NFTY MAR Crew: Have so much fun at Summer Kallah! I’ll miss you guys a ton and I’ll be thinking of you. Hugs to my Beasty kids for me, and feel free to call my Skype number and leave messages:)
Grandma: I hope you had a great trip to New York. I’m looking forward to hearing about Becky’s new place!
Becky, Debbie, Lev: Thanks for the article (twice) and voicemail. Did you think of anything? Keep trying, eventually I'll be here when you call:)
Michael: The flowers are gorgeous. Thank you thank you thank you! October isn’t so far away.
Mom: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Have an extra piece of cake for me.
I’m forgetting lots of people. Email me and I’ll give you a note next time:)