And So it Goes

I'm sitting up in my apartment, wondering why our internet hasn't been turned off yet, and in a little shock. This day finally came. For a while, I wasn't sure that it would. There were days when I was fairly certain it wouldn't. But here it is. I'm going to sleep, eventually, and waking up long before the crack of dawn. I'm shlepping some heavy suitcases down the stairs (ok, the elevator), and heading to the airport!

It has been an amazing year. I now know 55 of my future colleagues, most of whom I had never met when I arrived, and some of whom are now among my closest friends. I know Israel, and especially Jerusalem, better than I thought I could. There are times when I'm insulted when people speak to me in English. (There are also times when I'm frustrated when they don't.) I feel even more certain that I'm in the right place (well, school) than I did when I arrived. I'm looking forward to a summer with my family, boyfriend, and friends, but I'm also looking toward seeing my HUC friends in Cincinnati in August.

Cassi and I went to Cup o' Joe for a last dinner tonight, and it was really weird walking out of there, as usual, knowing it would be a while before I'll return. It's been a week of lasts. I went to the Old City yesterday, and it was hard to believe I wouldn't be able to just stop by the remains of the Temple whenever I felt like it after tonight. I went to the shuk today, and it was weird not buying any produce, and really sad to know that it won't be a routine shopping trip anymore. Only the shuk could have gotten me to try so many new fruits and veggies this year! (Please don't ask what they were. My mother would be embarrassed by things I hadn't eaten until this year.) I went to HUC to drop off some final things, and again was struck by how amazing this campus is, especially in the spring.

This city is beautiful. It's not perfect, and it's not home, but it has been a most interesting, educational, enlightening, and mostly comfortable home for the last year, and although I am incredibly excited to return home tomorrow (!), I am also certain that a little piece of me is staying right here in Jerusalem.

Love from Jerusalem, for the last time, at least for now...
Jessica:)

Shopping, Cleaning, Packing.

I’m done! As we’ve been joking here, I’ve earned my R! (Yes, my R. As in, R-A-B-B-I. It’s a five-year program.) Exam week was it’s usual self: lots of papers to finish, exams to study for, stress to deal with. And I’d like to think I did a good job! In a move that had Debbie trying to excommunicate me from the family, I got all my papers done the week before exams, so that I could study (or not study, as desired). I didn’t have to worry about writing papers, and when my last exam was over Tuesday morning, instead of having to sit down and deal with several papers, I was freeeeeeeee!

Since Tuesday, I’ve been productive of another sort. I’m giving a D’var Torah at a local Reform congregation tonight, which means I agreed to speak in front of native Israelis…in Hebrew. I’m still pondering my agreement to this arrangement, but I’ve been working on it for a while now. Tuesday I met with the rabbi of the congregation, who liked what I had to say and made my Hebrew grammatically correct and understandable. Hooray! And then she told me that I should get it as much almost-memorized as possible. (I’m not sure it’s possible. But I’m not stumbling over words so much any more!) I know I haven’t done it yet, but I’m already proud of myself for doing it. I realized how much more Hebrew I know than I think I know, and how much better I read than I thought. I type in Hebrew without vowels, because that’s how it is here. And my D’var Torah is written that way as well. I wrote them in on the words I stumble over, which averages out to maybe one word per line, and it’s mostly only the first letter or two with a vowel, not the whole word. I think that’s pretty good! I’m proud of me…although I still to practice a dozen more times today.

I’ve also been doing lots of shopping. I decided that the things I’ve been admiring all year should finally be purchased, so I’ve been purchasing, but not going overboard. I’ve bought a beautiful challah cover and necklace, and there are still one or two more things I want to get, so more shopping is in my future. Later today I’m heading to a little crafts fair in Jerusalem that somehow I never make it to. Mainly because it’s on Fridays, when I tend to be fairly crazed.

I’ve also been starting to pack. I’m shipping one big box through HUC, where we paid a flat rate rather than by weight. The weight limit: what the box will hold. My box is almost full now, and not too heavy, I think. I even think my dad would be proud of the packing job. I folded things funny just to fill in cracks and spaces! I suppose maybe I shouldn’t brag about that too much. Dad, let’s just say, you’d be impressed! You taught me well.

Up next: more shopping, cleaning, packing. Add in a few visits to my favorite places in Jerusalem, and that’s basically the plan for the next few days. I can’t believe that this is my last Shabbat here. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely can’t wait to come home! But the goodbyes have started, and every time I do something, I realize it might be my last time doing it here. (Last trip to the supermarket? Not that sad. Last shuk trip? That will make me very sad. Last Shabbat? Not excited about that. Last load of laundry? Can’t wait!)

I can’t believe I’ll be home so incredibly soon. Shabbat shalom, and I’ll see you soon!

Ten Days

I should confess that since the day in January when I booked my plane ticket home in May, I have had a countdown on my Google homepage. It started at more than 100 days. It seemed like forever. Don’t get me wrong: I’m happy here and this has been a fantastic, educational, eye-opening, growth-filled year. When I first posted it, the countdown was really counting down to when I would be home for the first time in eleven months, when I would see everyone at home again. The countdown was likened to a high fever, a hot day, a beautiful spring day, a cold winter day. Now it’s at ten days. A week and a half. (“Less!” says Michael.) It is still counting down until I see everyone again, but now it’s also counting down my time in Israel in a way it wasn’t before. Lauren and I tried to schedule a fun shopping trip together. There isn’t time. Between my exam schedule and her work and travel schedule, there is no afternoon we can spend together before I leave. I had to go to my favorite Friday night service for the last time last week, because with the other Shabbat activities that were scheduled, there was not time for me to go again after that. It is strange to think that I really did, eventually, adjust to living here, and now I’m doing things for the last time. I cannot wait to come home. But I also know that I will be leaving here with the knowledge that through all its problems and issues, I love Jerusalem and Israel, and I will be back. When I return, it will not be as a tourist looking at things for the first time, but the way I return to Princeton. I will notice everything that has changed, visit all of my favorite places, and try to cram my whole experience of this year into a visit of a few days. I look forward to that challenge. Or, I will, once I’m at home and have given big hugs to everyone I haven’t seen in months, and I realize how much I really do miss life in Israel.

At HUC, we have two dominant topics of conversation right now. One is leaving. We discuss packing progress (none), shopping trips, apartment issues (such as potentially having to cancel internet a few days before leaving), what we’re going to miss, what we’re looking forward to at home. The other is exams. What we’ve finished (all my written work: three papers and an assignment in Hebrew, and my oral Bible exam), what we still have (oral liturgy exam, Hebrew exam, Biblical Grammar exam), when we finish (Tuesday morning!), our studying progress (well, I’m blogging). We had an end of the year ceremony on Thursday, where each teacher and administrator was individually thanked by one student. The presentations were remarkably well done. Most were under a minute, but evoked the relationship we have with our professors and staff here. Most of the presentations shared some memories of time spent together, and all of them were heartfelt thanks to the people who have taught us so much about our religion, our history, our country, ourselves.

Last night we had an HUC community Shabbat, with our own services and dinner. Services were outside on the lawn, and we were literally facing the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. Every week, anywhere in the world, we pray facing in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, we face toward the Old City and the Temple Mount. But from inside, anywhere in the city, the old city is not usually visible. But last night, we were literally facing Jerusalem. We watched the sun set over the walls. We sang “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” (Jerusalem of Gold) and watched the walls turn gold with the setting sun. That view cannot be beat anywhere in the world. After services, we had dinner, also outside. I love that it’s finally (more or less) warm enough and dry enough to plan outdoor events with confidence. We watched a slide show that was put together by a couple of my classmates, showing pictures and video footage of the whole year. Some of the pictures went all the way back to last summer, and we laughed at events that had been forgotten (like Ethan’s attempt at a Kilo Burger) and hairstyles that have changed. We were one community, but in the back of our minds was that we were one community that, by Shabbat next week, is no longer going to be together.

I cannot wait to get back home and have so many reunions with people I have not seen for so long. I am looking forward to all those hugs! But before that, there are the hugs goodbye. There are so many people here who I will have to say goodbye to. Some I will see over the summer or in Cincinnati next fall, but others I will not. Some are staying in Israel, and while I am confident I will see them again, I have no idea when. Some are going to the other HUC campuses, and while we promise to visit and keep in touch, they’re going to be big hugs, because only time will tell when I will next see them again. HUC has been my family this year. We’ve gotten each other through so much. And I’m going to try to have the best last ten days here that I can. Or a productive three-and-a-half until my last exam, and then a great last week.

Shabbat shalom!