Shalom, and welcome to my travel blog! I presume that all of my readers know me outside of cyberspace, but just in case you do not: my name is Cody, and I will be studying abroad in Jerusalem next semester through the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. I chose Israel because I have a strong interest in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the Ancient Near East. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is one of the best institutions in the world at which to study these topics.
Though the Israeli semester does not begin until mid-February, an intensive Hebrew language session called the "ulpan" begins in mid-January, and as such, my flight to Tel Aviv leaves January 17th. The upcoming month will be filled with panicked pre-departure preparations, nerves, and excitement! Once in Israel, I intend to update this blog regularly every three or four days; I will keep the text short and post plenty of pictures. I have enabled comments, so please feel free to post responses or ask questions.
A word about the title of the blog: "Aliyah" is the Hebrew word which means "ascent". It comes from the root as the Arabic name for God, Allah (A-L-H means "to go up"). Aliyah connotes both a physical and spiritual movement. It is used to describe the movement of a Jew up to the front of the synagogue to read from the Torah, and, in modern times, has come to refer to the immigration of Jews in the diaspora to the State of Israel. My travels next semester are not solely for academic purposes, but will comprise something of a pilgrimage, my own aliyah.
Current Israeli time:
