L'Chaim!

It occurred to me that my blog has talked a lot about my sightseeing adventures, but comparatively little about student life and all the cool people I've met! So here is a post dedicated to my life abroad (appropriately titled: L'Chaim!).

Below is a picture of the Jewish shuq, the (mostly) outdoor market near the center of downtown Jerusalem. The shuq has hitherto been my major vendor of groceries--fresh strawberries, amazing olives, and chicken--but more importantly, rugelach. Rugelach is Judaism's gift to the world (second only to monotheism)--a croissant-like pastry into which chocolate (or sometimes cinnamon or caramel) has been folded. Each time I buy rugelach, I intend to take a picture, but I don't have the self-restraint.



One downside to the shuq is that I am so obviously American that nobody will bother bartering with me. Another is that, like everything else, the shuq is closed on Shabbat. Last Friday, I made it to the shuq during the closing hours, and bought challah for the grossly-discounted price of one shekel (about 30 cents). I also saw the rabbis going up and down the alleys of the shuq blowing into rams horns, signaling that Shabbat is about to begin.

This weekend, myself and a few other non-Jews (who did not feel up to finding a legitimate Shabbat dinner) made our own Gentile Shabbat meal with purchases from the shuq. Here's the finished product--lemon pepper chicken in white wine, with sauteed vegetables, challah, and wine. This is also my dining room.



Here is my roommate, (Israeli) Alex, helping with the cooking. I'm posting this because I know he has read my blog!



This weekend, I met up with a family friend named Ambika. Ambika is my mom's customer at PostNet, and my sister Riley also interned with her. She is in Jerusalem for several weeks writing a book, and we decided to meet up to explore the Old City. Here is a picture of the two of us in an icon shop.



Below are a couple of pictures of some (though certainly not all!) of my new friends, starting with the ones who attended Gentile Shabbat dinner. The first picture is me and my friend Zach at a bar in Jerusalem. (Don't worry, parents, I only had two in four hours.) Zach and I hear a lot of "suite life" jokes after the Disney Channel series. The second picture is me with Andrea and Shiri at the Western Wall... our other friend, Dana, is not pictured because she took the photo.





This last picture is me near the Holy Sepulcher with Miruna and Mara, with whom I first explored the Old City (our friend Vicky is behind the camera).

The Western Wall, and more Old City treasures

I've made it to the Old City several more times, but have been too busy to post pictures until this afternoon. Below are a couple of cool sites from around the Old City (note that I'm mixing together photographs from several different trips).

Below, finally, are two pictures of the Western Wall. The Western Wall is the retaining wall to the Temple Mount complex (expanded by King Herod), where Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple once stood. Jews go here to pray because it is the closest they can get to the Foundation Stone, where the Ark of the Covenant once rested. As you can see, the Muslim Dome of the Rock is now built above the Foundation Stone. Notice (in the second picture) the little bits of paper that are stuffed in the cracks of the Wall--written prayer petitions.





At the Wall plaza, we witnessed the swearing-in of IDF paratroopers. The picture below captures Israel's multiple personalities quite effectively.



Here is a picture of me with the Temple Mount in the background.



Recall that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is shared by a number of Christian rites--Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, etc. Among the many rites that do not have a share in the Sepulcher are the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Christians. These groups, however, maintain a number of chapels around and ABOVE the Church proper. Below is a picture of me on the Sepulcher roof, outside of the houses of some Ethiopians. That's right--they live here.



The eighth station of the Via Dolorosa--Jesus falls for the third time--is commemorated by a Coptic chapel on the Sepulcher roof. The really impressive thing about the chapel, however, is that is gives access to a huge, ancient water cistern that waters the Church and the entire Christian quarter. To see the cistern, I had to duck down a tiny set of stairs (pictured below). The second photo is me at the edge of the huge pool.





Above the main entrance to the Sepulcher is the famous immovable ladder. The exact division of power in the Sepulcher between all the various Christian rites--the "status quo"--is so strict that the ladder has not been moved since 1852, when it was used to repair a window. Yes, I'm serious.



Behind the Tomb, the Sepulcher preserves part of the series of caves which originally stood on the site. The Church was built into the bedrock of these caves, though most of the material (except, of course, the spot where Christ was laid) was removed. The few caves that have been preserved, however, give a good picture of what the Tomb might have looked like in Jesus' time.



This picture from the Sepulcher shows graffiti which the Crusaders carved into the wall of a the staircase (though back then it was a tunnel) leading to the Chapel of St. Helena, near the site where the True Cross was supposedly found.



Below is a picture taken from the Jewish Quarter of the Mount of Olives, through the trees. If you look carefully, you will see that the whole side of the hill is now a cemetery. Jews are buried here because it is believed that the Mount of Olives will be the epicenter of the resurrection of the dead in the Messianic Age.



The last picture is a rather funny price tag I found outside a shop in the Jewish Quarter.

Updates (from the West Bank!)

Before my trip, I read a book about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but this brief introduction was inadequate preparation for what I have since discovered: the subject literally consumes day to day life in Israel. Israel's unique political situation has been evident from the moment I stepped off the plane. Articles about the many-faceted political situation comprise almost all of Ha'aretz, the daily newspaper. One cannot explore any tourist site, or ride any bus, without coming across the IDF carrying huge guns. My Israeli roommate, and many others, are very eager to talk about the conflict.

In an effort to learn more, I attended two events put on by the Jerusalem branch of JStreet, an American lobbying group dedicated to the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first event took place on Wednesday evening in the apartment of the JStreet organizers. It was called Lochmim L'Shalom, "Combatants for Peace," and featured a panel consisting of one IDF veteran and one former Palestinian soldier. Both have laid down arms and are committed to a bi-national, grassroots peace movement. Both of their stories highlighted the political rhetoric which (on both sides) had convinced their younger selves that all Arabs or all Jews were the enemy. Perhaps the most interesting point in the discussion was a series of questions that came from the audience. A family of Jews from New York, who were clearly extremely pro-Israel, attacked both panelists for believing that it was immoral for Jewish soldiers to serve in West Bank and Gaza (civil disobedience).

On Friday, JStreet sponsored an organized tour of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Settlements--Jewish neighborhoods over the Green Line (the 1949 armistice line)--remain one of the biggest barriers to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Crossing into and out of the West Bank, we were stopped at the security checkpoint (pictured below) by IDF soldiers, who asked us if we were all Jewish (answer: yes). Virtually all infrastructure in the West Bank (including the roads) are inaccessible to Palestinians, and we saw plenty of Palestinian villages that had been "cut off" from the neighboring city of Bethlehem... these Palestinians need special permits to cross the check point tunnel which goes under the Israel highway.



We were taken to the Jewish neighborhood of Gush Etzion, near Bethlehem. Because Gush Etzion existed before 1949, it is considered by most to be part of the "consensus." In other words, when the line finally is drawn between Israel and Palestine, it is assumed that Gush Etzion will become part of Israel. The settlers of Gush Etzion described there lives as very normal. They have not experienced serious violence in the past several decades, and the settlers coexist with neighboring Palestinians, even shopping at the same supermarkets. Their pro-settlement perspective was expected, but the day wasn't over yet.

After Gush Etzion, we were taken on a bus tour guided by a representative from Peace Now--another peace organization. The tour guide was in charge of the Peace Now Settlement Watch program. She explained that Israel never officially annexed the area of the West Bank because granting Israeli citizenship to the Palestinians in the West Bank would compromise the Jewish majority of Israel's demographics. As such, settlements were allowed to exist in which Jews could hold full Israeli citizenship. The presence of Israeli settlements in the future State of Palestine is the cause of a lot of tension between Israelis and Palestinians. Pictured below are three neighborhoods--the village in the valley (closest to us) is Palestinian, the hilltop is a Jewish settlement, and the town in the distance is behind the Green Line and is part of Israel. Notice that the famous separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank is not in this picture--it does not coincide with the Green Line.



Though in the past Israel has evacuated some settlements and relocated the Jewish residents into Israel proper, most pre-1949 settlements were allowed to remain in existence. Israeli law states that these settlements are NOT allowed to expand, and that no new settlements can be erected. This policy has been loosely enforced, or even not enforced at all. According to our guide, ninety-six illegal settlement outposts have formed in the past two decades. One is pictured below.



I am still trying to wrap my head around all the politics, but the tour was definitely an interesting introduction to the complex issue of settlements. JStreet will continue to provide similar programming throughout the semester, and I will continue to blog about it.

This last picture is completely unrelated to this post. While looking at the settlements pictured above, we noticed a Palestinian goat herder passing through the valley below. This shot was taken somewhere between Hebron and Bethlehem, in other words, the exact locations that the biblical patriarchs were said to have taken their flocks.

Shabbat Shalom from the Old City of Jerusalem

Shabbat Shalom from Eretz Yisrael! Shabbat (from Friday afternoon until Saturday at dusk) is the weekly Jewish day of rest, which means school is out, shops are closed, and transportation is at a stand-still. Luckily I made it to the grocery store on Friday in time to buy some weekend essentials.

Until today, I had been so busy with ulpan that I STILL hadn't made it far from campus. Though I initially scored into a high-aleph level ulpan (the second half of the first level of Hebrew instruction), the class was out of my reach, so I switched to a class of absolute beginners. Now, of course, the pace is frustratingly slow! Ulpan runs from 8:30 to 1:30. Most days of this past week, I've had orientations to attend as well. By the time I ate and got back to my dorm, it was 4:30, and the jet-lag set in. Wednesday and Thursdays nights were very rough--I went to bed at 5:00 p.m. and woke up at 2 in the morning!

On Friday night, a student activity coordinator told me where I could find a free Shabbat dinner. The dinner was put on near a yeshiva and was open to its students and others from the area. Needless to say, it was packed! The service was both in Hebrew and English, but several other groups--including Jews visiting from Brazil and from Spain--still didn't know what was going on. The food was great as well, especially the challah (although there was no wine).

Today (Saturday), I FINALLY made it down to the Old City and downtown Jerusalem! Though most of the normal bus lines and taxi services were closed for Shabbat, the Arab bus line was running. It was a convenient seven-minute bus ride from the dorms to the Damascus Gate (pictured below). The gate led me--along with a few other international students--into the packed Muslim Quarter, where we bought some delicious baklava.


Just inside the gate we intersected the Via Dolorosa, the Way of the Cross. Below is a picture of the fourth station--Jesus meets his mother. We also saw station five--Simon takes up the Cross--but we decided that we should save the full trip for another day.


The whole Old City is packed with the most unbelievable shops, which sell everything from religious relics (from Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and more) to underwear. Below is a picture I took of a fabulous-smelling spice shop. They also had an impressive display of oils.


One of my friends, Miruna, knows the Old City quite well, and soon she had steered us toward the Wailing (or Western) Wall. As I said in a previous post, this is one of the things I was most excited to see in Israel. The Western Wall is the retaining wall to Temple Mount complex, which was the site of the First and Second Temples (and now the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque). It is the closest Jews can get to Holy of Holies, and therefore the Wall is the holiest spot in Judaism. I sported a kippa as I approached the Wall, which was lined with a strange mix of tourists and (mostly ultra-Orthodox) Jews in their traditional garb. The stones were huge, ancient, and smooth, and there were masses of letters (petitions written to God) that had been folded up and stuffed in the cracks of the Wall. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed at the Western Wall on Shabbat (Shabbat rules include prohibitions on pushing buttons, which includes cameras), but I will definitely return there again to take pictures!

From the holiest site in Judaism, we proceeded to the holiest site in Christianity--the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The huge church is shared by a number of Christian rites (Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox, among others), and is said to contain the locations of the final five stations of the Cross. Most notably, the Church houses the shrine of Christ's tomb. Several pictures appear below.

Golgatha, the crucifixion site (visitors are allowed to touch the original earth in which the Cross was erected):


The Chapel of Adam, directly beneath the crucifixion site. The rock was supposedly cracked by the earthquake which followed Christ's death. Traditionally, this spot was associated with Adam (the first man)'s burial:


The stone of unction, where it is believed that Jesus' body was anointed for burial:


And finally, the tomb of Christ (visitors are allowed to enter, but the line was long and I decided to save it for another time):


Here's a picture of me at the entrance to the tomb:


Though today was a great introduction to the Old City, I shall definitely have to return to these sites and explore them more thoroughly!

First Day in Jerusalem

My adventure begins! Here's a break-down of the past 72 hours: first, I took a flight from Phoenix to Newark, NJ on Sunday. I used the magic of Facebook to organize a dinner meet-and-greet in Newark with four other people from my program. They were a lot of fun, and we all have similar interests in Judaism, the Bible, archaeology, etc. I spent the night in a hotel, and the next morning made my way back to the airport for my flight to Tel Aviv.

I flew El Al, the Israeli airline. El Al is famous for their security screenings--before I was allowed to check my bag and get my boarding pass, I was subjected to a number of questions--do I speak Hebrew? Do I know anybody in Israel? Why do I want to study there? Do I belong to any congregations back home? To that last question, I answered "no, I am not Jewish." Big mistake--they confiscated my carry-ons to be searched for weapons. I wasn't the only one--me and all the other non-Jews were in the same boat. I got my bags back before the flight (they had to swab my shoes to check for chemicals). The flight was actually really nice--I had a personal TV screen which I used to watch movies, and with help from Tylenol PM I managed to sleep through most of the journey. The airline didn't even lose my bag! At the airport, we saw a big group of Ethiopian Jews making aliyah--how appropriate, considering the title of this blog!

First impressions of Israel--it is a LOT greener than I was expecting. As I told my mom in a text message, it really IS flowing with milk and honey. It's also a lot hillier--borderline mountainous--than I thought, and much more rocky.



The dorms at Herbew University are about a 40 minute bus-ride from the airport in Tel Aviv, so soon enough I was checking into my dorm. I have three roommates currently--Alex, a student from San Francisco, another Alex (who is Israeli), and a third international student from China whose name I cannot pronounce. The Chinese international student is going back home this weekend, so chances are I will get a replacement roommate. The apartments are pretty college-esque, nothing spectacular, but comfortable enough. Our kitchen is in need of some serious Clorox bleach (American Alex and I agreed), so we will be polishing the place up as soon as time permits. My room has a view of East Jerusalem, and the Dome of the Rock is JUST visible over the top of a building. I haven't made it anywhere outside of Hebrew University (except to buy sheets and stuff), but here's a picture I took from my window.



Other fun facts: I ate my first (real) falafel from an Arab street vendor, and it was freaking amazing. The actual Hebrew University campus is a bit of a walk from the dorms, but the whole campus (and the student housing complex) are very secure--a 24 hour security staff, metal detectors, etc. My bedroom has a mezuzah on the door frame! I am surprised at the sheer number of stray cats who congregate on the Hebrew U campus--literally hundreds! And finally, I never realized how close Jerusalem is to the West Bank. Below is a shot of the Hebrew University amphitheater. You can see (in the close-up underneath it) the wall which divides Israel from the West Bank.





My first Hebrew class begins in an hour, so I've been pretty busy--much more posts + pictures to come!

Countdown to Israel: 9 Days!

My travel preparations are almost done... I've obtained my student visa and my airline tickets, ordered foreign currency, received my Israeli cell phone, and bought a heavy stack of travel guides to read on the plane. The only things left are to pack, book a hotel for my overnight stay in Newark, and find traveler's checks (for emergency back-up funds).

I've been communicating with a couple of professor's at school regarding the possibility of writing a thesis project in Jerusalem. With any luck, this will be one of my classes next semester (and it will be helpful for grad school applications)! Other classes to which I am looking forward: more Biblical and Modern Hebrew, Modern Study of the Second Temple Period...

Most important update of this post: I've managed to grow facial hair, which I have shaped into the chin-strap style. I like it, but my dad clearly does not. The only problem is that it doesn't connect to my side burns on one side. I'm giving it until the night before Jerusalem, and then I'll decide if I'm keeping it or not.

THINGS THAT I AM MOST EXCITED TO SEE IN JERUSALEM
(1) The Western Wall--the retaining wall of the Temple Mount, the hill upon which the First and Second Temples stood. Read this link about the Western Wall.

(2) The Israel Museum--Israel's national museum, which contains a ton of awesome exhibits. I am particularly excited to see two of them--the model of the Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period, and the Shrine of the Book (which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls). A picture of the Shrine of the Book is set as the background for this blog's title.

(3) Holy Week--this year, Passover and Easter nearly coincide, which means I''ll be busy--Easter Mass in the Holy Sepulchre, an authentic Passover seder. I'm most excited for the Greek Orthodox Miracle of the Holy Fire, which takes place on Holy Saturday. Read this link about Holy Fire .

I'll probably post once more before I go. Thanks to all my followers!