I am sitting on a plane to California. I am in New York thousands of miles from Israel hundreds from LA and scared. Ryan sits behind me and says, "I'm not ready to go back..." And as much as I can't wait to be back home I don't think I am really ready either. I mean I'm avoiding writing about the past week...1. Because I'm starting to see that my writing isn't going to fully encompass my experience. 2. Because too much has happened and I don't know if I'll remember it all. 3. When I finish writing this, these three weeks are over. Never the less this past week deserves a major shout out so I'll try my best.
Wednesday after our normal classes at Neve on mind blowing subjects that I barely get through awake, we were off to Netanya for horseback riding. Not even pictures could describe the beauty of this beach. It's so crazy to go from the Old City or Har Nof and then a place like Netanya. As our bus driver Harel would say (insert israeli accent) " you see, dis place have everything, dis best place, most beautiful country...we have mountains, city, beach, forest." And right about then the english he knew would cease to be able to fully express how he felt about his home.
This kind of place, "mountains, forest, beach, city" kinda reminds me of my home, CA. But Israel, what I would like to now consider my second home, has an energy of overwhelming pride, spirituality, and it should, I mean this stuff is OLD! older than you can comprehend. And even after being there I can barely comprehend it's holiness myself.
The horses were nice...mine was named Joni...Joni Mitchell...maybe not, but anyways after trotting where the clear tourquise water met the sand so fine it felt like flour, we sat at a beach side cafe to eat hummus, tahina, pita and fruit smoothies, We were serenaded by yashiva boys as the sun descended. That night we had a banquet style dinner of course ended with more singing, I am really gonna miss that.
I then went to a jewelry type fair nearby were I of course bought myself some stereotypical israeli gifts like hamsas, hamsa bracelets and so on. After seeing a man get stabbed in the face with a fork it was time to kick it back to Neve for Thursday would be "Discovery Day" ( learning at Aish Ha-Torah.in the old city). You could see the Kotel from the window! In the beautiful air conditioned building we learned about The Big Bang Theory and its place in the Torah creation story, the scary ways in which history has been repeating itself to detail from Purim to the Nuremberg trails. And lastly and most frightingly the Torah Codes. Now I don't want to explain them here, because they are so unbelievable that they are believable. But basically its were science and Torah come together. It is known that every event and that everything that has happened is in the Torah in a code from 9/11 to the Holocaust to Hurricane Katrina EVERYTHING!!! Now I know you don't believe me because you weren't there to see this presentation but lets have a chat :) After the 9am-6pm Discovery program which left people with some permenant chills and stuff to think about. I then made a trip to the Kotel and was even more moved now, I wrote this poem. I am scared to share but I find it relevant to the sharing of my journey. ( SEE POEM)
After my second Kotel trip, bagels and some shopping at Ben Yahuda. Sara and I somehow got the idea to get our noses peirced, ahhhhhh....I don't know what really inspired me...but by the time I had decided " Hey, maybe I shouldn't get my nose pierced in Israel..." it was too late. The Israeli man had already put that needle in my nose!!! Can I say this hurt more than both my tattoos!!! FML! it really hurt. But it was only 25 dollars. So I figured if not now...when. But really...it hurt. I mean BAD.
I felt like I couldn't move my face and then it was swollen which was normal...right? except when I woke up Friday I could barely see the ring because it was like swollen over it. And also...I had a stye so basically my face was like swollen for our last Shabbat.
Friday we went to Geula and Meah Shearim...for the ultra, ultra, ultra, orthodox experience. This is the time where you say DO NOT JUDGE JUDAISM BY ITS PEOPLE. We wore our most conservative outfits. Skits to the floor, closed toed shoes, and long sleeves/high necklines. Because if we didn't we could get yelled at, thrown beach on or thrown rocks at. Now not only do you need to dress a certain way. But you need to keep walking, no standing on the streets. Do not talk to the opposite sex or touch them...don't even look at them. There are seperate check out lines in stores for men and women in certain places. But this only one teeeeny tinnnyyy spot of Israel as a couple streets over are the Yehuda Shook you will find the very opposite. Pushing and shoving at all men and women alike. The shook has basically everything from food, to jewelry, to clothes. It's like that sex and the city scene but 10x more crowded and of course we went right before Shabbat. This was also the place were I sweat the most and really thought I might have a heat stroke....worth the deals? maybe...I didn't buy much there.
After the Shook, we were off to Ramat Bet Shemesh, the place I would want to live if I ever moved to Israel. It's mostly americans that have made Aliyah. I stayed with a family that the mother went on my trip years ago and never came back to the US! They were wonderful hosts and had 3 beautiful blond babies that were such good kids! Lots of energy! We had dinner and oneg, and I was with Sara the whole time which was a perfect way to end it all. We had lunch with our family and basically slept the whole day. We finished our 3rd and last shabbat with a great 3rd meal and gathering all together....I am really gonna miss these people...I am just starting to get to love them and know them!
The next couple of days are a blur to me because I am writing about them months later....but all I can say is that they were good. I of course was getting sad and scared to leave. I remember I did have a tear when we touched down in LA. I felt so ready to start my new life with the brand new awareness of the world, but I knew it was gonna be hard and it was.
I want to go back as soon as I can! But I know it won't be the same because we had such a great group. You ALL have such a place in my heart.
I don't know how many times you can be this blessed in one life time. Hopefully there isn't a maximum.
I don't even know how to end this...Blog...it scares me...
But I know that these experiences have made me, ME and therefore they won't be forgotten...right?
Baruch Hashem
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