I don't know...?

Hi everyone!  We had a great day today!  We were at Neve early in the morning for classes with Yocheved Engel, Rabbi Kass, Rebbetzin Heller, and Rabbi Katz.

Yocheved is always a pleasure to learn from, and she talked today about freedom.  She said something that was initially hard to hear, that there is actually no such thing as true freedom.  No matter what, you are giving one thing up for the other.  But the way you do have freedom is to choose the thing you find the most valuable and go with that.  Yocheved also used the words "cherus" and "charus."  Cherus is the word for "freedom" and charus is the word for "engraved."  And if we have learned anything at Neve, it is that words with the same root have a deep connection.  Therefore, something that is engraved has the capability to give you great freedom.  My favorite example that she gave was how ballerinas, who look magnificent and free on stage (it seems like they have so much freedom and control over their bodies) become that great because they practice the same thing over and over again.  Many ballerinas practice the same routines and simple moves but they express themselves very differently on stage.  This shows how boundaries and rules can give a person a lot of freedom.

Rabbi Kass discussed the fourth of the ten commandments, which is keeping Shabbat.  We observe Shabbat as an affirmation that G-d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.  However, when speaking of the creation of the world, we often refer to each day as another layer of the mask that hides G-d from us.  If G-d had stopped at 5 days, there would not be enough of a mask that we would question His existence, but if he kept going for a seventh day, the mask may have been too thick that we would have no reason to believe He exists.  Therefore, when celebrating Shabbat, we don't only realize G-d's creation of the world in which we live, but we also affirm that G-d stopped creating at exaclty the right time to let us ponder His existence, and therefore have free will.

Rebbetzin Heller spoke of the possibility of prophecy and the approaches that we might have of believing that prophecy in the times of our forefathers was true.  She said we can learn about prophecy from sources in the Torah.  Many prophecies were incredibly specific, giving detailed events and using numbers (as in "this will occur for 70 years).  We were able to see that anyone who doubted the truth of their prophecy would be general enough that their prophecy would be able to come true no matter what really happened.  But even the most specific prophecies came true, they could not have been random guesses.  Another way to approach this idea, and really any idea whether religious or not, is just to have an open mind.  Rebbetzin Heller discussed how closed mindedness leads to a lack of information and a lack of growth.  The point is to keep an open mind even if it may seem scary or new.

Lastly, we had the ever popular Rabbi Katz, who talked about interpreting texts.  He gave us a line from Pirkei Avot (ethics of our fathers).  More importantly than reading through and discussing the text he gave, was discussing how to interpret texts.  Judaism encourages asking TONS of questions, in fact, if someone thinks they understand something without asking questions, it means they don't truly understand it.  Rabbi Katz used the metaphor of approaching things as if they are a mirror or a window.  If you approach a new subject as a mirror, you can only see what you are used to seeing and there is very little growth.  But if you approach a new topic as a window, you are open to everything and anything without limiting yourself.  In addition, he discussed how it is better to be able to say "I don't know" and then try to understand questions before yo understand their answers.  

After class we went to Meah Shearim to do some shopping and were luckily pretty successful!  With only a few days left on our trip... pausing to wipe away my tears... we needed to get some gifts!  Then we went to the shuk to buy ingredients for our banquet dinner tomorrow night...more tears.  Our jaws were dropping at the colors and textures that are so lively in the shuk!  They have the reddest strawberries, orangest oranges, and best smelling breads and pastries you can imagine!  Let alone tons of nuts, dried fruit, olives, fish, and even clothing and jewelry.  We then dropped off some things at the apartment and went out to Ben Yehuda street to get some yummy falafel, and then headed off to all girls karaoke!  We had a blast singing together along with other women and just letting loose for a while!  Of course we had a blast singing and dancing!  Now is time for some packing and hopefully an early night!  Laila Tov!

Lots of love, 

Ashley

The Scenic Route

The Scenic route.....

Sunday January 16, 2011

Yay for late mornings!!  After a wonderful Shabbos and Motzei Shabbos in town we were able to sleep a little later this morning before we rounded up the troops to go to school!  Today we tried out different seminaries and sat in on classes to get a feel for the different styles and structures of learning.  I (Sydnee), Jenna Bish, Ashley, and Eleanor tried on She'arim, and the lone, the brave, Jenna Baz, attended Midreshet Rachel.  Both schools are more text based than Neve, and we spent the morning learning Chumash (the 5 books of Moses) and Halacha, reading and translating Torah with tutors, and learning about HOW to learn Torah and understand the accompanying commentaries.  WE were directly studying Torah!  How cool is THAT?!

Although the change of pace of the morning classes was a great experience, it was wonderful to get the whole gang back together again in the Maidel Mobile for some afternoon adventure!  It was no hang gliding on a Dorito, but we DID spend the afternoon driving around, from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, to Aroma, and then Ben Yehuda Street.  The original plan was to go to Zichron Yaakov, see the botanical gardens, and walk around town.  We figured we would chance the rain to go see it, but as we were driving, and it started POURING, we had to re-evaluate.  So, we turned the van around, made a necessary pit stop at Aroma - the sustenance of our trip - then headed back toYerushalyim.  Despite the fruitless driving and unwarranted stress Bayla had to put up with, it turned out that we had some great car conversations.  (BY THE WAY... MAMASH SHOUT OUT TO BAYLA FOR HER AMAZING DRIVING AND PARALLEL PARKING, DESPITE CRAZY ISRAELI DRIVERS AND A FRUSTRATING AS EVER GPS!!)

Don't worry, after approximately 4 hours of "touring" and "seeing the sights" we got a good 20 minutes of shopping in in town, then we went to Shayan, and amazing Asian restaurant, for dinner.  We had a lovely, really nice meal all together (plus really good food), and as we sat at the giant round table, staring into each others' eyes, and passing the water on the broken lazy susan, we were able to appreciate how AMAZING everyone is on this trip!! (For real, these 6 women here are INCREDIBLE!! Mamash the BEST!!)

Once we had eaten enough that we were virtually immobile,we went back to our apartment, where a Kallah teacher, Esti Hamilton, was coming over to teach a class about the Mikveh and family purity laws.  We sat at the kitchen table, learning about the purpose of the Mikveh and the Halacha of family purity.   An amazing discussion was capped off with a quick drive to a beautiful Mikveh in Na'achlaot.  Esti gave us a tour and an explanation of the process of going to the Mikveh, then were had the pleasure of continuing our class in the gorgeous waiting room. 

We came home to end another day with hours of talking and giggling and silly You Tube videos and eating.  It's so comfortable here, and it's a lovely feeling to be at home in Israel with such inspiring women.  But we miss you all terribly, and hope that you can live vicariously through us as we are living the dream!!

Laila Tov, and talk to you tomorrow!!

Shalom from the Holy Land :)

Old Family & New Friends (Friday and Shabbos)

You mothers might not believe this but your daughters actually chose to wake up Friday at 4:30 in the morning!  After consuming many cups of coffee we piled into a van to take us to two of Israel's holiest places-Kever Rachel (the burial site of Rachel our Mother) and the Maarat HaMachpalah (the burial site of the matriarchs and patriarchs).  Rachel's tomb has been a place where Jewish people throughout the generations have stopped to pray and pour out their hearts; from the Jews who were leaving the land of Israel on their way to exile to a group of girls from UMD.  Then on to celebrate a new member joining the tribe!  We were lucky enough to visit the Maaras Hamachpalah on the morning of a brit milah (circumcision) and we joined the family in singing and dancing.  As soon as we got back home we all took a nap so we would be able to fully enjoy Shabbos...Love from Bayla and now here is Jenna!

Greetings from Eretz Yisrael!
 

We just arrived back at the apartment from an incredible Shabbaton in Ramat Bet Shemesh. I, Jenna Bazelon, and my dear friend Sydnee Chavis, spent a FANTASTIC Shabbat with the Boxer family. We could not have asked for a better host family, we really left feeling like part of the family. Shout out to...Hadas (you're amazing), Yaakov (also amazing), Kahatya, Rina, Avraham Yosef, Eliyahu, Chana, Elisheva...WE LOVE YOU GUYS!! I can't speak to the amazingness of the other host families but I've only heard awesome things. Also shout out to Chani Fulda and her family (i.e. adorable son, Avi) for hosting our Oneg Shabbos, the incredibly welcoming Ross and Adam families, and all the rest of the great host families. You all made our Shabbaton experience unforgettable.
Our Shabbaton experience included: food. Oh, and some great Torah portion talk, life story sharing, and of course, priceless time with beautiful children.

On a personal note:
I just have to tell all our loyal minions followers that I am having the most incredible adventure here in Israel. As cliche as it sounds, it really has been a life-changing journey of self-discovery and bonding with amazing women that I otherwise would probably not have connected with, BARUCH HASHEM. We have endless meaningful conversations about life, and I couldn't have asked for a better group to share this experience with. I really feel that I am meant to be here.

Love, Jenna Bazelon

Traveling to our past...

Another day has passed in the holy land of Israel. Of course we had amazing classes with Rabbi Marcus, Rabbi Greenfield, and Rabbi Katz. We moved on to the letter Bet, which is the letter of connection, relationship, and "twoness." Connections and relationships can either be positive or negative. A majority of "twoness" in the Torah is disconnected because we need to overcome those struggles and challenges to connect back to G-d. Another interesting fact about the Torah is that G-d changed systems when explaining the creation of the universe. He started out with using day one and then switched to using second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth for the rest of the days. Day one was the only day where the mask of G-d's oneness was so thin that it was still directly accessible. After day one, the mask got thicker since He created the ability for us to disconnect to Him. After being inspired by Rabbi Marcus, we had the pleasure of learning from a new Rabbi. Rabbi Green field focused on the purpose of life and how it is for G-d to have a relationship to us rather than us to have a relationship with Him. This relationship is fostered by the revelation, organization, and structure of the universe. And then last, but not least, was Rabbi Katz. We were going to go over Pirkei Avos (the ethics of our forefathers), but got a little sidetracked. The chapters of Pirkei Avos involve the ultimate goal of Jewish self-development, which is that your reflex itself is an extension of what is good in the best possible way. It provides no embarrassment or discomfort to the person on the receiving end and should be given with sensitivity. Once we filled our brains with some knowledge, we figured it was time to fill our stomachs with food.

After eating some delicious pasta salad Bayla made for us, we headed to Yad Vashem. I had not been to a Holocaust museum or memorial in a long time, so I was very excited to take a tour. Even though the tour was rushed, I felt immense feelings that I have never dealt with before. I had never looked at the victims of the Holocaust as people who had lives like we have before. That is mostly because I did not know how my own Pop lived before the Holocaust began. Also, there was a point in the tour where we were standing on part of the road from the Warsaw Ghetto, where my Pop lived before he was sent to Auschwitz. If they were able to pass down Judaism and keep it alive during those times, there is no reason why we should not be doing that today.

Of course the last couple events we had involved food. We went to a lovely woman's house to bake some challah. Six braided challah! It was not that difficult and they all turned out delicious. This was before dinner though. Bayla made us tofu stir fry before we all passed out. It has been a long couple of days, but at least Shabbos starts tomorrow!

Love and miss all of you!
<3 Jenna Bishop

You have something on your face....

Wednesday 12 January, 2011

    Shalom again from the Holiest of Holy apartments- 13 Hovevei Zion!  It's been another "grueling" day here!  Life is sure tough in Israel!  After sleeping later than usual, we schlepped ourselves out of bed and hit the road for a day at the Dead Sea!  Following a "slight" mishap with 'Gerry,' our "trusty" GPS, who took us an hour out of the way, we were able to navigate ourselves back to "Route 1" then to the Dead Sea!  When we arrived at the Ein Gedi Spa we wasted not time, and Ashley, Sydnee, and the Jenna's took to pampering ourselves in mineral rich, luxurious skin clarifying mud. We made sure we were each coated head to toe in the goop then rinsed off in a natural sulfur shower, leaving our skin silky smooth!  Let me tell you, we all look good covered in mud!
   The next step in the treatment process was a dip in the Dead Sea.  It takes a trolley ride then a short hike to actually make it to the sea, which is quickly disappearing, but once we made it to the salt coated, mineral laden beach we were thrilled!  We floated and marveled in the vacant water where it is actually physically difficult to fight the dense water to stand up.  It is SO COOL!  Despite the slimy feeling of the water itself, it was so comforting to know that there is nothing creepy in the water to bother you at all (except of course each other <3).

So, by the time we finished dolling ourselves up in natural Dead Sea schmutz we were pretty tired, so we woke up Bayla and Eleanor from their amazingly relaxing Dead Sea naps, hugged and grabbed Kayla, and set back for Jerusalem.  Luckily we found a gas station before we had to spend the night camped out in Ein Gedi, and we made it back to Jerusalem, past the Camels and Bedouins, without a hitch. 
  To top off YET ANOTHER amazing day we met up with a whole group-o-Terps who are all in Israel learning!  We met up at Rabbi Lynn's apartment for a Bagel dinner and major schmooze session.  It was so wonderful to see all our buds from the UMD, which is now buried in snow.  We were able to catch up, but also discuss what we're learning and how we want to use it.  It was also amazing to see them, because it really made us recognize that we can continue our growth at school and at home. 
   Israel is still wonderful!! We miss you and wish you were ALL HERE WITH US!!  Until tomorrow night, Laila/ Yom Tov, and giant hugs and kisses from all of us in the "Maidel Mansion."

Shalom, Ya'll!

Love, Sydnee

Tel Aviv Adventures...

Tuesday 11 January, 2011

Bayla, Jenna Bazelon, and Sydnee were still not 100% this morning so Jenna Bishop, Eleanor, and Ashley (the few…the proud…the healthy) cabbed it to Neve. After a full morning of class, we hopped into the maidel mobile and gunned it for Tel-Aviv, fueled by some yummy pita pizza á la the Neve cafeteria.

In Tel-Aviv, we wandered the Nachalat Binyomin artists market for a few hours, checking out hand-made jewelry and Judaica. With all our wallets a little lighter, we took cabs to a delicious restaurant called Primavera. Unfortunately, it was both delicious and closed, so we walked down the street to Prima Grill. Fortunately, the detour led us along the boardwalk, and we enjoyed the sight of a beautiful sunset over the Mediterranean.

After dinner, we drove to nearby Holon for Dialogue in the Dark. We were led on an indoor tour of a forest, a boat, a cabin, and a concert…all in rooms completely devoid of light. Our guide, like all guides at the Blind Museum, was visually impaired, and shared some of her amazing life with us during our round table discussion (at least, I think the table was round!)

We’re all worn out, so we trooped back to Jerusalem and made a quick stop off at the grocery store for some essentials before hurrying home to hit the hay. Got to rest up…dead sea tomorrow!

A Gutte Noch (good night!)

Chava Kayla (the madricha)

classes, shopping, karyoke

hello all,

   today, was yet another beautiful and blessed day in the holy land of Jerusalem! we are happy to inform that Jenna Bazelon is feeling much better but has decided to spend the day to further rest and fully recover! 

we began bright and early at neve with the enthusiastic, well educated Yocheved Angler, who spoke about tznius (selective revealing of our external selves) and how it ties into self-esteem. through deep discussion, we tried to see what tools people can use to get past the search for external approval and general approval from others. as a class, we came to the conclusion that when one internally knows themselves, the need for external approval diminishes. it is very difficult for a person to live a life of true connection if all one work towards is money, power, success and beauty.  we learned the deeper reasoning of dressing modestly and saw how this can help us with our connection to our environment and the vital appreciation for ourselves.

   next, we were lucky to be taught by Rabbi Kass, who continued to teach about our written texts. he very interestingly pointed out that each of our 613 mitzvot can fall into the categories of our ten commandments. we began talking about the first of the ten commandments, which is believe in Hashem. the conversation got very complex as the question was asked.. "how can something command us to believe."

    Rebbetzin heller introduced the topic of nature and the fact that nothing makes itself and also explained the difference between everything that exists in nature and human beings. we learned that everything in nature, other than human beings, cannot be measured in good or evil. for instance, an animal cannot be evil for killing another because that is part of its animal instincts and the animal knows no better. we, humans, have been blessed with the ability to reason, to speak and to make moral choices.

    our last class of the day, my personal favorite (and that's really great because each class is seriously mamash AMAzING), was with Rabbi Katz who spoke to our hearts. His topic today was Baseless hatred (sinat chinam). As much as it is a misfortune, each person at one point dislikes another person and although this person thinks it is justified, the reason for disliking a person is usually not a valid reason at all. An exercise that we have been working on in class is finding the positive traits in our fellow neighbors and not focusing on the negative. this seems easy but it is a process if we would like for this to occur naturally. love is a trained and conditioned emotion that is naturally within our souls.

    after our fulfilling day of learning, our amazing Madricha Kayla took 3 of us girls to meah shaarim, the most observant neighborhood in Jerusalem. Sadly, Sydnee, Jenna and Bayla were at the apartment not feeling 100 percent but i am excited and confident G-d willing that tomorrow on our blog we can inform everyone of the full recovery of all members of our group. the four of us spent about two hours in a book store where we each came out with valuable purchases :) (no worries parents not valuable as in money) 

     for dinner, Bayla took us to a beautiful and delicious restaurant in the city for yummy soup and salad. 

     After dinner Kayla, Ashley Jenna Bishop and I went to an all girls Karaoke club! it was so much fun but we missed out missing members! hopefully next week we can go as a full group! i hope all is well! greeting from the holy land! 

-Eleanor Ayala Cohen