לוויתן קטן בעיר גדולה: ראש השנה and more!

Over the past couple of week’s Ive done a lot more in Israel! With my Jerusalem class i learned about the Islam (we were supposed to go up to the Temple Mount be we were unable to because it was Ramadan), the Ottoman Empire where we went to Jaffa Gate, viewed Four synagogues in the old city (all of which are built underground because when they were built the Muslims forced us to build them below the mosques so they could be above us, literally and figuratively), and went back to Yemin Moshe. I was able to learn about the history of my favorite place on earth- ill share an abridged version with you now: basically where the village is now there used to only be fields where all the criminals hung out and bad stuff went down so this guy named Moses Montefiore and decided to build it up as a solution to the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions inside the walls of the old. At first no one wanted to live there because it was a dangerous location and it was so far away from the city (why live in suburbs when you can live in NYC?). So Montefiore started marking down the prices lower and lower until finally people came out of pity. Ironically a couple of years later a plague broke out in the old city and many fled from its walls seeking safety in neighborhoods just like Yemin Moshe. It has now become a very upscale area where many writers and artist take residence. A windmill was built in Montefiore’s honor and now stands as my favorite place in the entire world… good story ehh? But trust me i haven't only be in class learning (i know shocker right?)... In the past week and a half Ive gone on a night run through ben yehuda with my friends Jesse and Becky, had the best ice cream in the WORLD (better than haagen Dazs- i know even more shocking ehh daddy!) at a place called Aldo (not the shoe store), had a laundry party with my friend Sophie as we did our laundry together at Beit Nativ, bought new Machzorim for the holidays (which i am absolutely in love with! just ask my friend Leeann... i bothered her all through out ראש השנה services which i will talk more about later), decide i wanted to get a new Siddur for services (an Art Scroll one because i really like those... i just have to do that), Went to an Art Fair on עמק רפאים‎ with some friends (i bought a really pretty belt there that i love to wear- Debbie you are going to be so jealous when i get home), and even so much more than that! ראש השנה (Rosh Hashanah for all my non Hebrew speaking friends out there....) in Israel was an amazing experience (well most of it... Ill get to the rest later...)! It started out with a really great Friday night. All of Nativ spent erev rosh hashanah together as we davened in the basement of Beit Nativ. The ruach and passion that filled the air was unmatchable to anything i have ever done before. I was in a room full of people who believed what they were singing and felt it deep in their לֵב (heart... see i love אולפן again with the Hebrew :) ). Not to sound lame but it was a very moving and deep experience. I loved being in a room and having everyone know the songs and the tunes and sing them with such conviction... its was very comforting... anyways after prayer we all went upstairs and had the best food EVER (well not as good as moms but way better than anything else Beit Nativ is ever going to serve us...). They had chicken, turkey, beef, rice with raisins and almonds, glazed sweet potatoes with walnuts, cooked carrots glazed with honey, and a million other yummy foods! We all ate until we thought we were going to explode- it was a nice change from our usual feelings.... after i just hung out with friends and enjoyed the night! The next day the קְהִלָה group went to a conservative shul called Maynot (actually it was a 45 min walk... but it was fine I talked with my friend Judah the whole way...) and after the service we were all hosted by different people. My roommate lainie and I were hosted by a French Israeli family (strange mix I know...) and had a lot of fun playing Hebrew clue (called רמז) with her children. After Maynot we came back for mariv services and then everyone just hung out…. It was a not so relaxing (sleepwise) day but a lot of fun…. Now comes the exciting part…. The second day my room mate and I deemed it a great idea to go to the kotel to do our own services. BAD IDEA…. Very very very long story short… that if your really interested in you can email me for… she and I got very lost within the Arab quarters (a very dangerous place for two Jewish American teens to be) and had a hard time getting out… I have never been so scared in my life… but really it was horrible…. anyways that was my ראש השנה....

Also the window to my room is broken… and since it leads to a community porch people think its funny to come in that way and scare Lainie (my roommate) and I when we are sleeping…. Its actually not funny at all…. I promise you would be scared too if this happened to you…

The list of people who have come in through the window so far:
Laura
Michael
Jesse (he comes through all the time… he doesn’t even use the door anymore…)

Not much has happened since then and ill be sure to update more often so the posts aren't so long... any ways i hope everyone has a happy and healthy new year!
-Sarah