Sukkot in Jerusalem

Shalom,

Sukkot in Israel and specifically in Jerusalem is an amazing experience. For 7 days there are festivals, parties and ceremonies going on in the city which gives it a spirit like no other city in the world. Before Sukkot came in I went with my friends to the shuk which was unbelievably packed with people buying lulavs, etrogs, and decorating stuff for their sukkah. Most restaurants have a sukkah attached to their outdoor section and even the falafal stands have a sukkah.

Yesterday there was the Feast of the Tabernacles which is a parade of 8000 people from all different countries showing their support for Israel. This morning I went to the Berkat Ha Kohanim at the Kotel. Thousands of people packed the foyer and praying section of the Kotel to hear hundreds Kohamin bless the people of Israel. It brought back childhood memories of my father, uncles and Zayde doing the Kohamin prayer infront of the congregation but it also felt as if I was at the Temple 2000 years ago for the journey of Sukkot.

I can not attach the video clip becasue it is too big but look at it on my blog.

Chag Samach
Esther

PS...pass this onto whomever and I will post it on my blog at www.esthersaliyah.blogspot.com


see more at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017555159&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Yom Kippur in Jerusalem

Every Jew should experience at least one Yom Kippur at the Kotel in Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem the feeling of Yom Kippur started at 10am Wednesday morning, the grocery stores were packed and people were rushing to finish last minute details before the city shut down. At 2pm every store was closed, and hardly any cars were on the street. At 3pm there was a hurry in my apartment building; we were cooking, cleaning, showering, and feeling the need to conclude our chores in an hour.

As the air gets cooler, the sun goes down we sit and enjoy our last meal for 24 hours with friends and family. As we sip our last dribble of water, eat our last crumble of cake, the Siren calling in Yom Kippur blasts all around Jerusalem for a whole minute.

I walked to the holiest site for the Jewish people, the Kotel, with thousands of other Jews just as they did two thousand years ago and along the way hearing different congregations start their Kol Nidre service. When I walked down the stairs that overlook the Golden Dome and Kotel I heard what sounded like a tenor cantorial chant of "KOL NIDRE" but it wasn't, it was the Muslim call to prayer. At that moment I was reminded how similar my religion is to the religion of my close neighbors and cousins.

At the Kotel no matter the differences in culture, Mizrahi or Ashkanazi, conservative or orthodox we prayed together to G-d to atone our sins in harmonic melodies. I sat there hearing the songs from my childhood, seeing people cry, smile, and in awe, and smelling the crisp Jerusalem air. After having an internal conversation with G-d I left the Kotel feeling in awe and overwhelmed about how special it is to live in Jerusalem.

There are so many aspects that are not discussed about Israel that are deep routed in their traditions. One of these special traditions is "taking to the streets" after Kol Nidre service. In the middle of the street there were thousands of kids on bikes, young adults mingling, and people strolling with their dogs. Not one car came through and not one person yelled at each other to move.

As I broke the fast with friends on my porch, I am reminded how lucky I am to be living in Jerusalem at this moment in time. I am happy for everything that brought me here along my journey.

L'Shana Tova Tikatavu (May you be inscribed in the book of life)

Jackie, my neighbor, and I at our break-fast shindig

Jerusalem's First Rain

"The first rain reminds me of the rising summer dust" -Yahuda Amichai

Today was the first rain of the season in Jerusalem and it was a spectacular sight, feeling and sound. Rain is prayed for all year long so to experience it is emotional. In Boston we take for granted the amount of rain we get but when you do not see rain for months at a time, you appreciate its coming and purpose for the cycle of nature.

Shabbat shalom
Esther

שנה טובה Happy and Healthy New Year

Shalom friends and family,


I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! To be in Israel during the Chagim (holidays) is an amazing experience. It is like Christmas in Israel for Jews! The stores are packed, people are happy, and it is vacation time (again). For Rosh Hashanna I am going to my cousins in Netanya and for Yom Kippur and Sukkot I will be in Jerusalem, which I am looking forward to immensely. I have 3 weeks off of Ulpan but during this time I will be studying with friends for at least a couple of hours a day.

These past few weeks have coasted by but I have three "first" Israeli experiences that are news worthy.

1. Last Wednesday my throat hurt so went to the doctor. I stepped into 1970 doctors office where I was greeted by two secretaries on their cell phones and a room full of very diverse people (but this is what Israel is all about). Everything is okay - just some Strep throat. The best part about the experience is that I did not pay for any of their services- got to love a social system.

2. Last Saturday night I went Israeli Folk Dancing with my boyfriend and his adopted Israeli mother. The scene was 300 Israelis dancing in sync in a gym. I was able to learn a couple of dances but I stayed in the back of the room and followed the 75 year old guy in front of me - at least I used my Hebrew!

3. My friends and I crashed our first Religious wedding (see picture). The wedding had 900 guests, an open bar and dessert buffet - it was amazing. The bride was maybe 20 years old and a lot of the boys came straight from their army duty so they carried their M16 guns on them while doing the Horrah.

I will send a prayer for all of you during this time but if you have any specific wishes that you want me to bring to the Kotel please share them with me and I will bring them to the place where our ancestors traveled long journeys and prayed to for thousands of years. I can't wait to hear the Shofar at the Kotel during Nila services and eat in many Sukkot.

Shana Tova
Esther
Random scenery picture from Hike in Galillee

Work in Israel?!?!?!

Shalom Chavarim (friends),

I hope all is well in the states with everyone. I heard the North East
is getting a storm this weekend and the South got hit pretty badly
with a couple of Hurricanes - I hope you are all surviving. Here in
Jerusalem it is hot and sunny everyday...which I love and I have no
complaints about. In the mornings there is a cool fresh breeze and in
the evenings the weather is a perfect 65 and breezy. I officially have
a Sabra (Israeli) tan and Israelis come up to me speaking Hebrew which
helps me practice my "English accent" Hebrew.

So the title of this email is Work in Israel? As of right now I am not
working but I have a few plans in action so when I need to find a job
after Ulpan is complete in December I already have contacts lined up.
I am also getting involved with volunteer work in specific fields that
I care about in Jerusalem such as being on the Steering Committee for
Presentense (http://www.presentense.org/) and getting involved with
Nir Barkat's Campaign for Mayor
(http://www.barkat.org.il/English.aspx) . Also, if any of you are
going in November to the GA 2008 (General Assembly) in Jerusalem I
will be volunteering and will see you there.

As for work, I want to get involved in Israeli Corporate
Philanthropy/Responsibility. Israeli non-profits are cutting staff
and programing because they do not receive as much funding from the
American Jewish donation anymore and they can not depend on the
Israeli government because the government is spending most of their
tax dollars on security. It is up to the private sector to sustain
Israeli NGO which contribute to Israeli society through social
welfare. I am researching the tax exemption laws, meeting with
organizations and corporations to understand the culture of Israeli
Corporate Philanthropy which is keeping me very busy and I am learning
a lot about the system.

Jerusalem is an amazing and intense place to live and through my
volunteer work I hope to make Jerusalem a more affordable and
welcoming place for young adults to consider their home.

Here is a picture of my favorite Israeli cold snack food..they are Parve ice-cream bon bons


Lots of love and enjoy your weekend

Esther

End of Summer

Shalom all!

It is not the end of the summer yet but as visitors start leaving
Israel to go back to the States I am aware of how much time I've
enjoyed "being on vacation" with my friends in Israel. From going to
Eilat/Petra, beaches in Tel Aviv, pools at hotels, great restaurants,
wineries, Haifa, Golan and the Kinneret I've taken every opportunity
to spend quality time with friends in Israel.

However the homework is piling on and I can no longer miss Ulpan
(Hebrew lessons) because a friend is in town or I want to go on a
hike. I feel more confident everyday speaking Hebrew with Israelis
and doing daily errands but I have a long way to go before I am a
fluent in Hebrew. I found "my place" to hang out where the waiters
and waitresses know me and seat me right away and I have a great group
of friends in class and in the Merkaz (place I live).

This past Shabbat my friend Shoshana celebrated her one year
anniversary of making Aliyah. We were discussing how much she
accomplished in one year and what goals she will set for the next
year. We determined she was successful because she accomplished 3
goals - 1. speaking Hebrew fluently 2. working at a great job which
makes her happy and is on her way to her career 3. having a wonderful
Israeli boyfriend. I am on my way...I'm studying Hebrew, have a couple
of work opportunities but am waiting until I complete Ulpan, and am
going on dates but there is no one of substance yet.

Enjoy the end of your summer!
lots of love
Esther
Bethany and me when Bethany flew in on the NBN August 19th flight
My Ulpan class with Mora Linda

JCRC Non-Jewish Seminar

Hello Friends and family,

These past 10 days I staffed a JCRC mission to Israel with MA Reps, Senator, and AFL-CIO participants. It was the first time I saw Israel through a Christian-Political lens. We toured the Via Delarosa, Capernaum, Bethlehem (which I am not allowed to go to because I hold an Israeli citizenship) and some of them got baptized in the Jordon River.

They also toured Masada/ Dead Sea, Yad Vashem, Jewish Quarter, Sderot, Haifa, Golan Heights and spent a day lying in the sun on a Tel-Aviv beach.

As you can see it was a whirl-win of a trip! Three highlights for me were touring the Golan Heights because it depicted the importance of Israel’s security and beauty. The Golan is one of my top 3 places where I would want to live because of its serene nature and vastness.

The second highlight was our tour of the Gaza outlook and Sderot (go to http://www.sderotmedia.com/ for more info). I envisioned what Gaza looked like but when viewing the dark, grey, polluted, and chilling area I understood the true reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On one side you have beautiful trees, agriculture and flourishing communities and on the other side it is dreadfully oppressing.

After viewing the outlook we ate lunch in Sderot and visited a community center. As the participants were taking a bathroom break and milling around the foyer we heard a TZEVAH ADOM (red alert) which means a Kassam rocket is being launched from Gaza and is going to land in Sderot in 15 seconds. Everyone ran into the auditorium which is also a shelter. Finally after advocating for Sderot for the past 8 months I comprehend only a small part of life in Sderot. Even though it is not the best situation to experience a TZEVAH ADOM this did impact the participants understanding of the situation with Hamas, Iran and innocent Israeli civilians. I attached the picture of Representative Golden playing soccer with a couple of boys afterwards because this states that life goes on and the community’s moral is somehow being upheld.

The third highlight was going to an Israeli incubator in Haifa that is working on a technology which treats all types of cancer without any invasive surgery. After a week of political and religious discussions it was very important for the participants, who could impact this technology in the States, to see Israel’s creative innovations and one of our best resources.

After this amazing week I had a very restful Shabbat which included a 4 ½ hour game of Monopoly in which I came in second out of four. Now that my travels are slowing down for the summer I have time to focus on Ulpan so I can become fluent in Hebrew.

All my love,

Esther

Gaza Strip Outlook

Rep.Golden playing soccer with Sderot children

Dead Sea experience