Getting Worse before it Gets Better

Hello friends and family,

I have received a few emails/ phone calls about the situation between Israel and Gaza and how I am doing and I just want to reassure all of you that I am safe in Jerusalem. I am not traveling anywhere for New Years just hanging around Jerusalem with some friends.

It is with hesitation that I write this email about the matzav (situation) because a part of me hopes that it is over in a couple of days; although the reality is it will most likely get worse before it gets better. I can go on and on about the political issues, but most of you know that Iran is funding Hamas and Hamas's sole agenda is to destroy Israel, so the big picture is the reality of fighting Iran but the immediate threat is that throughout these 6 months Hamas has rearmed with longer ranging missiles, weapons and training. Now it is finally time to deal with Hamas on the ground.

Throughout these 6 months of living in Israel I've met some great guys that are now in the army, some were called up to go into Gaza and some were trained in Gaza. It is a very unsettling feeling of actually knowing good friends here that are in Gaza compared to living in Boston knowing that "some random guys" are fighting on behalf of the Jewish State.

One of the stories I can tell you that happened a couple of days ago is this: I called my friend Dave at 10:30 Monday night and in a panicky voice he said he would call me back in 10 minutes. Ten minutes later Dave called me back and he was in shock. He was just on the phone with his mate that is a journalist who was driving near Ashquelon and all of a sudden Dave's mate heard a siren that a rocket was launched from Gaza and in position to hit Ashquelon. In Ashquelon they have 1 full minute before impact so he had 1 minute to find a shelter. Dave's mate stopped the car, put the cell phone on the seat but did not turn it off, and ran to the nearest shelter. One minute later, Dave was still on the phone listening through the phone and heard the rocket's thud. Dave then hung up the phone. Dave's mate called him back once he got back into the car and said that he was safe but could not find a shelter so he had to lie on the ground with his hands over his head until he heard the rockets impact.

My daily life is not directly affected by the situation like the people living in Beer Sheba, Sderot, Ashquelon, Ashdod and other Southern cities, but who knows? I can only hope that this mission will be swift and that the IDF learned a lot from their mistakes in the Second Lebanon War.

I am still on all these list serves from Jewish American organizations and I want to thank you for your media support, organizing rallies, and general support of Israel. I hope the next time I write it is with good news. Go to my friend Benji's blog for his comedic insight, he is brilliant. http://www.whatwarzone.com/2008/12/here-we-go-again.html

Happy New Year…all my love

Esther

Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Shalom

There is something about the holidays in Israel which reminds me how special it is to be living as a Jew in the Jewish state during this time in history. I feel very lucky to safely walk the streets of Jerusalem celebrating Hanukah with my friends, however it was not always like this and it will probably not continue forever but at this point of time in Israel I am very grateful for my freedom and lifestyle.

Some of the things I love about Hanukah in Israel are:

1. Menorah’s lit up on lamp posts and on taxi cabs (see pic)
2. Chocolate covered parve, yummy, sufganiot (aka Donuts)
3. Walking down the street and seeing Hanukah candles burning in the windows of people’s homes
4. Saying Chag Samach to everyone and not having to explain to anyone that yes, in fact, I am Jewish and do not celebrate Christmas

My favorite Hanukah story in Israel is that one of my friends, Paul, was at the gym the first night of Hanukah at 5:30ish. Over the loud speaker the receptionist announced that lighting the Menorah will be at the front desk in a couple of minutes. All of a sudden the treadmills, elliptical machines, macho men lifting weights, dance class STOPPED! Everyone came to the front desk to light the first candles and sing Hanukah songs. Only in Israel!

My next religious experience was Midnight mass church bouncing in the Old City. These were some of my observations:

1. You can tell who is Jewish at mass by who is swaying back and forth to the pretty Christmas songs
2. The Jerusalemite Syndrome Jesuses were walking around like it was their Birthday
3. The priest of the Scottish church said Christmas is all about a crack-whore, I think he was talking about Mary but he could have been talking about a ritz cracker
4. The priest also said if Jesus was an entitled middle-upper class Jew than he would not be their savior. This could be taken as anti-Semitic or maybe this priest had a bad day with Israeli customer service.

To all my Jewish friends, I hope you enjoyed the Matzo Ball dance, saw a good movie and ate yummy Chinese food. To all my non-Jewish friends, Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoyed it with your loved ones.

Today is my 6 month Aliyah-versary and I will be celebrating with friends at a few parties tonight.

All my love,

Esther

Integrating into Israeli society

Hello friends and family,

It has been about a month since I've updated you about life in Israel, which is going very well. It is getting a bit chilly here but I still go out for my morning runs which proves to be the most dangerous thing here because of the wet, slippery leaves on the limestone, hilly sidewalks.

I ended Ulpan Etzion early in November because life was getting busy and I started working a few jobs but I found a part-time intensive Ulpan which I will start in early January. In the meantime, I babysit the cutest baby, care for a very nice elderly man, am the Marketing Director for Sacred Burial Products which capitalizes on Christian ideology by selling soil from Israel to Christians for burial (everyone has their flugelbinder) so hopefully this is mine, and I am selling ads for PresenTense Magazine. I am also on the Steering Committee for PresenTense Summer Institute and will be developing a business/ leadership curriculum for the summer fellows. (my Masters is actually coming in handy!)

It is hard to express in words the transition that I am going through living in Israel but what I've realized is that this experience is a step to the process. It is not the end all be all, but something that will make me a better Jewish leader and Zionist. The World is too transient now to be in one place forever.

I've thought a lot about the transition steps for an Anglo who immigrates to Israel and these are some of my observations and insights. This past summer I was in vacation/program mode in which I made my group of friends, explored Israel, and finally enjoyed some free time in my life. Then the Chagim (holidays) month was a fun-food-filled festival in which I experienced some eye-opening events. After the Chagim reality set in and money starting running low so it was time for me to stop having so much fun and start applying for the jobs I was researching in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility, but reality hit me even harder when people told me my Hebrew was not up to par. This brings me to the real integration into Israeli society- working 4 jobs!

I love living here but there are times I feel like my world in Boston just lifted itself up and changed locations to Jerusalem. Through talking with people they say the integration into Israeli society takes a good three years, from learning Hebrew, to settling into a community, getting a "real" job and breaking away from my Anglo world. Who knows? I have friends here for all different reasons, some just to get a free Masters, or an Israeli passport which is more useful than their South African passport, and some to find a husband. I am still finding my reason but in the meantime gaining insight into the process. I also think to really understand what it means to live in Israel and be an Israeli I have to live in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and maybe up North (working on a winery).

Sorry this is such a long email but I've been doing a lot of thinking about the integration into Israeli society and how/where I would benefit the Jewish world at large.
I am very excited to see some of you this December/January when you are leading Birthrights, which if you need to me to speak to the group about any topic, I am available. For the rest of you, I will see you when I visit Boston/Philly/NY in late February.

Chag Samach and all my love,
Esther
www.esthersaliyah.blogspot.com
Me and baby Livnat...soooooo cute!

My street!!!

Nir Barkat and the GA

Shalom from the homeland!

Sorry it has been a while since I've updated everyone about the happening with my life in Israel but life is very busy and interesting. I am still going to Ulpan (Hebrew lessons) but only about 3 days a week, I am working part-time babysitting and in elderly care, and enjoying my new friends.

The interesting part of my life is that I was campaigning for Nir Barkat, the newly elected mayor of Jerusalem and he WON!! I am sure most of you have heard about him if not you can go here: http://www.barkat.org.il/English.aspx. The day of the election I stood on the corner of a major intersection waving at people and yelling VOTE Nir Barkat (in Hebrew) - see picture! Also, the night of the American election we stayed up very very late to watch the results on tv and it was extremely exciting that Obama won.

These past few days the GA (General Assembly) of North American Federations was happening in Jerusalem so I attended most of the conference. The speakers included Prime Minister Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and many other Jewish leaders. The main point of the conference for me was to network and see some friends from Boston/NY/DC which was very nice. I would fill you in on the details but my friend Benji Lovitt (who went with me) wrote such a hysterically true piece on the conference that I am going to direct you to his blog. http://www.whatwarzone.com/2008/11/its-ujcs-ga-2008no-its-matza-balloh.html

I hope all is well with everyone in the States and you are "staying above water" during this challenging economic time.

All my love,
Esther
Taryn and me volunteering on election day

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