Christmas in Jerusalem

Pretty much since I arrived in Israel (if not before), I had people back home saying how amazing it would be to be in Israel for Christmas. The thing that everyone seems to have forgotten is the fact that Israel is Jewish - they don't care about Christmas! The only reason I had Christmas Day off was because it fell on Shabbat; otherwise, I would have been in class. And I admit, I let the lack of festivities get to me a bit. I was bummed to be halfway around the world at Christmastime, bummed that the IDF interfered with our Bethlehem plans, bummed in general.

But, I must also admit, I was pleasantly surprised with how things turned out.

Christmas Eve day, I met with Ayana, my language buddy (a program Hebrew U offers to help international students learn and practice Hebrew). Ayana is a really sweet girl, who not only helps me with my Hebrew but also has been showing me around Jerusalem. And she got all excited this week when I spoke several sentences in Hebrew, all correctly! (Sadly, it is a surprise and reason for celebration - not only did I get the grammar correct, but also the pronunciation!) Anyways, she was supposed to show me around one of the oldest neighborhoods, but I asked if we could visit the Christian Quarter of the Old City because I had heard there were Christmas decorations there. Either I was misinformed or they were all hiding, because we didn't find any! But it was still fun to wander around and talk in Hebrew.

Christmas morning, there was worship at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City. I spent last Saturday with a group of people from the congregation (including the

pastor and his wife), and they had invited me to worship. My roommate Annie asked to come with me, which was really nice. She wanted to share Christmas with me, since I celebrated Chanakuh with her all eight nights. It was a lovely worship service, not very large, with all the good Christmas hymns. And the sermon just happened to be well-suited to Annie, as it included reference to Rabbi Hillel and the story of a picture (right) sketched on Christmas Eve during the battle of Stalingrad by Kurt Reuber, a German Lutheran fighting for the Nazis. What makes the drawing so special is that he drew Mary and baby Jesus with Eastern features - as the pastor said, "he saw the face of God in the face of the enemy." It does make one think - during these times of restlessness and uncertainty, do we see the face of God in the face of the enemy? Both the Israeli and the Palestinian - the Jew, the Christian, and the Muslim - contain the image of God. We all share the Hebrew Scriptures, we all read Genesis 1 - "And God created humanity in God's image, in the image of God, God created humanity, male and female, God created them" (v. 27). I think it becomes a little harder to view the enemy as an enemy when we remember that person was also created by God, in the image of God.

After worship, we still had some time before the Christmas brunch back at the pastor's house, so Annie and I decided to wander around the Old City, which led to us getting rather lost in the Old City. After awhile, I got a little overwhelmed and panicky, but luckily Annie kept her cool and eventually we not only found a gate, but the gate we actually wanted. I had gotten to the point that I told Annie I didn't care which gate we found, I just wanted out of the Old City! From there, we caught the bus to the LWF compound, where the pastor lives, even though we were a little early. (Not only did I want out of the Old City, I also wanted to get far away from it!) The brunch was lovely and the food delicious. It was a gorgeous day - clear blue skies, in the 60s - so we ate outside on the pavilion, overlooking Jerusalem and the Old City. The view was too beautiful for words. We ended up staying longer than I had anticipated (in part because some people had problems getting there, thanks once again to the Bethlehem checkpoint), but it was such a lovely time. I think Annie and I were the first to leave, too. But as I told Fred and Gloria, some of us had homework to do - and class today!

I spent a nice portion of my afternoon and evening talking to my parents (and later, my brother) on the web cam. And my mom bribed the dog with treats so I could see him too. In between I did homework, or at least pretended to!

All in all, it was a nice Christmas. Obviously I would have preferred to have spent the day with my family, but it was a great alternative. Earlier in the week, I had talked with some Jewish classmates about Christmas, and one of them remarked, "I love being in Israel for Christmas" because Christmas is a non-event here. In America, the Christmas season starts the day after Thanksgiving (if not before!) and it is everywhere, in your face, all the time. Jews (and others who don't celebrate Christmas) cannot escape it, whereas Chanakuh is at best an afterthought. (Chanakuh is admittedly a minor holiday in the Jewish year, but none of the Jewish holidays receive any real public attention or appreciation.) So, in a sense, being a Christian in Jerusalem is a bit like being a Jew in America. The conversation definitely made me think. I am often aware of my minority status here (although I can "pass" for a Jew, until someone asks my name - somehow "Christina" just doesn't sound Jewish!), and Christmas has been no exception. But like my experience with the Bethlehem checkpoint last weekend, I look at this as an opportunity to get a glimpse - however small - of what others experience all the time.

Bethlehem Blues

So I decided to get me some Christmas, which meant a trip to Bethlehem was in order.

My friend Bethany lived in Bethlehem for a year and a half and is dating a Palestinian, so when she heard I wanted to visited the city, she invited me to join her yesterday. She was going to the Lutheran World Federation compound on the Mount of Olives in the morning to bake and decorate Christmas cookies at the pastor's house. She was running late, so she decided we should take a taxi instead of walking. The taxi driver was a Palestinian, and Bethany started speaking to him in Arabic. In the course of the conversation, she told the driver she had lived in Bethlehem and he said he lived in Bethlehem. She told him we were going there that afternoon, and he said he would take us there for free, on his way home. I was a little suspicious of this offer, not because he was Palestinian, but because this young man was a complete stranger, but apparently that is just Middle Eastern (or at least Palestinian) hospitality.

We arrived at the compound and got to work with the cookies. It turned out just to be the pastor's wife, two other ladies, Bethany, her friend Britt and me. Britt was also going to Bethlehem with us, as she and Bethany had appointments to get their haircut. Baking the cookies was a lot of fun. Instead of decorating the cookies with icing, we used glaze made out of egg yolks, painting the cookies before baking them. I was not very good at it, so most of mine were just solid colors, instead of some of the intricate patterns and designs of the others. But in the end, they all tasted equally yummy!

When it came time to leave, Bethany called the taxi driver and we met him near the Old City. On the way to Bethlehem, he showed us where the 1967 lines were, compared to where the security wall was built and where the checkpoints are. There is a village that is half in and half out, and the people living there have to go through the checkpoint to make a u-turn to go through again, just to go to Bethlehem. Our driver was telling us about his family. One of his parents is a Palestinian from Bethlehem and the other is an Israeli from Jerusalem. As a result, he is a Palestinian with a Jerusalem card, but his family must maintain two homes - one in each city. His older siblings do not have Jerusalem cards, but his younger brother (who is still a minor) does. Apparently the older ones had some sort of "mark" on their record that allowed IDF to deny them cards. I didn't quite understand all of it, but I'm not sure he really does either. It is an example of the randomness of the occupation.

And then there was the checkpoint. We were stopped and the driver had to show his papers and we had to show our passports. We thought that would be it, and we would be on our way. No. We had to pull over, and they started questioning our driver. They kept calling him over and sending him back. Apparently a couple of months ago, he had received a call from someone claiming to be from the Tel Aviv police who wanted to ask him some questions. He asked how he could know that she was really with the police, which is a valid question. He asked her to send him the questions in the mail and he would answer them, to which she agreed. Well, the questions never came and now he is "wanted." The police jeep came and six armed soldiers got out, ready to arrest him. They kept trying to get him to let us girls go (as if he was holding us hostage!), though I suspect it would have been much worse for him if we would have left. Finally, the decision was made that if he could get someone to come and co-sign that he would appear in court tomorrow (today) in Tel Aviv at 9am, he could go. His friend came, another Palestinian (which surprised me - I figured they would require him to have an Israeli vouch for him). We then had to wait for the document to arrive from the other checkpoint, just a few minutes away, but it took over 30 minutes for the police jeep to return with it. All in all, we were held up for nearly two hours. The driver was so apologetic, when we just felt so bad for him (and Bethany and I were on the verge of going over and decking one or two of the soldiers, we were so frustrated with them!). And the thing is, as much as it sucked for us three girls, it was one day for us. That is the kind of thing the Palestinians face everyday.

By the time we got to the hair salon, we were almost two hours late. They told Bethany and Britt they could take them in five minutes, no problem. Of course, five minutes turned into ten and

then fifteen. They finally took Britt and washed her hair, but then she just sat there, waiting. After nearly an hour, Bethany (who was all worked up and stressed out) decided she wasn't going to wait anymore, so the two of us left and went to Manager Square (right). We saw the Christmas trees in the peace center, where Bethany had worked. From there, we walked over to a shop that was recommended to me (where I bought presents for Gabby instead of for my parents!) and then we visited the Milk Grotto. Bethany decided to go back to the hair salon to see if they could cut her hair now. They were finishing up with Britt, so we parted ways with Bethany (who had a party to go afterwards) and went to the infamous Bedouin shop, owned by the even more infamous Majdi. He made us tea and told us stories and promised that any time we came to Bethlehem he would pick us up from the checkpoint and take us around. He even said that when our families come (since Britt's family is coming for Christmas and my parents are coming in January) that we would show us around Bethlehem and take us to Hebron. After we made our purchases (another present for Gabby and one for Jackson, but also

finally a gift for my parents), Majdi insisted on taking us back to Manager Square, where we were meeting up with the pastor, his wife and the assistant pastor. We were supposed to go see the Christmas tree lighting and the parade, but we had missed them. So instead, we decided to get dinner. On the way, we saw three other young people who are part of the church, so we picked them up and they texted their two friends whom they had been separated from to meet us at The Tent Restaurant, the Bedouin restaurant that I didn't get to enjoy in 2009 because hiking up the

Herodium in 110 degree heat all but killed me. There were ten of us, and we just had the

assorted salads with pita, and it was delicious. The pastor and his wife, bless their hearts, picked up the entire tab. The ten of us then piled into the 8 passenger van and the pastor switched into his chauffeur role and drove us all home. Luckily, some of the kids live in Bethlehem, so only seven of us had to go across the checkpoint, which we crossed with no problem.

All in all, it was a very long, exhausting and stressful day. I was able to enjoy some Christmas, although it was overshadowed by the ridiculousness of the IDF and the rudeness of the Arabic taxi drivers in Bethlehem (which I left out of the story for simplicity's sake, but let me assure you, they were awful!) But I guess that is Christmas in the Holy Land - nonexistent in Israel and big business in Bethlehem.

Fires & Festivals

Happy Chanakuh!

One of my favorite parts about living in Jerusalem is being immersed in the Jewish culture and customs. It has been so much fun celebrating Chanakuh with Annie, my Jewish roommate. We light the candles every night (though I do not always stay up until they burn out), and last night we made latkes, potato pancakes. For those of you who have never had latkes, they are kind of like hash browns but with egg added and fried into little patties. Another Chanakuh delicacy is sufganiyot, jelly-filled donuts with powdered sugar on top.

The biggest news in Israel right now, of course, is the Haifa forest fires that have already claimed 41 lives since they started December 2. What makes the fires so bad is that there has been no rain - in the two months I have been living in Jerusalem, we have had one light sprinkling that lasted only a few minutes (although they are calling for rain in the morning!, even if it is only a 30% chance). In addition to the "deadly inferno," there have been several arsonist fires started in the region. You can see a map of the fires here. Two teenage boys have been arrested for starting the original fire through negligence, although the trial will surely be a political nightmare, since the boys are from a Druze village and the family is claiming the boys are being framed (implying that the arrest was racially/ethnically motivated), not to mention the fact that the four different articles I read all contained different information on exactly how they are said to have caused the fire. The Haifa fire is the worst fire in the nation's history, and help is pouring in from all over the world. Even Palestine, despite all the hostilities since the peace talks collapsed, has offered aid:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also offered to send help, which he conveyed in a rare telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two are believed not to have spoken since US-brokered peace negotiations collapsed in September.

This whole situation is such a tragedy. 12,000 acres of forest and 5 million trees have been destroyed. 17,000 people have been evacuated. 41 people have died. And all during what is supposed to be a fun holiday season. In fact, Haifa hosts an annual "Holiday of Holidays" event that celebrates Chanakuh, Christmas and Eid al Adja - the December holidays of the world's three major monotheistic faiths - and the day before it started, the area went up in flames. I was supposed to be in Haifa today with a group of the graduate students from RIS to celebrate the holiday season, but that trip, of course, was cancelled.

On a much happier note, my parents have finalized many of their plans for their visit in January. The plane tickets have been bought, and the hostels have been booked. (Of course, we are supposed to spend two days in Haifa, so the itinerary might have to be adjusted, but at the moment, I am more concerned about the people than about our vacation plans!)

Shalom, and for my Christian brothers and sisters celebrating the Second Sunday of Advent, may the Peace of Christ be with you!

Potlucks & Politics

My friend Katie (who is actually a Canadian) organized a Thanksgiving potluck and luckily my stomach decided to cooperate, so I actually got to enjoy some American foods! We had chicken instead of turkey, and the desserts were Israeli (no pumpkin pie!), but otherwise, we had most of the typical Thanksgiving items: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cornbread, veggies, cranberries, and so on. And we had 25-30 people crammed into a tiny 2-person apartment!

The day before Thanksgiving, I ran across an AP article online about the settlement issue in East Jerusalem. I knew that East Jerusalem had been annexed by Israel after the 1967 war, but I didn't realize that no other nation recognized this annexation. Thus, I understand why the Palestinians view the East Jerusalem Jewish neighborhoods as illegal settlements. This is a much more heated issue than the settlements in the West Bank. I have spoken to many Jews here (although they have mostly been the international students at Rothberg) who oppose the occupation and who are in favor of a two-state solution in which Israel would withdraw from settlements in the West Bank. However, not all of the people who support that also support the division of Jerusalem, with East Jerusalem for the capital of the new Palestinian state. I would speculate that most Jews believe that Jerusalem should remain united and under Israeli control, with equal access to the Old City/holy sites. This is also a much more tangible issue for me, and the other international students, because I basically live in one of the so-called "Jewish neighborhoods" of East Jerusalem. The Hebrew University Mount Scopus campus has always been under Israeli control (although it was closed from 1948-1967 due to its location in East Jerusalem), and I assume that the kfar was built on land that originally belonged to Hebrew U. But when I exit through the north gate to go to the store or to catch a bus, I am in French Hill, which is a post-1967 neighborhood. At least, unlike like some of the other "neighborhoods" in East Jerusalem, the French Hill area (from what I have read) was not occupied by Arabs prior to the construction of the neighborhood. (Of course, I have also been told that there was nothing in Israel between the expulsion of the Jews after the Bar Kochba revolt and the Zionist movement that led to Jewish immigration...)

Now I have never been shy about the fact that I am pro-Palestine (although I still maintain that one can be pro-Palestine without being anti-Israel, and presumably, vice versa), and the issue of East Jerusalem is no different. I previously (naively) assumed that East Jerusalem would be granted to Palestine in any two-state solution. Any claim to Jerusalem as the rightful Jewish capital is null when it comes to East Jerusalem. Jerusalem, under Hebrew/Israelite/Jewish control, never included East Jerusalem. At most, the biblical Jerusalem included the modern-day City of David, Temple Mount and Western Hill (essentially, the land directly south of the Temple Mount and the Old City). There is no historical reason why the Palestinians should not be granted East Jerusalem as their capital. Of course, for political reasons, having the Israeli and Palestinian capitals literally on top of each other could be volatile, but the original UN partition of 1948 divided Jerusalem so that both states could have it as their capital.

Of course, it is easy for me to sit here and loudly proclaim into cyberspace that the settlements must go. It doesn't really affect me in the least. Peace (a two-state solution) will not be reached while I am living here, and while I plan to visit Israel in the future, perhaps even for extended stays (say, as I am working on my dissertation), the personal impact on me will be minimal. I am not a resident of a settlement or of an East Jerusalem Jewish neighborhood. There is no threat of me being permanently displaced. So it's easy for me to say that East Jerusalem should go to the Palestinians and that the settlements need to be disbanded ASAP. I don't have to deal with the logistical nightmare that accompanies such a plan - What do you do with all of those now-homeless residents? Is a "simple" house-swap (Palestinian to Israeli and vice versa) feasible? (Are there enough homes on both sides of the equation? Are they of comparable size and worth?) What kind of impact would it have on the economy and on the job situation? (although, from my understanding, many settlers work in Israel, not the West Bank, so that wouldn't be so much an issue for them) How will it affect the children who are ripped from their homes, their schools and their friends? How do the refugees factor into all of this? and so on and so forth.

But the bottom line, I believe, is that regardless of the headaches it might cause in the mean time, a two-state solution is much preferable to the alternative - increasing violence and war. And while I do not have anything to gain or lose in how the land is shuffled around, I have a lot at stake when it comes the need for peace in the Middle East. We all do. This land is holy, and not just because blood is continuously split on it. It is at the heart of the three major religions of the world, and we all deserve safe and equal access to our spiritual homeland. It is not fair for the Jewish people to claim it as their own - nor would it be fair for the Muslims or Christians to do likewise. We all go back to Abraham, and therefore, this land belongs to all of us. While our religions are different, our God is the same. For that reason alone, we must learn how to get along, how to love our neighbor, whether they be Jewish, Muslim or Christian, both here in Israel and in the greater world - but especially here in Israel.

Being Sick Abroad

It goes without saying that it is being sick is no fun, but let me assure you, being sick halfway around the world is about a million times worse.

For over a week now, I have been dealing with an upset stomach. At first, I chalked it up to my normal stomach peculiarities, but as time went on, more and more foods were being added to the "can't eat" list, until only pudding, graham crackers and apples were left. Then on Friday I started getting really lightheaded. Not my normal, "I'm dizzy, I need to sit down" lightheadedness but seeing white, ears ringing about to pass out lightheadedness. Between Friday and Saturday, I think I was awake a total of 8-9 hours each day.

Today, for some bizarre reason, I was absolutely determined to go to class (which was pointless, since I couldn't concentrate and just walking to campus completely wore me out). But my friend Kristin, the wonderful woman that she is, agreed to accompany me to the doctor's, which meant I needed to figure out our international health insurance. So I called the number on the insurance card, and I got this lady who was less than helpful. She wanted to know where I lived, so I told her Hebrew University Mt Scopus campus, or French Hill. She kept asking what neighborhood and I kept telling her French Hill, and she was like, "I can't help you if you don't know the neighborhood." French Hill IS the neighborhood! Luckily, the call dropped and when I called back, I reached a much more polite, much more helpful woman, who gave me the numbers and addresses of the two walk-in 24 hour clinics in Jerusalem. So Kristin and I caught the bus to the closer of the two.

I didn't have to wait very long, but my doctor didn't really know English, which was fun. But I was able to make him understand my symptoms. The official diagnosis was acute gastroenteritis, and he decided that I needed an IV (with a drug of nausea and something else), which was lots of fun because I have horrible veins. The nurse tried a vein in my left hand first, and my vein collapsed so that was painful. Then I remembered that I have a decent (for me) vein on the side of my right hand, so that's what he ended up using. In the middle of the treatment, I managed to accidentally knock the IV loose, so the meds were squirting everywhere and blood was squirting everywhere, and the nurse was like, "I told you to be careful!" And I barely moved! But in the end, it all worked out and I left the clinic with bandages on both of my wrists - to which my Italian roommate said, "it looks like you don't like life!"

I am feeling a little better already and will hopefully continue to improve. Perhaps there will be hummus and falafel again in my future!

Bomb Shelters, Long Walks and Crazy Things

When I was in junior high, we used to joke about the fact that the school had a bomb shelter. For some reason, we thought that was so ridiculous, as if the Cold War was ancient history and our school was so outdated. But here I am, so many years later, literally living in a bomb shelter. That's right. My bedroom doubles as the apartment's bomb shelter, which means that in additional to the regular door, there is a solid steel "blast" door and that in addition to the steel shutters, my window has a solid steel cover. And while we occasionally laugh about the bomb shelters, the fact of the matter is, they are a part of everyday life in Israel. Every public building I have been in has at least one bomb shelter, normally well marked. Even if nothing else in the building is in English, you can be sure the sign(s) for the bomb shelter(s) is.

And the bomb shelters are just one aspect of my everyday reality that is so foreign to how life is "in the States" (you can tell I'm living abroad, when I no longer refer to it as the US or America). The campus and the various dorms (both the kfar, where the international students live, and the dorms for the Israeli students) are all enclosed by gates; one cannot enter without showing a student ID. Once on campus, I have to go through a metal detector and hand my bag over to be inspected. Even a lot of stores in the area require you to show them the contents of your bag before you enter, and every place has some sort of "guard" at the door with a metal detector wand. Random soldiers carrying machine guns are a normal part of my day. And every trip I go on - whether it was the weekend retreat or my bi-weekly archaeology tours - includes an armed guard.

Honestly, all these extra security measures don't make me feel unsafe - nor do they make me feel more safe. I think I just accept them as how life is. Last Shabbat, my friend Kristin and I walked from the German Colony back to the kfar (about 4-5 miles) after synagogue, around 6:30pm, after it was already dark. I never really felt unsafe on the entire walk; in fact, I faced more problems doing the "country club walk" back at Witt with Allie and Keeley. Yet when I tell people here that we walked across Jerusalem, after dark, like that, their reaction is always the same: "You did what?!" followed by "Were you safe?" Back home, I have friends who will go running at 8 or 9pm and no one questions their sanity or their safety. But here, there is the assumption that a nighttime stroll may land you in the hospital - or worse. Why? Because I am living more or less on the Israeli-Palestinian "fault line"? It's not like violence is a normal everyday part of life over here. Yes, I am concerned about what will happen if the peace talks don't resume - and even at the potentiality that a solution will be agreed upon (although the likelihood of that happening while I am here is slim) - but that does not mean that I am constantly looking over my shoulder, afraid someone is going to pull a gun on me.

Is there a possibility that I may become the victim of a terrorist attack? Absolutely. But if I stayed back home, there probably would be just as much chance (if not more) that I would be involved in some horrendous car accident or the like. I can't live my life afraid of what might happen. My passion is the Hebrew Bible, and that means I have to spend time in Israel. Of course, I can name Hebrew Bible scholars who have never been to Israel, and I could probably have a fairly successful career without every having set foot in Israel, but I would not be true to myself nor my understanding of scholarship. I have no desire to live in Israel on a permanent basis, but I do believe that an important part of biblical scholarship involves spending time in the land, and so here I am. People's passions make them do crazy, sometimes even dangerous things, and they do them without thinking twice because to them it is worth it, no matter what the cost. And that is what Israel is for me.

Food Matters

I have been living in Israel for over a month now, and one of the interesting things about living in any foreign country is the food situation. I can easily spend an hour at the store just picking up a handful of items because the labels are in Hebrew, not English (and when they are in English, they are imported and therefore cost twice as much). And to make matters more difficult, our kitchen consists of a sink, a stove top, two counter tops and a refrigerator. No oven, no microwave. My diet consists mainly of pita, hummus, yogurt, apples, crackers, Israeli-brand nutella, sandwiches from the Rothberg cafe, falafel and the occasional pastry. I recently discovered the wonders of adding carrots to my pita and hummus, and this past week I picked up a real luxury: peanut butter. Another thing I really enjoy but probably shouldn't admit ischallah, which is a special type of bread that is used during Shabbat for kiddush (from which Christian Eucharist is derived). Bakeries only sell challah on Fridays, so I'm guessing it is not intended for regular consumption throughout the week, but the past couple of weeks I have bought a challah on Friday, for myself and not for Shabbat dinner. (I also have not been to aShabbat dinner the past couple of weeks, so I didn't have the opportunity to enjoy challahthere.)

Another interesting thing about Israeli cuisine, when one is not preparing one's own food: most food establishments are kosher and therefore are either "meat" or "milk." This is derived from a rather obscure verse about not boiling a kid in its mother's milk (Exodus 23:19). As a result, places either serve dairy products or meat products; both can serve fruit, vegetables, fish, etc (foods that are considered parve, neither "meat" not "milk"). Most cafes and cafeterias on campus are "milk," which is why the sandwiches I eat are tuna or egg and cheese. Meat, in general, is more expensive here because it is kosher. (Actually, I have found that food in general is more expensive here than in Ohio, although the falafel stand is quite cheap [$3-$4] and the sandwiches on campus are generally as cheap or cheaper than making my own.)

Since I am apparently dedicating this entry to the subject of food, I will add that I have acquired a taste for "Camomile & Honey" tea this past week. (I put it in quotes because that is how it is spelled on the package, instead of chamomile) Due to the rather abrupt drop in temperature (almost 20 degrees practically over night), my body revolted and I spent several days dealing with lightheadedness (the joys of living with vasal vagal). I have never liked chamomile tea, but I know it is good if you aren't feeling well (and it was one of the few teas that the school cafe sells that I recognized) so I ended up buying a few cups of it (and then going to the store to buy a few boxes of it, to save money) and after a dozen or so cups of it, I think I might actually like it. Or at least I no longer have to add two packets of sugar and two packets of sweetener to it in order to drink it.

And with that, I shall return to my studying. Shabbat shalom!

The Garden, the Churches and the Holy

The weather is finally starting to change. After three weeks of 80, 90, even 100 degree weather (the high on Oct 20 was 106!), it has finally cooled off to the 70s, which means it is finally cool enough that one can spend some time outside without immediately reducing to a puddle. And that in turn means I was finally able to enjoy some time in the botanical garden at Hebrew U. I have taken to cutting through the garden on my way to class in the morning, giving me a few moments to center myself before I am bombarded with information (and Modern Hebrew). I have also been studying in the garden, at my favorite spot, beside this waterfall.

Other than the changing weather - which we are all so grateful for! - life has been pretty much the same. I have developed more or less of a routine, which, as we all know, is vital for us Methodists! In some ways I feel like I have always been here and in others it feels like I have just arrived. Either way, it is hard to believe that I have been in Israel almost a month already!

On Thursday I went to the Mount of Olives with my roommate Benedetta, her friend and two of his friends. When they found out that I had been to the Mount of Olives before, they made me the de facto tour guide (hopefully I did Sammy proud!). Since we are poor students, we only went to the churches that don't charge admission - Dominius Flevit (where Benny had to give me her scarf because I was wearing a tank top - scandalous!), Garden of Gethsemane, Church for All Nations and Church of the Tomb of the Virgin Mary. From there we proceeded toward the Old City, passing Absalom's Pillar, which I had not seen up close. Once we reached the Old City, Benny, her friend and I parted ways with the other two guys, who wanted to go back to the kfar. We, on the other hand, were not done exploring yet. We walked through the Old City (where most shops were in the process of closing for the evening), out through Damascus Gate and then up to Ben Yahudia, the pedestrian street filled with shops and restaurants. We hung out there for a while before finally catching the bus back to the kfar.

I also finished Six Days of War by Michael B. Oren, on - what else? - the Six Day War of 1967. It was interesting, especially because it was as objective as anyone can be when it comes to the Holy Land. I know I tend to be hard on Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians (which I stand by) but as the book illustrated (as did the cross-cultural trip in 2009), both sides are victims and both sides are victimizers. And, of course, there are more than two sides, which makes it all the more difficult to sift through the evidence and the accusations to get at the "truth," if there really is any such thing in this mess. I guess the "truth" is we all need to remember the sanctity of this land and, more importantly, the sanctity of the lives of others.

Something I cannot get used to is the beauty of this place. I am literally surrounded by thousands of years of history. On my first archaeological tour, almost everywhere the professor pointed out to us in Jerusalem included "and they found tombs dating to...," usually the First or Second Temple period. Hebrew U's botanical garden is on a Second Temple period burial cave. Everywhere I look, I see the holy. Every morning, I see the Dome of the Rock on my walk to campus, and every morning, it catches my breath. But it is not just grandiose structures like the Dome of the Rock or even the natural beauty of the garden. A gravel pathway, the bakery down the street, even the city buses - they all contain a sense of the holy. Perhaps I am just romanticizing things. Perhaps I am just trying to give reason to the intense fighting over this land, between the Israelis and the Arabs, between the Jews, Christians and Muslims. Or perhaps there truly is something inherently holy about a land so steeped with history - and with strife.

Figs, Challot and Politics

Shabbat shalom!

I am beginning to develop a routine of class and studying, and of course, spending time on the merpeset. I am really enjoying my classes, especially Archaeology of Jerusalem and Approaching Classical Jewish Texts. I had my first archaeological tour this week. We visited the Armon Hanatziv Promenade in southern Jerusalem, which was the former High Commissioner’s Palace during the British Mandate and the current location of the UN in Israel (if I understood correctly). It offers a beautiful view of the city, which allowed our professor to identify the physical geography and landmarks for us. Some interesting tidbits (at least to me):

· “The old city is located outside the Old City” – What is referred to as the “Old City” today refers not to the oldest section of Jerusalem but to the section enclosed by the walls from the Ottoman Empire period. The oldest section of the city, conquered by King David, is known today as the “City of David” and is located directly south of the Temple Mount.

· Only from the City of David does one ascend to the Temple Mount. Elsewhere in Jerusalem one descends to it (which is why most of the pictures you see of the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount are taken from above and not below).

· The modern Mt Zion does not refer to the biblical Mt Zion but received its name from a fourth century church, Holy Zion. Likewise, modern day Mt Scopus (the name of the area where I live and go to school) is not the ancient Mt Scopus (although I do not know why it became known as Mt Scopus). The City of David also does not refer to the biblical City of David, which was just a section of David’s Jerusalem, formerly the stronghold Zion.

· The Hinnom Valley, which in later biblical times (including the time of Jesus) became known as Gehenna and subsequently associated with Hell, is named after a family who owned the region (Gai Ben Hinnom, the valley of the son of Hinnom). That poor family is now forever associated with hell and damnation!

There is more, but I figure that is probably more than you wanted to know already.

I also really enjoyed the lecture in Approaching Classical Jewish Texts this week. We have been looking at how the Mishnah, Talmud, midrash and other Jewish traditions have interpreted various passages of Scripture, and I find it fascinating. For example, we were reading Genesis 12:1-3, where God commissions Abram and tells him to go where God sends him. The basic conclusion we reached after reading several sources and discussing them was that God needed Abram to save God! The idea is that God ceases to be God if people cease to worship and therefore fail to recognize God as God. Abram was living in a wicked and idolatrous place but he still saw God and therefore it became his responsibility to “rescue” God by leaving his country and “taking” God with him. [I realize that probably makes little to no sense to most of you, as it is hard to explain in a few sentences what it took an hour in class to say, but I just found it so fascinating that I had to give it a shot.]

Of course, I do more than just attend class and study. Wednesday was another trip to the German Colony and to the merpeset. There was confusion as to which day we were gathering at Jon’s, so in the end, there were only four of us, but it was a lovely evening nonetheless. I’m not one for large gatherings anyways, so it was more my style.

Yesterday (Friday), I made the trek to ha’shuk (the market) with my roommate Annie and my friend Kristin. It was my first time to ha’shuk and the others’ first time this school year. It is a crazy busy place, especially on Friday mornings, as everything closes for shabbat around 2-3pm. It is basically an outdoor market with dozens of vendors selling fresh produce, but for much less than in the grocery store. I bought some whole wheat pitas, still hot from the oven, along with apples and figs (my new Middle Eastern treat, thanks to Jon) and, oddly enough, hangers. Annie and I also bought the challot (sg. challah, the special bread used for shabbat dinner).

The three of us caught the last bus out to the German Colony for shabbat on the merpeset. We attended the same synagogue as before, and I was actually able to follow along for the most part this time. Even though I don’t necessarily know what I am reciting or what the rabbi is saying it still feels very much like worship. I don’t know if it because we are reciting the ancient Hebrew texts or because of the music or because of the general atmosphere, but I truly feel connected to God. After the shabbat service, we returned to Jon’s apartment for shabbat dinner on the merpeset, which I wholeheartedly believe is how shabbat is supposed to be spent. Jon prepared a feast for us – sweet potato soup with caramelized apples; ptitim with almonds and raisins; and a fish dish (which was delicious but am not sure what all was in it). It was, without a doubt, the best meal I have had in Israel. It was a lovely evening, even though we got into a rather intense political debate over the Israel/Palestine issue and the course of peace talks. Of course, Jon begins Harvard Law next year, so he was really just arguing for the sake of arguing – for the most part, we all agree on the issue and I think Jon was just arguing the other side to get us all riled up.

Out of that debate we also raised the question, What does it mean for Israel to be a Jewish state? and perhaps more importantly, What does it mean to make Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state a prerequisite for the continuation of the peace talks? I believe that Israel has the right to be a Jewish state, in the same way that England is an Anglican state (but not in the same way that many of the Arab countries are Muslim states) BUT I do not think it is fair to make that a prerequisite. To many Palestinians, that statement will sound as if (1) Israel plans to take over the entire Holy Land and/or (2) Israel, as a Jewish state, will evict all non-Jews. Even I, as an American Christian who wholeheartedly believes that neither of these are the case, cringe at the thought of formally recognized Israel as Jewish state until the conclusion of the peace progress because I don’t think you can define what it would mean for Israel to be a Jewish state until then – until Palestine is granted its own sovereignty.

As I said before, it is a very interesting time to be living in Israel!

Moshavot, Hostels and Politics

Back in Jerusalem after a lovely Shabbat in the Golan Heights region. We left at 6am on Friday morning to head to Galilee, where we visited Rosh Pina, one of the original Zionist moshavot (colonies), settled by Romanians in 1882. It was interesting to hear about the original Zionist settlers, who purchased the land legitimately and then struggled to eke out a living. I have a lot of respect for their hard work and determination. From Rosh Pina we continued north to Tel Dan, which was more beautiful than I remembered. We only went on the public trails, but we got to wade in the wading pool, which was lovely on such a hot day! It was also very busy because several school trips were there that day, but it was still enjoyable. After Tel Dan, we drove even further north, to Metula, another moshavot, in the most northern region of Israel. We stopped at a lookout where we could see Lebanon and Syria. Our tour guide told us a bit about the Second Lebanese War, which led to a slight confrontation between the Jews and non-Jews on the trip (and which I stayed out of!).

From there we went to Tel Hai, to the youth hostel where we were staying. It was a beautiful hostel, nicer than some hotels I’ve stayed at! We had time to relax a bit (and shower!) before Shabbat started. Many of us attended the synagogue service at the hostel, which was very different from any other synagogue I have attended. I have only been to Reform Jewish synagogues, where men and women are allowed to sit together. This was a more traditional service, where men and women are separated. The women had to sit in the back, behind screens. There were more women than men, yet the women’s space was about one quarter of the men’s. We had to cram extra chairs in so we could all fit. The service also went extremely fast (and was entirely in Hebrew), so I had no idea where we were or what was going on. It was a bit disheartening for me, because I love attending synagogue, but it is also not my place to judge traditional Jewish practices. Regardless of how out of place I felt, the other Jews (not connected to RIS) went out of their way to help us and to get us prayer books, when they could have kicked me out for wearing sweats into synagogue. I was exhausted and so I went to bed right after Shabbat dinner, which turned out to be a good thing because the evening activity lasted until midnight and dealt with some pretty weighty stuff (politics, of course).

Saturday morning we heard a bit of reflection on the portion of the week (Genesis 12-18, I believe), after which we played Survivor, which my team lost miserably (no thanks to me!). After lunch, we hiked Shvil Haptzuim, the Path of the Wounded. In 1920 Tel Hai was attacked and eight people killed. The wounded (some of whom died) climbed (or were carried up) this path to reach the doctor at the top of the hill. It was during this attack that the famous Israeli saying "It is better to die for our land" was first uttered. At the same place, twelve Israeli soldiers died in 2006 as the waited their assignments for the Second Lebanese War.

As I mentioned earlier, there were some tensions between the Jews and non-Jews on the trip, or at least, I felt the tension. It wasn’t anything unbearable, but it was very noticeable for me, mainly because when I was here in June 2009, we had a Palestinian tour guide. Our tour guide for this trip was an Israeli Jew. The perspectives of the two were very different. I find the Jewish/Israeli understanding of the situation here in the Middle East interesting and a bit entertaining. There are, of course, multiple viewpoints and it is unfair to act as if every Israeli or Jew feels the same way, but I have encountered plenty of Jews and Israelis already who seem to believe the Israel is in constant danger. Jews and Israelis have faced their fair share of persecution, that is true, but they have also dealt out their fair share, especially to the Palestinians since the 1948 War of Independence. I don’t want to get into some big political debate, but the fact of the matter is that there are literally 100s of 1000s of Palestinians living in refugee camps where the conditions are barely humane. Many other Palestinians have been separated from family or had their land seized or destroyed due to the security wall and the illegal settlements in the West Bank. These Palestinians pose no real threat to Israel and suffer unjustly because of a few Arab extremists. I know it is a very complicated situation and that there are no easy solutions, but I think before any progress can be made, Israel must first admit to its own shortcomings and how it has mistreated the Palestinians.

It is going to be an interesting year here in Israel/Palestine. I fully understand (and perhaps to some degree support) the Palestinian/Arab reluctance to resume peace talks as long as Israel continues to build and develop settlements. At the same time, if the peace talks deteriorate, Mt. Scopus may not necessarily be the best place to be. One way or the other, though, I think this could very well be a historic year and I am excited to be here for it.

Classes, Wine and a Broken Tailbone

I have successfully survived my first week of class! Classes are intense, but in a good way. A rundown of my courses:

- Modern Hebrew: I am in the absolute beginner’s class, which I like to call “baby aleph.” We have class three days a week, for a total of 8 ½ hours. From the very first day, pretty much no English has been spoken in the classroom, which I find frustrating because I am not always sure I totally understand what is going on. It’s not really my learning style, but I seem to be catching on fairly quickly, although my conversational skills don’t extend too far beyond stating my name and where I’m from and asking others their name and where they are from.

- Biblical Hebrew: I registered for Biblical Hebrew, but for the sake of my sanity, I am dropping this class. 19 credit hours and 23 hours in the classroom each week is just too much, especially if I want to have time to enjoy Jerusalem!

- Biblical Aramaic: Pretty excited about this class. In addition the Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra, we are also going to read some texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls and perhaps some Elephantine literature. I’ve been waiting for the chance to learn Aramaic!

- Jeremiah: I am all about the prophets, so this is a great class for me. And I am translating the texts, so I still get to use and develop my Biblical Hebrew skills, even if I am not taking the class.

- Approaching Classical Jewish Texts: We all know that I am Jewish at heart, but my knowledge of Jewish texts does not extend much past the Hebrew Bible. This is going to be a great class for me. I get to learn about and read from the Mishnah and the Talmud, along with other postbiblical texts (up until about 1000).

- Archaeology of Jerusalem: This is the class I am most excited about. Not only do I get to learn about the archaeology of Jerusalem, but I also get to tour archaeological sites (for free!) as part of the class! We are focusing on the First Temple period. Hopefully I will get to take lots of pictures to share with all of you!

Last night Annie and I ventured over to the German Colony in Jerusalem, to Jon’s apartment, for what appears to be the first of many “Wine Wednesdays” on the merpeset, which featured wine (and water for me) and dessert. I got to meet more Rothberg students, particularly more of the undergraduate students, along with several of Jon’s friends from outside of Hebrew U. It was an especially entertaining evening because the night before, to quote Jon, he “broke his ass” (aka his tailbone) when his pull-up bar detached from the doorway mid-pull-up. The poor guy was in pain and all drugged up, but he was in good spirits and entertained us with various stories as to how he injured himself, along with a long, drawn out account of what actually happened.

I am leaving at 6am tomorrow morning for the graduate student retreat at Tel Hai in Northern Israel and will not return until around 10pm Saturday night, which is why I’m writing now. I will hopefully have more to write (and lots of fun stories) when I return, along with pictures, so check back in a few days.

Love to all of you and Shabbat shalom!

Settling In...

It’s hard to believe I have been in Jerusalem for 5 days now. In some ways, it feels as if I have been here forever, and in others, like I just arrived this morning. I am beginning to settle in and to get my bearings.

I discovered that Hebrew University is a much more diverse place than I originally anticipated. While it was founded out of Zionism, it is both multi-cultural and religiously diverse. There are Jews from all across the spectrum, of course, but there are also plenty of Christians and Muslims, along with other religions (and persons of no particular religious affiliation or belief), not only in Rothberg (where I am) but in the “regular” university itself. There are many Arab and Palestinian students attending class alongside the Israelis, and until 2002, Hebrew U was not really affected or part of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was, instead, a place where they could and did coexist peacefully. (In 2002 an Arab worker placed a bomb in a café beside Rothberg, which killed 5 Rothberg students and 4 Israelis and injured many more. Since then, the wall around campus and the student village has been erected, along with added security measures, including metal detectors. It is also why the kfar (student village) is located so far from the campus.) But despite the 2002 bombing, Hebrew U still seems to be a place where Israeli and Palestinian/Arab students can coexist.

More about myself and my life here in Jerusalem:

I now have 3 roommates: Annie, a Reform Jew from Chicago/Stanford/NYC; Beneditta, a Catholic from Venice; and Susan, an atheist from Warsaw. The fifth bedroom remains unoccupied and appears to not to have a student assigned to it. Annie arrived on Tuesday, so I know her better than the other two, who came on Thursday, but so far we are getting along. I really like Annie. She has been very good about including me in things, since she knows people here already. She likes to introduce me as “the Christian version of her” because she used to want to be a rabbi and is interested in Christianity (specifically in the relationship between Christianity and Judaism in late antiquity).

I am enjoying a wonderful first Shabbat in Israel. Yesterday Annie and I caught a bus to the German Colony, where her friend Jon lives in the third floor apartment of a very nice home. We spent time at his apartment, on his merpeset (porch) eating fruit and then prepared the Shabbat dinner before heading to the synagogue. The service was all in Hebrew, so I didn’t always know what was going on, but it was still enjoyable. After the service, we returned to the merpeset for Shabbat dinner, where we were joined by two of Jon’s friends, Jacob and Isaac, who are undergraduate students at Rothberg. It was my first Shabbat dinner, and the food was lovely and the company entertaining. I hope Shabbat on the merpeset becomes a regular occurrence.

This morning I had coffee with a wonderful girl named Katie, who is from Canada and is beginning her second year here as a MA student. She spent three hours answering my questions (bless her soul!) and showing me different places around the kfar, including places to eat and shop. When I returned, I enjoyed a picnic with my roommates, which had to be relocated indoors because it started to rain. The rest of the afternoon has been rather relaxing. I have done a bit of reading and talked to my mom for a bit. The next important (crucial, even) task is to locate a means of following the Buckeyes game.

Classes begin tomorrow!

P.S. I will try to make a regular habit out of posting during Shabbat.

The Long Journey Here

A year ago, I hadn't even heard of Rothberg International School. Sure, I knew about Hebrew U and even wanted to study there someday, but I figured it would be as part of my dissertation or probably even post-doctorate. But then, as some would say, fate intervened. My parents and brother went on family vacation during fall break and asked me to watch the dog. I was looking at PhD schools and came across RIS. In a rare moment of rebellion, I decided I was going to go. And I spent the next few months working out the details. I was initially so excited, but as time passed, I became almost numb about the whole thing. There were lots of hold-ups in the process, and I guess I never thought it would really happened, even after I had been accepted, even after I paid the bill, took a leave of absence from MTSO and bought the plane tickets.

But it really was happening. The months became weeks, and the weeks became days. Before I knew it, October 3 was here and it was time to board the plane. The flight from Columbus to NYC was relatively uneventful, although we were a little late taking off due to an electrical issue. Once we landed in JFK, it took me almost an hour to get to the correct terminal and gate. Suddenly, I found myself in the midst of Orthodox Jews and very little English. When I went to board the plane, I was taken to the side for questioning. Was I traveling by myself? Why was I going to Israel? Had I been there before? Did I check any luggage? What did I study here in the US? The list went on. Finally, they took me back to their check in, because I didn't check in, since I had printed my boarding passes in Columbus and had my luggage switched automatically. I was questioned again and they went through my carry on (and I presume someone else went through my checked luggage, since they asked for my baggage claim stickers). After they finished screening me and decided I wasn't a threat to their country, I had to go back through security (luckily, I was with a crew member, so we got to skip the line). I was finally able to board the plane, and I settled in for a very long plane ride, which seemed even longer because apparently everyone spoke Hebrew but me. I guess it was just a foretaste of what like is going to be like in Jerusalem.

We landed in Tel Aviv around 4am Monday Israeli time (10pm Sunday night in Ohio). I was able to claim my bags and all that with relatively little trouble and caught a shared cab to Hebrew U. The driver left me off at the main gate, where I discovered that I would have to drag my two suitcases, 50 lbs each, across the entire campus, which has stone sidewalks and not cement like we do. It was awful. I was already tired from sleeping very little on the plane and my body was all messed up from the time change, and now I had to drag a year's worth of stuff with me across a decently large campus. I finally made it there and got all the paperwork taken care of and picked up my Israeli cell phone and wi-fi card. They called a cab for me because the student village, where I am living, is a couple of miles from campus and there was no way I was going to be able to drag my luggage to the bus stop. Once I arrive at the student village, I had to drag my luggage to the housing office, which wasn't that far but by that point it felt like forever. I thought I would pick up my keys and be in my room in a matter of minutes. No, I had to wait close to 3 hours. I fell asleep several times while sitting on the steps.

I finally got to my apartment, only to discover it was being cleaned (which it needed very badly), which meant my nap was going to have to wait even longer. While I waited for my room to be cleaned (the apartment consists of a kitchen/common area, 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms & a shower), I tried to hook up to the internet so I could let my parents know I had made it here safely. Unfortunately, my internet would not connect. I called tech support, who in turn had to call someone else. I had made it that far without crying or otherwise falling apart, but I reached my limit. I was tired and all alone - everyone I had ran across on campus and in the student village was speaking Hebrew (or, as I found out later, Arabic) - and I just wanted to talk to my parents. I ended up calling mom on my cell phone (who knows how much that is going to cost me) just to let her know I was here and that I was having issues with my internet. After that, I quickly unpacked and took a 2 hour nap. When I woke up, I called tech support again, since they never called back like they said they would, and found out that I needed to download Window 7 drivers (which of course requires the internet). I took a shower and went searching for free wi-fi at the student village, which I found at the restaurant. I got everything up and running and while I was emailing mom to let her know, a group of girls walked by speaking English! I literally started crying.

After all that, I finally went to a market just a few minutes walk from the student village, more because I had no toilet paper than because I needed food. TP, 1/2 gallon of milk, corn flakes, humus and pitas cost me $25! I did buy a large thing of TP, but what was ridiculously expensive was the milk - $3 for a 1/2 gallon! When I got back to my apartment, I had a bowl of cereal - the first thing I had eaten in 17 hours. I also finally got to talk to my mom on skype (well, not really skype but the same idea). By then I was exhausted but wanted to try to meet people, so I wandered around the village for a bit and talked to a group of freshman Arabs from the Nazareth area. Apparently, "regular" university students also live in the student village, and many of them arrived yesterday - hence the overwhelming amount of non-English. But the other international students arrive today, so hopefully I will get my roommates and more English today.

I went to bed shortly after 8pm last night and didn't get up until after 10am today. My body really needed that!

Now it is time to go exploring again and see if I can't figure out how to get to campus from here.

Love you all and can't wait to here from you!