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!