הודות בנצי ואת רקפת!

For those of you that don't read hebrew, the title of this article is "thanks to Benzi and Rakefet," and thanks indeed they do deserve. Lots of it!
At least once a month since we've been here, Benzi and Rakafet, two OSP students very happily engaged to be married in Febuary, have opened up their homes and hearts to us for various Shabbat occasions: services, prayer, meals and company. They have been gracious and kind to everyone and anyone that comes. From a personal point of view, their Shabbats have given me the sense of community and unification that I have been missing from not being home for Shabbat, and for that I cannot thank them enough.
One tradition from these Shabbats that I love is offering a ברכה (bracha--blessing) for someone else in the room. Benzi and Rakefet have given so much to this group that I don't think one bracha is enough, but I am offering one to them from the bottom of my heart and with all my soul.
As you continue on the path you're on, Benzi and Rakefet, may you always walk together in peace, health, and love. And, may you find always find success, happiness and safety in what you do.

Thanks guys, for everything! I'm gonna miss you!!
Shalom, Cheers and Peace,
Staci

A Great Miracle Happened HERE

Normally at this time, Jews in America start singing "Nes Gadol Haya Sham," meaning "a great miracle happened there." Today in Hebrew class, I sang "Nes Gadol Haya PO," replacing the world for "there" with "here." And as I did it, I got chills down my spine. In America I can eat the jelly doughnuts, make the latkes, and spin the dredels the same way I can do it here. But it all has a different meaning when I can put my hand on the walls of the Temple that this miracle occurred in, the temple we American Jews all talk about at home.
So, on another Holiday (actually, on Chanukkah AND Shabbat), I am thankful for many things. One, for friends and family to celebrate the holiday with now and in years to come. For the Macabbees that fought against a Greek army three times their size, for the oil that lasted eight days when it was enough to only last one day, for God, for this 5-month journey, and for the future journeys I will find myself walking.

Peter, Paul, and Mary sang "Light One Candle," and I used to sing this when I was a wee little one in Hebrew School:

Light one candle for the Maccabee children
Give thanks that their light didn't die!
Light one candle for the pain they endured
When their right to exist was denied!
Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice
Justice and freedom demand!
And light one candle for the wisdom to know
When the peacemaker's time is at hand!

Don't let the light go out!
It's lasted for so many years!
Don't let the light go out!
Let it shine through our love and our tears.

Light one candle for the strength we all need
To never become our own foe!
And light one candle for those who are suff'ring
Pain we learned so long ago!
Light one candle for all we believe in,
Let anger not tear us apart!
And light one candle to bind us together
With peace as the song in our heart!

What is the memory that's valued so highly
That we keep it alive in that flame?
What's the commitment to those who have died
When we cry out they've not died in vain,
We have come this far, always believing
That justice will somehow prevail!
This is the burning. This is the promise,
This why we will not fail!

Don't let the light go out!
Don't let the light go out!
Don't let the light go out!

Haifa

Unfortunately, the time has come to post pictures from our last group outing. This one, last weekend, was spent in Carmel near Haifa. We did not go into the actual city, but spent our time on a Kibbutz which had a backyard letting out onto the "nicest beach in Israel." Therefore, Friday night through Saturday's end of Shabbat sunset was spent on the beach. It was amazing, as was the hike into the caves on Friday.

Check out the pics (thank you Andrea)...I'm gonna miss this group!
Shalom, Cheers and Peace
Staci

December 1st -- World AIDS Day

On this world AIDS day, I think of everything I've learned and supported over the past five years in Jericho's AIDS Awareness and AIDS Peer Educating clubs. Specifically, I think of our friend Steve, of Positive Police, who past away a couple of years ago after he spent so much of his time promoting the awareness of HIV and AIDS. Steve spoke at Jericho hs many times, and our clubs met with him many other times when we were at conferences. He had a way of speaking that got students to listen, and that was his gift.
Even on my campus in Israel today they are doing free AIDS testing. But not many people outside of awareness groups really know what HIV/AIDS can do to a body, nor do they really know what else is out there. Use today to KNOW THE FACTS!

Shalom, Cheers, and Peace
Staci

BBB and a Be'er Shevsgiving

The first three pics are from a concert we had on campus--the student union's welcoming back to all students. It was very fun. Then the rest of the pics are from our Thanksgiving extravagenza, which, with our food, company, and conversation, became a very interesting American night in Israel. I was very fortunate to have great people to share the holiday with.

Shalom, Cheers and Peace,
Staci

Holy Sites in Jerusalem

Last week, a couple of my friends had a day off from class and went to Jerusalem to visit some Holy sites. First, they went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which I have been to twice, once by just stumbling upon it, and can express how cool it is to explore. Then they went up the Mountain of Olives, and then to the Templen Mount. Since non-Muslims are allowed up on the Temple Mount only between certain hours twice a week, and given the history of that area in each of the three main religions, you can sense how spiritual that experience was for them as well. Thanks to my friend Rebecca (Rivka), I am able to share some of the pics with you guys.

Shalom, Cheers and Peace
Staci

Eilat!

Pictures are worth a thousand words...and thanks to all my great friends (and sadly, thanks to facebook) I have a few pictures!
So let me just say that as my trip here is coming to a slow (PLEASE SLOW!!) end, I am enjoying every moment I am spending here. Eilat was a relaxing, fun, fantastic weekend and I am looking forward to the next couple of weekends we will be spending doing whatever we can!

Shalom, Cheers and Peace,
Staci

welcome to the world, Shoko!

Matt got a puppy!
Yesterday, Hannah and I had the fortunate oppertunity to puppy-sit for Matt's new baby, Shoko. Only five weeks old, he had Hannah and I laughing, taking pictures, talking in high-pitched voices, and crawling on the floor. We love him, and love Matt for trusting us with his precious little one.
Check out Matt's blog for more information on the cutest little puppy Israel has ever seen!

Shabbat Shalom, Cheers, and Peace
Staci

Ashes and Snow

A couple of years ago I walked into my Director of Education's office and saw a beautiful picture on her wall (the last picture I posted). I asked her about it, and she told me it was apart of an exhibit titled "Ashes and Snow." I went home that night and was in awe after going through their online exhibit. All of the photographs are natural, meaning nothing was positioned this way. Just man and nature, and it's outstanding.
For some reason, I thought about it again today and even later on, I am still in awe after viewing something so beautiful. Their video exhibits are also something to check out, they are just as breathtaking.

For their website, click here. Then click "Enter Enhanced Experience," then "Explore." You will not be disappointed.

Shalom, Cheers and Peace
Staci

Yad Vashem

In Jerusalem Friday, my "Sites and Rites of Collective Memory" class took a very interesting field trip. I am going to use this trip to give a spotlight on the class.

My Professor, Jackie Feldman, teaches us about the collective memory of groups of people, primarily of the Jews. We read articles about the past and incorporate how we learn about them today, to discuss ways in which people remember and why they remember; a very interesting two hours.

Last week in Israel, the nation commemorated the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, a day not taken lightly here. Likewise, November 9th is the memorial of Kristallnacht, when Jews literally remember the "night of broken glass," when Germany invaded Poland and broke Jewish windows, set fire to Jewish stores, and started the killing of the Jewish people.
It was very fitting that my field trip on Friday started at Mt. Herzl, Israeli's memorial cemetery, and ended at Yad Vashem, Israeli's Holocaust Museum.

Holocaust commemoration is very serious here; Israelis discuss the Holocaust in everyday life. What I loved about Mt. Herzl, however, was that the lowest soldiers were buried with the same regard as the highest of all soldiers, that the respect for them all was equal, and that people cared just as much for everyone. Israel has no tomb of the unknown soldier, for example, because this nation works hard to make sure that every soldier buried has an identity, for the family and for the people. Similarly, the memorial for "victims killed in terrorist attacks" at Mt. Herzl made it a mission to find as many names as possible--every life here has meaning from the very beginning until the very end.

There is so much I can and want to say about Yad Vashem. But if I had to mention one part about the museum, it would be the end in "the Hall of Names." "The Hall of Names at Yad Vashem is the Jewish People’s memorial to each and every Jew who perished in the Holocaust – a place where they may be commemorated for generations to come." Again, same theme: Every Jew in Israel, whether here physically or in spirit, has meaning from the very beginning until the very end.

This class too has taught me very much, and I am thrilled to be apart of it and apart of life in Israel.

Shalom, Cheers and Peace
Staci

Idan Raichel

On Sunday night I went with a group of about 40 students, some in my Overseas Students Program, some in MAPMES (MAsters Program in Middle Eastern Studies) and some in the Columbia Medical Program, to Jerusalem. All of us shared one thing: we are apart of the MASA scholarship program which sponsors Jewish students to come study in Israel. After a welcoming of some of Israeli cabinet members, one being Natan Sharansky (!), we had a concert featuring Idan Raichel and the various artists in his project.

"The Idan Raichel Project burst onto Israel’s music scene in 2002, changing the face of Israeli popular music and offering a message of love and tolerance that resonated strongly in a region of the world where headlines are too often dominated by conflict. With an enchanting blend of African, Latin American, Caribbean and Middle Eastern sounds coupled with sophisticated production techniques and a spectacular live show, the Idan Raichel Project has become one of the most unexpected success stories in Israeli music history... "

It was an outstanding performance, and I am so beyond glad I decided to go in the end...

For more information on Idan Raichel, please click here.

nadine's post -- Keith Haring

My friend, Nadine, wrote a great entry on her blog today. It's about Keith Haring, and reading her post made me remember my facination with Keith Haring--one that I keep hidden, for some reason, until something brings it out of it's box. Her post did that today. I love him, always have, and enjoy his story, messages, at art.
I am linking her blog to this post in hopes that you all will check it out.

Shalom, Cheers, and Peace
Staci

Spotlight: Mystical Lit

Out of the four courses I am taking here at Ben-Gurion University (not including Hebrew), I cannot decide which one is my favorite because I like them all equally and differently. So, I decided to write a spotlight on each of them, starting with Mystical Literature.

I signed up for this class because the syllabus looked interesting to me: using text from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to experience mysticism. Thus far I have had four lectures and have been studying the Judaism aspect, and love every minute of this subject both inside and outside of the classroom.
We have read the Torah, the Zohar, articles, summaries. We have studied Freud and compared his theory of dreams to that of Jacob; we have discussed journeys and Abraham, and we have discussed God's warrior-like qualities in the Torah in comparison to "everyday beliefs."

With only an hour and a half of this class once a week, I don't ever want it to end! My professor, June Leavitt, is a brilliant woman who brings the material of ancient days alive, and I cannot express how much I appreciate this class.

Yam L'Yam (Sea to Sea)

There was no way I could resist posting all of these pics...
Over our Sukkot break, my friends and I hiked across Northern Israel: four days and four nights from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee. It seemed fitting, with the Sukkot being the festival of harvesting, being outside in observance of this week-long holiday. With lots of uphill and downhill trails, rough sleeping conditions, wild horses, scenic views that can blow your mind, and "bonding time," this was a trip I will never forget. It was intense both physically and mentally, but it was the most spiritually fulfilling thing I have done since I have been here. I would not trade part of it away for anything, and I thank everyone who made it so awesome!

Pictures provided by my lovely friends, Rebecca (Rivka) and Dori...thanks guys

Shalom, Cheers, and Peace
Staci

Flash Mobs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090908-tows-flash-mob-dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM

I am editing this post after watching more of the Flashmob and Improv Group videos. This is my original post:
"I suppose these became famous after Oprah's opening show, but this group has been doing this way before the show. They also do ones where they freeze in supermarkets, grand central station--just stay in one spot. Both kinds are pretty cool in my opinion. I think there is something to be said for the smiles people give when they see this.
Check it out, it's cool."

I feel it is necessary to restate how much I appreciate them. I don't know why I am obbsessing over it (if you're here with me you know I love to watch them over and over again), but I really think that they way they go about making other people happy is totally cool. I know if I were to be stranded in a train station, having missed my train or soaked by the rain or running late for work, seeing a dance like this would totally cheer me up. In fact, I'd be one of the people trying to follow along in the middle of the dance floor.
I am encouraging everyong to DANCE. Wherever you want, however you want...

Shalom, Cheers and Peace
Staci

High Holidays, Take One

Rosh Hashana in Jerusalem... woooooow.

Let's rewind.
First, I left on classes on Thursday with a "farewell, L'Shana Tova" toast. It was great... pomegranates, apples and honey, cards. All wonderful (see pics).





By Friday morning I was on a bus on the way to Jerusalem. When we got there, we explored the old city for a while, got lost, and found our way into what I thought was an exit--it was actually the entrance into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We made note of that, and went on our merry way to the Reformed Rabbinical school just a ten minute walk away from one of the most Holy Christian Sites in Jerusalem.

My friend, Rossanna, and I stayed with two first-year HUC students, one cantorial and the other rabbinical. They are just four years older than I am, leading services, and doing exactly what I want to be doing in four years. AND, they are two of the NICEST, FUNNIEST, and WELCOMING people we've met since we've been here.

Friday night we went to services at HUC where we watched Amanda be one of the three cantors, and had the service be lead by "the first female rabbi ever ordained in Israel, ordained in 1992." It was great, a reformed service was JUST what the doctor prescribed for me.
Saturday morning we woke up and went to Hallel, a reformed synagogue in Jerusalem with a female Israeli Rabbi and a Male Cantor who was born in America. Everything was in Hebrew but I was happy to be able to follow along...a combination of improved Hebrew and memorization of the Holy Day prayers. Then lunch with the rabbinical students at one of their apartments, then to Tashlich. This is the ritual where Jews throw breadcrumbs into a running body of water to "cast away their sins," and we looked back on our actions month by month to remember the good times and bad times that occurred in the year. Ending the ceremony with "Eli Eli," I left the park feeling refreshed and ready for my two-hour "Shabbat nap," yes they do exist, and then dinner with the rabbinical students again.
Sunday morning, second day of Rosh Hashana, Rossana and I woke up and went to "The Great Synagogue," a modern orthodox synagogue in the center of Jerusalem. What was cool about this was that their was one Chazzan, Cantor, who lead a 12-male choir and literally read from the Machzor (prayerbook) the entire time. That was the service, and the music sent chills up and down my spine.
After that we went to meet our friend Josh, after dancing in the RAIN ...IT RAINED... and explored the Old City again. First Rossana and I went to the Kotel, Western Wall, and then all of us went back to the Church, this time on purpose. It was a very good experience, and with it being the last day of Ramadan and us in the Arab quarter, we got a taste of all religions!

After a New Year/Shabbat/weekend like that, I can't even explain how weird it is to be back in the desert. But we are going back up to stay with our gracious hosts on Sunday night and I can barely contain my enthusiasm. I even have an excited face just for Yom Kippur!

This time is my all-time favorite part of any year. It is a time of ultimate renewal of body, spirit, and mind. The New Year, in Judaism, is not a time of partying or watching the ball drop, but it is a time of reflection on the past year and aspiring for the years to come. During the next ten days, I will be looking back on all of my actions before our day of judgement, and I encourage everyone to do the same.

L'Shana Tova Umetuka -- May this New Year bring EVERYONE Health, Happiness, and Joy!
Shalom, Cheers and Peace
Staci

Shay

The first couple of weeks we were here, there was a student with us who is going for his Master's degree at Brandeis University. He is married and a father of two, so he was here for the short ulpan before going home to his family and school. But the first time I was in Jerusalem, I learned how knowledgeable of Israel he is because we toured the ramparts of the old city and he was a better tour guide than anyone we could have gotten. He will be TA-ing in my major back at Brandeis and so I am eager to maybe be able to take his classes...I can learn a lot from him.
The reason why I am sharing this on my blog is because in the JERUSALEM POST today, there was an article about the very same Shay I am talking about! How cool!

Please read it...he is an inspiring person and a role-model for all!

A week of "new"

It is late here so i am going to keep this a short one, but this week I started my classes and I wanted to write about how amazing they all are. I have learned something about myself this week: I am confident that I know exactly what I want to do and what I am supposed to do. And it does feel really good to be in Israel doing what I know I need to do to get where I want to be.

Here is some warm greetings from my israeli friends at bgu. I don't really know anyone to point out, except if you go about 1:02 minutes in you'll see my professor on Jewish philosophy. A really nice, smart man...I know I will like his class as much as the others.

I will post again before the new year.
For now, Shalom, Cheers and Peace.
Staci

Cotler's "Listen"

Out of many Reformed Judaic songs, Doug Cotler's "Listen" never fails to move me. The lyrics, I feel, reflect ideas of not only Shabbat but of Judaism in general. Obviously that's the point. But I love love love this song--the way the Shema is brought in at the end is absolutely beautiful.

As I ended my Shabbat last night, and prepare for the next one which falls out exactly on Rosh Hashana, I found myself in the mood reflected by this song.
Hope you enjoy!

Weekend was great, and now about to start semester. Then the holidays this weekend!
But I'll be back before then :)

Shalom, Cheers and Peace.

Andrea

I have come to meet many, many cool people here. A couple of them share the blogging with me, and their blogs are all different and fun and interesting and cool and impressive...I can go on and on.
Andrea, who spent a year studying abroad in Turkey and now a couple of years later is spending a year studying abroad here, is one of those impressive, blogging folk I just mentioned. Her blog is fashioned by her extraordinary pics of where we are staying and what we are doing, followed by her own thoughts on various subjects.

http://alwiese.blogspot.com/

I am really happy that she is here with us and look forward to spending time with her.

The weekend!

So. I have had a busy past couple of days and I am finally settling down to write about it. Inspired by Benzi's emails, this post is going to have sections, divided by a table of contents.

Table of Contents
i. Thursday's night hike
ii. Friday Shabbat
iii. Saturday Shabbat

i. Thursday night hike
Well, there is just so much I want to say about this and not enough ability to gather my thoughts. This hike was AMAZING...or, as Gali would prefer, AWESOME (she says Americans abuse that word).
Let me start at the beginning. Thursday night my program went on a nighthike in Sde Boker, a section of the desert about 40 mins away. Because the desert is so scary in the dark and pitch black to the point where you can walk off a cliff without even seeing in, we had a tour guide who would prevent that from happening. And with her explaining where we were and what we were doing, and the fun spirit of the group, the night was fantastic.

I wish I could emphasize how special the desert is, but I truly believe you can't understand unless you're living it. Yes, there are days when it's 99 degrees and you can feel the sun burning every part of your visible skin, and you think to yourself "why am I not in Jerusalem but in the DESERT." And then nights like Thursday reinforce the reasons why Ben Gurion wanted the desert to be established...and why we truly love it.

The best part of the hike, in my opinion, was the "three minutes" of quiet time. Sitting on top of desert rock with a breeze, stars wherever you look up, and silence, my thoughts wandered everywhere from thinking about my family and loved ones to "I wonder if this is what it was like when Abraham wandered here, or Moses and the tribes of our people." Constantly a conversation we have here, it seemed to be better in my head when I was physically living it and realizing it.
Once again, the desert proves to leave me breathless. It has a way of connecting a person to not only nature, but to faith and to God, and to my friends here and afar. So I am going to say it for the trillionth time-- Ben Gurion was onto something, and I can thank him everyday!

ii. Friday Shabbat Dinner

With all of my complaints about missing the reformed movement, I have grown attached to Shabbat in Israel. It is quite different than Shabbat in New York, but then again, quite similar as well.

This Friday I spent Shabbat in Be'er Sheva (meaning I wasn't away or anything...) And I would really like to give a "shout out" and a special thanks to Gali, my dorm counselor and friend, who threw together a fabulous Shabbat dinner.

After food shopping with her Wednesday, I expected everything to be good. But the whole atmosphere of Shabbat, outside on the grass with friends, great food, and conversation, was brought out much more intensely than I thought it would be.

It's fun for me to be with a group of people who appreciate and embrace our past, and understand that the past is also the present. What we do on Shabbat is more for ourselves than people think it is, and I know Friday night gave me the relaxation, rejuvenation, and pride that I needed.

So thank you, Gali. You are more than just our counselor and we love you very much.

iii. Saturday Shabbat

In addition to Gali, there are two other people I really have to thank: Rakefet and Bezi, you guys are absolutely two of the most wonderful people I have ever met and you bring so much to our program.

For those of you reading this that don't know who they are or what I am talking about, I'll explain...

Benzi and Rakevet are two members of my overseas program who graciously invite us to their home in Be'er Sheva to bring in Shabbat. They were with us on Friday night and then on Saturday, about twelve of us walked to their place and spent the afternoon the way Shabbat should be spent: singing, dancing, eating, drinking, and talking.

The conversations I get to experience are so great. Benzi has a way of getting us to think about Judaism and the Torah portion, which is lovely for me because we all know I like to do that anyway. To be able to talk about it and challenge it with people that have either the same or different opinions is a nice way to spend my time, and it is great preparation for what I will be doing in my future.

The songs we sing are so fun because if we don't know the melody, we hum until we catch on. If we feel inspired (which we did) we get up and dance, and if we really get into it (which we did...again) we close our eyes and belt out the words we truly believe in.

Shabbat with the two of them is so fantastic, and it is something I do look forward to and appreciate.

So thanks to you guys too, we love you also!

In an older post I touched upon how much Shabbat means to me. It's been a fun new discovery. Now, with it being sunday and the beginning of the week here in the Holy Land, I look back on the weekend and can only simply smile!

Shalom, cheers and peace,

Staci