Joel Portman in Israel

My Last Post

2009-01-04T04:15:00.002+02:00

I had thought about making a list of things that I miss from Israel and a list of things that I don't miss. It could include things as quirky as missing the Hebrew ads on Facebook or not missing my lack of temperature control in my dorm room. Those lists could take up a few pages though and I have decided that the most important things are probably somewhere in this blog anyway.

You can check out the updated pictures from my last week in Israel here.

This will be my last post to this blog. I have enjoyed writing about all of my adventures and I hope that you have enjoyed reading about them. You can reach mew from now on via email at mazeltovjp@gmail.com.

The U.S.

2009-01-04T04:04:00.002+02:00

Being back in the United States is indeed strange. I can understand everything. We had a Boy Scout camp staff reunion campout and basically had the same number of people there who were on my Overseas Student Program. Hearing everyone speak English at once put me into sensory overload. It is strange knowing that other people understand your conversations and that I understand other people's conversations. I'm having some difficulty having extended discussions in English and thinking of some words. At the same time though, I feel like my lack of using Hebrew is already having some effect on my ability to call up words quickly. Hopefully, I'll be able to speak some Hebrew when I get back to Denver to keep it up.

It is also strange having things open on Friday afternoon - Saturday night for Shabbat, not having public transportation and taxis everywhere, and not seeing Jews in Kippot and Muslims in Hijabs(?) all over the place. Of course, there are a lot of other strange things here that make me miss Israel and the people there. I am, however, also happy to be at home to see and spend time with my family and friends.

I know that currently Israel is engaged in operations in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and that rockets from Gaza have now hit Be'er Sheva. My friends who are still in Israel tell me that one rocket even hit across from the Unviersity on the other side of Rager Ave, a major North-South street in the city. They have had to run to the bomb shelters and many have gone to the North for the time being. The University has canceled classes for a few days, at least, but that doesn't affect the OSP since my program is on break between semesters now. I could write a lot about what is going on in Israel and my thoughts, but I don't think that this blog is the place for that.

The Way Back to the U.S.

2009-01-04T03:49:00.002+02:00

It rained decently and for longer than 30 minutes for the first time since I had arrived in Israel the day that I left Be'er Sheva for the airport. It was cloudy and misty most of the day and really started raining shortly before I left.

Heather, one of the girls on my program, had the same flight as I did. She also had an Israeli boy friend who was going to drive us to the airport so that we didn't have to shlepp our bags on the train and such. That was nice, but his car was smaller than she thought and we traveled the hour - hour and fifteen minutes to the airport covered with suitcases.

We got to the airport basically at the right time to get through security (they did the standard questions and also asked me about one of my suitcases, I assume to make sure that I knew its contents) without problem, look in a few stores, get an overpriced dinner, and wait at our gate for about 30 minutes before boarding started.

The El Al plane was nice and my 12 hour flight between 12:05 a.m. in Israel and 5:20 a.m. in Newark went relatively quickly. The food was good and we had plenty of options for movies. I only slept for about 5 hours though, which while not horrible, still left me tired.

In Newark, we went through Customs which was opened at that time only for the El Al flight with a bunch of confused Israeli Jews trying to figure out what to do, which was even more interesting with my welcome to the United States: English signs, English Christmas music, and Christmas music :-). I said goodbye to Heather and then dragged my huge suitcases to the next terminal to check in to my flight. My American Airlines flight to St. Louis though was not until 11:00 a.m. so I decided to see if there was an earlier flight that I could get on. There was and I flew standby at 8:30 a.m. which allowed for a much more reasonable layover.

Security stopped me in Newark and searched me and my bags, which was kind of amusing since all they saw were things in Hebrew and some souvenirs from Israel. I made it back to St. Louis on the standby ticket with one of my bags. One of the bags though didn't make it out of Newark until the next flight so American brought it by my house when it got to St. Louis.

Updated Pictures

2009-01-04T03:47:00.001+02:00

Check out the updated pictures from my last week in Israel here.

The Last Week

2009-01-04T03:39:00.003+02:00

I'm sure I have missed a few things on this blog about what happened during my last week in Israel. I did do a lot of essay writing and studying, a lot of Hanukah celebrating, a lot of trying to see people on my program for the last time, a lot of eating (falafel, shnitzel, shwarma, waffles, frozen yogurt, barakas, etc. for the last time), and a lot more.

I realized how much I learning in and about Israel. I came to the recognition that I will miss the geat experiences that I had, being the majority in a culture/country, not having to argue to support Israel, and of course all of the people I met and the friends that I made. I hope that I will have the ability to see many of the members of my Overseas Student Program again and I wish them all the best in life.

Finals

2009-01-04T03:37:00.002+02:00

Finals all went well I think. I won't have my grades for a while. Hebrew definitely took the two hours that Ora told us it would, but overall went well. My other essays got written early and I studied for my Jewish Identity final and it went well, although I could have studied more. My hardest final was probably Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel which was offered a week early. All of my classes were good and I found them interesting even though I often wanted to keep going further in depth or into more information.

Hanukah in Israel

2009-01-04T03:23:00.003+02:00

Hanukah in Israel was quite different from what I am used to seeing in the United States. There weren't Christmas trees and Christmas lights everywhere. I had a final on Christmas day. Hanukah was the holiday of the time. Menorahs were lit all over the place. There was a daily menorah lighting in the student center by Chabad everyday at 4:00 p.m. I went to the menorah lighting there twice. The Rabbi's son sang Maoz Tzur and they gave out free sufganiyot. One day there could have easily been at least 150-200 people there. Before that candle lighting, there were four guys outside the student center dancing, juggling, playing the drums, and singing Al Hanisim - a popular Hanukah song.

We had a Hanukah party at my Jewish Identity professor's house. We discussed Hanukah and everyone lit candles. Our professor made latkes from scratch and his wife cooked a number of other things. It was really good and fun.

There were two Hanukah parties Wednesday night, before I left that the OSP was invited to. One was a Hillel/OSP party in the student center and the other was a party in the dorms. I stopped by the Hillel Hanukah party with a friend a little bit late. There wasn't a whole lot going on, but there were a few people there. Later, we went to the Hanukah party in the dorms and a bunch of other OSPers came as well. I couldn't stay too long though because I had to study for my Hebrew final in the morning.

The Hanukah party in the dorms was held in the big dorm bomb shelter which is kind of cool. A lot of students came for the candle lighting (and free sufganiyot), but not as much the dancing that came afterward. It was kind of the opposite that you would expect in the United States where people ask when the religious part of events is over so that they can arrive after it. Hanukah seems to be a holiday even among the secular Jews in Israel. As we learned in one of my classes, it has been used to further Zionism and as a show of Jewish strength. I saw a lot of students wearing kippot who usually do not and a lot of students covering their heads with their hands when saying the blessings for lighting candles.

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Sidenote: Sufganiyot - Jelly Donuts

Eating oily foods on Hanukah has become a tradition of the holiday. In the U.S. this is most often latkes, but in Israel it seems to be jelly donuts - sufganiyot. They are everywhere in Israel before/during Hanukah! They are basically all dough with a little dab of jelly and covered in powdered sugar. They aren't the best donuts I've ever had, but they are good. I saw online that the average Israeli eats 3-5 sufganiyot during Hanukah (I met that amount) and the country spends 54+ million shekels on sufganiyot each year.

St. Louis

2008-12-27T05:47:00.001+02:00

I arrived home in St. Louis this afternoon safe and sound, althoguh I am definitely tired now. I have a number of updates that still need to be posted to the blog and they will be in the next day or two. Now, it is time for sleep.

Off to the airport - L'hitraot Yisrael!

2008-12-25T18:01:00.001+02:00

I am off to the airport shortly. It has been a wonderful time in Israel and I will miss this amazing country and the wonderful people I have met here. I hope that we can all be reunited again.

This is not the end of the blog. I still have several posts that I need to make from this past week. I will do that either at Ben Gurion Airport or in Newark or at home in St. Louis. Hopefully, all of the flights go smoothly and waiting in the airports is not too horrible.

I'm excited to see my family and friends, but will miss Israel.

L'hitraot Yisrael! Ani ohev otach!

A Last Email From Israel

2008-12-21T23:11:00.001+02:00

Shalom m’Yisrael,

This will likely be the last time you will see me starting an email with “hello from Israel” while I am studying abroad. Time flies. I just realized that I haven’t written since Thanksgiving. A lot has happened since then. In four days from now, I will be at Ben-Gurion Airport preparing for my flight back to the United States. In five days, I’ll be home. It’s a little insane and I definitely do not have enough time to do everything I still would like to do.

Here are some highlights from the past few weeks. For more details, check out my blog at http://joelportman.blogspot.com.

- On Thanksgiving, we went to a large empty area, made a bonfire, and cooked a one pot meal. It was good, but not the usual Thanksgiving. I later found out that the area was an illegal dump and the wood we were burning was collected from the area.

- I have been to the Old City of Be’er Sheva a number of times. Including Falafal Yarok, which may be the best falafel stand in Israel. On Friday, I saw several yarmulke wearing Jews selling dancing Santas and fake Christmas trees. That was amusing.

- I went on a tour of the Air Force Museum, which was pretty awesome. Besides the planes one would expect to see, they also had anti-aircraft weaponry, remains of Israeli destroyed Egytian planes, and a bird zoo. Explain that one to me. On the way there, we found an amazing shwarma stand that I have since returned to.

- We went on an Overseas Student Program trip to Mitzpe Ramon and hiked a lot in and around the giant crater. We stood in a sort of hippie dance place in not-quite mud huts.

- My birthday! I turned 21 on December 8. They brought me a cake in my Hebrew class. In the afternoon we went to Falafel Yarok and then got fresh fruit smoothies. About 22 of us got together and went to a great restaurant. They brought us tons of salads and other fun things that they kept refilling. I also got a lamb kabob. We then went to a pub/bar near campus and later to a student party at a club. It was fun and most of the people on my program came to at least something with me which was really nice.

- We had a walking trip around the Old City with Ora, my Hebrew teacher, who explained to us some sights in Hebrew. We then went back to her house where she made us a delicious lunch.

- We had a farewell dinner for the learning program I’ve been doing at a nice restaurant called Jerusalem’s in the Government Center Mall one night and the next night had a farewell dinner for the Overseas Student Program at the best Indian restaurant in Israel.

- Last weekend I was in Jerusalem for Shabbat. It was my last visit to Jerusalem during this time in Israel and I visited the Kotel (Western Wall) where a Hassidic guy told me I could move to Israel and he would find me a wife to make/raise a family with. This Shabbat I spent in Be’er Sheva.

I have a lot to do before I leave Israel. I still have places that I want to see that I will not be able to see. When we got to Be’er Sheva, I figured there would be things that I would do and then have nothing to see in the city. There aren’t a ton of sightseeing places in the city, but I still haven’t seen them all. I also have to finish papers and study for tests, go to class, take tests, see people, clean, pack, etc.

I am going to miss this place and the people. I am finally starting to use my Hebrew with Israelis and becoming a part of the society. I’m leaving soon and I could definitely spent more time here.

For those of you that are wondering, I get back to St. Louis on December 26 and leave for Denver on January 4 in time for classes on January 5.

Hanukah started tonight. I want to thank all of you who have written me and/or read my blog while I’ve been in Israel. Happy Hanukah and Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year as well.

B’Shalom,

Joel Portman

P.S. Here are links to pictures for those of you who are interested:
Israeli Air Force Museum - http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel16IsraeliAirForceMuseum
Mitzpe Ramon & Hiking Trip - http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel17OSPMitzpeRamonHikingTrip
My 21st Birthday - http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel18My21stBirthday
Hebrew Trip Around Be’er Sheva - http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel19HebrewTripAroundBeErShevaOraSApartment
The Last Week-ish in Israel (still being updated) - http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel20TheLastWeekIshInIsraelLShanahHabaAh

Pictures of the Last Week-ish

2008-12-20T14:04:00.002+02:00

I have created a new photo album with pictures from my last week/week and a half in Israel. It will be continuously updated during my remaining time here.

Here is the link.

Thursday

2008-12-20T11:49:00.003+02:00

On Thursday, I had a visitor. One of the guys that was in my USY group to Israel in 2005 is in Israel visiting people and he came to Be'er Sheva to visit me. He was here Thursday until Friday morning.

We went to the Beduin Shuk, among other things. I've been to the Beduin Shuk a number of times, but I looked at a lot more this time and really realized how much stuff there is there. I probably could have bought several things there earlier in my trip for less money that would have benefited me. They also have a ton of random and worthless things, but it's all fun.

One guy tried to sell me a chamsah for 600 shekels! It was larger and maybe a little nice than some of the ones I have purshased for around 8-12 shekels that most ask 20 shekels for, but this was a crazy price. He told me that it was half off for me and "original". For that price "original" better mean from the Temple period. Logically, I didn't buy it.

Last Sunday & My Hebrew Class

2008-12-20T11:44:00.001+02:00

Last Sunday, we had a Hebrew "field trip" around parts of the Old City in Be'er Sheva. We met our teacher, Ora, at Abraham's Well (biblical site) at then walked around several places in the Old City which Ora described to us in Hebrew. She is awesome.

We ended up at Ora's apartment where she made us lunch including several salads, shakshuka, fresh squeezed lemon aide, and some kind of chocolate & cream desert that was crazy good. She is an amazing cook. We watched a movie about the Children's Houses in Kibbutzim, where Children in a Kibbutz used to live all together, seperate from their parents. It's related to what we are talking about in class and Ora said we didn't have enough time to see it in class.

It was a good time. To see pictures, click here.

Recent Thoughts

2008-12-20T11:32:00.002+02:00

This may not seem so revolutionary to you, but they kind of took me by surprise. I had a number of thoughts on the bus ride back to Be'er Sheva from Jerusalem last Saturday night. Here are the cliff notes:

- I'm finally starting to feel acculturated and then I am leaving the country. Some examples: I am comfortable traveling by myself, I'm starting to use my Hebrew more when I'm out, I'm comparing more prices in shekels now instead of first converting them to dollars, etc.

- If everything were aligned correctly and I went home for a while in the middle, I could see myself staying in Israel for the rest of the year (Spring Semester). It's took late for that to happen now.

- I want to come back to Israel before too long. Perhaps I can staff a USY trip to Israel (the same one I went on, preferably) one summer. It likely wouldn't be this summer because I've already committed myself to Boy Scout Camp Staff (the last summer of staffing?), but perhaps for summer 2010. If I don't come back then, who knows how long it will be before I return? I wouldn't like that.

- While I had never said that I would "never" live in Israel, I basically said that I "couldn't see it happening". Now, though I could. There would be a lot that would have to work out for that to happen and I'm definitely not saying that I am planning on moving to Israel now, but I could see it potentially happening maybe. Who knows how long this will last once I get back to the United States and back in my groove there...

Last Shabbat in Jerusalem - a week late

2008-12-20T11:16:00.003+02:00

So, last week on Shabbat, I went to Jerusalem. It was my last trip to Jerusalem during my current time in Israel.

I went to the Kotel since it was my last time in Israel. It took forever to get there on the bus, because in addition to the regular Friday pre-Shabbat traffic, they were tearing up Jaffa St, a major road, for installation of a light rail system that is years behind. While at the Kotel, I had a guy come up to me and ask me why I had not been back to Israel since 2005. He then told me that I should make Aliyah (move to Israel) and that he would find me a wife with whom I could raise a family. That was fun.

I spent Shabbat with the Romm's on French Hill. They are the same family I spent to High Holy Days with. They were very nice and a number of the members of their synagogue welcomed me back and some asked why it had been so long since they had seen me. We talked about my time in Israel and relaxed and all kinds of good stuff. They were really nice people and I hope to see them again some day.

I am going to miss Jerusalem. I'm glad I have been studying in Be'er Sheva, but I have enjoyed all of my time in Jerusalem. There are just some things about that city you can't get anywhere else. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I can look out of a window into a Palestinian city on Shabbat and then drive down Bar-Ilan back to the bus station at night and see all of the ultra-Orthodox Jews everywhere.

Today

2008-12-18T00:09:00.002+02:00

Okay, so catching up will have to be tomorrow. It's been crazy busy lately. I had my final in Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel today. It was hard, but could have been worse. I also had 3 other classes. In my Jewish Identity class we are discussing Judaism and sexuality. In my Arms Control class and Terrorism class we are discussing biological and cheminal warfare and terrorist access. We watched a National Geographic documentary, a BBC film about a mock dirty bomb attack in London and preperations for it (called "Dirty Bomb"), and when we learned about al-Queda, we watched The Hamburg Cell about the September 11 attacks and the indoctrination that takes place.

Tonight, we had our "farewelll" dinner/party for the Overseas Student Program. It was at an Indian restaurant, rated the best Indian food in Israel by the Jerusalem Post. It was good. It was also rather sad. I've only recently begun to realize that I am really going to miss many of the people in my program and that chances are, we won't all be seeing each other again. I hope we do though. It is just now starting to hit me how soon I leave Israel. There is still so much to do...

Behind, again

2008-12-15T23:44:00.003+02:00

So, once again I am behind. I am attempting to do a lot of work for finals - 3 papers and 3 tests before I go home.

Today, I went with Barney and Brooke to get waffles with ice cream/gelato at Aldo's today. I also bought more strawberries in the shuk - only 13 shekels/kilo this time.

Updates that will soon be posted that are late:
Jerusalem/Shabbat
Recent Thoughts
Sunday & My Hebrew Class

Oy! Only Two Weeks Now!

2008-12-11T22:21:00.002+02:00

So, I had the revelation while eating a wonderful, large shwarma for dinner with a friend tonight at the bus station that in two week from now, I will be at Ben-Gurion airport waiting for my flight back to the United States. That is insane. How am I gonna do everything I still want to do? I have mixed feelings about going home, but I'll just have to come back to Israel soon.

Yesterday, I got back my two essay outlines/midterms for the Arms Control class and the Terrorism class that I'm taking. I got a 94% and a 90%. Not too bad. Now, though I need to buckle down and work. It is hard to concentrate sometimes as I have discovered a plethera of television shows available to me online - especially, The Nanny and now, The West Wing.

Tomorrow, I am going to Jerusalem for what will likely be the last time on this trip to Israel. I'll visit the Kotel and then spend time with the Romm's - the family I was with for the High Holy Days.

My Birthday

2008-12-09T23:10:00.002+02:00

Yesterday, December 8, was my 21st Birthday!

יום ההולדת העשרים אחת שלי

Here is a brief rundown of what I did:

- In Hebrew class, Hila (our program counselor) brought me a Honey Cake birthday cake with a candle in it. They sang to me and then we shared the honey cake.
- I went to lunch with a friend at the amazing falafel place in the Old City, Falafel Yarkot.
- We got fresh fruit smoothies in the Old City
- At night we gathered to go to dinner. We had dinner at a restaurant called Avazi in the BIG Shopping Center. We walked there as a group, about 20-30 minutes. I had made a reservation earlier in the day. They had a big table set up for us. As soon as we sat down, they started bringing us tons and tons of little plates of salads and big bread/lafeh. As soon as one thing was gone, either they refilled it or brought something new. They also brought rice, chips (french fries), and orange juice and lemonade. We ordered our entrees. I got a lamb kabob. They gave me a birthday cake with sparklers in it, although it wasn't really cake - it was some sort of gelatenous cake. We had about 22 people at dinner. That made me happy. It was a big group of friends.
- We walked back to the dorms and most of us met back up a bit later to go to a bar.
- When we met up, we went to one person's room and had champagne for my birthday.
- We then went to the Manga Pub/Bar, in the teacher's building, across Rager, across from the hospital. (I know that doesn't mean anything to anyone else reading this.) We cut through the hospital in a shortcut that wasn't really any shorter. We sat around the bar first and then got a table. We had a good time and a few of my friends bought me a few drinks.
- After Manga, some of us took cabs to Chika, a club in a wharehouse that was having a big party last night. I was kinda forced into a cab to go. It was a big place and a lot of people were dancing to loud music and crazy lights. It was fun.

Overall, it was a good birthday. I had a lot of fun with many of my friends in Israel.

See pictures of my 21st Birthday here.

The Weekend in the Negev

2008-12-09T22:58:00.003+02:00

I spent this past weekend on the last OSP (Overseas Student Program) trip of the semester. We spent the time in the Negev and learning about the Negev.

We started the morning on Friday at Sde Boker, the place where David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister lived a good part of his life. It is the location of a lot of research into him and into the Negev. We learned about some of the decisions David Ben-Gurion made and watched a new movie they had made. We also discussed Israeli perceptions of the Negev and how the have (or haven't) changed through film. I saw David Ben-Gurion's grave (coming full circle from the first weekend I was in Israel and our visit to Ben-Gurion's home and grave then). Last Wednesday was David Ben-Gurion Day and there were a number of wreaths still on his grave.

We did a hike in the maktesh - the large crater - next to Mitzpe Ramon. The beginning was a bit steep/difficult but it was mostly a nice walk. It was a good time. At the end, we realized that the area we were walking in was a firing zone for the military, so I'm assuming we had permission to be there, but who knows. My friend Josh and I pretended to hitchhike in the desert for a picture, but the first car that came by actually stopped. hehe.

The place we stayed in Mitzpe Ramon, whose name I don't remember, was in a wharehouse that is now a dance studio/hippie hangout. They had low couches around tables for eating and we slept in sort of "mud huts" on mattresses on the ground in a large room in the wharehouse. They were a vegetarian place and the food was really good.

After dinner, we did an acrobatics class. We did different stretches and crazy stuff on ropes attached to the ceiling and cloth ropes attached to the ceiling.

Saturday, we did a meditation like thing and walked for an hour or so in the desert without speaking. We then buried each other with rocks. One person laid down and the other covered him with rocks in a premeditated order and then took them off and placed them in a circle around him, a stack, etc. Then we switched. After that we sat in a circle and passed rocks around and all kinds of craziness.

After the meditation part, we walked to a lookout over the crater where we ate a late lunch. We were going to hike into the crater, but instead walked around the top of the crater in a few directions and hung out, looking out over the crater and the desert.

Later, a few of us went to see the sunset in the desert. It was pretty, but disturbed with a lot of clouds in the sky.

See pictures here.

Air Force Museum

2008-12-09T17:52:00.001+02:00

So this should have been posted last week:

Last Thursday I went to the Israeli Air Force Museum with three friends. We went to the Bus Station and got one of the best shwarmas I have had. The guy was amazing. It was a bit more expensive than I wanted, but it was worth the few extra shekels. After finding out that we'd have to wait an hour for a bus, we took a cab to the museum. It was about a 10 minute ride, just outside of Be'er Sheva.

The Air Force Museum was rather large. It told the history of the Israeli Air Force and had planes from around the world - France, USSR, England, United States, Israel, etc. They had some really awesome planes. They also had a museum that discussed ways in which pilots perform rescues. They had a section of anti-aircraft weaponry and a section on radar technology. There was a row of helicopters and a large old Boeing plane that was used to show a video of the Israeli Air Force in various wars. There were also a number of planes from Syria, Egypt, Iraq, etc. that Israel has captured, including one that was dual labeled for Israel and Syria. Remains of destroyed Egyptian planes from the 1967 Six Day War could be seen in a few locations.

Strangely, the Air Force Museum had a (fun) playground. They also had, for whatever reason, a bird zoo. I saw ostriches, peacocks, ducks, geese, an alpaca, and more. It was odd.

Check out pictures here.

I'll Catch Up Tomorrow & Pictures

2008-12-07T23:02:00.002+02:00

This weekend I went to Sde Boker & Mitzpe Ramon and did some hiking in the desert.

I'll catch up on the blogging about the Air Force Museum and this weekend tomorrow. In the meantime check out pictures:
Air Force Museum
The Weekend in the Desert

Also, tomorrow is my 21st Birthday!

Three Weeks?!?

2008-12-04T23:54:00.002+02:00

So, I haven't written anything here this week. I'm slacking here. I only have a few minutes because it is late and I am getting up early tomorrow for an OSP trip to Mitzpe Ramon for Friday and Saturday. I'll write more after the trip.

Here are a few highlights of the week:

In three weeks from now, I'll be on a plane getting ready to leave Ben-Gurion Airport, Tel-Aviv, Israel for Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, United States of America. It's crazy.

I got my midterm test back in my Jewish Identity and Contemporary Issues class and go a 98%.

We had a meeting about checking out from the dorms.

I've started working on scholarships for next school year.

I explored part of downtown Be'er Sheva on Monday - several malls, the city government area, etc. and saw a decent amount of the city that I have been meaning to see. Be'er Sheva really can be a nice and even beautiful city if you know the right places to look. I also explored a large grocery store that was supposedly less expensive. Before our explorations though, we got waffles in the big mall - Canyon HaNegev with Gnutella and ice cream. Not healthy, but really good.

Today, I went to the Israeli Air Force Museum with three friends. It was quite amazing and we spent 2-3 hours there learning about the history of the Israeli Air Force and looking at the planes. I'll have to write more about this later. I also have pictures to post.

I have my 21st birthday this Monday, December 8!

Good news!

2008-11-30T18:10:00.003+02:00

I got back my midterm essay today in my Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel class. I got a 100%!

My Professor wrote:
"This is one of the best papers ever presented to me by an OSP [Overseas Student Program] student in the many years I have been teaching."

That's fun!

My paper was titled: "The Camp David Accords and Israeli-Egyptian Peace: American Influence in the Peace Process – American, Egyptian, and Israeli Opinions – and Modern Perspectives on their Success". If you are interested in reading my essay, click here.

Friday and Saturday

2008-11-29T20:41:00.003+02:00

Friday morning I went with two friends down to the Old City in Be'er Sheva. We went to a street market that I've heard called the pedestrian mall, the Jewish Shuk, the Friday Shuk, etc.

One the way, after we got off the bus, we stopped at a fruit stand where I bought some beautiful strawberries. I love strawberries (when I was little, before we moved, we used to have a strawberry garden in our back yard) but haven't seen them in Israel, which was disappointing. Logically I bought some strawberries.

In the street market there were a lot of great stands with everything from food to houseware items to clothing to souvenirs. There were kids shouting out prices (One kid kept yelling "Eser! Eser! Eser!" (Eser=10 [Shekels] for bakery items). I bought a few souvenirs, including the first one I found that actually says "Be'er Sheva" on it. I was looking for dreidels, but I guess I was too early still. I found an actual Judaica store and they said it would be another week or week and a half.

At the end of the shops, I found a falafel stand (Falafel Yarkot) that a friend of mine told me that his professor (who teaches tourism to Israelis) said is claimed to be the best falafel in Be'er Sheva. "They" say that the best in Israel is in Be'er Sheva and if this was the best falafel in Be'er Sheva, then it could be said that this stand made the best falafel in Israel. It definitely could have been, it tasted amazing. The stand was always busy. Unlike other stands, you don't pick what goes in your falafel. Usually, you tell them what salads, chips, etc, but here they just put everything in. One other really cool thing though is that they didn't use tongs to put the fafafel in the pita. They threw it in the air and caught it with the pita. That was nifty.

Check out a video that I took of the falafel making:

(On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFVrmCxvpCY)

Yesterday, I went to my Jewish Identity Professor's home for Shabbat dinner. I got there early and joined him and his son for Shabbat evening services. I'd been before with him, but this time we went to a different synagogue called "Beit Knesset Kipah". It is older, larger, more traditional, and more Israeli. It was nice. Dinner with my Professor's family, was nice as well. We had a great conversation alongwith his wife and a few of his children.

Today, I've been working on random stuff - the blog, emails, designing a group t-shirt for the Overseas Program, stuff for DU, scholarship stuff, etc. Just taking it easy mostly. I also started watching a tv show that my Mom likes. It's called "Knight Rider" and it is on NBC. It's really good. You check it out.

I've also started listening to Christmas music. I love Christmas and Winter Holiday music. It's kind of ironic though in Israel...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T20:33:00.002+02:00

A belated Thanksgiving post:

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun, although not what I am used to. It will definitely be a Thanksgiving to remember. We had a one-pot dinner cooked on a bonfire.

We got together and went to a clear area on the other side of the train tracks, across from the dorms, down the street about 5-10 minutes. Our head counselor, Hila, decided where we would make the bonfire - i.e. apparently we could just make it, no permission or permit needed. I asked her about the wood we used and where we were. Apparently the place we were was an illegal dumping site and the wood we burned was wood collected from the area. That would explain the plywood, nails in the wood, and the cloth stapled on to some of the wood.

We made a fire and cooked in a large pot. We had turkey, potatoes, carrots, lentils, garlic, onions, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I don't know all of what Hila put in the pot. I do know that there were a lot of spices and orange juice, wine, and some other liquid from a bottle. It was spicy, but good. She also decided to cook potatoes (some were sweet potatoes) in the fire. She just through them in - no foil or anything - and when they were done, we picked them out, broke them open, and ate the inside.

Hila said it was her first Thanksgiving. Inbal, our other counselor was there as well, along with a number of other Israelis. It was definitely interesting. Some of us sang campfire songs after dinner.

Later, we went to a Pub next to the dorms and got chocolate cake and ice cream. It was good, but I wanted pumpkin pie. :-)

Last Weekend - Shabbaton

2008-11-26T23:47:00.002+02:00

Here is a brief rundown of last weekend:

I went with my friend Josh to Jerusalem on Thursday night.

We stopped for shwarma and then went to Mahane Yehuda, the shuk in Jerusalem. I hadn't been there and wanted to make sure I saw what it was like, even if that view was limited at 9:30 p.m. It was still fairly busy, but a lot was closed - not nearly the craziness of Fridays before Shabbat.

We stood in the Old City at The Heritage House and went to the Kotel, Western Wall, on Thursday night and again on Friday morning.

On Friday, after the Kotel, we joined a group of students from Hebrew University, the Conservative Yeshiva, and Nativ (Conservative post-high school year long program in Israel) at Hebrew University.

We went to the Druze village Daliat al-Carmel to the shuk. They have a lot of really cool stuff in their stores, including "unbreakable glass" that is handmade and handpainted. In one store, we had a conversation with a really nice Druze guy in a back room. He told us about the Druze flad (for the people, not a country) and the similarities between the Druze and the Jews. He spoke in Hebrew and I didn't understand most of it, but it was a lot of fun.

Afterwards, we drove to Kibbutz Hanaton, near Haifa. Kibbutz Hanaton is the only Conservative/Masorti Kibbutz in Israel. It is small, but they are rejuvinating it as the kibbutz undergoes privatization. While on the Kibbutz, we learned about their plans for the future.

Over Shabbat, we had good services and good food. I met some interesting new people. We studied the weekly Torah portion and a brief development of the Oral Torah. It was all very good.

Our stay was nice and I enjoyed the Shabbaton.

---

I was going to be in Jerusalem for this coming Shabbat, but those plans fell through. I could probably pursue a number of other options, but will likely stay in Be'er Sheva and take it easy and try to do some sightseeing around here.

Pre-Thanksgiving Email

2008-11-26T23:29:00.000+02:00

Shalom,

Wow! Time goes by so fast. In one month from today, I will be home in St. Louis. I have now been in Israel for almost for four months. While that seems like a long time, there is so much that I was hoping to do here that will not happen. There are too many places to go, too many people to see, too many things to experience. I guess that means that I’ll have to come back again :-).

It has been too long since my last email. I also haven’t been as good the past two weeks with updating my blog, but I think the main highlights ended up there. School has gotten the better of my time, as it probably should. The past two weeks have been midterms. I turned in two complex essay outlines for two classes that will turn into decent sized, well researched final papers for my Arms Control and Nuclear Weapons and Introduction to Terrorism and Guerilla Warfare class, took an essay test for my Jewish Identity class, and wrote a 9.75 page paper for my Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel on the Camp David Accords and Egyptian-Israeli peace. Needless to say, I am ready for the weekend.

Here are (briefly) some of the highlights of the past few weeks:

It has gotten colder in Be’er Sheva (this isn’t really a highlight). It is now into the upper 40s at night. During the days I have been able to wear shorts (today it was in the mid-upper 70s), but it is going to be dropping into the 60s this weekend.

My Hebrew has been continually getting better, although I still feel like I need to learn more. My Hebrew teacher has added an extra Hebrew class on Sundays for us since she tells us we aren’t where we should be, overall, for our level.

I spent a weekend in Tel-Aviv. I spent a good amount of time on the beach and went to the flea market in Jaffo where, at a nearby store, I bought new Naot, awesome sandals.

I have new roommates. All of the rooms in my suite are now filled. One of my roommates was born in Uzbekistan, one is from Tel-Aviv and knows English well, and one is named Mohammed (I haven’t seen him as much). They are all nice.

The elections happened. Everyone in Israel was talking about them – Americans, Israelis, etc. It was all over the news and I had a few conversations with Israelis about the results.

I spent a weekend in Eilat. We went snorkeling in the Red Sea coral reefs. They were beautiful. I saw some amazing coral and beautiful fish. We did two hikes – one in a desert canyon and a longer, more intense one in the Eilat Mountains. On the way down, towards sunset, we saw the mountains on the Jordanian side of the Gulf turning red and reflecting into the water. It was a lot of fun.

I went to a memorial ceremony for Yitzhak Rabin at the University (all in Hebrew). Yitzhak Rabin was an Israeli Prime Minister who was assassinated for working towards peace with the Palestinians by an extremist Jewish terrorist.

The Israelis started class on Sunday, November 16. Ben-Gurion University was the last University in Israel to begin. It also happened to be the same week of finals at the University of Denver. Interesting… During the first week, there was a huge festival on campus with banks on campus, the student association giving out free things, area restaurants set up on campus, and a lot of clothing and jewelry stands.

This past weekend, I went to Jerusalem with a friend. We went to the shuk there and to the Kotel, the Western Wall. On Friday, we joined a group of students from Hebrew University, the Conservative Yeshiva, and Nativ (Conservative post-high school year long program in Israel) for a Shabbaton. We went to the Druze village Daliat al-Carmel and went to the shuk. They had all kinds of great shops and I had a conversation with a Druze guy in Hebrew that I mostly didn’t understand about similarities between the Druze and Jews. We then went to Kibbutz Hanaton, near Haifa, for a fun, relaxing, educational Shabbat.

There is more, but you can read my blog at – http://joelportman.blogspot.com.

Here are links to some pictures since my last email:
Tel-Aviv – http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel13TelAvivVisit
Eilat and Hiking – http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel14EilatAndHiking
First Week of Israeli Class – http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/FirstWeekOfIsraeliStudentClassNov162008
Jerusalem, Druze Village, Shabbaton – http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel15JerusalemAndShabbatonAtKibbutzHanaton

I can’t believe that tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It really hasn’t occurred to me that we are at the end of November. Logically, nothing special happens in Israel for Thanksgiving. We have class tomorrow. However, since we are mostly American on the Overseas Student Program, we’re having a modified celebration. We are going to have a bonfire (Israelis do that a lot to celebrate nationalistic holidays) and I think a one-pot Thanksgiving dinner. I know we’ll have turkey, but I hope that everything else ends up there, especially pumpkin pie.

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I’ll be sending at least one more email before I leave Israel. Stay in touch. Let me know what’s going on in life – it’ll make it easier to catch up when I am home in a month.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joel

Oy. I'm Behind.

2008-11-25T22:52:00.003+02:00

Logically, I am behind on blogging again. I have been busy writing a paper for my Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel class. Doing the research, analyzing the research, and writing the paper have taken longer than I thought. I just finished my essay on "The Camp David Accords and Israeli-Egyptian Peace: American Influence in the Peace Process – American, Egyptian, and Israeli Opinions – and Modern Perspectives on their Success".

Yesterday, I also had a midterm in my Jewish Identity and Contemporary Issues class. I spent a decent amount of time, especially on Sunday reading, rereading, and studying for the exam. After the exam we had an evaluatory meeting with the Director of the Overseas Student Program to discuss our thoughts on our classes and ways they can attempt to improve our program before the end of the semester.

Okay, I have to do reading for classes tomorrow. I'll blog more, specifically about this past weekend tomorrow. In the meantime, look at these pictures of my weekend in Jerusalem and at a Shabbaton at Kibbutz Hanaton in the North - click here.

Etmol, Hayom, v'Mahar - Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

2008-11-19T22:38:00.003+02:00

As I mentioned in my last post, this is the first week of class for the Israeli students. There have been groups on campus all week. Yesterday, I got my BGU towel and tote bag from the student association. One of the banks on campus is giving out free ice cream to students who have an account with them or open one up. When I told them I am only here for five months, leave at the end of December, don't want an Israeli bank, etc, they gave up and gave me free ice cream anyway :-) They have awesome names on their fake credit cards - "Israel Israeli"

Here are some pictures of what is going on on campus.

Today in my Arms Control & Nuclear Weapons class, we met with the cadets in the Israeli Air Force Officers program. The air force cadets spend one year of their training getting a degree and our professor also teaches in their program. We learned what life is like to become a pilot in Israel and talked about their lives and our lives.

I turned in detailed outlines for the papers I will be writing for my Arms Control class and my International Terrorism class. The topics are "Does Israel’s nuclear program make the country safer and increase its importance in international affairs?" and "The development of modern Jewish fundamentalism in Israeli politics and West Bank settlements and its lingering discrepancy with attempts towards a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict".

Tomorrow night I am going to Jerusalem with my friend Josh. We are going to stay in Jerusalem (maybe go to the shuk, Ben-Yehuda Street, Kotel, etc.) on Thursday night and then go to Hebrew University on Friday morning to meet a group sponsored by the Fuschberg Center for Conservative Judaism in Jerusalem and go to a Shabbaton on a Conservative Kibbutz in Northern Israel. We'll be stopping at a Druze village on the way. It should be a good time.

Lots To Do

2008-11-17T22:22:00.003+02:00

I haven't been so good about updating the blog recently. I'll try to catch up tomorrow. I have been working on three papers. It has taken a lot more time than I've expected.

Yesterday was the first day of class for Israeli students. People are everywhere now. There are people all over the dorms (I even had to tell someone how the laundry here works and how to print, where to get a print card, etc.). People are everywhere on campus. There are other classes going on in our building now - and the Israeli students are loud in the hallways.

There is a festival on campus for the first week. Area restaurants and bars have stuff set up. It seems like every bank is there giving out free stuff trying to get student accounts as are cell phone companies. There are also a number of clothing, jewelry, etc. stores set up. I got two awesome shirts - one short sleeve and one long sleeve - that I've seen Israelis where and they have Hebrew on them - something I've been looking for. The student association is also confirming registrations for the new school year and giving out gifts to all of the students. I haven't gotten mine yet. I probably will tomorrow - the line has been really long.

Here are the designs from the t-shirts -
A camel poking its head through the "warning: camels on road" sign.
An image of the Dimona Nuclear Facility. Israel does not confirm or deny that it has a nuclear program and Israeli journalists cannot reference it. The Hebrew says "According to foreign sources".

New Roommates

2008-11-11T23:40:00.002+02:00

Today is move-in day. I know it is "officially" for the Freshmen and I think for other students as well. The BGU classes for Israeli students start on Sunday, November 16 and there is supposed to be a festival on campus that whole week.

I had been told that I am only getting one new roommate, but apparently that is not true. I now have two new roommates, 3 total. One came this morning and the other, this afternoon. I don't know either well yet. The first one who came does not know English so well I don't think. His name is Mohamed. He wasn't the friendliest. The other guy was only here briefly. His name is Eli, he is from Tel-Aviv, he knows English very well, and he seems very friendly. Those are my initial impressions.

Yitzhak Rabin

2008-11-11T23:35:00.002+02:00

Yesterday was Yitzhak Rabin memorial day. Our class was canceled and we had a program learning about him and why he was assassinated (Yitzhak Rabin was a Prime Minister of Israel - learn more). We went to the University's Memorial Ceremony which had a pretty good attendance considering classes haven't started here yet. It was all in Hebrew, but they did several readings, sang several songs, and did a memorial prayer. It was very moving.

Eilat, Hiking, etc.

2008-11-11T23:21:00.003+02:00

This past weekend I went with the OSP group on a trip to Eilat. We started off going North of Be'er Sheva to a nature preserve where a flower grows that is only grown two places in the world, both in Israel. This yellow flower only flowers two weeks a year. After that, we drove South. On the way, we discovered that our bus driver had a DVD with some Friends episodes on it so we watched several episodes on the way there and a few on the way back.

Pictures from the weekend

In the desert north of Eilat, we did a hike through a canyon. Hila's (our group leader) husband is majoring in geography and he explained to us some of the geological features of the area. It was a nice hike in the desert.

In Eilat, we went to the "guest house" place that we stayed between the main area of Eilat and the border crossing to Egypt. It was similar to the places we have stayed on Kibutzim, but this time in a city. In the evening, Josh and I walked to a nearby hotel to the synagogue there. The group praying was finishing so we did our own Kabbalat Shabbat service which was a lot of fun. We walked around the really nice hotel and then went back for dinner. In the evening, we played cards and hung out.

Saturday morning, I went to the beach/nature reserve a bit early and went swimming with a few people. The water was cold but it was a nice day. We then had a guided program. We were taught about the coral reef and the fish in it (the most Northern reef in the world). They gave us snorkels and PFDs. We had a guided swim through the reefs and then could go back on our own, which I did. The coral reefs were beautiful. The fish were amazing. All of the awesome fish you see in an aquarium, in books, in movies, etc. were swimming with me. I swam with Nemo and Dora from Finding Nemo.

In the afternoon, we did a hike in the Eilat Mountains above the city, overlooking the Red Sea. It was actually more intense than I had expected for our group, but I really liked it. We climbed up about 900-1000 feet and overlooked the bay, Eilat, Aqaba, etc. We could see Egypt and Jordan and the mountains on the horizon to the South may have been Saudi Arabia. We hiked up and down, climbing over rocks and jumping down the mountain, sliding on the gravel/rock that wasn't really a path in may places. It was good fun.

We stopped at the mall and Tayelet/Promenade in Eilat for dinner before coming back to Be'er Sheva.

The Presidency, Obama, and Tomorrow

2008-11-06T22:28:00.002+02:00

The elections have been a big deal in Israel as I'm sure you all know. Israel is tied to the U.S. in a lot of ways - security, economy, military, politics, tourism, etc. Additionally, there are a lot of Americans who live in Israel both as visitors and citizens.

A number of people in my program stood up all night Tuesday-Wednesday to watch as election returns began to come in. They watched Fox News on a tv in the student center. I did not join them. I had to get up in the middle of the night to register for classes at DU for the Winter Quarter at 3:20 a.m. my time, so I watched some returns then. I also got up early in the morning to see more solid numbers - it was around midnight central time when I woke up.

I had hoped to be able to watch CNN or Fox News live online for results, but was unable to on Fox News' website and CNN only had their International Edition available, which kinda isn't very good. Instead, I watched MSNBC as well as clips from other news services. I also followed political results and news throughout and after the election process from CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Economist, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the Denver Post, among others.

When I bought lunch yesterday, Wednesday, I heard the Israeli news come on and then they played a clip of Obama's Winning Speech. Most Israelis I have met seem to be happy for a United States President Obama. My roommate questioned me on why I supported Obama and how he will be successful in making his "change". He has his doubts, although in the process of our conversation I somehow learned that he trained with the U.S. Military in Israel while he was in the Army.

Today, I got an English language version of the Jerusalem Post newspaper and a Hebrew language version of the Yediot Ahoronot newspaper. Both of them are covered with news, reactions, statistics, editiorials, etc. about the election. They are the November 6 edition as the results had not been announced in time for the November 5 papers in Israel. Logically though, I can't read much of the Hebrew newspaper and I haven't read the English one. While I'm sure I already know, I'd like to see what direction Missouri officially goes for President.

On another note, I had a Hebrew test today which went well. It focused on a story we've been learning about Hanah Senesh. I also went to the mall downtown, the shuk, and the Beduin shuk. I was unsuccessful in finding a sweatshirt, which I need, in Hebrew. However, I bought a fleece sweatshirt from the Israeli clothing company Fox in the mall.

Tomorrow, I am leaving at 7:30 a.m. for an Overseas Student Program trip to Eilat. We will be doing some hiking along the way and snorkeling in the coral reefs. It should be fun.

Ha, look at that. Tomorrow could be a double entendre between Obama and what I am doing. Craziness...

My Roommate

2008-11-06T22:21:00.002+02:00

I got a new roommate about a month ago. Now, I suppose that you may be wondering why I am first writing about this now. Well, he has only really been living here for two weeks and we have only recently really been getting to know each other.

His name is Simeon (spelling?). He was born in Uzbekistan before his family moved to Israel. His mother is orginally from Germany. She knows German, Turkish, Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew. As you can see, no English. I found this out at some point during his move in when his mother and I tried to have a conversation. We weren't so successful, but she is very nice.

Simeon is a nice guy. He studies a lot and works at Motorolla. He has been good about helping to clean and organize our kitchen( and he brought toilet paper when he moved in, which was needed).

Simeon is going to be in his 4th year when the semester begins. He is taking summer classes now. He is majoring in Communication Systems Engineering.

We recently began to talk more. He has pretty good English and I'm working on my Hebrew. He also roasted his own peanuts the other night. I thought that was pretty cool.

Tel-Aviv

2008-11-02T22:47:00.002+02:00

This past weekend I was in Tel-Aviv. I stood with the family of my brother's friend's brother's girlfriend's family. They were very nice. They live in North Tel-Aviv near the University.

I went Thursday. Thursday night we drove along Deisengof Street and then relaxed at their home.

Friday I was taken to the beach near the marina where I hung out on the beach and walked along the beach and promenade from the Tel-Aviv Marina to Jaffo. I walked around part of Old Jaffo and went to the flea market and a number of covered markets that I had gone to when I came to Israel with USY in 2005. It was nice. I also finally found less expensive Naot, the awesome Israeli Birkenstock-like sandals that I have. I have needed a new pair, but they are expensive (279 Shekels + in most places). I found them in a store in Jaffo for 250 Shekels and talked them down to 230 Shekels which is about 50 Shekels less and with a better exchange rate, it was worth buying the new pair. Friday evening I helped cook dinner and then we had dinner with the family and two of their kids.

Saturday, the couple went to visit their son on his Navy base. There was a chance that I would go with them, but they weren't sure that their son would get the approval to let me onto the base. Instead, they took me to a beach. I walked a half an hour along the beach and relaxed for a while on the beach. Different areas of the water were cold and warm, depending where I was. I then walked half an hour back to their house.

Besides these events, I spent time watching movies and television shows, reading for class, and just relaxing in their home in Tel-Aviv. Watching all of the movies and t.v. shows with Hebrew subtitles was interesting and, I think, helped my Hebrew understanding. If I had a t.v. in my dorm, I think that my Hebrew could be improved by my watching a lot of t.v. and movies with Hebrew subtitles so that I can follow how the Hebrew is used and attempt to improve my vocabulary.

It was a good weekend. Here are a few pictures from along the beach in Tel-Aviv.

A Cold Week

2008-10-30T14:07:00.002+02:00

This week has been rather cold. While the temperature has, according to the sites I've found online, only gotten into the 50s once, I don't believe them. I have stopped using the fan that I have at night and often during the day as well. My tile floor is cold and I'm considering buying a cheap heater for my room or if not, perhaps a heavier blanket. Additionally, it has been cloudy for much of the week and rained off and on most days. While the rain is definately needed here, I find the weather to be rather unhappy without blue skies and sun. I liked the weather before much better. I think that it is suppossed to change for next week, which would be good.

My Hebrew teacher has asked our class for an additional session on Sundays for at least one time, but likely for a few weeks. She think that we are behind, which is true. I feel like I should know more than I do.

I'm leaving in a few hours for Tel-Aviv. I'll be spending the weekend with a family there and will return to Be'er Sheva on Saturday night. When I return, I'm going to have to start doing a lot of studying and reading as well as research for several midterm papers that will be due before the end of November.

A Bit on Today

2008-10-27T22:33:00.002+02:00

The screen on my cell phone stopped working (on Friday) so I had to get a new phone (today), which also didn't work so I got another one (after some stress, also today due to confusion with other people and their phone issues). That was cool. I went to the shuk today and bought fruits and vegetables (I bought bought corn on the cob for about ~30 cents per husk). I also bought a kilo of hummus for only 8 shekels - I was super excited. Ialso got locked out of my room and my roommate got locked inside because our door decided to stop working. That was fun.

I decided tonight that I'm going to Tel-Aviv this weekend. I'll be staying with a family my brother put me in contact with.

I also went to class today, but need to study/read a lot.

Only Two Months Left

2008-10-26T18:48:00.002+02:00

As of today, I have been in Israel for three months. That means that I only have two months left here.

It's crazy how fast time has gone. I can't believe that it will be November in less than a week!

Unfortunately, today it is finally cold in Be'er Sheva. While there were times when it was definately hot today, I elected to wear pants instead of shorts. Overall, it was a good decision, even though I hope that it warms up enough for me to still wear shorts later in the week.

Email - Done with the Holidays, Back to School

2008-10-25T21:28:00.002+02:00

If you want to read about my second break, do so by clicking the link to the left as this email copy just has a brief summary.

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Shalom,

It has been quite a long time since my last email; almost a month in fact. So much has happened in the last month and it has flown by so fast. I don’t know where my time has gone. Since my last email, I’ve passed the half way mark of my time in Israel and tomorrow will be two months until I return home. It’s crazy. I still have so much that I want to see and experience. Class has barely even happened. I’ve only had a few weeks of class, interrupted by the holidays. Now, I have class straight through for the rest of my time in Israel.

Celebrating the Jewish holidays in Israel has been great. The services themselves didn’t necessarily feel very different but the feeling of community in the synagogue and the country as a whole was amazing. Seeing “Shana Tova” signs around and hearing people say “Shana Tova” is a great feeling. Seeing Sukkot around Israel is awesome. They were literally on almost every balcony and in every corner of a building and grassy area in many parts of the country that I saw. I was in Jerusalem for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah – all with the same great family (They kept inviting me back, which was fine with me). Dancing around outside and inside with the Torah on Simchat Torah and singing “Am Yisrael Chai” – “The People of Israel Live” in Israel was a wonderful experience.

Since my last email, we’ve had the holidays, my second break, a number of other travels, and class. Below are some of the highlights. For more details check out my blog at http://joelportman.blogspot.com or email me. I’ve also attached a long description of my second break for those of you who are interested in skimming through or reading it in its entirety.

We had an Overseas Student Program trip to the North a few weekends ago. We went to Tzfat, did a little hiking in the North, saw the first kibbutz, the Kineret (Sea of the Galilee), a cemetery with many Zionist and Kibbutz pioneers, and a chocolate factory and stayed on a kibbutz in the North.

We saw Kaparot which is a way that some (some meaning only a few, mainly very Orthodox Jews these days) Jews seek forgiveness for sins. A chicken is swung over one’s head and is killed and given to the poor as a way to transfer one’s sins from one’s self to the chicken. My viewing of this though ended up being more of a way to see how a chicken can be killed in a Kosher manner.

During my second break, in addition to the holidays and the large amount of services that I attended, I did a lot of traveling, mainly in the North and around Jerusalem. I went to Rosh Hanikra, grottoes along the Mediterranean Sea at the very Northern point of Israel and the Lebanese border. I stayed with an Israeli family in Tivon, a suburb of Haifa. It was a great way to experience actually living in Israel and see how an Israeli family might live. We went to the Jordan River where my friend got rebaptized, we went swimming in the Kineret, Sea of the Galilee, and we went ATVing in the Lower Galilee through mango orchards on a moshav. I went to a party for an Israeli guy who finished his army service and learned a new card game.

While in Jerusalem, I visited several overlook sites from Hebrew University/Mt. Scopus over the city, East Jerusalem, and towards Jordan. I went to Ammunition Hill, the site of a battle in the 1967 Six Day War that led to the reunification of Jerusalem. I walked through Mea Shearim, the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood, the day before Simchat Torah and saw the Sukkot everywhere and people getting ready for the holiday.

I, along with two friends, took a day tour to Hebron organized by the Jewish Community of Hebron. While it was an observant, very right-wing tour, it was a great way to visit. We drove through the West Bank where I saw the security barrier, a number of checkpoints, several Jewish and Palestinian villages, Rachel’s Tomb, the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the three Jewish neighborhoods, and a number of other sites.

I think that this email is long enough for now. Like I said, if you want to know more about anything, check out my blog or email me. For information on the holidays I mentioned, check out: http://www.ou.org/holidays.

Here are links to pictures that I’ve posted since my last email:
OSP Trip to the North - http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel10OctoberGalileeTrip
Kaparot (Warning: These are graphic) - http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel11GRAPHICKaparotChickens
Break #2 - http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel12Break2NorthernIsraelJerusalemHebronJerusalem

Stay in touch. My next email should come sooner than almost a month.

L’Hitraot,

Joel Portman

Politics - A Summary

2008-10-25T16:52:00.003+02:00

This is a post that should have been made a long time ago, at least on some level…

Many of the people on my program have at least some interest in international affairs and/or politics if they don’t plan on majoring in or making a career out of one or both of these things. As such most members of my group stay up to date with politics.

During the National Conventions, I watched most of the Democratic Speeches and some of the Republican Speeches (I wasn’t as interested in all of the speakers) and I know that many of my friends did the same. We sometimes discussed the speeches while walking to class.

I, along with many of my friends, stay up to date with politics in the U.S. on a regular basis. Many of us monitor news sites online and watch news videos. Most mornings, I watch the recording of the previous evening’s CBS Evening News online and also subscribe to email updates from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Economist.

The progress of the Presidential campaigns, as well as other topics (i.e. the economy), frequently make it into conversations between my friends and I as well as conversations that are had and that I join in on during meals that I have been invited to when I’ve stood with different families around Israel. Many of the families I’ve stayed with have American citizenship and many of them plan on voting in the upcoming election, although some fear that they had missed the application deadline for absentee ballots. Some also said that it can be hard to contact the last place they voted in the U.S. if they left before they were of voting age or were born in Israel but also have U.S. citizenship.

I had been concerned that I would not receive my absentee ballot on time, if at all. Luckilly, I got it soon after Rosh Hashanah. This was important to me, not only because of the significance of this year’s election, but also because 2008 is my first Presidential Election and I wanted to make sure that I could vote. I filled out the ballot the same day I received and mailed it soon afterward to make sure that it would be in St. Louis long before the deadline.

As far as Israeli politics go, that is a big mess. I try to follow what is going on here, but it is very confusing. Even Israelis tell me the same thing. However, after attempting to follow what’s going on while living here and after visiting the Supreme Court and Knesset in Jerusalem, I have a bit of a better idea of how the government (is supposed to) function. I subscribe to email updates from the Arutz 7 news service, have an RSS feed from the Ha’aretz newspaper through Google Desktop, get video news from www.jerusalemonline.com, and frequent the Jerusalem Post website.

Mayoral elections are coming up in many cities and that is a big issue in Jerusalem with candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. Tzipi Livni, the Foreign Minister, was recently selected as the head of the Kadima Party and has been attempting to form a new coalition government and become Prime Minister, but it is likely that she will not succeed and will instead send the country into general elections.

This is not even going into the craziness that is going on with the academic system. After two strikes last year (senior faculty and students) and the threat of another strike (junior faculty) as well as a semester being canceled, there are now threats of another strike. The government has been cutting funding to Universities (most of Israel’s Universities are public) and telling them to increase the costs to students – hence the strikes. As a result of the strikes, the government said they would restore their funding of Universities to their previous level (but not increase them). Now, the government is withholding that funding. Therefore, the Presidents of the Universities are threatening not to open the Universities for school (they start at various times in November) if they do not receive the funding – i.e. another strike. This is looking likely, but who knows.

Well I could go on and on, but this is enough for now.

Pictures

2008-10-25T15:57:00.001+02:00

Check out my pictures from Break Two to Jerusalem, the North, Hebron, etc.

Also, I have finally added captions to my photos from our OSP Trip to the Galilee.

Break Two: Yom Kippur – Simchat Torah

2008-10-25T15:53:00.002+02:00

Below is a description of my activities during my second break in my Overseas Program - October 8-21. Some days have more detail than others and overall, this is a fairly long description (6.5 pages typed) so feel free to skim and skip around. I hope that this provides answers to many of you who have asked what I did during the break.

Background

I had originally wanted to go to Egypt during this break and spend a good deal of time researching different options and contacting various tour companies. However, in the wake of an increase in kidnappings in Egypt, warnings by Israeli authorities against travel to Egypt, and a warning from my international Terrorism professor, I decided against traveling to Egypt. Instead I started looking at a variety of options, but didn’t really solidify my trip until the day before I left (and then changed it part way through). There ended up being a lot less planning on this trip than the first one.

Thoughts on a Different Way to Travel

Most of this trip was spent staying with families instead of in youth hostels. While I did less of the “tourist” traveling on this trip than I had originally wanted to, I found the experience very enjoyable. I did not end up going to all of the museums that I had planned on, but I had the experience of living life like an Israeli. We traveled several days in a car instead of a bus, went to places (beach, restaurants, etc.) that tourists are unlikely to find, and more. It really gave me the feeling of a person living in Israel instead of a person visiting Israel.

Yom Kippur (October 8-9)

I was in Jerusalem for Yom Kippur, back with the Romm family in French Hill.

View previous post about this here.

Shabbat (October 10-11)

After the movie at the Romm’s, they took me over to the Schwartz’s.

View previous post about this here.

Saturday night – Sunday morning (October 11-13)

Back in Be’er Sheva. I had originally planned on being in Be’er Sheva Saturday night and Sunday and then going to the North on Sunday evening. This ended up changing and I was in Be’er Sheva until Monday morning. There is nothing really to write about here. I just took it easy and attempted to catch up on emails and random stuff after being gone.

The North (October 13-15)

Heading up North was a great time. While it could be described as the length of a long weekend, it seems like we did so much more in that time.

Aaron and I left Be’er Sheva on a 7:26 a.m. train and took it to the end of the line in the North at the Nahariya station. Ximena joined us North of Haifa from the station we would be returning to later in the day. We got off at the Nahariya station and took a taxi to Rosh Hanikra.

Rosh Hanikra is the Northern most site in Israel. It is on the Mediterranean Sea and consists of grottoes that the sea has carved into the rock (turned white from salt). We took a cable car down to the grottoes, saw a video about their creation, and walked the path through the grottoes. It was really beautiful and the sea was a great shade of blue. Back above the grottoes, we saw the border with Lebanon, which must have been closed for some time. We saw (sort of) the military establishment on the mountain and several soldiers hanging out.

We took the train back to the Lev HaMifratz station, North of Haifa. The station was attached to a shopping mall, which was kind of cool. We waited there while we figured out if we’d be able to stay with Barney (from our program) at his friend Nitay’s (Israeli) house or in a youth hostel in Haifa. It ended up that we could stay with Nitay. Barney and Nitay came to pick us up from the station and we went to his house in Tivon, a suburb to the Northeast of Haifa. It was a nice house in a nice area.

At their house, we met Nitay’s family. They were having a party for their family to celebrate the birth of Nitay’s sister’s baby a few months prior. It was kind of awkward being at a family party we weren’t invited to, but the family was very nice and welcoming and it was a good way to see how a large Israeli family interacts. Nitay’s mother and family are originally from Russia and his father and family are originally from Uruguay. They all knew English at some level. They gave us dinner – a lot of (really good) meat.

This was the evening that Sukkot was beginning and while we were still planning on traveling, there was no public transportation the first day of Sukkot – Monday night to Tuesday night (The beginning and end of the holiday are especially special). While this was originally going to be an issue for travel, it wasn’t now that we were staying with a family. Nitay’s dad has a company car and we got to use it – and the company paid for the gas.

After dinner, we hung out in Nitay’s room and got to know him. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant in Haifa and got waffles. I was not sure what to expect at first and Nitay told us not to worry, that he would order for us. This was good because the menus were in Hebrew, we couldn’t read them, and they didn’t have English menus. A bit later, the waitress brought us the most amazing things ever. They were huge waffles stuffed with milk chocolate and white chocolate and covered with chocolate and bananas. They came with two scoops of ice cream and two piles of whipped cream. It was amazing and I thought I might burst.

After the waffles, we drove around the area and to an overlook site that had some sort of monument on it. We hung out there for a while watching the lights of the city.

In the morning (Tuesday), we got up, ate breakfast, and made our decisions about what to do that day. We drove towards the Kineret, Sea of the Galilee, and went back to the Jordan River, near where we had been on our group trip and Ximena, who is not Jewish, got rebaptized. We then drove to a store to pick water and a few snacks and then on to a beach. We went to a beach that was popular with Israelis (but wasn’t too crowded. It was a free beach (many beaches in Tiberias on the Sea now charge a fee. It was on the other side of the Sea from Tiberias and down a road that I don’t see a tour bus making it through. It was a nice beach and the water was great.

After the beach, we drove most of the way around the Sea and sort of through the lower Golan Heights to the North of the Kineret. We went to a moshav (we thought it was a kibbutz) where we went ATVing. They were on Israeli time – meaning not ready when we got there. We took an ATV and a Ranger. Only Nitay and Aaron (who has an International Driving Permit) were allowed to drive. We went down some paths through the orchards and down to the Kineret again before returning to our starting point on the moshav. It was very enjoyable, although not quite the off-roading I had expected. I decided that it was a good thing to be able to see the orchards (I found out they were Mango) in Israel during Sukkot, the Fall harvest festival. We were very dusty after this.

On the way back to Tivon, we stopped at a restaurant that Nitay said was popular with many Israelis after going to the Kineret or the Galilee. They had great chicken and brought us pita and salads as well as Turkish coffee and candy after the meal. It was really good. That night we hung out at Nitay’s house and then went to his friend’s house. Nitay’s friend was having a party in his Sukkah for another of their friends who had just finished his time in the army. While there it started sprinkling (i.e. a little rain) so we moved under their awning and we played cards. I learned an Israeli card game that is like a combination of Go Fish, Gin Rummy, and Texas Hold ‘em. While I didn’t like it at first, it ended up being fun and I was fairly good at it.

We went back to Nitay’s house to sleep. We left in the morning.

Be’er Sheva (October 15-17)

I had planned on going to Tel-Aviv with Aaron on Wednesday, but that didn’t end up happening. Aaron and Ximena decided that they wanted to go to Egypt after all and I was not feeling well. I had figured that I would go to Tel-Aviv by myself, but decided to go back to Be’er Sheva to rest and try to feel better. In Be’er Sheva, I took medicine, relaxed, and hung out with the people from my group who were still in the city.

Between Yom Kippur and the end of Sukkot, the University was basically shut down. Many entrances to campus were closed, many buildings were closed, and restaurants on and near campus were closed. It was kind of crazy.

Shabbat in Jerusalem (October 17-18)

I went to Jerusalem on Friday to stay with the Romm’s. It was fun traveling during Sukkot. There were Sukkot at the bus stations, outside restaurants and shops on the sidewalk, and around homes and on balconies, especially in Jerusalem. When I got to the French Hill neighborhood, I saw Sukkot all over the place. They were literally hidden away in every nick and cranny of outside of the buildings.

I spent Shabbat with the Romm’s, going to services, eating in the Sukkah, and hanging out. It was a good time. I enjoy the Hallel service that is included during Sukkot and I liked singing the psalms in Jerusalem. It felt like I was becoming part of the family when they welcomed guests at the synagogue during services on Saturday and when someone mentioned that the lady left me out, she said that I was more like a regular than a guest.

Sunday – Jerusalem, Hebron, and the West Bank (October 19)

I got up early to go to morning services (I used the lulav and etrog) and then we went to the Fuschberg Center for Conservative Judaism where Rabbi Romm works in downtown Jerusalem. Along the way, he pointed out different significant buildings. I left him and walked down the street to the Sheraton Plaza Hotel where I met Barney and Ximena and we went on an organized tour of Hebron.

The tour was led by the director of the Hebron Fund and I knew it would contain many observant Jews and be rather right-wing, but I figured that would make the tour more interesting. I was still caught off guard though when our tour guide mentioned as we drove off from the hotel (about 10:00 a.m. on a bullet proof bus) that if we answer his questions, we should let him know what yeshiva we go to so that he can report back on us.

We drove along the security fence/barrier/wall (depending on what word you choose to use) and went to Rachel’s Tomb. I had thought that it was actually in Bethlehem (which I had been looking forward to visiting) but it was actually more of an enclave set into the security wall. There was a symbolic grave marker inside that people were praying at. While it was cool, I was a bit confused as to what we were supposed to do there.

Driving through the West Bank we saw a few olive trees, but most of the areas we were in had grape trees. We saw several checkpoints that didn’t really seem to be too worried about letting people through and a number of villiages, both Jewish and Arab.

In Hebron, we went to the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the Me'arat HaMachpela. Outside we were told about the community and about the tombs and their history, their significance, and the history of the building (built by King Herod during the same period as the Second Temple). The building was converted under Ottoman rule into a Mosque and now, the Jews and Muslims each have control of about 50% of the building. Inside are symbolic tombs for the patriarchs and matriarchs that are buried in caves (off limits) below the building. Ten days a year, on holy days that are pre arranged, the entire building is open to only Jews and on ten different days, to only Muslims. Two years ago, one of the holy days was the same – Hoshana Rabah and a Friday in Ramadan – and the entire building was split – open to each religion at different times, without incident. We prayed Minha there.

Also in Hebron we saw the three neighborhoods with Jewish families, Tel Hebron, Beit Hadassah, and the Avraham Avinu synagogue and neighborhood (they have one of the oldest Sephardic Torahs in the world). We also went to a museum there about the Jewish community in Hebron. There were a lot of soldiers around the area and a lot of tourists there (they told us that visits during Sukkot were popular). We also saw the blocked off crossing into the Palestinian Authority controlled parts of Hebron (90%+ of the city).

There were definitely pro-settlement sentiments on this trip, as I’d expected, but the tour leader, while acknowledging that he has Arab friends, didn’t really agree that the Hebron settlers had issues with the army or soldiers in the area. He did say that before there was “peace” that the Jewish and Palestinian settlers got along a lot better. Interesting…

I enjoyed seeing the West Bank. While there were a lot of checkpoints, they didn’t really seem to be stopping and checking a lot of cars, but maybe I was there on a day the media was focusing on this area… We got back a little after 5:00 p.m.

Back in Jerusalem, I left Ximena and Barney and went back to the Fuschberg Center where I met Rabbi Romm. We went back to his home, had dinner in the Sukkah, etc.

Jerusalem – Hoshana Rabah and Simchat Torah (October 20-21)

In the morning we went to services, which were longer due to Hoshana Rabah. We used the lulav and etrog and then took willow branches and hit the ground in a symbolic asking for rain for the land.

After services, Rabbi Romm took me on a drive around the neighborhood and showed me the outside of the Hebrew University campus (closed for the holiday) and several views over Jerusalem and the Old City as well as towards Jordan. Looking over East Jerusalem, we saw a number of Palestinian villiages. While we didn’t see the refugee camps, the villages definitely did not look as poor as the media makes them out to be.

We went to Ammunition Hill which is the site of a battle between Israel and Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War that led to the reunification of Jerusalem. We went through the museum and walked through the trenches that were a major part of the battle.

Afterwards, we went to Mea Shearim, the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood, and walked around for a bit. It was amazing to see Sukkot on almost every single balcony and outside buildings. The place was busy as people prepared for Simchat Torah, full of people wearing black or white for the holidays. We went to a bakery next to a shmura matza (handmade matza) factory. We walked through several streets of the neighborhood. Most in the area do not watch t.v. and thus, Rabbis send people messages by posting signs on buildings. Rabbi Romm read one to me saying that watching any film is not permitted, even if it could lead to the fulfillment of a mitzvah, because this could also lead one astray as well as another sign saying that during Sukkot, women are only allowed to walk on one side of the street at night.

We then went back to the Romm’s house and relaxed and got ready for Simchat Torah. While I had originally wanted to go the Kotel, the Western Wall, on this day (I didn’t as car access was blocked due to so many visitors to the Old City during Sukkot), it ended up being a great day.

Simchat Torah was great in Jerusalem. I spent it at Ramot Zion, the Conservative Synagogue, with the Romm’s. I had thought that I might be at the Kotel or at another Orthodox synagogue, but I had a great time. We went to services at night and we danced with the Torah in the sanctuary, outside on the roof of the social hall/auditorium and then in the auditorium. I got to hold the Torah for part of the time outside and we danced and sang a number of Jewish and Israeli popular songs, some of which I hadn’t sang since I was in USY. We then read a little (as opposed to finishing the Torah and starting over) from the Torah, but unlike my synagogue, did not call everyone up to the Torah for an aliyah (they did it in the morning).

In the morning we went back to services. Services were longer due to Simchat Torah as well as Shmini Atzeret being the same day in Israel. We once again had a great time dancing with the Torah outside and inside and then read a lot from the Torah. We finished the end of Devarim/Deuteronomy and then started again with the beginning of Bereshit/Genesis. They did a number of group aliyahs to cover the entire congregation: Kohens, Levis, Rabbis and their families, New Parents and Grandparents, Parents of 3+ children, different sections of the sanctuary (left, center, right, balcony), etc. I heard a number of tropes (melodies in which the Torah is read) used due to the diverse makeup of the synagogue including one from Italy and one from Yemen.

We napped in the afternoon and went back to the synagogue for the afternoon and evening services as well as Havdalah. While there I met a member of the synagogue who I had previously seen but had never been introduced to. He moved to Israel from Pisa, Italy 69 years ago. He is a Professor of Bible at Hebrew University and travels around the world. When he gives lessons, he can quote specific verses, even without preparation. I really liked him.

My time in Jerusalem for the holidays was great. The Romm’s said they enjoyed having me and invited me back for Shabbat again sometime.

Now it is on to class. I have class now until I go home – we have no more breaks.

Yesterday - More to Come

2008-10-24T21:30:00.003+02:00

I haven't updated my blog in a while. I owe updates from Yom Kippur and my second break including Sukkot and Simchat Torah in Jerusalem. I will post something along those lines tomorrow. I may also do a post about politics here/in the U.S.

I was going to be in Tel-Aviv this weekend, but elected to stay here in the dorms. I am currently sick and figured that this would be the best option for getting better. I started feeling sick during my break, but got better prior to last weekend. Unfortunately though, sickness returned (and I think, worse).

Yesterday (Thursday), I went to a clinic after Hebrew class to see a doctor. I went to the reception desk to get an appointment. Luckilly they make appointments the same day. Not so luckily, most people didn't know English and the lady who did know only knew a little. Nevertheless, I got an appointment and went to wait in the waiting area.

In the waiting area, I eventually attempted to talk to a few ladies who were also waiting to see doctors. I did fairly well, considering. My Hebrew is getting better, but still has a logn way to go. I think that it is impaired as well when I am sick and can't think clearly to translate and process it in my head.

I went in to the doctor. He said he didn't really know English. His English was as good as my Hebrew when I got to Israel, if that. He told me to explain what was wrong in English though. Between my attempts at speaking Hebrew and understanding his Hebrew, my speaking English and his attempts to understand English, and my pointing, I think the message got across. He was very nice.

The doctor put information into the computer about me. (They are pretty advanced here. They scanned my insurance card to give me my appointment and also to put in my diagnosis and prescription.) He gave me a prescription for two different types of pills and some sort of (cough?) syrup. Hopefully, I'll be getting better soon.

Last night I slept horridly, probably because of the medication. Once, I woke up after having a dream in Hebrew (who knows if it was real) and in my half-asleep state was thinking in Hebrew as well. It was kind of crazy...

Edited Break 2 Plans

2008-10-12T22:42:00.002+02:00

Okay, so here are some updates on the rest of my break -

Tomorrow, Monday, moning we (Aaron and I)are taking a train at 7:26 a.m. (yikes!) to the very northern end of the line and the a taxi to visit Rosh Hanikra - grottoes on the Mediterranean Sea at the Israeli/Lebanese border. Ximena is going to meet us on the way from a northern train station.

We are then going to Tivon to stay with Barney and his friends through sometime on Wednesday. We will be having fun galavanting around the North (doing who knows what). There is a chance that we may have to stay at a youth hostel, but it's all good.

Wednesday sometime Aaron and I are going to be going to Tel-Aviv where we will meet Josh and travel around to see a few sites in Tel-Aviv before returning to Be'er Sheva on Thursday night.

Friday I am going to Jerusalem to stay with the Romm's again until Tuesday night - the end of Simchat Torah. They've invited me to stay with them the whole period.

On Sunday though, I may depart the Romm's for the day and take a tour with Aaron and Zion to Hebron and Bethlehem. Don't worry, it's with an organized trip on an armored bus, although it is, I believe, a very right-wing, pro-settlement tour. It ought to be interesting. Here's a link.

Those are the plans for now. So we shall see how they work out...

Yom Kippur & Shabbat

2008-10-12T22:41:00.001+02:00

I spent Yom Kippur and this past Shabbat in Jerusalem.

Taking the bus to Jerusalem was rather uneventful and I was surprised by the relative lack of security. I got to the Romm's (the family I had stood with for Rosh Hashanah) at the time they asked me to arrive and went with them to Minha – the afternoon service – prior to Yom Kippur. After that we went back to their apartment to get ready for Yom Kippur at which point we discovered that their refrigerator had stopped. Luckily in what could be termed “the miracle of Yom Kippur” it came back to life during the day.

I spent Yom Kippur at Ramot Zion, a Conservative synagogue in the French Hill neighborhood. The fast started at ~4:45 p.m. on Wednesday and ended at ~5:50 p.m. on Thursday. The fast was surprisingly easy, which I was very happy about. I went to Kol Nidre Wednesday evening. On Yom Kippur day, I was at the synagogue at the beginning from 8:30 a.m. until the end of Mussaf at 2:00 p.m. – ish. Minha began at 3:15 p.m. and Neilah ended around 5:50 p.m. They actually finished a bit early and dragged out the end of the service.

The entire Yom Kippur service was in Hebrew and since everyone speaks Hebrew fluently, they sped through bits of the service. Luckily, I had a copy of the same Mahzor, prayer book, that I used at home for the High Holy Days with English translations. Most of the services matched up and I was able to read the translations and reflections that I very much enjoy on Yom Kippur. We had a nice pre fast meal and a nice break fast meal.

On Yom Kippur in Israel, there is no public transportation – bus, train, airport, etc. Even the taxis stop running. The television stations do not broadcast and neither do the radio stations, except for a silent one that is left on in case of national emergencies – after the Yom Kippur War. No one drives – many roads have barricades put up. Children who aren’t religious ride bikes and skateboards in the roads since there aren’t cars. The only vehicles I saw (basically) were hospital transports and ambulances. French Hill is on top of two Palestinian villages and occasionally cars would come up to a barrier and turn around (some on purpose people may ask). One group of three cars with music playing and a guy smoking a cigarette drove up and moved the barricades out of the way. I thought that there might have been a confrontation between them and Jewish people at the intersection (There was violence in Akko that is still continuing – an updated story).

Yom Kippur was a great experience and hopefully, will yield excellent results.

On Friday I went to morning services and to the naming of the Rabbi’s child followed by a reception. I then helped the Romm’s set up their sukkah. (Sukkah’s seemed to pop up all over the neighborhood after Yom Kippur. It was great. It was described to me as the overnight shanty town all over Israel.) We then watched the movie of the book The Chosen by Chaim Potok. It was very good. Afterwards, we took the dog, Max, for a walk and then I made it over to the Schwartz’s. I stood with them for Shabbat.

The Schwartz’s live a five minute walk from the synagogue in a nice apartment complex full of nice plants. They live on the top floor of their building and have a balcony overlooking the Palestinian villages below and the West Bank. In the distance at night, you can see the lights of Amman, Jordan. They are very nice people (and coincidentally the grandparents of my friend Maayan). The lady, Penina, teaches music at the Academy associated with Hebrew University as well as private lessons and directing the synagogue choir. He husband, Shalom, is a retired professor of social phychology from Hebrew University. He is running a program that is doing research in 70+ countries and they are leaving soon for 10 days in Slovenia. He won the Israel Prize in Psychology in 2007. Needless to say, we had very interesting conversations.

We didn’t go to services on Friday night but had a very interesting dinner with a couple made up of a Law Professor and a Professor (and chair of department?) of Hebrew and Related Semetic Languages at Hebrew University. We had great conversations. Lunch was at the Schwartz’s and I met a number of people with interesting stories. Many had some tie to Camp Ramah of some sort. We talked a lot about the political situation in Israel and the U.S. and the riots in Akko.

We went back to synagogue for Mincha and Ma’ariv and after Havdalah I returned to their apartment while they had choir practice. I ate dinner and then they came back and took me to the bus station. It was very nice Shabbat.

I am currently in Be’er Sheva and am leaving early tomorrow morning for the next leg of my break.

Potential Plans for Break #2

2008-10-07T23:25:00.002+02:00

While I've been thinking about it off and on, I didn't really realize until today that my second break begins tomorrow with Yom Kippur. That said, I spent a decent amount of time today trying to figure it out. Below are some preliminary plans.

Yom Kippur - In Jerusalem with the Romm family (French Hill, Conservative Shul)

Shabbat - Move over to another family from the same shul who happen to be a friend's grandparents :-)

Saturday night - come back to Be'er Sheva

Sunday night - head up North to Tivon

Sunday night - Wednesday morning - stay in Tivon with a few people from my group at one of the guy's friend's home. We don't have anything definitive planned but have ideas like going hiking, to the beach at the Sea of the Galilee, going rapelling, ATVing, kayaking on the Jordan River, etc.

Wednesday - go to Rosh Hanikra - an awesome and beautiful place on the sea at the Northern border of Israel with Lebanon.

Wednesday evening - Friday morning - Tel-Aviv. We don't have any definitive plans. Ideas include the beach, Palmach Museum, Yitzhak Rabin Plaza, Israeli Independance funness, Markets, etc.

Friday - Sunday - come back to Be'er Sheva. Spend Shabbat in Be'er Sheva relaxing an catching up on emails and readings and such for class.

Sunday sometime - head to Jerusalem

Sunday sometime - Tuesday night - Spend time in Jerusalem to experience Sukkot and Simchat Torah in Jerusalem and maybe do some sight seeing - we don't really know yet...

So that's all we've got so far. It will hopefully shape up to be a fun experience.

New Years 5769

2008-10-07T23:19:00.003+02:00

As we approach Yom Kippur, I ask your forgiveness for anything I may have done against you this past year, whether it was done knowingly or unknowingly.

As I reflect on the year past and the new year that is now here, I am going to try to pledge to the following in order to become a better person:

To become a more understanding person of others and of what happens in their lives as well as my own.

To become less jealous.

To become less judgmental and attempt to see the best in people. I sometimes tend to bend to preconceived and/or incorrect notions of a person without/before actually getting to know that person and this clouds my ability to positively interact with some individuals.

To speak less ill of other people.

To learn more about Judaism and its roll in my life.

To truly value my family and my friends.

Gemar Chatimah Tova - May You Be Sealed For A Good Life

Highlights of the Week

2008-10-07T23:09:00.004+02:00

This week is shortened due to Yom Kippur beginning tomorrow (Wednesday) night. Here are some highlights of the week:

Sunday night a group of guys went to see the ritual of Kaparot performed. It was very interesting, though I learned more about how chickens are slaughtered than the actual act, which I kinda disagree with. If you want to see some pictures, they are graphic, click here.

It is still nice enough to go to the pool, which I did on Monday. Well, I hung out and laid out, I was afraid the water would be too cold.

We've been discussing "Who is a Jew" in my Jewish Identity class. This is apparently a very complex issue...

The Overseas Student Program had a little pre-Yom Kippur gathering last night that was an interesting discussion of the holiday. We later had a learning program on Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Good fun.

Today in my Hebrew class we watched the movie Ushpizin. I really like that movie. My two classes tonight got canceled because the professor is sick. This gave me more time to plan out my break, which I just discovered starts tomorrow with Yom Kippur...

I also went to the library today to find books and make copies of chapters/articles for class. That was an experience trying to figure out how the library is organized when I cannot find the English speaking librarians.

A Weekend in the North

2008-10-07T22:50:00.002+02:00

So, this should have been posted earlier this week - say when I returned from the North or right after the weekend...

Check out the pictures from the weekend here.

We spent this past weekend traveling around the North of Israel. We left Friday morning at 6:00 a.m. and stopped at a really nice rest stop for breakfast. I had brought some cereal but wanted to see what they offered. Logically I had to get a croissant. I also wanted chocolate milk, but the lady didn't understand me asking for it in English so I said "halav" which is Hebrew for milk. I got hot milk. That is not the same thing, in case you were wondering. I found out that I should have asked for "Chocolat". Obviously I didn't know.

The first place we went was Tzfat. Tzfat is an old city that it the birthplace of Kabbala, home to many old synagogues, and the place where many famous prayers were written. It is also a resting place of many famous Rabbis from many periods of Jewish history. We walked around the city and learned a bit about it. I put on tefillin with a Chabad guy who was previosly not religous, had graduated from the University of Denver ( :-) ) Law School, and was a millionaire lawyer in Miami. That was an interesting discussion.

We went hiking around a mountain near Tzfat to see the nice (green) North. We saw where the headquarters of the Israeli Radar/Defense is in the North that monitors the border with Lebanon and Syria. We then drove through Tiberias, saw the Sea of the Galilee and the Golan Mountains, and went to our home for the weekend Kibbutz Daganya Bet.

Our Kibbutz was a nice place and we did a little Shabbat shindig, had dinner, and hung out. They had hamocks which is really fun. In the morning we went on a walk to Deganya Aleph, the first Kibbutz, and talked about its founding in the early 1900s and the Kibbutz movement. We learned how they fought off the Syrians in the War of Independance. We also went to a place that was basically a clearinghouse for people who came to Israel and wanted to start new kibbutzim. We walked by the Jordan River and also went to a really beautiful cemetary where a lot of Israeli Pioneers and Zionists are buried including the poets Rachel and Naomi Shomer. We didn't get in the Jordan River or the Kineret (Galilee) though.

After having gone back for lunch, a few of us returned to a bridge over the Jordan River and did a little Tashlich service. One of the girls in my group wanted to find out about getting rebaptized so we went to the place where they do baptisms on the Jordan River and while she found out about it, I learned about Jesus - on Shabbat. That afternoon we also went to a chocolate store. Apparently this Kibbutz makes some of the best chocolate in Israel. Their ice cream certainly seemed to attest to that :-) . We hung out in the afternoon - and our rooms had TV (with cable) which is apparently a commodity for us.

We returned to Be'er Sheva Saturday night.

My Rosh Hashanah 5769

2008-10-02T22:32:00.001+03:00

Shalom and Shana Tova!

I got back to Be’er Sheva last night after spending Rosh Hashanah in Jerusalem. It was a great time. I had gotten in contact with a Rabbi (Rabbi Edward Romm) from the Conservative Judaism Fuchsberg Center in Jerusalem to find out about getting set up with a family in Jerusalem for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. He ended up inviting me to stay with his family.

Monday I left for Jerusalem, which was an easier feat than I had expected in the day of the eve of a Chag (holiday). I took a bus to the Old City where I helped a lady with her bags (she had gone to the shuk – market) from the bus to her apartment inside the Old City. I then went to the Kotel where I was asked if I had put on Tefillin that day. I had not and being that it was the day before Rosh Hashanah, I took the opportunity to do so at the Kotel and say the Shema. I then found a minyan (prayer group) in the tunnel at the Kotel on the men’s side and davened (prayed) Minha (the afternoon service) there. I then spent a bit of time in a personal prayer prior to the New Year at the Kotel.

After praying, I found a taxi to take to the French Hill neighborhood where I was staying for the holiday. I had a few things going against me pricewise – I’m American, I speak English, there was a lot of traffic, it was the afternoon before a major religious holiday. Some taxi drivers wanted 100+ shekels for the ride, which is a ridiculous amount. I found one driver who I talked down to 65 shekels. He was a Christian Arab who lives in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City.

French Hill is a nice neighborhood that borders both Hebrew University and East Jerusalem. We drove through an Arab village on the way to French Hill and down a hill from where I stayed was a refugee camp. Each night/morning, I woke up with the Muslim call to prayer three times between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. I think that the call to prayer is awesome and fascinating, but not at those hours, for me at least. Only in Israel could something like that happen on Rosh Hoshanah.

The Romm family is very nice. They live in an apartment that they own in a nice complex with a lot of greenery around it. They have two daughters and a dog. They are very nice people and walking the dog after each meal was a good thing after eating. They are Kosher and Shomer Shabbas. They have lived in Israel for about 30 years.

They pray at a Conservative Synagogue, Ramot Zion, that is nearby. It has a lot of families that are originally from America, but all of the services – including Mahzors (High Holy Day prayer books),page numbers, sermons, etc. – were in Hebrew. They have about 200 families as members including a lot of Hebrew University professors and about 12-15 Rabbis. Their synagogue Rabbi is a woman who was very pregnant (i.e. past due). The services were led by different volunteers in the synagogue and were held in the auditorium because the sanctuary was too small. They have a choir that sang a few songs each day.

My basic schedule:

Monday
Arrive
Get to know the family
Services
Dinner – They had 5 Hebrew University students over for Monday night and Tuesday as well who were very nice. I also met some other Hebrew U. students at services.
Taking it easy
Sleep

Tuesday
Breakfast
Services
Lunch
Taking it easy/Talking to the family
Services
Dinner
Taking it easy

Wednesday
Breakfast
Services
Lunch
Taking it easy/Talking to the family
Services
Figuring out getting back to Be’er Sheva
Taking the bus back to Be’er Sheva – they drove me to the bus station :-)

I had sort of expected some sort of crazy spiritual revelation by celebrating Rosh Hashanah services in Israel and Jerusalem. That didn’t really happen, which I was a bit disappointed about at the time, but later noticed a lot of small things. The service was all in Hebrew. I could look out the window and see Jerusalem stone. The shofar blower was under a large Israeli flag. The Kohanim did the blessing over the congregation. And there was more.

I found the experience of Rosh Hashanah very enjoyable and meaningful. Walking back to the apartment from synagogue I saw rose bushes, which I have not previously seen in Israel. Maybe that is a good sign for the year ahead?

I got invited back to the Romm family for Yom Kippur this coming week. I am excited for that opportunity.

Gemar Chatimah Tovah - May your final sealing (in the Book of Life) be good.

Email: A message before Rosh Hashanah

2008-09-28T21:03:00.000+03:00

Shalom chaverim (Hello friends),

A lot has happened since I last wrote. I’ve been on a week+ break and traveled around Israel (and a day in Jordan), I’ve started the semester here, I’ve been preparing for the Jewish High Holy Days, it rained for the first time, and more.

From September 11 – 20, we had a break between the end of the Ulpan and the start of the Fall Semester. It was an adventure traveling around Israel from the South to the North and spending a day in Jordan. I’ve attached a full description of my break in case you are interested, but here are some of the highlights:
- The beach in Eilat
- Riding a camel in the Jordanian desert through the great red canyons of Petra
- Visiting the Baha’I Gardens in Haifa
- Getting on the wrong train and then stuck at a train station in the middle of nowhere
- Joining a group of Israeli school children for a night tour of the old city of Akko (Acre) in Hebrew
- A really sketchy youth hostel in Akko
- Touring the Israeli Supreme Court and Knesset Buildings
- Shabbat at the Kotel (Western Wall)

Our semester started well. I have completed the first week of class and so far, all of my classes seem interesting and the professors seem really good and knowledgeable. I moved up to the “Bet” level of Hebrew after getting an A in Ulpan. I am taking four classes in addition to Hebrew:
- Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel
- Jewish Identity and Contemporary Issues
- Arms Control and the Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East
- International Terrorism and Guerilla Warfare
I am also sitting in a class (but not getting credit for it) as I am interested in the topic but am out of credit hours. It is Environmental and Natural Resource Issues in Israel and the Middle East.

I spent this past Shabbat in Be’er Sheva. Friday night, I, along with four other students, joined our Jewish Identity professor and his family for Shabbat services and dinner. I went back to the synagogue (45 minute walk) for services Saturday morning and joined another family for lunch. On the walk there something crazy happened: it rained. The rain was unusual as it doesn't usually rain in Israel until after Sukkot, the harvest festival/holiday, and that isn't for another few weeks (although it is later this year due to a leap month in the Hebrew calendar).

I had class today and now we are off until Thursday for Rosh Hashanah. This coming weekend our Overseas Student Program has a trip for us to the Galilee in the north of Israel. We have class until next Wednesday when we are off for Yom Kippur on Wednesday and Thursday. We are then off until October 22 for Sukkot/Fall Break. Then we actually have class for the rest of my time in Israel. We have such a crazy schedule…

For my next break, I was planning on going to Egypt for a few days. However, after a lot of thought (e.g. recent kidnappings, Israeli government travel warnings, and my Intl Terrorism professor basically telling me that I was a goner by going through the Sinai), I have decided against it. Now we are looking to traveling around Israel more – Tel-Aviv, Tiberias, Sea of the Galilee, Jerusalem for Simchat Torah, who knows.

I am spending the next few days in Jerusalem for Rosh Hashanah with a Conservative Rabbi. I am looking forward to my High Holy Day celebration in Jerusalem and hope to end up in Jerusalem for Yom Kippur as well. As we approach the high holy day season with a focus of repentance, I ask you for your forgiveness for anything I may have done against you this past year. I am striving to improve for the year to come.

There is a lot more to write, but you can check out my blog (http://joelportman.blogspot.com) for a lot of that. I have also attached a long description of my last break, as I mentioned, as well as a picture of me and my brother Stuart in Jerusalem in August.

Stay in touch and all the best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!

L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu,

Joel Portman

Me & My Brother

2008-09-27T22:45:00.001+03:00

Here is a picture of me and Stuart in Jerusalem in August:

Shabbat and Some Reflections

2008-09-27T21:40:00.003+03:00

Shalom! Shavua Tov!

Today something crazy happened: It rained! (But, more on that later.)

Last night I went to a professor's home and met him with another student and we went to services at the same synagogue I had been to in Be'er Sheva before (Beit Knesset Rambam). We went back to his house after services and had dinner with his family along with three other students who joined us. He had invited us over as he wants to meet his students and give us the opportunity to get to know him and his family. He is very nice as is his family - they have 5 girls and 1 boy from age 7 to age 20.

This morning I went back to the same synagogue and then went to lunch with a family there with whom I had had Shabbat dinner on a previous week, the Green's. When I left for the 45 minute walk to the other side of Be'er Sheva, there were a lot of clouds in the sky. It started misting/drizzling shortly after I left the dorms. I was amazed. Rain! I haven't seen a lot of clouds here, let alone rain since before I left the U.S. The drizzling stopped until I was about 15 minutes away from the synagogue and then it actually started raining. It was really nice until I realized that I was getting really wet. It also seemed that as the water fell from the sky, so did the dirt and I have a lot of little dirt spots that somehow need to come out of my nice white shirt. The rain was unusual as it doesn't usually rain in Israel until after Sukkot, the harvest festival/holiday, and that isn't for another few weeks (although it is later this year do to a leap month in the Hebrew calendar). Anyways, Shabbat services and lunch were very enjoyable. I also got several potential invitations to other families.

I really like listening to prayers and different songs, especially for Shabbat. I found a great site today that you should check out: http://www.sidduraudio.com/.

Lately, I have been trying to do a better job of staying in touch with friends from home. I have talked to a number of people on AIM and Skype. It has been good. If I haven't talked to you recently, let's make it happen.

I have also been doing some thinking and reflecting in preparation for Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur - the New Year 5769. I will soon post some of my New Year's Resolutions.

Pictures from Break

2008-09-26T12:44:00.001+03:00

I have posted my pictures from break last week. There are a lot of them (about 260) and I only put limited captions to just give an idea of what the pictures are of. Let me know if you have any questions.

You can view the pictures here.

The First Week & Some Observations

2008-09-25T23:06:00.003+03:00

Today completes my first week of the semester here at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. It is also the completion of my being in Israel for eight weeks. Things are going well. We had a toast to the New Year - Rosh Hashanah5769. I have set my class schedule and am also planning on sitting in and auditing a class called "Topics in Environmental and Natural Resources Issues in Israel and the Middle East". It sounds really interesting and the Professor is very knowledgable and very interesting, I just don't have enough room to take more classes for credit.

Anyway, a few observations:

The Israeli students are now done with finals and don't have class until November 12(?). The High Holy Days are right around the corner. The campus is basically deserted. The pool is pretty baren and some of the coffee stands seem to be closed for the "summer".

With the way our schedule works and the way Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot fall out on the calendar, I am basically not in class for a normal full week now until around the 22nd of October.

I can definately tell that fall is here now, and I don't particularly like it. I love summer. The temperature is starting to get cooler, especially at night. There is a breeze now and some clouds in the sky occasionally. I hope the leaves on the trees change colors though, but I don't think that they will.

Break One: Ulpan - Semester

2008-09-25T23:01:00.000+03:00

Below is a description of my activities during my first break in my Overseas Program. Some days have more detail than others and overall, this is a fairly long description (6 pages typed), so feel free to skim and skip around. I hope that this provides answers to many of you who have asked what I did during the break. The break was from September 11 -20.

Thursday, September 11

I just hung around the dorms, taking it easy. The German students left today and a spent a decent amount of time with some of them. It was sad to see these friends leave. Not a lot of the American students spent a lot of time with them and it was definitely a unique experience learning about Germany and German students in Israel.

I also spent some time looking up articles and watching videos about commemorating September 11, 2001.

Friday, September 12

Today we left for our vacation. I went with Aaron and Nick from my group. Aaron and I had planned on traveling around and invited Nick as he didn’t have any plans. We got on a bus from our dorm, showing up right before the bus. After arriving at the central bus station, our adventure really began. We were waiting in line for a bus to Eilat when a security guard came by and told everyone to leave (in Hebrew of course, we had to ask around to try and find out what was happening). An unidentified bag was found in the station and the police had been called to look at it as a potential bomb threat. We had to wait for over an hour. Once we got on a bus, I discovered that you can apparently reserve seats on the bus to Eilat. I lucked out with a seat, but two people on the bus refused to get up and our driver had to get a security guard to take care of them.

In Eilat, we got to our youth hostel, which seemed fairly decent, but we had to call a few times to actually find it. The beach in Eilat was nice, busy, hot, clear water, but was rocky with coarse sand and trash in the water – cigarettes, cups, etc. The beach wasn’t as nice as I remembered it being, but it eventually started to grow on me.

At night we walked along the Promenade/Boardwalk and decided to go to Jordan on Saturday instead of Sunday. I did some thinking and concluded that this was my first time going out and traveling alone (i.e. not family vacation or with an organized group). It feels kind of weird and nerve wracking sometimes.

Saturday, September 13

We got up at 6:30 a.m. to catch a cab to the border crossing at 7:30 a.m. We arrived at the border at 7:45 a.m. and there was a very long line waiting for the border to open at 8:00 a.m. We were behind a U.S. church group. It took over an hour to get through the Israeli side of the border as Passport Control was intense for some people. We paid the exit tax and converted money to Jordanian Dinars. In the area between borders, there were fences, guard towers, and mines. Security on the Jordanian side was much more lax.

We got a taxi to drive us to Petra, which we bartered down from 45 JD to 40 JD per person. It was much more expensive than we had thought it would be. Our driver took us to Aqaba, pulled over to the side of the road and soon another taxi showed up. We switched taxis as the drivers spoke to each other in Arabic, but not to us and off we went. On the way to Petra, we saw a lot of hitchhikers, people in a variety of dress, sheep farms, camels crossing the road, donkeys on the road, and a beautiful (and changing) desert landscape.

We got to Petra which was beautiful. We were constantly bombarded to buy a horse ride (2-10 JD), donkey ride (ignored the price), and camel rides. After much thought we decided to do the camel rides. How could we pass up the opportunity to ride camels in the Jordanian Desert in the historic Nabathean Capital City of Petra as traders had done thousands of years ago? We got the price down to 8 JD from 30 JD. It was fun, but the ride didn’t cover nearly the distance we had thought that it would. In Petra, I saw amazing landscapes, old buildings, Indiana Jones (just kidding), and more. There were a lot of Beduin kids who tried to sell us stuff as well and people from all over the world there. We saw everything except for the Monastery which is a 2.5 hour trip there, looking out, and back down. I think we were in Petra for about the perfect amount of time. I’m not going to write too much about actually being in Petra, my pictures can do the talking.

On the way back from Petra (We had wanted to leave @ 5:30 p.m. but our taxi driver asked for 4:30 p.m. so he could be home with his family for the end of the day of Ramadan as they ate at 7:00 p.m.) We got back to the taxi around 4:10 p.m. and after heading towards town and on to the border, our driver pulled over to the side of the road, got out, didn’t say anything, and came back a few minutes later. We were confused. It turns out that he went into a store and bought some traditional Jordanian bread. It was bigger and thinner than a tortilla. He gave us some it try and it was really good. We made it back to the border much faster than it took to get to Petra in a little over an hour and made it through the border with no problems.

We ate dinner in the mall on the beach and walked along the boardwalk. On the boardwalk, we met an Israeli who had lived in Alaska for four years (weird…). After going back to the youth hostel, we spent some time on the porch looking out on the city.

Sunday, September 14

We went to the Eilat Underwater Aquarium. It was more expensive than I expected, but amazing. They have a great aquarium with coral and the coolest fishes ever. They also have an underwater observatory that lets you go under the sea and observe the coral reef and the fish, etc. The colors and variety of animal and plant life is really quite amazing. We also saw the shark pool and a diver feeding Red Sea fish and coral fish as well as a pearl taken out of an oyster (from Japan…). After this we went to the bus station and headed back to Be’er Sheva to relax for the evening and finish planning the next leg of the trip.

Monday, September 15

We kept delaying when we were going to leave Be’er Sheva for the North, originally planning on early on the morning and finally deciding on mid afternoon. After all, if we are on vacation, why rush? We had planned to take the train from Be’er Sheva to Haifa. There is a train station near the University and we went there, but it was closed. Apparently they were doing work on the lines. We then took a bus to the Old City, but the train station was also closed there so we decided to take a bus. There are no direct buses between Be’er Sheva and Haifa though. We took a bus from Be’er Sheva to Tel-Aviv and then took a different bus from Tel-Aviv to Haifa. Our directions to the youth hostel were from a train station and there was one next to the central bus station. After discovering that our directions to the youth hostel were from a different train station (who knew there were three in Haifa?), we took a bus to the train station and walked to the hostel. The hostel was actually really nice and while the area was fine, it kind of looked sketchy because of the buildings were old and many shops were closed for the night.

At the hostel we coincidentally met Peggy, one of the German students who was traveling in Israel for two weeks and her friend who came to Israel to meet her and travel. We took the Carmelite (Israel’s only metro/subway – and it is underutilized from my observation) up Mt. Carmel took get dinner. We ate at a cool bagel place and then Peggy introduced us to frozen yogurt that basically squishes frozen fresh fruit and a yogurt concentrate into an amazing concoction. I had one with peaches, pineapple, strawberries, mango, and mixed berries. We then went to a live music jam session at a Pub near our hostel.

Tuesday, September 16

This was probably our craziest day of adventure.

We woke up in Haifa and saw Peggy and her friend before walking towards the Carmelite (we stopped at a bakery on the way for breakfast). At the tp of the mountain new started walking towards the Bahai Gardens. While we didn’t know exactly where we were going, we had a pretty good idea. As we asked for directions though, everyone told us it was a long walk and to take a taxi. Eventually we decided that we must have passed the Gardens and we got a cab that took us two turns and to an entrance. He took us to the Lower Entrance, which while cool, is not where we needed to be for tours (which we hadn’t prearranged as we were supposed to).

We walked around the lower gardens and it was beautiful. I kept thinking that I would like to see the Baha’i Gardens with my family, wishing they could all be there to see it. We saw the Gardens on the bridge and then they closed that area and opened the gardens by the Shrine (the actual Shrine was closed for several weeks for cleaning). Then we talked to a guard named Tahal about finding water to drink and he told us where to find a pipe that comes out of the ground that “is very good to drink from” and the Baha’i guards drink there. We did too. Then we talked to the Baha’i guards.

We went to wait at a bus stop for a bus to take us to the top. There, we met an Israeli lady who told us that we were crazy for studying politics in Israel. The bus never came so we took a Sheirut (shared taxi/mini-bus) up to the top of the Gardens. We had definitely walked right by them without seeing any sign. We went to a random gate and asked a guard about the entrance to the tours. Apparently we were at the right place. He checked a list, asked if we had a reservation (we didn’t), let us in anyway, and we joined an English speaking tour that was just beginning. It couldn’t have worked out better. We actually toured the upper and lower gardens this time and learned about the Baha’is. It was a good tour. We then went back to the youth hostel to pick up our backpacks that we had stored there. The whole ordeal took about 4.5 hours. Most people are only at the gardens for 1-1.5 hours.

We took a train to Bat Galim in Haifa to meet up with Peggy on the beach. We had an issue though – we couldn’t find the beach. Now, this is a little strange since Haifa is on the coast. The only beach we found was a private beach. That didn’t help us. We played rock, paper, scissors (literally) and thus concluded that we were giving up on the beach and going to Akko (Acre) earlier in the afternoon. We went to the bus station where a guy told us it was cheaper to take a train. We went to the train station and were told to take the second train to the North. We did. Apparently it was the wrong train. We got off at a station that was in a small town between Akko and Haifa. The only person who was there that we could attempt to figure out what was going on was a guard who didn’t know English. Eventually we figured out that the next train to Akko was in three hours so instead we waited for an hour for a train back to Haifa and then took a train for the 30 minute ride to Akko.

In Akko, we took a non-taxi (i.e. the guy told us he was a taxi but drove an un-marked white van) to our youth hostel. It was the sketchiest place I’ve ever stayed. It is called Wallied’s Akko Gate Hostel. We were kind of scared there. The building didn’t look so nice, not to mention clean. There were two bathrooms and one of the toilets didn’t have a seat. Hmm… It was the only hostel in Akko though. From this we conclude that you should never stay in Akko.

We left the hostel as quickly as possible and got falafel. Akko is mostly Arab so I asked if it was Kosher. The guy was really nice and then when I was finished eating called me over and after searching a pile of papers, happily showed me his Kashrut certificate. After dinner, we walked over to the Visitor’s Center (which was closed) and looked at a map of the Old City of Akko. While there a car drove up with two religious Jews who were guides in the city. They told us to be careful about walking around Akko at night by ourselves, especially since it was Ramadan. They said that there were two busloads of Israeli school children coming to Akko to do a night tour of the city and that we were welcome to join them. There was just one thing – the tour was in Hebrew.

We decided that we may as well go (Akko isn’t exactly hoppin’ at night) and while waiting, I bought a large bottle of water (the water in the hostel looked funky) and saw a bunch of guys gambling. The tour we did, while awkward at first, ended up being really cool and a great experience. We walked along the ancient city walls, went to the port, an old synagogue, and several other places. The kids (13-14 year old boys) were learning about Judaism. We had no idea what was going on. Our Hebrew wasn’t that good. Eventually some of the kids started talking to us, trying Hebrew and we also tried Hebrew and a few of them knew English so they asked each other to translate for one another. It was quite interesting. Some thought we were police traveling with them (an interesting dynamic that I won’t go into here). Some gave us some of their snacks that they had brought from home and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Later, they prayed and then their school had snacks and the kids gave us some. We thanked the guides and attempted to make our way back to the hostel.

On our way back to the youth hostel, we got continuously lost in the alleyways which were a bit frightening at times. We didn’t know any Arabic and most didn’t know English. We’d ask for the hostel and no one would understand, but if you mentioned Wallied, everyone knew. I want to know more about this guy… When we got back to the hostel we met some of the other guests, particularly a guy from D.C. named David. Wallied moved us up from a room with eight people to a room with four. I felt a bit safer there after that.

Wednesday, September 17

We got up and booked it out of the hostel. We went to the Visitor’s Center to get tickets to the sightseeing areas in the area and on the way stopped by a bakery that was opening up and each bought 2 fresh baked, still warm pitas from 1 shekel. What a deal. We got tickets and an audio guide and saw the Citadel and then (without audio guide) a museum about an Israeli artist from the area. We also saw the Akko Prison (not much to see as they are doing renovations), a museum about life in pre-state Israel focusing on how people lived in Northern Israel, the city market , and the Templar’s Tunnels. We also walked along the city walls and port again in the daytime.

We had originally planned on going to Rosh Hanikra as well (the very Northern point of Israel along the Lebanon border), but we wouldn’t have time and also didn’t want to take a bus south and then back to the very North. We didn’t know that there wasn’t a direct bus. We took a train to Tel-Aviv and then a bus to Jerusalem. After being told several different buses that would take us towards our youth hostel in Jerusalem, we finally got on one that went to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City and from there found our Youth Hostel, The Heritage House, at the corner of the Jewish, Arab, Christian. And Armenian Quarters.

The Heritage House is run by religious Jews and supported by American donors. It used to be free, but is now still the cheapest hostel that I know of in Jerusalem (25 shekels per night / 50 on Shabbat). For dinner we went to a place called Burgers Bar so I could get a glass Diet Coke bottle for Stuart, my brother (These bottles are almost impossible to find, but they have them there). In the evening we attended a class in the hostel on Judaism. We also were taken into a store to look at carpets by a nice guy who ended up being to persistant and kind of creepy. He wanted to show us his “hospitality” though and gave us free bottles of orange juice while he showed us his silk carpets (He dropped the price for one from $900 - $200 for my friend). While this was going on, I did buy two pairs of opal earrings from him for my Grandma.

Thursday, September 18

We started off the day by going to the Kotel (As it is the time before Rosh Hoshanah I saw/heard the blowing of the Shofar at the Kotel which was awesome) and then stopping by Jeff Seidel’s building to confirm that he would be able to set us up with families for meals on Shabbat (www.jeffseidel.com). We then took a bus with a really cool driver (as in he may have taken us past his route and he got out of the bus to shake our hands before he drove off) to the Israeli Supreme Court building. There we went in a waited and in about half an hour there was an English tour that explained the role of the Judiciary in Israel and showed us the courts as well as a museum about major decisions in Israel’s history. It was quite interesting. I also go to unlock one of the courtrooms. I never expected to have a key to an Israeli courtroom in my hand.

After the Supreme Court, we went to the Knesset building. I had been told mixed things about whether or not they offered tours of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. After trying to figure out whether to stay for what may or may not be a tour, we followed the rather forceful instructions of a guard and went inside the security area and sat for a half an hour to wait to enter the Knesset building. We then went through security during which time they padded us down and took our cameras from us for when we were in the building. We then walked to the Knesset and on our tour saw a video about the building, saw the library, saw the Plenum (meeting) room and saw the state reception hall with all of its Marc Chagall mosaics and tapestries. We learned a lot about the structure of the Israeli government and got a helpful pamphlet that explained more.

After the Knesset, we went to the Israel Museum. The majority of the museum is closed through 2010 for renovations, but we saw the Shrine of the Book – the Dead Sea Scrolls and a model of Second Temple Period Jerusalem. We then took a taxi to Ben-Yehuda Street and walked along there before heading back to our youth hostel. At the hostel, we decided to talk to the Kotel (why not, we were only a five minute walk away). There was a huge crowd with a lot of soldiers. After asking a lady I found out that they were celebrating the end of Basic Training for a paratrooper unit. It was quite amazing to see.

Friday, September 19

We took the day a bit slower after several crazy and exciting days. We started off again at the Kotel and then walked around the Old City including the underground Cardo mall. We went to a genealogy museum at the Kotel that was interesting, but I don’t know if it needs to be seen more than once. It discussed the history of the Jewish people and the importance of Jerusalem to Judaism. We walked in ancient tunnels from different periods of the city. Most of the museum is conveyed through glass towers and sculptures and was described via audio guide. The coolest part was a 3D video type thing at the end.

After the museum we walked to Mea Shearim to see what it looked like. There were (obviously) a lot of Hasidic Jews. It was kind of cool, but not really the image I had had in my mind. Of course, we could have been in a different area of the ulta-Orthodox neighborhood than I had expected. We then got lunch (Shwarma and Falafel) and went back to the Kotel for a bit before returning to the hostel to get ready for Shabbat.

We davened Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel (what an experience!). It took a bit of minyan hopping between a Hassidic group and a yeshiva group, before we decided to pray with the Yeshiva students. They did a lot of singing and dancing which I love, especially at the Kotel. We (the Yeshiva group) ended up being in the middle of two groups of soldiers and one of them would dance with us. That was awesome. We only made it through Kabbalat Shabbat before we had to go meet the family that was hosting us for dinner. On the way, I met a Chabad Rabbi who knows my Rabbi from DU.

The family that had us over for dinner was very nice. They are American and the guy is studying in a Yeshiva to become a Rabbi. They live just past the Jerusalem Great Synagogue. In a crazy incident, the power in their neighborhood went out and we ended up moving their dinner to their friend’s home across the street since they were not home and had electricity.

Saturday, September 20

Apparently a lot of the young folk don’t go to Saturday morning services. I wanted to go for a bit though and went to the Kotel and found a late starting minyan to pray with for about an hour. While I wasn’t there too long, I did pray part of Shacharit, the Amidah, and start the Torah service with them. Seeing and hearing the reading of the Torah at the Kotel on Shabbat was very enjoyable. I then met a guy named Amir who works with Jeff Seidel and we walked to a family’s home for lunch (back near the Great Synagogue).

The family whose home I went to was extremely religious and I wasn’t the biggest fan of the company, but they grew on me. The food though was insane. It just kept coming, course after course, and after lunch, they put out snacks. We walked back to the youth hostel where I relaxed for a bit and read a bit before going back to the Kotel for the last time for Shabbat. Upon rearrival at the hostel, we had a small dinner and then a lesson by a Rabbi on the Torah Portion. At this point Shabbat was over. We did Havdallah, we packed up, and took a bus to the central bus station. We got on a bus back to Be’er Sheva and arrived back at Ben-Gurion University without incident.

It was a long, crazy, exciting, fun, adventure-filled break.

Semester Day Two

2008-09-22T22:19:00.003+03:00

Today went well, but seems to have flown by. This morning, my Israeli roommate moved out. Now it is just me and Christian - and he leaves in about two weeks-ish.

I had Hebrew again for the first time since Ulpan. My new teacher is Ora. She seems like she will be really good and is teaching us how to remember words, which should be good for me. I also had Jewish Identity and Contemporary Issues. The class seems really interesting and professor is very knowledgeable. He also invited us to his home for Shabbat dinner or lunch :-)

This afternoon, I worked on some random stuff, hung out with, people and went to the pool. This evening I did homework. It's kinda weird having homework again, but I'm hoping that everything will be as interesting and intriguing as it seems it will be.

I was going to write about my vacation today, but that will happen tomorrow now. I'm tired.

First Day of the Semester

2008-09-21T23:08:00.001+03:00

Last night I returned from traveling around Israel. Today was the first day of the fall semester. I had the class Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel. It seems like it will be a very interesting class and the Professor seems like he will be enjoyable. After that class, I sat in on Environmental Issues and Public Policy in Israel and the Middle East. It is one of the classes that I am interested in, but don't think that I'll end up taking it. Our program directors though recommended that we sit in on some extra classes during the first week in case we decide that we like one of them better than the classes we pre-registered for. I'll have to make a decision for sure by the end of the week.

The rest of my day was spent catching up with people from the Overseas Program, trying to catch up on emails and whatnot, and talking to my Israeli roommate who is moving out tomorrow. I am planning on posting my pictures from break and a fairly detailed description of my break within the next day or so.

Email - End of Ulpan / Off to Travel

2008-09-12T07:10:00.001+03:00

Dear everyone,

It's amazing how fast time flies. This email is going to be a bit shorter than it perhaps should because I leave in less than an hour for Eilat and subsequent traveling around Israel for a little over a week. This just means that you'll have to read my blog (http://joelportman.blogspot.com) and look at my pictures (http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp) to get more details (or email me J).

Our Ulpan is now over. Wednesday was our final exam and I think that I did well. That evening we had our end of Ulpan dinner and celebration at Abraham's Well, the site where Abraham was told to come by G-D and the reasoning for the naming of Be'er Sheva. We had a great dinner and each class did a song/skit for everyone. Logically, mine was awesome. Sometimes I feel like I didn't learn enough in Ulpan, but then I think back to just a few weeks ago when I didn't even know how to say "Central Bus Station" in Hebrew – which is important when you rely on buses for a lot of your transportation. I guess I have come a good way, but of course have much more to go.

Here are some of the Highlights of the past week and a half:

Our overseas student group took a day trip to Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea. It was a long day, beginning at 3:00 a.m. but quite worth it. We hiked up Masada for the sunrise and explored the mountain after the beautiful sunrise was over. This was especially exciting for me since I didn't get to do this the last time I was in Israel due to illness. After the hottest early morning of my life and hottest 9:00 a.m. hike ever, we went to Ein Gedi, a desert oasis that was a good time and after that, drove to the Dead Sea where we floated in the water – also something that I didn't get to do my last time in Israel. A bunch of us finished the day with a sort of "potluck" Shabbat dinner.

I missed Labor Day. I really wanted to BBQ, but alas no grill was to be found (and no American flags either).

Last Thursday, I went with our Ulpan class to a Beduin museum to learn about the history, culture, and traditions of the Beduin. It was very interesting. In the evening, we went to a dinner/bonfire event with some overseas students from Tel-Aviv University and Hebrew University. It was a great time and I even met a friend from Kansas City there who I haven't seen in several years. Israel is crazy. The highlight of the day though was a trip to the Gaza Border and nearby communities including a moshav, Sderot, and a kibbutz – the hardest hit areas by the Qassam Rocket Attacks. Being at the border, looking into Gaza, visiting these places, and the learning about the rocket attacks and their affect on people was one of my favorite experiences thus far in Israel. I could write several emails about it, but I wrote about it fairly extensively on my blog so you can read about it there or send me an email.

I spent last Shabbat with two families. I went to one family's home and on to Friday Night services with them before returning for Shabbat Dinner which was very good. The father works at the University and had at one thought about being a Conservative Rabbi and the wife works for the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel. Both parents are from the U.S. They were very nice. Shabbat (Saturday) morning I went back to their synagogue (a small Orthodox shul with about 50 families) and after services (I got an aliyah J) I met another family who had me over to their apartment for a great lunch. The father is Israeli and the mother is American. It was a great Shabbat and I've been invited back to both families J

I would keep on writing but I have to run. Today I am leaving Be'er Sheva for our break between Ulpan and Semester. Below is a rough outline of my break. It could still change, so who knows. I am excited to spend time exploring Israel and a day in Jordan.

Thursday - Be'er Sheva
Friday - Eilat
Saturday - Eilat
Sunday - Petra, Jordan and then back to Be'er Sheva at night
Monday - leave late morning/early afternoon (by train?) to Haifa
Tuesday - Bahai Gardens in Haifa then on to Tiberias
Wednesday - Tiberias / Sea of the Galilee / Hiking in the North
Thursday - Leave the North for Jerusalem
Friday - Jerusalem
Saturday - Jerusalem
Saturday night - Back to Be'er Sheva
Sunday - Semester classes start

Let me know what you think. I will send out a better update after returning from break around the time the semester classes start.

Please be in touch.

All the best,

Joel Portman

What I Should Have Written

2008-09-12T06:44:00.002+03:00

So I should have written a nice post yesterday. It would have included the fact that Ulpan is over, as of Wednesday. I did pretty well (I think) on my final exam. I am going to miss my Ulpan teacher Hannah. She was awesome. We went downtown to the Old City and got great fruit smoothies :-). At night we had our end of Ulpan party at Abraham's Well with a lot of food and skits/songs from each class. It was a good time.

Yesterday (Thursday), was suppossed to be an easy, relazxing day, but of course ended up flying by. It was a day of mixed emotions. The students from Germany left and I am good friends with a number of them now. That was unexpected at the beginning of the trip.

We also worked on attempting to formalize our break schedule. Here is a rough outline:

Thursday - Be'er Sheva
Friday - Eilat
Saturday - Eilat
Sunday - Petra, Jordan and then back to Be'er Sheva at night
Monday - leave late morning/early afternoon (by train?) to Haifa
Tuesday - Bahai Gardens in Haifa then on to Tiberias
Wednesday - Tiberias / Sea of the Galilee / Hiking in the North
Thursday - Leave the North for Jerusalem
Friday - Jerusalem
Saturday - Jerusalem
Saturday night - Back to Be'er Sheva
Sunday - Semester classes start

I'm sending an email to everyone shortly with this information.

That's it for now. I have to get ready to leave for Eilat :-) Be in touch.

Pictures - Beduins & Gaza

2008-09-09T15:38:00.001+03:00

Here is the link to my pictures from last Thursday's trip to the Beduin Museum, Gaza border, Sderot, other communities, and Beduin dinner.

Check them out.

I Need to Study

2008-09-09T15:35:00.001+03:00

Tomorrow, we have our final in Ulpan. I need to study, mainly learning vocabulary (verbs, opposites, etc.) and reaffirm my knowledge of conjugations for verb forms. In the evening, we are having a dinner/party to celebrate the end of Ulpan. Each Ulpan class is singing a song or putting on a play. Ours is pretty cool (It's based on the song "Racovah Sheli - My Hat Has Three Corners".

Last night, I went to an observatory and plannetarium on campus and saw a pretty good close-up of the moon and saw Jupitur. We then went into a classroom with a small planetarium set up and learned a little about astronomy. It was pretty cool.

Classes?

2008-09-07T22:26:00.002+03:00

I had a meeting today with Dr. Shlomo Chertok, the Director of the Overseas Student Program. I am now fairly certain on my class choices for the semester.

I will be completing the Peace Studies and Regional Security Track which has three required classes and one elective. My class choices will likely be:

Hebrew
Jewish Identity and Contemporary Issues
Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel
Introduction to Terrorism and Guerrilla Warfare in the International Arena and in the Middle East
Arms Control and the Nuclear Arms Race in the Middle East

Below is a look at what my class schedule could look like:

BGU Campus Map

2008-09-07T22:22:00.002+03:00

I figured that at some point I should share with you what the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Campus looks like and what the areas are that I frequent. Below is a map of campus with a few places circled and detailed. The map is in Hebrew so good luck figuring out the rest of campus. :-)

Click the map for more details.

Shabbat

2008-09-07T22:07:00.003+03:00

This weekend I had a wonderful Shabbat. I spent Shabbat with two different families in Be'er Sheva who I have never met.

Friday evening, prior to Shabbat, I took a cab to a family's apartment home. The parents are American and the children were born in Israel. They are 9, 11, and 14. The 14 year old just started school at a Yeshiva that he lives at during the week. They were very nice. I went with the children and the father to their synagogue nearby. It was Beit Knesset Rambam, a small neighborhood shul (synagogue) with around 50 families as members. They described it to me as one of 4 Ashkenazi synagogues in Be'er Sheva (out of around 200). The services were standard modern Orthodox, and while they were good and meaningful, they did not include as much singing as I would have liked.

After services, we returned to their home for a very good dinner. I learned that the father works in development at Ben-Gurion University and prior to spending two years in Yeshiva, had planned on being a Conservative Rabbi (he had also gone on USY Israel Pilgrimage). The mother works for the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel. They were very nice. After dinner the father walked me part of the way back and told me how to return to their synagogue in the morning.

Saturday morning, I walked back to Beit Knesset Rambam and arrived at the end of the repitition of the Shacharit Amidah, joining the same family in time for the Torah Service. The 35-45 minute walk in the desert town (while wearing long sleaves and pants) was rather hot. I was pleasantly surprised during the Torah service when I was given the fifth Aliyah. That made me happy.

After services, I was introduced to the family that was hosting me for lunch. I also met a member of the synagogue who is from St. Louis. I was invited to her home for a meal at some point (I have since gotten their contact information to arrange that).

The family that hosted me for lunch was a nice group and an interesting mix. The father is Israeli and the mother is from Ohio. Their kids (14 - almost 15 - year old twin girls and a 13.5 year old boy) were born in the United States prior to the family's move to Israel. The father is retired but does a lot of work still and the wife is a pediatric dentist. They are not Shomer Shabbat, but regardless knew how to have a good Shabbat lunch.

For lunch we had, among other things, three types of fish, four types of chicken, two types of rice, and two types of potatoes. It was splendid. We spent some time talking and then I watched a movie at the request of their kids. We then had some Parve (non-milk) ice cream. I left to walk back to campus shortly after.

Both families have invited me back for future Shabbatot, etc. It was a great Shabbat.

Thursday - Read this Post

2008-09-06T22:57:00.004+03:00

So it took me longer to post this than I expected. Here's a description of my day Thursday:

Instead of Ulpan, all of our classes went to a Beduin Museum about 30 minutes from Be'er Sheva. At the museum, we looked at a number of exhibits that were described to us by a Beduin tour guide. He told us about the Beduin people, differences between culture and modern advances, and his personal story. We then went to a large Beduin tent where we discussed Beduin hospitality. In the tent, my Hebrew teacher, Hannah (who is awesome), translated a story from a Beduin man about hospitality. A man had come to his tent and the host was poor but had to feed the guest so he slaughtered the guest's camel and served it to the guest. The guest was not happy about this when he found out upon trying to leave and took the man to a Beduin court. The court decided in favor of the host and he ended up recieving 35ish camels from the tribe for his dedication to hospitality. After the story, we were served Beduin tea. It was splendid. After the tea, we saw a short video about the Beduin.

We then returned to the dorms and hung out for a bit before the next part of the adventure. At 1:00 p.m. a group of us met and had a pizza lunch ("American Pizza" was the company). We then took a bus to Netiv HaAsara, the closest community in Israel to the Gaza Strip. We were previously told that we didn't have a security clearance to go to the Gaza border, but apparently that was not entirely true. While we didn't get close enough to the border to touch it, we stood at a very close distance and were able to see the border clearly as well as right inside Gaza and perhaps the outskirts of Gaza City on the horizon.

We were joined by a man from Netiv HaAsara, the moshav, who told us about the history of the rocket attack situation. He definately had conservative, extremely right-wing views of the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. He had some interesting points though.

After Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005, Israel built a wall/fence around the Gaza border in six weeks. The whole thing is a fence with strong censors on it except for a 2ish kilometer section around the moshav. The guy said that it was for more of the psychological effect of safety and that it had been breached once on a foggy day by three terrorists who started shooting nearby.

The fence is no help for the rockets that are shot over it and snipers could still pick people off. In fact, he told us that the Israeli army was watching us where we were and that snipers in Gaza could find us without much difficulty. Apparently they had let a previous group stand on a slight hill next to where we were and soldiers came over and questioned why they let people stand there. There were towers near the border with Gaza that take video surveillance as well as monitor all communication in the Gaza border area, if not all of the Gaza Strip.

Over a seven year period that includes several cease-fires or periods of calm, over 1400 Kassam rockets have been shot into Israel from Gaza. That number excludes Mortor attacks. This community, Sderot, and the Kibbutz we visited have been the most affected.

Israel has instituted an "early" warning system for the rockets. After sensors pick up the rocket, sirens go off in the target area that say "Red Alert", or "Tzeva Adom" in Hebrew. This gives residents, at most, 12-15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter or at least a better protected area. Most people do not have bomb shelters in their homes and more are being built around the cities by the government to at least provide protection from shrapnel. 12-15 seconds goes by extremely quickly - we did a test run to see what it was like (it wasn't a real alarm, dont worry) and it took us 24 seconds and we could see the shelter close by. The alarm can go off any time and oftern it occurs at night.

In Sderot, we learned about their situation with the rocket attacks, being the most attacked city. The presentation, by the Sderot Media Center, focused on the human side of the attacks. Many who can afford to have left the city. It is rare to see people outside. Children don't play on playgrounds. People can't sleep. Schools are having bomb protection coverings built over them. Over 45% of the population of Sderot has some sort of anxiety or post-traumatic stresss disorder.

In Sderot, we watched a video while underground in a bomb shelter. We saw a playground that had bomb shelters built as part of the playground equipment. We saw shelters and protected areas all over the city. We saw a house with holes in it from shrapnel. We heard stories of death and injury as well as miracles and survival. We saw stores with thick metal doors and window covers. We saw a house that was being rebuilt after being leveled by a rocket attack. I held a Kassam rocket. This could not be a pleasant way to grow up.

Also in Sderot, we visited a Yeshiva that was growing as a statement that the rockets could not destroy the city. They were rebuilding the entire school. Their enrollement is growing. The dorms that they are building are all bomb shelters. We discussed the situation with the Rosh Yeshiva, the Rabbi who runs the Yeshiva for a different perspective and stood on the Yeshiva's roof for a look over Sderot and the surrounding area.

After Sderot, we visited a Kibbutz (They had the second highest number of rocket attacks) and got a tour by a resident who told us exactly where rockets had hit and how she would randomly start crying. It was very powerful.

When the media says that a Kassam Rocket was fired into or landed in an open area and no one was hurt, that means a field or a street. This is misleading. That does not mean that people were not nearby or that the entire city was not put on alert. People drive without seatbelts on, with the windows down, and without the radio on. This makes it easier to hear an alarm and then to get out of a car and to "safety" quicker. Additionally, no anouncements are made over loud speakers (in grocery stores, etc.). Loud noices get a reaction from the residents of fear. Parents are now trying to send their children into other areas of Israel for at least a year so that they can experience a "normal" life, without the constant threat of rocket attack.

On our way back to Be'er Sheva, we found out about an opportunity to go to a dinner at a Beduin tent with some overseas students at Tel-Aviv University and Hebrew University who were there for an overnight trip. A number of us went for dinner and a bonfire and hung out and met these students. I actually ended up meeting a friend from Kansas City who is studying at Tel-Aviv University who I have been out of touch with for about three years. It was kind of crazy. We ended up staying much longer than we were suppossed to which was okay with us, but our bus driver didn't seem thrilled.

Thursday was a great day. There was so much more that I learned and experienced that is not written here. I will probably write about my Shabbat experience tomorrow as I have a lot more to do tonight before bed. I will also post my pictures from the places described here shortly.

A Wonderful Day

2008-09-05T01:47:00.002+03:00

I was going to post a long description of my day, but since it is now 1:47 a.m. I will have to do that tomorrow.

Today our Ulpan classes went to a Beduin Museum where we learned a bit about Beduin history, culture, and tradition. Then I went on a trip to the Gaza Border, Sderot, and several communities near the border that have been affected by Kassam Rockets. Then, unexpectedly, I went to a meal at a Beduin tent in the middle of the desert where we ate, had a bonfire, and met students from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv University.

I just got back. It's been a fun, long, enjoyable day. More soon.

Pictures

2008-09-03T23:52:00.002+03:00

Here are a number of pictures from the past few weeks:

Bowling and Paintballing

Outside and Around Be'er Sheva

Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea

Happy Labor Day!

2008-09-03T23:44:00.002+03:00

So something like this should have been posted on Monday, September 1:

Happy Labor Day! I can't believe that it is September already! Where did the summer go? I feel like I should still be at school in Denver in the Spring. What happened to summer camp? Was I even at home? Where did the first month of being in Israel go? This is craziness...

Labor Day in Israel is... wait, no - it doesn't exist. There are no parades or American flags or a MDA telethon. I really wanted to BBQ, but alas, I did not have a BBQ. Instead, I made myself a (premade) hamburger and had some Coca-Cola. It was a nice meal.

We even had school on Labor Day...

Two Crazy Experiences

2008-08-31T20:48:00.003+03:00

Last night I needed to do laundry and logically, I had waited until I was literally on my last set of clothing. I decided to be good and wait until after Shabbat to do my laundry. Apparently I was not to be rewarded for doing so as the laundry room was super full. I hate waiting to my laundry. They have 6 small-ish washing machines and 6 giant dryers. Explain that to me. Anyway, I had to wait in the middle of a long line with a lot of pushy people, specifically one girl who came in after me who tried to cut me in the line. Luckily, one of the Israeli guys who I'd talked to earlier told her in (not nice?) terms that she needed to wait, probably because she also tried to cut him and his friend. I was frustrated so I went with a few friends and got ice cream while my laundry dried.

Today I went to the grocery store. I spent a large amount of money on food for the month, but I think it was worth it. We were there for over an hour so hopefully we made some good choices. It's a little difficult to buy food when you aren't entirely sure what you are buying and can't read the ingredients or instructions. I also can't figure out the sale signs. What does "2+1" mean? and what does "50%" mean? is that 50% off this item or the second one?

A Fun, Long, Hot, Tiring Day

2008-08-29T18:45:00.002+03:00

I woke up at 3:00 a.m. this morning and met our group at 3:30 a.m. We went to Masada and climbed up the Roman Ramp path in order to be on the mountain for the sunrise. It was quite an amazing site seeing the sun come up over the desert, the Dead Sea, and the mountain. We walked around the mountain, saw the ~2000 year old remains, and discussed the history of Masada. We then walked down the snake path. Going up took 10 minutes; coming down it took 40 minutes. I don't think I've ever been so hot at 6:00 a.m. or any time after that.

After Masada, we went to Ein Gedi, a desert oasis. There, we hiked into the nature reserve park and saw the desert and the oasis. We had the opportunity to get into the water and walked along the waterfall's path.

After Ein Gedi, we went to the Dead Sea. Our location on the Dead Sea was not the usual tourist area, but rather a less crowded spot near Ein Gedi (use of the bathrooms or changing areas still cost 2 shekels though). I have visited the Dead Sea once previoisly when I came to Israel in the Summer of 2005 with USY, the Conservative Youth Group, however, last time I was unable to really get into the water and did not float. Floating in the Dead Sea was a lot of fun and yes, I found several cuts or wounds that I did not know that I had. It was strange floating on water that was only a few inches deep where I started. I was also offered a little bit of Dead Sea mud that I put on. The whole experience at the Dead Sea was greasy and strange with my skin not feeling clean until I took a rather long shower upon returning to Be'er Sheva.

Getting up at 3:00 a.m. makes for a long day. I'll post pictures from today shortly.

Tonight though, myself and some friends are getting together for a sort of potluck Shabbat dinner. It should be fun.

Shabbat Shalom!

Email - An Overdue Message

2008-08-28T20:37:00.001+03:00

Shalom,

So I've been meaning to send another email for a little while now, but there is always something to do (or Hebrew to study here)

I've been in Israel for four weeks now! Wow! I can't believe how time flys. I still feel like I just got here and am still getting used to life. My Hebrew is getting better, but still has a long way to go. We had our third test today and it went pretty well.

A lot has happened since I last emailed, so I'm just going to mention some of the highlights. I've been doing better (but not great) at blogging. Check it out at http://joelportman.blogspot.com. I've got more details about some of what I'm writing hear as well as a lot more such as random observations around Israel, about my roommates, etc.

I've gotten know a number of the people on our program fairly well. I think we've got a very diverse yet cohesive group of participants. We have people from all over the world studying here with a variety of perspectives and a large range of Hebrew knowledge. I have been having Hebrew conversations with some of my friends on a regular basis. While these conversations are limited by my small vocabulary (English helps by filling in) they are definitely helping.

I've been going to the pool a few days a week. It's really nice to have an outdoor pool across the street in the middle of the desert. It's always crowded and I've met a number of people. I had a nice conversation with some elementary and high school age boys and girls. I tried to use my little Hebrew and they worked together to translate my English to Hebrew for them and their Hebrew to English for me. I also met a guy named Gilad who is a student at the University. He decided that we didn't have enough personal interaction with Israelis so he invited a group of us over to his house next week for dinner and to meet his friends.

I've also done karaoke twice with some friends at a place near the dorms. I never actually planned on singing, but it's been fun. They said that they have like 40 Israeli songs and around 4000 English songs.

We've spent a lot of time in the desert. I went to Ayalim, a student village built by and for students as well as a goat farm. I've never seen so many goats in one place. We also did a night hike in the desert that was really amazing under the full moon. I wish my camera could have captured some of the scenery, dark as it was. I finally saw a herd of camels this past weekend. I was really excited.

A few weeks ago a few friends and I went to a beach on the Mediterranean Sea in the city of Ashkolon. We weren't able to stay as long as I would have liked due to the buses stopping for Shabbat, but it was a great time. The beach was beautiful and the water was clear. We're planning on going back in a few weeks.

This past weekend we had a trip to Jerusalem. We went to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Memorial Museum, around the Old City of Jerusalem, and to the Kotel (the Western Wall – the holiest site in Judaism). Yad Vashem was much more powerful than the last time I was in Israel after I had just visited death camps in Poland. The Kotel has also seemed very spiritual and meaningful to me each time I've been there since arriving in Israel. Our group came back to Be'er Sheva on Friday, but I stayed in Jerusalem. After overpaying for a taxi, I met a friend of the family (i.e. her family belongs to my synagogue) who I've never met before and I stood with her for Shabbat. We had a great time at services at an amazing synagogue, Shira Chadasha, over food, and relaxing. I'm hoping to spend more Shabbatot with her in the future.

I've heard several lectures on topics ranging from David Ben-Gurion's ideal vision for Israel to Jewish Philosophy to Beduin Society in Israel and the Middle East. They've been really interesting and I've learned a lot. I've been trying to go to as many activities with our program as possible from lectures to a potluck dinner to movies. We even went bowling. They had all American equipment that was old and I'm pretty sure the lane wasn't entirely flat. It was a lot of fun though, even though shoes cost less than $1 and a game was about $8. Last night, I went paintballing on a course that the Israeli Defense Forces sometimes practice on. I've never gone paintballing before and it was a lot of fun.

Last week we walked to a monument on the city limits of Be'er Sheva that was built to honor members of the Palmach who fought in Israel's War of Independence in 1948. You could see the whole city and we watched the sun set over Be'er Sheva and the desert. On Monday we went around Be'er Sheva with a Professor who studies and teaches Negev Desert development. He showed us several places around the city including a British World War I cemetery and where the Headquarters of the Israeli Defense Forces Southern Command is.

We have two weeks left of Ulpan an approximately 11 day break and then the semester starts. I am starting to work on figuring out what classes I will be taking during our semester. We had our academic orientation today and I am working on figuring out my classes. We'll take four classes plus Hebrew. Right now, I am looking at a track called "Peace Studies and Regional Security". You can read more about the actual classes on my blog.

I've heard from a number of people concerns about security. The situation has luckily been rather peaceful while I've been in Israel. There have been a few rocket attacks from Gaza into the Negev, but don't worry – they've never made it anywhere close to where I am.

I have uploaded a number of pictures since my last email. You can see all of my albums at http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp.

Tomorrow we are leaving at 3:30 a.m. (!) to go hike up Masada for sunrise and we are then going to the Ein Gedi spring and on to the Dead Sea, all before returning to Be'er Sheva before Shabbat. It's going to be a fun, busy, and tiring day.

That's all from me for now. Stay in touch. I'll be blogging and will email in a few weeks.

L'hitraot,

Joel Portman

The Academics

2008-08-28T17:24:00.002+03:00

This morning in Ulpan we had our third Hebrew test. It was definately the largest and hardest we've had yet, but I think that I did pretty well.

After Ulpan, we had our "Academic Orientation" and they went over our class options a bit. I'm still looking at the same classes, but in a slightly different way. Everyone takes Hebrew plus four other classes. (They said that they are trying to put at least two field trips into each class around Israel.) You can either choose classes you want in any order you want, or you can choose one of two tracks: Peace Studies and Regional Security or Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice. In the tracks, you take three set classes and have one elective one. It's sort of like a mini major. They suggested doing it as the classes are selected to compliment each other. They used to be only for the year, but now the tracks are also designed for the semester. I am considering Peace Studies and Regional Security - http://web2.bgu.ac.il/CISP/Documents/Peace.html (not all of the information is up to date).

I had wanted to for sure take International Security and Conflict Resolution and Critical Decisions in the History of the State of Israel. For the other two, I want to choose between Arms Control in the Middle East, Jewish Identity and Contemporary Issues, and Environmental and Natural Resources Policy in Israel and the Middle East. In the track, Arms Control is required so I would have to choose between Jewish Identity and Environmental Issues - the two I wanted to take a bit more than Arms Control. Arms Control though sounds like a really good class. Both of my last options are unique to Ben-Gurion University.

International Terrorism and Arms Control are both popular classes and are taught by a Professor who I am told is world renown - Jonathon Fine.

Right now, I am kind of leaning towards Jewish Identity and Contemporary Issues, but I'm not sure yet.

Anyway, we leave tomorrow morning at 3:30 a.m. (!) to climb Masada for sunrise, go to Ein Gedi, and go to the Dead Sea, all before coming back to Be'er Sheva in time for Shabbat. It should be a fun and busy and tiring day.

Not posting...

2008-08-26T22:07:00.002+03:00

So apparently I'm not so good at blogging. Throughout each day, I think "That would be good to write about," but every time I come back to my computer, I seem to forget or to get distracted with something else. I'm going to use a scapegoat though - my computer. My computer seems to not like me so much lately and it runs really hot. Of course, that could be because we are in the middle of the desert.

Yesterday we had a lecture on the Beduin by a Professor who also happens to be a Beduin. I'm not entirely sure what he talked about, but it was great. He was a character. I then spent an hour at the pool during which time I met an Israeli guy named Gilad who said he would invite me and some friends over for dinner some time. That'll be fun. Last night we took a brief tour of some sites in Be'er Sheva with a Professor who is an expert on the Negev area. We went to the remnants of a town prior to 1948, visited a British World War I cemetary, and saw the headquarters of the Israeli Defense Forces' Southern Command.

Today I saw the movie The Syrian Bride about a Druze woman marrying a Syrian man through an arranged marriage and the complications associated with making the wedding happen. It was very interesting.

Tractors

2008-08-24T23:41:00.002+03:00

Luckily (knock on wood), the security situation in Israel has been going well while I've been here. I hope that it continues that way.

Over the summer, there were two terrorist attacks in Jerusalem that involved tractors. The tractors were driven by terrorists into buildings, structures, people, etc. and resulted in multiple deaths. As I was preparing to leave Jerusalem this weekend, we were at the bus stop and heard a loud noise on the street. The people that were waiting started looking around and the person I was with quickly stepped back from the street. Along came a large tractor down the hill. We live in a very different society.

I just thought that I'd share.

More Pictures

2008-08-24T23:07:00.003+03:00

Check out pictures from our trip to the Be'er Sheva Monument at Sunset, Karaoke, and Jerusalem here.

Jerusalem & Shabbat

2008-08-24T21:52:00.003+03:00

Shavua Tov! (Good week!)

So I spent Friday and Saturday in Jerusalem. It was pretty awesome. Our Overseas Student Program group traveled as a group to Jerusalem on Friday morning, leaving at 6:45 a.m.

We first visited Yad Vashem, the Israel Holocaust Museum where we saw the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations (non-Jews recognized by trees who sacrificed to protect Jewish people in the Holocaust), the Museum, and the Children's Memorial. When I came to Israel in 2005, we also went to Yad Vashem, however, this was after spending a week in Poland and while the museum was obviously well done, it did not move me as much as it perhaps could have. This time around, I was very much affected by the museum. Yad Vashem is powerful in every aspect of the museum.

After visiting Yad Vashem, we went to the Old City and got Falafel. We then walked around a bit and discussed (briefly) the history of the Old City of Jerusalem and the importance of Jerusalem to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. we then went to the Kotel (the Western Wall - the holiest place in Judaism). There I prayed and put a note into the wall. It is an incredibly moving place, especially when you feel the wind to your back or see groups of people praying or individuals praying and crying.

After our visit to the Kotel, our group left to return to Be'er Sheva and I took a taxi (and overpaid) to a friend's (Flo's) apartment. I'd never met her before and we spent some time getting to know each other and getting ready for Shabbat. we then went to services at an awesome liberal Modern Orthodox Synagogue called Shira Hadasha. The way they sing the prayers creates an amazing spiritual experience. We then went back and had dinner with six other people that went until about midnight. Flo was leading Psukei D'Zimra in the morning so we had to get to services by 8:30 a.m. Services flew by and ended around 11:15 a.m. (Although apparently this is long for Israel) We then went to lunch with a friend of Flo's. We were there from about 12:00 - 6:00 p.m. eating and talking and hanging out. We then went back to the apartment and hung out, read, and ate again. I then took a bus to the central bus station and then on back to Be'er Sheva.

It was a great weekend.

Three Weeks

2008-08-21T22:53:00.001+03:00

I can’t believe that I have been in Israel for three weeks already! While at times I have been homesick, the time has passed amazingly quickly. My time here has been great. I’ve enjoyed myself and have met people from around the United States and Israel as well as from around the world.

The past few days have been a lot of fun. Ulpan has been going well. I am using my Hebrew in conversations, albeit small and simple ones. Such words as those for yes, no, I know, etc. make it into my English conversations as well. I figure that this is a good thing and I am becoming more comfortable using Hebrew. We had our second test today in Ulpan over opposites, three verb conjugations, and infinatives. After the test, our teacher gave us carrot cake that she made. It was really good.

I’ve spent parts of the past three afternoons at the campus pool which is used by a lot of people from around Be’er Sheva and is conveniently located across the street from the dorms. Today I also played volleyball, but not too well. On Tuesday, I started talking to some kids in the pool who only knew a little English. There were two boys and three girls and between all of us we were able to have a conversation. A different boy asked one of the girls from Germany if he could watch her and she told him that she was almost old enough to be his mother. He then turned to me and asked me in Hebrew to tell her that he was 18. I was amused.

On Monday night we saw the Israeli movie Walk on Water about an Israeli intelligence agent searching for a Nazi in hiding. Tuesday, we walked to the Be’er Sheva monument which commemorates the Palmach who fought for Israel’s independence. There, we looked out over the city of Be’er Sheva and the surrounding area and watched the sunset. Later that evening a group of us went to karaoke at a place called Black and White behind the dorms. I figured that I would just listen but I ended up singing two songs – "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" (with someone else) and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" (by myself; I love The Lion King). It was a good time. Last night we had a potluck dinner and then hung out and listened to people play the guitar. Tonight we just took it easy.

Tomorrow I am going to Jerusalem with our Overseas Student Program (OSP). We are going to Yad VaShem, the Israel Holocaust Memorial Museum, and then on to the Old City and the Kotel (Western Wall). I am interested to see what my reaction to Yad VaShem will be like. The last time I was there was in 2005 after I had just spent a week in Poland and I didn’t feel as affected by Yad VaShem as I had thought I would. I expect that this will be quite the opposite experience. After the Old City, the OSP group is coming back to Be’er Sheva, but a bunch of people are staying in Jerusalem for Shabbat. I will be staying with a friend’s sister who I have never met. She belongs to a liberal Modern Orthodox synagogue. It should be a good time.

I hope the next three weeks of Ulpan and the rest of my time here in Israel go as well as the beginning has.

The Strays

2008-08-21T22:27:00.002+03:00

In our Overseas Student Program Orientation Guide, it says "Please stay away from te adorable cats that hang around the dorms; they are not immunized. Do not feed them, even if you have pity on them. Don't pet any street dogs or cat - they are filthy and might have rabies". They weren't kidding - there are stray cats everywhere. Most cats are very skinny and some are very young. I've seen them on the sidewalk at the dorm, in the grass, on stairs, on top of overpasses, all over campus, etc.

The other night a few of us were hanging out on the grass and one cat came and sat on one guy's lap. He kept trying to get the cat off, but it really liked him and kept coming back to his lap.

The cats are definitely territorial. They stalk each other and often pounce and swipe at each other. If you've never seen a real cat fight, they are definitely scary - I thought at least one would die.

Besides cats, there are also some stray dogs at different spots around the city. At a corner near the dorms there are two dogs that always sleep in the dirt under a tree. One of them looks like my dog Pudgie and I always want to pet him, but I don't want to be scratched/eaten.

My Roommates

2008-08-19T22:16:00.003+03:00

1. Vladik(?). He may be Russian, but I'm not sure. He's a senior engineering major who also works at HP. He spends a lot of time at work and studying and with his girlfriend and I haven't seen in him in about 1.5 weeks.

2. Alon. He's also a senior engineering major. He's in and out. I didn't meet him until almost a week after I'd been here. He's a nice guy, but his English isn't as good as Vladik(?)'s. He seems to have a decent number of friends in the dorms and I've met some of them. Their cool.

Neither of them are the cleanest individuals. My suite has only been sorta cleaned once and that was because one of our counselors asked whose rooms were dirty. I was in the majority of those saying they had dirty rooms and the next day a note appeared on our door from the Av HaBayit, the person in charge of the dorms saying the room needed to be cleaned. I helped too, but there is a lot left to be cleaned. Everything is dirty and my roommates don't really ever do their dishes so they pile up in their awesome grease-filled-ness.

3. Christian. About a week ago, I got a third roommate named Christian. He is German and is here for two months. He is in the second year of medical school in Germany and is here to volunteer in the Hospital on campus, the largest one in Beer Sheva, for his degreee. I like him a lot. He's a bit quiet, but nice and he knows English pretty well.

New Pictures

2008-08-18T16:45:00.005+03:00

I've posted more pictures online here. These pictures are from our visit to Ayalim, the student village in the middle of the desert, a goat farm, a night hike in the Negev Desert, and a trip to the beach on the Mediterranean Sea city of Ashkolon.

The Week

2008-08-18T16:40:00.002+03:00

So Israel, being a Jewish country, has a different weekly schedule than I am used to in the United States. We go to school Sunday - Thursday and the weekend is Friday & Saturday. This is definitely taking some getting used to. It's weird talking to people online on Sunday and telling them about my day at school when I know that they are all enjoying the weekend.

Our weekend is also a bit limited in that Saturday is Shabbat. On Shabbat (beginning Friday night), most restaurants, stores, tourist sites, etc. are closed and there is no public transportation. Taxis, our only way to get around then, are more expensive. I have thus far enjoyed my Shabbats in Israel though, so even though we really have one day of weekend with a lot of options, the weekends are enjoyable.

Ulpan

2008-08-18T16:35:00.002+03:00

So I am currently only taking Hebrew classes here at BGU. We have class from 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. with a break from about 10:30-11:00. While this might not seem like a lot, learning Hebrew three hours a day at a breakneck pace from a Professor who teaches in Hebrew is definitely rather hard. We also have 1.5-2+ hours of homework everyday.

I am in the 2nd of five levels of Ulpan and my Hebrew is definitely improving. I can understand words in conversations I hear now and am feeling more comfortable with the little bit of Hebrew that I know. Today I asked a question about our homework in Hebrew. It might not sound like much, but I was impressed with myself. The biggest thing I need to work on I think is my vocabulary.

Posting

2008-08-17T22:24:00.001+03:00

So, it is obvious that I am not very good at posting stuff on this blog. From here on out, I'm going to try to be a lot better. Over the next few days i'm going to be posting some thoughts on random things that I've seen here in Israel and other fun stuff. I'm also going to work to be a lot better about regularly posting updates on what I'm doing.

Israel is awesome for those of you who are wondering. The desert is hot.

A Very Long Message

2008-08-10T23:39:00.003+03:00

Shalom m'Yisrael !(Hello from Israel!),

My time here in Israel has been great. I had planned on writing my first weekend here in Israel, but time got away from me. We arrived in Tel-Aviv slightly early after a great flight (even though I didn't sleep more than 30 minutes). We then made our way down through the desert to Beer-Sheva and moved into our dorms at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

My group is actually made up of several smaller groups. There is the Overseas Student Program with about 20-25 students from across the United States as well as Mexico, Kenya, and Norway. We are all here for either a semester or the entire year. There is also a group of about 7-10 (so far, but this will grow to about 30) people who are here for the year in an intensive Masters of Arts in Middle East Studies program. Additionally, there is a group of 20-30 people here from Germany learning Hebrew with us.

My dorm isn't too bad, but definitely isn't as nice as the University of Denver. There are four rooms in my suite. One of them is empty and the other two are both Israelis whose English isn't too bad. They are cool guys, but aren't exactly the cleanest.

Because I know some people will ask, there is a gate to the dorm complex in which I live and it is monitored by guards. The University is fenced in and you have to enter through one of several gates by showing your University ID to an armed guard. There are also guards walking around campus with oozies. We had a meeting with the head of security for the campus who went over a number of things with us. The University has over 200 guards and it is safe to ride in buses and in taxis.

Currently, I am in the Ulpan program – an intense Hebrew study during which we spend three hours a day, five days a week learning Hebrew in Hebrew. I am in the second level of classes and have definitely had a lot of homework so far. Each day we also have an activity ranging from lectures to trips around Beer-Sheva or the Negev (desert in the southern 60%ish of Israel) to an Israeli movie. The rest of the day is free or spent doing homework. The Ulpan lasts for six weeks then we have approximately 10 days off followed by the semester. We have not yet signed up for our classes for the semester.

I spent this past weekend in Jerusalem for Shabbat and Tisha B'Av (a Jewish holiday/fast day commemorating the destruction of the temple). I also was able to see Stuart, my brother, who is in Jerusalem until Tuesday with USY, the Conservative Jewish youth group, on the same trip I was on. I was able to spend much of Shabbat with him and also saw one of his counselors who I know and my friend Matan who was in my group to Israel in 2005. For those of you who are interested, I davened (prayed) Kabbalat Shabbat Friday night at the Kotel (Western Wall) with a group who my friend said he believes to be settlers from the West Bank and did Eicha for Tisha B'Av in the City of David before returning to the Kotel, which was quite the sight to see.

I have posted my pictures thus far online at http://picasaweb.google.com/mazeltovjp/Israel12MyArrivalAndFirstWeek. They will also be online shortly on Facebook. If the pictures do not have captions when you see them, they will shortly. There are a lot of pictures of my dorm and my room (which was definitely dirty upon my arrival).

Below, you will find a brief summary of what I have done each day in Israel thus far. You can skip this if you wish.

The Flight – I was asked to help with making a Minyan (prayer group of 10) for Minha (the afternoon service) at the airport in Newark before we left and then again for Ma'ariv (the evening service) on the plane. El Al has the best safety demonstration video as well as great food, just fyi.

July 31 – We arrived in Israel and moved into our dorms. We got our cell phones and met the director of the Overseas Student Program.

August 1-2 – We went into the Desert and did a hike through the Ein Ovdat wadi and learned a little about the geography of Israel. We then visited David Ben-Gurion's home in the desert and went to the kibbutz where we spent the weekend for orientation. We did a number of "getting to know you" activities in addition to learning how the program would work and swimming in a pool – which is weird when all you see around you is desert.

August 3 – We learned about dorm procedures, security, student life on campus, and other fun stuff. We were interviewed for placement in different levels for the Ulpan. They are aleph, aleph plus, bet, gimel, and dalet. I am in aleph plus. We then went to a mall to go shopping for things that people had forgotten and for some food. The mall is called "The Big". Next to it is "The One". It's weird…

August 4 – After Ulpan we had an orientation to Israel going over pieces of history and cultural adaptation. We met a number of Israeli students and learned about different opportunities on and around campus for activities and involvement.

August 5 – After Ulpan we had a lecture about Zionism and Environmentalism and how they relate to each other and affect Israel for better or worse. It was very interesting. Each week we have a different lecture by a professor who is teaching at least one course we are offered both to learn about the topic and also to help us decide whether or not to take that particular class. That evening we saw the movie Yossi and Jager about relationships between soldiers and the First Lebanon War.

August 6 – After Ulpan we learned about our health insurance Jand found out about different volunteering opportunities that we have. I signed up for several including walking dogs in a shelter, teaching Beduin students English, and helping with a group that does projects ranging from promoting environmental activism to planting trees to helping advance Beduin life to teaching English. We'll see what pans out. After all of that we went to the Old City of Beer-Sheva for an outdoor art and music festival.

August 7 – After Ulpan we went to the Old City to the weekly Beduin Market. They seemed to have a little bit of everything on sale. When we got back a friend and I went exploring the streets around our dorm and we found a number of small grocery stores, falafel and shwarma stands, and fruit and vegetable stands. Beer-Sheva is definitely a Middle Eastern city.

August 8-10 – As mentioned previously, I spent the weekend in Jerusalem. Friday night I got set up for dinner with a wealthy American donor for an organization in Israel (www.jeffseidel.com) at the King David Hotel. The dinner went from 9:30 to 12:45 and I had the largest (veal) steak I've ever seen it was amazing. In addition to what I already mentioned, I prayed twice at the Kotel (Western Wall). It was great.

Other points to note:
- There are a lot of stray cats (and some dogs) all over the place here.
- The Israeli students are actually finishing up their semester with the next few weeks being their final period. Their schedule got messed up with two different (one professor and one student) strikes this past year. Many of these students will be moving out of the dorms. Their new semester will not begin until mid-November.
- The school week in Israel is Sunday – Thursday. It is going to take some getting used to.
- The Kotel (Western Wall) is the holiest place in Judaism and it is a tradition to place notes to G-d in the wall. If anyone wants to mail me a note or email me a note, I can put it in the wall for you the next time I go.

Please be sure to stay in touch. My future emails will probably not be this long. My address again is:

Joel Portman
c/o Overseas Student Program
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
P.O. Box 653
Student Union Building Room 235
84105 Beer-Sheva Israel

and my cell phone number from the United States is 011972526092556. You can also IM me on AIM at jwbs06 or Skype me at joel.portman. This email and perhaps other notes will be online at http://joelportman.blogspot.com.

I look forward to being in touch.

Lihitraot (Until next time),

Joel Portman

Welcome!

2008-08-10T20:42:00.002+03:00

Shalom and welcome to my blog! I will be posting daily (but more likely every few days) updates about my activities studying abroad at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. So far, my time here has been great and I'm sure it will continue to get even better.

Stay in touch!

BGU email: portmanj@bgu.ac.il
Gmail email: mazeltovjp@gmail.com
AIM: jwbs06
Skype: joel.portman