it all comes together and a sense of accomplishment!

      This past week was yet another exciting session unfortunately was the last session of BUILDING FUTURE LEADERS CONFERENCE! the first day was a interesting one on thurs. We had the honor of hearing the great and interesting speaker Neil Lazerus talk about public speaking. It was interesting, he talked about how to give a good presentation. he basicaly said take the rule book of public speaking and throw it out the window! hehe! he had some of us including myself come up and give everyone a brief preview of what we had interms of our presentations, and he critiqued us as we went along. We found it quite hilarious and yet useful, it definitely took a big weight off our sholders and gave us a different view of how to present and what not!

      Friday was even more interesting in the morning we woke up nice and early to go to Neot Kedumim ( nature preserve)  in the morning to work on our team work skills! yes team work!!! So we started out by doing a hula-hoop activity that was fun and "hava nagila" like! hehe ( long story). We then took a tram a bit ways down and we saw sheep and goats! now you're probably wondering what's sheep and goats have to do with team work and team building!?!? Well I'm glad you asked! well if one watchs a pack of sheep and goats the goats basicaly lead and the sheep follow. How ever as for us our challenge was to herd the sheep and goats  from one point to another in groups of 7-8 people in under 10 min. I must say for people who have never herded sheep before, we did a hellava job!  we did it in 9 min even though another group did it in 5 but hey it was fun it was an experience. Then we did this thing where theres one person was in the middle and there was ahook that had 4 ropes that were on pullies in 4 different sides and a sistern, and a bucket  theres 4 pullers who couldnt talk and the person in the middle is giving directions however he cant talk either. it was a interesting experience it taught me that not one person is more important than the other in a job. in the end we felt pretty self accomplished.  \Friday night we had a little program in review! who's line is it any way style! hehe! it was fun and entertaining.

     saturday there was mostly small little break out sessions talking about last minute things for our project ( thoughts, feelings, concerns) and fundraising and what not. that evening we had a nice little graduation ceremony of sort from the program. it was nice some people presented their projects and we got certificates of completion. it was sad to see it end it was tough to part for the family that was built in 3 months time! they are awesome! and i would like to thank the organizors of the program for one bringing us together like you did and also for giving us such a great oppertunity of a life time!

     In other excitement I had the chance to see David one last time before I go home! I also got to see his parents who were in town this week! unfortunately I believe i'm jinxed! see when ever i've been around his parents something has always happened. last time i saw them in cleveland they were held up and had their jewlery stolen. now this time around both david forgot his wallet on the bus and his dad got his stolen all in the same day! luckily a religious jew found it and hopefully will be smart enough to get it back to him at the university!  also I had the chance to see former Cleveland shalichah Tovit! today for a nice little meet up and talk just to quickly catch up and what not. it was great seeing them all the last few days! well thats it for now please stay tuned for a very special NEW YEARS EDITION OF MY BLOG! AND I KNOW YOU GUYS BACK IN THE STATES IT'S NOT THE NEW YEAR YET BUT STILL. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Till next time all Peace from this middle east !and also wanted to wish you all a happy new years too!!!

Zac m.!

THE REAL SPIRIT OF SHABBAS/ AND DON'T WORRY I'M SAFE

So this past weekend I wound up going to a shabbaton, and the theme of the shabbaton was Judaism and judaism in Israel. on friday we had mostly introductions. but that was nothing compared to what we had friday night. Jerusalem one of the most holiest cities in the world / Israel especially for the Jews. As I said before there's just a totally different feel to the city when you are there especially on shabbas. So friday night they offered us our choice of places for shabbat services, and I honestly couldn't have thought more of a appropriate choice than going to the kottel. hehe yes I know I've pretty much been to the kottel god knows how many times in the past 2 weeks but seriously it's only fitting. it was an amazing sight to see! a swarm of well mostly orthodox jews, and some birthright participants tossed in. it was a sight that is just breath taking! to hear hundreds of Jews Wailing in prayer and dovaning in unison almost was amazing to hear the different tunes and different sounds of prayer is just a beautiful sound.

        I myself found my way to the back corner where a group of soldiers were singing and dancing and what not! so i decided to join them! I started dancing and the energy exuming from these soldiers in prayer and well just nigunim ( jewish songs) is just amazing! I've never been so moved in prayer and in the spirituality of shabbat than I did that night at that moment. its something i've been searching for in my life for a long time. just being there with the soldiers dovaning was special and an honor. and i look around and to see more jews singing and dancing and praying its like non-other. the spirit of the jewish religion and tradition of shabbat was every where and was strong that night. it's amazing and hard to explain.

      Later that night was even more interesting of a experience. through out the weekend they introduced us to the various sects of the religion minus the secular and Charedi side of it but thats ok. Friday night they invited a orthodox man to come in and lead us and teach us about what is a "Tish" ( or singing around a table) again nigunim. whats a tish you may ask? well a tish is a hassidic event where they gather around a table and sing nigunim, tell stories and drink. soo thats what we did. granted people mostly had a just shot (dont worry i didnt drink) hehe! but it was deffinitley an experience that i'll never forget.

        So a few little things. As you all know I was in Jerusalem for most of the week and chag the last two weeks. During that time I have seen the bomb squad called in and take care of business almost every time i went this past week. But don't worry people everything is fine they did what they had to do, and i would like to thank the Israeli bomb squad for dealing with things efficiantly and keeping us safe. however something that hit more close to home and i'm sorry for making a certian someone nervous when this event happened. a few nights ago there was a couple of events that happened. one was there was an attack in the gaza strip where israeli airforce went in and blew up the houses of a few terrorists. also there was an assasination in near by (neighboring city) Lod of two people in the underground. I was up at the time of the attack along with one of my house mates and well we could hear the explosion from our house. please do not worry we are completely fine and safe! absolutely no one in our group was hurt we were all home and in the house.. does these events make me nervous as i'm sure hearing it here makes you nervous. yes it does but you can't let these things affect you at all, and you move on as much as possible as if nothing happened. but again do not worry I am perfectly fine! along with everyone else is here. aside from that we are now at the two week and counting mark. shocking i know how time is flying. and i'm slowly starting mentally preping to come home is it tough to do so especially after all i've gone through and done?!? yes. but i'll be ok.. I might be flipping out next week or so trying to get things done and ready buy i'm fighting through it all and hopefully do ok. well that's it for right now. hope everyone is doing well! and if i do not post a new post before next weekend I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year!  psst mom 2 weeks! hehe oh shoot mom you didnt read that ( ok i'm just trying to get out of shoveling and dishes hehe). Love you all! till next time PEACE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST!

capturing the essence and spirit of a chag

  

 I've been celebrating chanukah for 24 years now, and I honestly can say that this year definitely felt different. it's true what a lot of israeli's say especially the secular.See in American Judaism and Israeli Judaism is two total different things. how things are observed and the spirits of things in both worlds. and now i can see what they both are like.

   American Judaism is based more on a symbolic observancy. In America we as Jews need to do actually observe the holidays and go services, and do everything to the end. (i.e. light candles, go to services, spin the dreidal, build a sukkah, shake the lulav and etrog.) in order to bring us closer religiously. to make us feel like we are really Jews. If we don't, some lose that jewish identity and the spirit.

   Israeli Judaism is a bit more spiritual than anything. When it comes to Israeli Jews they have been said to not really need to observe or actualy symobolicly observe the holidays or shabbas to make them feel jewish. there is a certian essence a certian spirit in the air in this country that the jews draw from they are so surrounded by holy sites and also surrounded by observant jews that there is more of a feeling of being jewish than anything.

     I can honestly say that i can now see what they mean. over the last few days on the second as mentioned in my last blog the 6th and the 8th night of chanukah i took advantage and wound up going to Jerusalem for the day and go to the kottel for candle lighting. It was amazing just to be there. there is a total different atmosphere that can be sensed in the air in jerusalem on any chag. and over the eight days there was a definite build up of the holiday. second night there wasn't that many people at the kottel granted the navy officers were there for their graduation but on the last night there was a bunch of people there the mens side had a lot of people the womans side was packed and the rotunda.. there were soldiers and scouts, and tourists galore. but there was a spirit surrounding the Kottel as they lit the menorah and itwas amazing and beautiful.

 

    

Its interesting going around the country you can sense a change in the atmosphere when it comes to the essense of the area the spirit. for instance i've been in ramla or most of the holidays and a bit in tel-aviv and Hod hasharon and I can say it feels like it is kind of your average city plus there is a definite presense of the other religions. like if you were in Tel-aviv for shabbas or holidays everything is mostly still going on te city and people are still on the move. but you go to Jerusalem and there is the religious spirit surrounding the area on shabbas everything stops, the entire city becomes a ghost town its amazing. I was moved by the feeling of just being in the kottel on the last night. just being there on the last night i see every thing around me just being surrounded by so many jews . it left me kind of speechless like none other. we always hear next year in jerusalem! well guess what!?! I was there! I'm here! it definitely gave me the greatest feeling to realize that for once i've made a dream come true in being jerusalem for a holiday being in israel in general for all these great holidays. I love it! thank you mom and to both my grandparents for helping me get here. and allowing me to have this experience. and thank you laura for having the strength to let me go for these 5 mnths i know its been hard but we're doing great! i love you all you dont know how much this meant to me. well till next time y'all PEACE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND HAPPY BELATED HANUKAH.

ps. I was in ben yehudah and I got myself a new talit! it's amazing its one of those big square ones and it has black and gold stripes its amazing! WOOO HOOO!!!

LOOKING INSIDE OUT! AND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

     So today was a nice and relaxing day and nicely needed! Today I decided to venture off on my own and meet up with my life long friend David for a day just to chill in Jerusalem. and boy what a interesting and eventful day it was! so lets start out from the beginning shall we? So I arrived to Jerusalem and he told me to take #1 bus and take it to the kottel thinking ok easy and fair enough. So imagine this if you will; you're on a bus, you are the only secular jew on the bus surrounded by oh 25 or so dati/charedi  jews to say the least, going through ortho. charedi country ( maya sharim... and we all know what happened there before) yeeeaaahhh.. if that wasn't scary enough as it was I dont know what is...

   So I got to the kottel and met up with David and we wound up walking into the old city through the arab quarter and grabed a shwarma and a drink. then we went to the christian quarter where we went to the austrian hospic where we climbed to the top of the building to the roof where he showed me probably the most breath taking view of the the old city that not many people see. it was a view looking inside out! had a hellava view of the alaksa musque and evry other part of the old city. So as we were sitting on the roof we noticed there was some kind of track set up and some people looming around aparently they were some palestinian actors and they were going around the country and filming like a promosional film that will be sent to europe promote the better side of palestine. or at least thats what i understood.it was interesting to watch them film. very professional and aparently the male person in the shot was a well known palestinian actor cause David recognized him. so that was cool.

   After that thrilling site we pushed on through on to the jewish quarter and looked and went back through the kottel and asked when they were going to light the candles. we had time.. as we were there we heard 3 major booms near by. which kinda didnt sound anything like a gun fire, or a sonic boom. it sounded like something was being blown up! and it kinda made me concerned so we checked it out! low and behold just inside the enterance to the kottle was the bomb squad who had blown up aparently some binders, and a tot bag or something! it was kinda cool to see but basically put everything at a stand still while that was all being cleared up. great to know that i'm living in the safest city in israel hehe! from there we walked along the was on the wall of the old city and kinda looped around just to pass some time. We went into some shops and I found a nice gift for certian someone! (they will find out who they are when i get home! hehe suspence builds duh duh dum!) from there we walked into the kottel a third time for one to see that they were setting up for a ceremony for the last day of officer training of soldiers in the navy which was nice to see. it was a beautiful candle lighting ceremony! there was a big menorah on the ground on the mens side that they lit and then a huge one on the ledge on top of a thing over looking the wall that was a big oil torch menorah! that was awesome sight.

    from there we walked out and we tried to catch a cab to the HU campus.... yeah that was interesting! so well... We tried to catch a cab and they were trying to rip us off. anyway we got into this one it happened to be of a palestinian arab. this was to be a night to remember! at first the guy was giving us a hard time b/c he thought well knew i was a jewish american and he had a major issue with that. but david wound up talking to him in some pretty good arabic and kinda got him to open up QUITE A BIT! by lying to him saying he's a christian american. so with that aside the guy opened up pretty nicely and was definitely blunt and straight forward about his feelings about jews and the situation between the people in the country and his views of american jews! yeah he hid nothing! it was interesting to hear the other side of the coin! granted it's an extremist point of view it's actually the view of palestinian not all though but a lot of them hold back their true feelings and put on an act for all. that come through. 

We got out at HU and went to a pizza and sufganiyot (jelly doughnut) torah study the topic of chanukah. it was very interesting and thought provoking.. I was amazed that some how there's some kind of undertone message in the torah eluding to chanukah and what not. it was like a secret code in the torah it was pretty impreesive at what the rabbi was talking about. all in all it was a successful day. i got to see a side of jerusalem i've never seen, let alone not many people see on average..and got a taste of the reality of the conflict in israel. i love you all and i'm almost home.and also want to wish all the jewcrew!! HAPPY CHANUKAH DAY 2! TILL NEXT TIME PEACE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST!!!