No, Do You Really Know What You're Eating?

            Today is the sort of day that I remember from tours in Israel. Incredibly long, unbelievably full, and chock full of new ideas. We began the morning by meeting the seven Israeli soldiers who will join our group for half of the trip. Each of them serves a different role in the army, and all of them have different aspirations. Most significant to me is that we are around the same age. I believe that it is the first time that I’ve ever met an Israeli soldier younger than myself. 

Blair, holdin it together real well for the camera

Oh, and Blair's last name is Elias. So that's cool.

Alexandra and Hallie both made the Blog!

Beautiful roadside camera shot.           The tour of the Old City was interesting, mostly because I avoided hanging around the tour guide and tried to stay near Lauren, one of the Israelis on our trip. Her job in the army is to give tours of Jerusalem to soldiers in order to deepen their understanding of Israel’s capital city. She appreciated the opportunity to speak in Hebrew, and I appreciated the opportunity to hear stories and perspectives that aren’t normally a focus of the tours that are given to Americans. Some of spots we visited were the site of the last supper and a balcony overlooking the courtyard of the Western Wall.             I always appreciate a trip to the Davidson Center, specifically Robinson’s Arch. Recently, finding inspiration for prayer has been a struggle, but the desire for a fervent, authentic egalitarianism really does motivate me. When I asked for a few minutes to daven Minchah (recite the afternoon prayer), my tour guide was surprised. “Why not pray at the Western Wall?” he asked. “We’re going right after this and it looks much nicer.” After debating how best to answer the question, I mentioned my upbringing as a Conservative Jews.             Although the other participants on the trip have a variety of backgrounds that are different from my own, I love their curiosity about different aspects of Judaism and Israel to which they have had less exposure. At various points throughout the day, I had the chance to explain some of the basics of Jewish sacrifices and ritual purity in the time of the Temple, the tradition of wearing tefillin (phylacteries), and the outlines of the Kidron Valley Watershed project. Everyone seems to be incredibly open-minded and willing to learn.             Afterwards, we head to the Western Wall, and allowed some time to meditate. Of course, the Chabad representative asking participants if they had put on tefillin that day asked us if we knew Rabbi Hershey from the Chabad in St. Louis, which was a nice coincidence. Speaking of, if you're reading this, Rabbi, Shmuely Weiss sends his regards. The Tower of David (I still need to do some work on that whole "exposure setting" for the camera)

Miriam wearing that gorgeous smile!

External shot of Mount Zion Church.

Some of the Israelis on our trip.

Arabic plaque at the site of the Last Supper (I can make out some letters?)

Inscription reads: "If I forget Jerusalem, may I forget my right hand."

First glimplse of Al Aqsa mosque this trip. Marissa and Miriam: trip leaders in action.

Marissa and Miriam: no longer in action, but plenty of smiles.

In case you could not find a photo of the Western Wall juxtaposed with Al Aqsa mosque online, here you go.

Robinson's Arch at the Davidson Center.

The small hole in the wall on the right is said to have been left when Muhammad tethered his flying horse to the wall during a trip to Jerusalem.

Our Medic, Itai, and the ever radiant Gaby Dinkin. Itai, our tour guide, explaining the world.

             Machaneh Yehuda, a market place in Jerusalem, is empty compared against the balagan that I remember from the last few visits. On the way over, I ran into Dr. Rogoff (pictured below), the scholar-in-residence for Camp Ramah at the Berkshires. This was a nice coincidence, particularly because on of his accomplishments, finishing Daf Yomi (a seven and a half year cycle of learning a page a day of the Talmud) motivated me to begin the very same process of learning. I'm still only about a third of the way in (and twenty pages behind) but it has so far had a major impact on my life, the way that I approach study, and my Jewish identity.

             And he was only the first of many friendly faces that I ran into today. Aliza Yaillen, Rebecca Leeman, Jessica Schwartz, Eliza, Julia, Talia Brilliant and Rivka from Mishlachat and others were among the people with whom I managed to stop and have a conversation. Some live in Israel, and some are at the tail end of their Nativ experience. It's still just wonderful seeing the reaction when people who know me realize that I am on Birthright. I guess the rule change still hasn't sunk in.

             Lunch was... adventurous. Eating at a place that I remembered from Machaneh Yehuda during my time on Seminar, Azurah, a few friends and I sat down to one of the most satisfying meals I have ever had the pleasure of ordering. Once the food arrived, the manager ran over to our table and told the waitress to wait. "Do you really know what you are eating?" he asked. I replied with a curt "yes." Shaking his head, he continued, "No, do you really know what you are eating." And in Hebrew I managed a quick, "yes, I know that I ordered the lungs." At which point he threw his hands into a shrug, rolled his eyes and walked away. Half expecting me to take a bite and push the plate away, he kept a watchful eye and reminded me that if I did not like the dish, I could always return it to the kitchen and order something else. Not a chance. Though the texture was a little bit strange, I would not have traded it for anything else on the menu. The meat was very, very tender, and very flavorful.

Surprise meet up with a personal inspiration, Dr. Jason Rogoff, on the way to Machaneh Yeduda Market

Lunch in Machaneh Yehudah was delicious. You'd never know it was cow lungs.              Now I thought that my day had ended with group photos on Haas Promenade overlooking Jerusalem and a group discussion to prepare for our day tomorrow, but the best was yet to come. Pulled away from writing this, I went for a walk with a few friends. We sat down with some of the people living where we are staying for just one more night. Although we had been told that Neve Shalom was an integrated community, the implications of that hadn't been explained. Neve Shalom, or Oasis of Peace, is a village that was jointly founded by Jews and Palestinian Arabs of Israeli citizenship who were seeking a way to reconcile differences between groups and approach life in a contested land in a balanced, sensible way. For over an hour, we had a frank discussion of life in Israel as an Arab, and the sense of displacement that residents of Neve Shalom feel in both Jewish and Arab communities. I encourage everyone to learn more about this truly progressive community at their website: http://wasns.org/              Tomorrow is a heavy day, with trips to both the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and the Har Herzel military cemetery. So, I believe now would be a good time to pack, since we're leaving Neve Shalom as soon as I learned what it was all about, and I'd like at least four hours of sleep tonight.

And you'd never know this sugary treat from Aroma is what Israelis call and Iced Coffee

I know white is in style for Yom Kippur, but I may have found my new Rosh Hashanah Kittle.

Not a great photo, but I managed to capture the edge of the Fuchsberg Center, AKA Beit Nativ.