Pesach in Israel

From my program director:

The Jewish Calendar-Passover in Israel

by Elana Glickman


This year you have the incredible opportunity to spend Pesach in Israel. You may have already noticed the holiday spirit taking over the country, as businesses conduct their major marketing campaigns and urge you to change your furniture/clothes/car in honor of the holiday, and supermarkets are packed with people loading up on supplies. People are talking about which cabinets they have cleaned for Passover. Everybody is wishing each other a חג שמח (happy holiday). Most Israelis celebrate a seder and prepare somewhat for the Chag. In Israel, work bonuses are given not in December but before Pesach and the High Holidays. You may have already heard talk at your workplaces of “we’ll deal with it after Pesach”. And Passover itself is especially beautiful in Israel. Many offices close for the week and the country is filled with families traveling, vacationing and taking tiyulim. In ancient times, the main mitzvah and event of Passover was the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb in Jerusalem, and all the Jews would travel from all over Israel to spend Pesach in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. In commemoration of this עלייה לרגל (the name given to the Jews’ pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem three times a year- Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot), Jews today come from all over Israel and the Diaspora to Jerusalem on Pesach. The Old City has many special events to honor this (such as a communal Priestly blessing at the Kotel) and usually a big sign welcoming the “olim leregel”(pilgrims). For those of you leaving the country for Pesach, you are truly missing out on a once in a lifetime experience!


This is all part of living in a country where the Jewish Holidays are the main calendar rhythm of the year, as opposed to living as the minority, which is the case in our Diaspora countries of origin. And of course, you are not just living in a Jewish State but in a country that is inextricably tied to ancient Jewish life, laws, custom and history and that encompasses eternal Jewish hopes and yearning.


Passover itself contains many important and significant Jewish concepts. Redemption, personal Divine intervention in Jewish history, freedom, Divine reward and punishment, the creation of the Jewish people as a nation holy unto G-d- are just but a few of the grand concepts learned from Passover. The laws and customs surrounding Passover are many, and justice cannot be done to the concepts or the laws in a brief forum such as this. Just because one can’t cover it all doesn’t mean we shouldn’t learn anything, so with that in mind, below are two brief thoughts about Passover.


Matzah- As you bite into the hard, crunchy, difficult to digest and not so filling substance and think to yourself, why on earth do we do this year after year? Remember the following: leaven (which rises) represents haughtiness, and the evil inclination. Matzah, the bread of “poverty” represents humility and is called the “bread of faith” as fulfilling the mitzvah and eating the matzah that represents the exodus from Egypt instills and increases one’s faith. This is why we work so hard to rid our homes of any leaven, as we try to weed out arrogance from our lives.


Like all Jewish concepts the exodus from Egypt represents something eternal that we can tap into even today. Thousands of year ago we left מצרים (the physical land of Egypt), and every year on this day we have the potential and injunction to leave our own personal מצרים. The Hagaddah states חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאלו הוא יצא ממצרים בכל דר ודר , in every generation one must see himself as if he had personally been redeemed from Egypt. How is this possible? מצרים in Hebrew is the same word as מיצרים – narrow straits(it is spelled exactly the same way, just with different vowels) Egypt, the land of our slavery, represents constriction and narrowness (מיצרים from the root צר- narrow). (The Hebrew language, a.k.a. Holy Tongue is incredible- nothing is coincidental- Egypt is called מצרים because narrowness and constriction is the essence of what Egypt represents conceptually. Note we are not talking about the modern day country but the paradigm of the nation of Egypt in Jewish mystical thought). Just as we were redeemed from physical slavery in Egypt on Passover night, each year we can be redeemed from personal and spiritual slavery on Pesach night. This year, let us not only commemorate leaving ancient Egypt, but let us each try to leave our own personal narrowness as we rise above our limitations, go beyond our usual selves, break free from whatever is always holding us back from reaching our personal greatness and potential, and experience the greatest gift of all- true freedom.


חג כשר ושמח- a happy and Kosher Passover to all!

I'm very excited about spending Passover in Israel! Like we say every year "Next year in Jerusalem", this year I am in Jerusalem! It's extremely special.

Shabbat in Jerusalem and Drinking on the Job

This past Shabbat was my first Shabbat in Jerusalem with no planned group activities. Leora, Rose, and I went to the Old City on Friday afternoon. We walked briefly through the Christian Quarter (my first time there!) and then went to the Kotel. After waiting for the bus back home for half an hour, we started freaking out because we knew that we had missed the last bus before Shabbat. Buses stop running really early on Shabbat--about 4:30. We ended up just taking a cab and we actually got a friendly English speaking cab driver who didn't rip us off! My roommates and I heard of this man who does Jewish student outreach at Hebrew University. He finds students free Shabbat meals, plans trips, etc. I have heard he is a crazy man, but for those of us with no means of income we'll take any free meal! So Friday night we went to the student center and had dinner with about 50 other young people from all over. The rabbi who officiated was a hard core young Haredi guy. His peyes were swinging and his body was swaying when he chanted the blessings! He was a Ba'al T'Chuva Jew, meaning he grew up secular and then became frum, or ultra religious. He then talked to us about when he decided to become religious and about the Torah. Interesting stuff. Saturday afternoon I just went with 6 friends from my program to a young American couple's house who are in Israel for six months. We had a delicious meal and argued politics among other things!
Today was my best day at work so far. I actually had a lot of work to do (stayed late and didn't even have time for facebook!). I was doing research for clients, media intel (sounds cool!), etc. Still not the most interesting stuff, but it's better than spreadsheets! Then my office today had a Passover party type thing. They supposedly do this twice a year--before Passover and before Rosh Hashanah. One of the girls gave us an really interesting lecture on Italian hagaddahs from the 17th and 19th centuries, and then one of the guys put together a PowerPoint presentation on a "Ruder Finn Hagaddah." It included, "Why is Ruder Finn Israel different than all the other Ruder Finn offices?", what the 4 sons ask about Ruder Finn, the "10 Plagues of RFI." It was very cute. I didn't get all the jokes since I had only been there a week and half but it was funny. We then all had wine (!) and they brought in lunch (bagels and tuna, veggies, muffins) for us all. All the employees got gifts and they gave me a bottle of wine. So it was very nice.
More observations about Israelis:
-When I'm out running people do not move out of the way for me. Whether they're walking or standing I have to go around them!
-Cashiers plop your change down on the counter. I don't think one cashier has handed me my change yet! Customer service is seriously lacking in this country!
But I know I can't take any of this personal..it's just the way Israelis are!!
Thursday the whole group is going to Haifa which I'm excited about. And starting next Wednesday I have the entire Passover holiday off. I'm going with a few of the girls to Tiberias, a city near the Knerret (or Sea of Galillee) towards the end of Passover break.

First week of work and running in Jerusalem!

I just got back from an amazing run. I ran to Hebrew University, which is like half a mile away from where I live. The whole campus is completely enclosed by large gates (which I am starting to get used to now) and everyone who enters needs to go through security. So instead I ran on the outskirts of the campus and stumbled upon a beautiful little walking/jogging path (at least that's what it looked like) surrounded by trees. I was meters away from the West Bank wall, and I could see an Arab neighborhood spread out below me. I was so close to the Old City that I felt like I was practically on top of it. It was the best view of the Dome of the Rock I have seen thus far. Even with my loud music on, I could very clearly hear the Muslim call to prayer. For a girl who is used to running on the streets of West Wind in El Paso, Texas, it is hard to find words to accurately describe this! I'm afraid that no matter how many times I run this route and stare at this view, I will never be able to fully take it in and absorb it. This path continued down, but as there was no one around and I didn't know where the path led, and since I was so close to the West Bank I was too afraid to continue down so I cut through back to the edge of Hebrew University. It's such a shame that I have any need at all to be fearful in such a beautiful location. It's incredibly frustrating.
My first week of work was relatively uneventful. I have mostly just been doing media lists in Excel--creating lists, updating them, cleaning them up, etc. It's unbelievable boring. But I do feel like I have already learned quite a few things and have at least an idea of what exactly PR firms do. After 3 months I hope I will know whether this is something I want to pursue or not. The office is so quiet..for the most part everyone just sits at their desk doing their own thing. Everyone in my office is nice enough, just no one terribly exciting. I'm not used to sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day, so after about 4-5 hours my brain just kind of shuts down and my eyes start to blur! It will take some getting used to. I know there is much more to PR than this, so I'm hoping it starts getting better. There are two other interns, which is nice for me, but they only work 15 hours a week as they are also taking classes. But on the plus side, I completely have the bus route down to and from work. :)
Rose is coming into Jerusalem for the weekend to stay with us. We are going to the Old City and the Kotel (Western Wall) Saturday morning/afternoon. I have never been there on Shabbat so I'm quite excited. We also scored a free Shabbat meal with an ultra Orthodox, Haredi family in the Old City, so that should be quite interesting!!
I have my mailing address:
Arielle Kaplan
#6413
Students Village
2, Lohame'y Hageta'ot St.
French Hill
Jerusalem Israel
97880
I would love to receive letters if anyone wants to write to me!

First few days in Jerusalem

So of course I got on the wrong bus going home from work yesterday. The bus system in Israel is so confusing! There are so many buses. I would probably get lost on the bus system in El Paso, so navigating my way through the bus system in a foreign country has proven quite challenging to me! But it was not too bad--I eventually found my way home! I went to the Jerusalem shuk with 3 friends from the program. The shuk is such an interesting place--tons of people jostling and yelling, eating and shopping. It is probably a madhouse there on Friday mornings and afternoons. The most interesting thing today was witnessing a group of Breslov men dancing. Breslov is a a branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism. Its adherents strive to develop an intense, joyous relationship with God and receive guidance toward this goal from the teachings of Rebbe Nachman. the Breslov approach places great emphasis on serving God through the sincerity of the heart, with much joy and living life as intensely as possible. Its Hasidim see Torah life as the means to a joyful existence, and their approach to worship is very personalized and emotional, with much clapping, singing, and dancing. (Thank you Wikipedia!) So today they had loud music playing and they are dancing frantically on top of their van and in the street! Just imagine these men with funny looking yarmulkas (they look like mini beanies), long payot, and beards dancing as though they were in a club, in the middle of downtown Jerusalem! Cars and buses are all around them and people were weaving in and out. It looked almost exactly like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQjGRjDdHWo
Jerusalem is so unique. In Tel Aviv everyone pretty much dressed like Americans--in 3 weeks I can count on one hand the number of Hasids or Ultra-Orthodox I saw. In Jerusalem they are the majority. I am definitely out of place wearing pants or jeans--most of the women are in long skirts.
Israelis are also very casual in the workplace. At Ruder Finn, the girls don't wear heels (you were right Bubby)--they wear boots (like Uggs) and the men wear khakis and just a button down shirt or sweater. No ties or jackets. In the US at a prestigious public relations firm I'm pretty sure it would be suits, or at least ties. Most of my peers on the program can wear jeans to work.
I am living in an amazing location. I went for a run today and could very clearly see the Dome of the Rock from many vantage points throughout my run. Surreal.

Moving to Jerusalem and First Day on Job

We moved into our apartments in Jerusalem last night. We are living in a student village that is connected to Hebrew University. It is a large, modern complex (was built few years ago). The apartment is really cute--nice kitchen, common area with sofa and chairs, 2 bathrooms, and one shower. And best of all--we all have our own bedrooms! The bedrooms are all identical--large desk, bed, and closet. And a surprisingly large amount of storage space. I am living with two girls (Leora and Ariella-my roommates from Tel Aviv) and two boys (Gabe and Lawrence). There is a grocery store right down the street, which is definitely convenient. Apparently I am living in far East Jerusalem (right next to the Green Line!) They told us it is a nice area to go jogging in, but to be careful because we may accidently jog into Arab neighborhoods!! But the security there is extensive. Student picture IDs were printed up for us, and we must show them to the guards everytime we enter the complex. So I'm happy with my accomodations and rooming situation. There is supposedly a gym very close by, so I hope to find it and join if it isn't too expensive (but then again it's Israel, so I'm sure it will be pretty steep!)
Today was my first day of work. Is actually, because I am still here and pretty much bored out of my mind! They work from 9-6 here, which is a really long day! I was basically just told to research their clients, and that is what I have been doing for the past 8 hours, but there is only so much research I can do at one time! They have pretty much left me alone the rest of the day! I heard that that is often the case in Israel--very laissez faire. People are kind of doing their own things--it's very quiet, and they seemed to go to lunch or not go to lunch whenever they want. I'm hoping they will start giving me specific tasks shortly, because this will get old very fast!! They all seem very nice though. And on the plus side, I found my way here with very little drama. It is only a few miles from where I live, and there is a bus station right outside of the dorms. Let's hope it goes smoothly on the way home! I will start buying a monthly bus pass (good for throughout Jerusalem at any time) and Ruder Finn is supposedly going to reimburse me.
Here's hoping my internship becomes a little more productive and interesting!

Weekend in the Negev

Our whole program spent Shabbat in the Negev desert, which is the large desert that comprises 68% of Israel, yet only a very small portion of the population lives there (less than 10%). Our first stop was visiting a bedouin settlement. Bedouins (who are Arabs) have traditionally been associated with a nomadic lifestyle that includes raising livestock. About 155,000 Bedouins live in the Negev Desert in Israel. They have almost no legal rights in Israeli society and often lack basic services (running water, electricity, garbage collection, schools, health clinics). The village we went to was basically a collection of tents made up of corrugated metal, steel, sheets and tarps. There were camels and donkeys roaming around freely. We talked to one Bedouin woman who is actually the exception in that she is studying at university. The living situation is so sad, and many Bedouins blame the Israeli government, although this woman had an interesting perspective in that she said she blames fellow Bedouins for not taking any initiative. She served us hot tea, and Bedouin hot tea is the best!! I stayed in a Bedouin tent on birthright, but that was actually more touristy, while this was the real deal.
We stayed on a kibbutz overlooking beautiful, dramatic, desert canyons. Other than the awesome canyons, the scenery in the Negev is very much like El Paso (minus the mountains) The place we stayed is actually the kibbutz David Ben-Gurion (one of founders of State of Israel and first prime minister) spent the last years of his life at. His grave was a two minute walk from our rooms. We went on two hikes, one of which including a beautiful waterfall in the middle of a parched desert! Very interesting. We had a fun world music workshop Saturday night with a small 3 person band and everyone drumming on big drums.
It was nice to get away from the city (we really were in the middle of nowhere) and share Shabbat with the whole group. I can't believe I have been here a full month already. We only have two more days of ulpan, and then on Tuesday the Jerusalem people (only 20 of us) are moving to Jerusalem. I will be sad to move away from the beach, but I'm excited to go to Jerusalem. Tel Aviv can really be like any city, but Jerusalem is so unique. There really is no other place like it.

Partying for Purim

Purim in Israel is practically an entire week of celebration. We started seeing people dressed up in the streets on Sunday. It really was like Halloween--everyone wearing random costumes. I went to a local conservative synagogue with three friends yesterday evening for a megillah reading. Then our entire program started partying on the roof of the apartment where most of them are living. We hung out there for a while, and when everyone was properly drunk (so as not to be able to distinguish between Mordechai and Haman of course!) we all went to Florentine, which is where the party is at in Tel Aviv on Purim. I think it is probably like Bourbon St. in New Orleans on Mardi Gras. It was quite a bit of a walk from the apartment, and when we got there it was absolute bedlam. Just walls of people crushing you from all sides. It was so crazy and claustrophobic that my friends and I decided to just leave. But Ariella and I got separated from everyone else, so we were wandering around drunk and lost for quite some time. It was not good! We finally found Rose and took a cab back home. Of course the cab driver ripped us off ridiculously. So it was quite an experience. I talked to an Israeli who was born and raised here and he said he always wanted to check out the Purim party on Florentine but never has! At least I can say now that I've been! Thank goodness we had the day off from ulpan today! Back to it tomorrow and then on Friday our whole program is leaving for the Negev, which I'm excited about. We'll be back Sunday evening.
It is hard for me to get used to all the smoking here. Israelis smoke like crazy. It is especially annoying when they're smoking around you when they're eating. They're not exactly considerate! I also find it interesting that none of the Americans in our group smoke, but practically all the foreigners (the French and South American) are chain smokers. I think it's because smoking in the US is no longer cool, while maybe it still is in the rest of the world.

Concerts and Tanning!

Last night our whole program went to an Idan Raichal concert in Jerusalem. He is one of the most famous singers/composers/producers in Israel. I had never heard of him, but my friends here from New York love him. He apparently has not hit it big in El Paso! It was a Masa event, which is the agency for long term Jewish programs. Masa has 150 programs and Career Israel is one of them. So there were about 2000 young Jewish people there from throughout the world. Even though I didn't know any of the songs and couldn't even understand them, it was a really fun concert!
Totally random event: I bumped into a guy from El Paso yesterday on the streets of Tel Aviv. I recognized this guy that walked past me, and we both stopped and did a double take. I was staring at him and he was staring at me, and I thought that I was going to make a complete idiot of myself because this was probably just some random Israeli. But I asked him if he was from El Paso and he said yes!! He goes to Temple Mt. Sinai, but he is a few years younger than me. So I don't really know him, but had met him a few times. Talk about it being a small world!
On Tuesday we went to a kibbutz and picked radishes for a charity organization. It was fun getting dirty and picking vegetables in the Israeli sun!
It is absolutely gorgeous here this weekend. Warm and sunny, so Rose and I went to the beach today, which was absolutely packed with people tanning and playing ping pong and volleyball. It could be a beach anywhere in the world. We plan on going back to the beach tomorrow.
I'm excited about Purim. It's like Halloween here..there are costume shops everywhere and all the stores have costume racks. I bought a bumblebee costume! We have a Purim party Monday night and then we have Tuesday completely off from ulpan to celebrate!

Crazy Israelis

The weather here has been pretty horrible since I got here. I think there have only been three days where it has not poured. I know Israel needs the rain very badly, but it is not fun getting stuck in it! The Israeli streets aren't designed for this kind of deluge, so there are puddles everywhere. I have still managed to run on the beach four times, which I absolutely love. It's just like any other beach--with people running, walking, and biking on the sand and boardwalk. I have noticed that older Israeli men prefer to wear short shorts!
Since ulpan and attempting to learn Hebrew, I have actually learned that I know much more Spanish than I thought I knew!!! Since I know really no Hebrew, I feel all of a sudden pretty good about my Spanish skills! Everything we learn in Hebrew, I can say in Spanish and I often fool around in class and speak Spanish. And Spanish seems so much easier compared with Hebrew!
Today in the shuck (market place) Rose (one of my closest friends here) and I were schmoozing at one of the kiosk type places (thats all the shuck is..a bunch of kiosks filled with fruits, vegetables, breads, candies, clothes, jewelry, etc). The man running that particular kiosk asked us if we were going to buy anything, and we said no. So he literally snarled at us to get away then. I thought he was joking and started to laugh, but he was dead serious! He told us again that we were a waste and to get away. Wow. Can you imagine a sales clerk saying that to people in America just because they didn't necessarily have plans to buy anything?! Israelis can be tough creatures.
I finally ate falafel for the first time since I've been here! It was delicious. I have also been eating a lot of hummus and this Israeli chocolate spread (like Nutella)! Many Americans would not be able to handle so much of what happens here in Israel. Americans are very OCD, while Israelis are so laid back about many things. For instance, dogs are everywhere here, and they often come into restaurants, stores, malls, etc with their owners! And mind..these are not seeing eye dogs. So it's definitely unsanitary but Israelis don't seem to care at all.
I got my ear cartilage (upper ear) pierced yesterday. I'm not quite sure why, but one of my other roommates wanted to get her nose pierced, so we went together and just did it!! It felt odd to be sitting in the room getting pierced in Israel! It looks pretty cool, it was only about $35, and I can take it out whenever I get tired of it!