Sunday, August 24, 2008

Back up again...

Ok I'm not going to do that again. Bli neder. This time the blog stays.

So the first couple months in Jerusalem have been... have been what? Have been
Educational
Inspirational
Frustrating
Hot
Moving
Exhausting...
Among other things. Omri and I moved to Jerusalem (into our respective schools) then a few weeks later I was off on one trip, back to school, then off to staff another trip. The second trip just ended and I have a brief vacation before I'm back to school September 1st (which is also my 2 year anniversary with Omri!).

Here is a picture of Har Nof to give a small idea of the beauty of this neighborhood. The buildings are built up the side of a mountain, all in Jerusalem stone. The community is speckled with several playgrounds. The top of the hill is where Neve Yerushalayim and the super-frummies live, and as you go down the hill you start to see, progressively, more and more color choices in the residents' wardrobe, the velvet kippot start to mix with knit, and if you go far enough down you even can see... a few women in pants *gasp!*

Perhaps one of the few things more beautiful than Har Nof is the view from Har Nof. We face directly West and get to see the sun setting over the Jerusalem forest every night. It's breathtaking.

The Leadership Trip. The trip was phenominal. We were so lucky to get to meet, in person, Rabbi Grossman of Migdal Or. I can't imagine how anyone could be holier than this man. His humility, in the face of his outrageous degree of accomplishment, was astounding. This man began with an 18 child orphanage and now runs an entire TOWN with hundreds of thousands of kids whose parents couldn't afford to give them a good upbringing. The meeting left everybody speechless. He spoke of the miracles ("uncanny experiences" for the secular of heart) that allowed him to accomplish all he has and it really drove the point home that when you're doing the right thing, everything falls into place. You get help. But his ability to step up whenever he heard of a need was perhaps the most remarkable thing. And this theme was repeated over and over... I loved (and needed the experience of) meeting with people who were driven. They saw a need, a job, a calling, and up they got and went and got it done. No assessing the situation, no crunching numbers... they just did it. And it works out. If only we could apply this to every area of our life. Can you imagine? What kind of world this would be?

We had some more... unusual Leadership experiences. Camping out at the Shlomi Guest House. Learning to shoot handguns and Uzis at a gun range... my mother the pacifist didn't like the picture of me with the gun so here's a tamer one: me hitting the marks. But I do have to say, the pink Tshirt and headband and 12-year-old-looking-face were hilarious next to a big scary gun. But it was big and scary... my hands were trembling.

There's so much catch-up I should do, writing about Jerusalem so far, Legacy and Leadership... but instead I'm going to just try to commit to keeping this more up to date from here on. It's not really interesting anymore, what happened up to this point.

It's so difficult and fascinating to try and figure out what art means to the Torah and what Torah means to art. I said I came here to get some questions and figure out who I was and I can definitely see that happening. So. Many. Questions. I just wish I could get my hands on some artistic outlets here so that all these questions, issues, and beautiful concepts could materialize somehow.

It's great to be back in Jerusalem, in my bed, in my apartment. Omri and I had a great little date today. We went to the mall, talked ourselves silly, wandered, ate, and saw Mama Mia. Which was adorable and so much fun. Movies are such a form of therapy to me here. I never felt the need for them like I do now. I don't know if that's because I miss the States or because I'm not making any work of my own for the first time in my life. But either way, I'm finding new ways to love film which, in my eyes, is a bonus. And thank G-d for Hulu.com.

1 comment:

red said...

Yay! Can't wait to read more about your adventures. I'm so happy you have a blog too! Here's a link to mine: eatmywordsonline.blogspot.com

It's all about my jobhunt and foodie adventures in the city, with random extras thrown in to the mix. I hope you like it!

-Nikki

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