Americans!: Ilan and Josh
Lastly, my two American roommates:
Name: Ilan Caplan
DOB: March 24, 1987
From: Caldwell, New Jersey
High School: Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School
College: Harvard
Favorite flavor of pie: Cutie
In his own words:
“It is sides of life I’ve never seen before in the guise of everything I’ve already done and would like to move on from. Things are getting more exciting. Chaos reigns alongside boredom, and slowly the two merge into contentment, almost. Lots to talk, to do, to become.”
Name: Josh Tal
DOB: August 26, 1987
From: Los Angeles, California
High School: YOLA (formerly YULA)
College: McGill
Favorite kitchen appliance: Egg cutter: giving hope to eggs and oval-shaped objects everywhere
In his own words:
“I have no sorts of imagination when it comes to understanding the beginnings of the other’s frames of mind. I would not let Yoni’s constant pessimism damper the beautiful rays of light as they radiate from an unexpected mountain on the ridge of Emek Yizrael and into the minds and souls of myself and the world around me. I can’t help but feeling this place will make a difference. They will pull the wool out from our eyes to clarify as to what Judaism is and what a beautiful world it cultivates. Your eyebrow lifts, your nose scrunches slightly to the left, your heart palpitates at the pace of a marathon runner’s breath, a controlled breath keeping back the onset of a dying grasp of life. And you ask, just as a young lad peeks out at the last page of his novel to be certain his hero lives. You ask, ‘What is this clarity? What is the heart of the storm?!’…
The answer lies, not in the stringencies, nor in the leniencies, but in the system and its grasp for the infinite.”
These are the two people I knew before I got here. Ilan I met on Genesis, a summer program at Brandeis University in the summer of 2004 (note: Ezra went there the previous year). We were roommates there too. Well, actually, here Ilan is sleeping on the roof, at least for now, while the weather allows it. He is very wise, going to Harvard and all; he knows many Jewish things, and wears a beret. His father is a cantor, so Ilan is very musical. He has a great sense of humor (we did improv at Genesis, though doing the same here, in Hebrew, might take a little time).
Josh I knew from YOLA, my archrival school. I knew him when he came to Shalhevet in senior year (he was dating Amanda Gelb at the time). He is an optimist, but sleeps in the room, unlike Ilan. We both enjoy sleeping late and the air conditioner (two things Ilan dislikes, which may explain the whole roof thing). He is the messy one in the room; his belongings are dispersed farther than the Ten Lost Tribes, or something like that. He likes learning, but we have different styles; we found that out when he tried for an hour to explain one sentence to me in gmara. Needless to say, we are no longer gmara chevrutas.
Oh, and one more thing: Ilan and Josh are, along with me, the Founding Members (along with Honorary Members Micah and Jammin') of
ALEPH DELTA MAO.
More on that later.
For now, I'm exhausted from all those bios. I'm currently at the Averick-Rosenfeld house for Shabbat in Jerusalem. Shabbat Shalom, for now.
Name: Ilan CaplanDOB: March 24, 1987
From: Caldwell, New Jersey
High School: Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School
College: Harvard
Favorite flavor of pie: Cutie
In his own words:
“It is sides of life I’ve never seen before in the guise of everything I’ve already done and would like to move on from. Things are getting more exciting. Chaos reigns alongside boredom, and slowly the two merge into contentment, almost. Lots to talk, to do, to become.”
Name: Josh Tal
DOB: August 26, 1987
From: Los Angeles, California
High School: YOLA (formerly YULA)
College: McGill
Favorite kitchen appliance: Egg cutter: giving hope to eggs and oval-shaped objects everywhere
In his own words:
“I have no sorts of imagination when it comes to understanding the beginnings of the other’s frames of mind. I would not let Yoni’s constant pessimism damper the beautiful rays of light as they radiate from an unexpected mountain on the ridge of Emek Yizrael and into the minds and souls of myself and the world around me. I can’t help but feeling this place will make a difference. They will pull the wool out from our eyes to clarify as to what Judaism is and what a beautiful world it cultivates. Your eyebrow lifts, your nose scrunches slightly to the left, your heart palpitates at the pace of a marathon runner’s breath, a controlled breath keeping back the onset of a dying grasp of life. And you ask, just as a young lad peeks out at the last page of his novel to be certain his hero lives. You ask, ‘What is this clarity? What is the heart of the storm?!’…
The answer lies, not in the stringencies, nor in the leniencies, but in the system and its grasp for the infinite.”
These are the two people I knew before I got here. Ilan I met on Genesis, a summer program at Brandeis University in the summer of 2004 (note: Ezra went there the previous year). We were roommates there too. Well, actually, here Ilan is sleeping on the roof, at least for now, while the weather allows it. He is very wise, going to Harvard and all; he knows many Jewish things, and wears a beret. His father is a cantor, so Ilan is very musical. He has a great sense of humor (we did improv at Genesis, though doing the same here, in Hebrew, might take a little time).
Josh I knew from YOLA, my archrival school. I knew him when he came to Shalhevet in senior year (he was dating Amanda Gelb at the time). He is an optimist, but sleeps in the room, unlike Ilan. We both enjoy sleeping late and the air conditioner (two things Ilan dislikes, which may explain the whole roof thing). He is the messy one in the room; his belongings are dispersed farther than the Ten Lost Tribes, or something like that. He likes learning, but we have different styles; we found that out when he tried for an hour to explain one sentence to me in gmara. Needless to say, we are no longer gmara chevrutas.
Oh, and one more thing: Ilan and Josh are, along with me, the Founding Members (along with Honorary Members Micah and Jammin') of
ALEPH DELTA MAO.
More on that later.
For now, I'm exhausted from all those bios. I'm currently at the Averick-Rosenfeld house for Shabbat in Jerusalem. Shabbat Shalom, for now.
posted by Yoni Bain | 6:17 AM
2 Comments:
Hi Yoni, I'm finally able to check your blog from my cousin's house! Unfortunately, this is probably the last time I'll be able to do so, as I really don't think it's appropriate for me to be going on the internet anymore. Besides, it's hard to stroke my payos while I type, and it's a hard habit to quit. But nice blog. And tell any girls we know hi for me-- I'm not really talking to them, especially until I know if my shidduch is going through or not.
Alright, call me if you want to learn some gemara, or even just a perek of Rambam or two!
-Leor
P.S. That Josh guy looks cute. Why don't you bring him along when we learn that gemara?
Whoops, meant to post that under your more recent post. And to clarify, I'm just kidding about the last part, because Josh Tall is a friend of mine too, and that's a funny picture of him.
About the rest, though, I'm entirely serious.
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