Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah- Together!
I realize I haven't written since Thursday, and that all the things I have done since then would have been lost in the annals of time had it not been for me stumbling upon an internet cafe on Ben Yehudah Street tonight. So, to fill you in on what I've been doing since my long Jerusalem Thursday:
Friday
Hung out a lot at the Weasleys, er, Schmeedas, since Shabbat was so close. Played basketball with 15-year-old Amitai, which is akin to "competing in a butt kicking contest against a one-legged man." I met three of the other four kids: Elisha, who is seventeen and not as loquacious as Amitai; Yehudit, who is married, pregnant, and lives in the Arab Quarter; and Moriah, who spent Shabbat working at a drug rehab center (Yaakov, the fourth, is in the army). Had Shabbat with the Schmeedas, going to the Bnei Akiva minyan which was, to my displeasure, Sefardic. Staying with the Schmeedas was Hilary's cousin Sherry (or was it Shelly?) and her husband George. On the way home, Elchanan made an interesting remark which went along the lines of "you can be with family and feel like a stranger, and you can be with friends and feel at home." He was talking about my having no family in Israel- at least, I think he was; he spoke in Hebrew.
Saturday
A lot of shuling, as is the Shabbat norm. Read my "Hitchhiker's" book and played backgammon, chess, and cards. After Shabbat, we visited Elchanan's sister in Ofra, a nearby settlement. Apart from tea in the Sukkah, it was quite uneventful. From there, we went to a Simchat Beit HaSho'evah party in Givat Zev. This was interesting, I guess, but not to me. It wasn't my kind of party at all.
It was people in black hats and coats, dancing in a twisted circle to a repeated tune played by the band (piano, trumpet, clarinet) clad in the same. It was interesting not for the activity or music, but for the people. The diversity of the people there was astounding, even if they were all wearing the same black: tall and short, young and old, different beard styles, different hats, straight hair, curly hair, blond, black, gray, and white hair, and even a black person in the traditional chassid garb. Very interesting. But still, not my type of party.
Sunday
A very long day, perhaps longer than my long Thursday. Davening at 8:00, which I guess is relatively late, and then I packed and did laundry before leaving for Jerusalem. I went to Ariel Hausman, who is a student at Yeshivat Ohr Sameach on Shimon HaTzadik Street, near Shmuel HaNavi Street (if that means anything to you). Walked to the Old City, or, as I will hereafter call it, The OC. Prayed mincha at the Kotel, and ran into the newly-arrived-for-Aliyah Baichman-Kass family in the Cardo (Trivia Fact #1: The word "Cardo" means "heart" in Latin, as it was the Roman marketplace in Aelina Capetolina. Trivia Fact #2: Aelina Capetolina is the ancient Latin name for Jerusalem. Trivia Fact #3: Whenever asked what the word Cardo means, I always say "marketplace" before realizing that I know the Latin prefix, as well as that I have been corrected on this error many times previously. Whew, long parenthetical). Then we walked back to his yeshiva for Hoshana Rabba.
Now I don't know if you know this, but the night of Hoshana Rabba is a night when some people stay up all night and learn Torah. So, being at a yeshiva, in Israel, on Hoshana Rabba, I did this. I went to a few lectures, some of them good, some of them esoteric, and one of them a bit funny. This rabbi told a funny yeshiva joke, but keep in mind that it is a yeshiva joke:
Person 1: Who was the real yeshiva student, Abraham or Choni Ha'Ma'agal?
Person 2: Abraham, of course, he toured all around Israel!
Person 1: Choni, because he fell asleep for 70 years!
Person 2: Ah yes, it had to been Choni- when he woke up and saw his chevruta wasn't there, he went back to sleep!
Person 3: It couldn't have been Abraham, because he invented shacharit!
Person 1: Who invited you here, Person 3?
Something like that. Again, it's a yeshiva joke.
So, I learned until 4:30 a.m., stopping only for a personal olive pizza at 3:30 a.m. At 4:30, we walked to the Kotel for early early minyan. I thought 5:45 was early! Unfortunately, I fell asleep at the Kotel because I was tired from all the learning. So, I took a cab back to the yeshiva.
Monday
Woke up around 11 and finished my davening. Then, I took a taxi
to the King Solomon hotel, where I have now stayed three times in eleven months (in November for my cousin's bar mitzvah, where we saw "Acts 4:10" written in glow-in-the-dark ink on the wall; and May, for March of the Living). Met up with my dad, and we rented a room. We went to the King David Hotel, and made dinner plans with Marty and Renee Lieberman (their son Daniel is at Resihit, and they have two daughters Janie and Nicole), my Uncle Avi's close friends who are in Israel. Walked to the Kotel for davening, which was quite nice. We ate Shmini Atzeret-Simchat Torah Dinner with them that evening. Had an interesting discussion with Renee about Americans keeping one or two days of the chag (see below). My Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Bigman, suggested that I keep one, 
and there are also Americans who are keeping two (we had a lecture at the yeshiva before we left). My real question, though, is one-and-a-half. I think one is okay, two is okay, if you have sources and a rabbinical authority to back it up. But isn't 1.5, while solving the halachic technicalities, just dodging the whole one vs. two issue? If you've read this far and have an opinion, let me know.
Tuesday
This is two holidays, Shmini Atzeret (praying for rain) and Simchat Torah (finishing and then restarting the Torah) wrapped up in one. Some Americans in Israel keep one, but I am keeping two, which is also valid, in some circles. I guess it depends who you ask. Walked around hotels in the King David area to look into hotel reservations for Matthew's December bar mitzvah. While walking, we ran into the tenth grade Shalhevet trip, staying at the Prima Kings Royale. Ate
lunch with them, reminscing over my tenth grade trip three years ago, and catching up with chaperones Eddie "The Ed" Friedman and Roen "Shalhevet Art Teacher" Salem. It was nice, even if it was fish and chips (in Israel???). Went to the room and read the 12th Lemony Snicket book. Interesting, but odd. And after chag, came to Ben Yehudah Street. And after buying a Goofy kippah, I am now writing. So that's all for now. More soon, I hope.
Wait, one last thing:
Birthday time! Happy birthday to my cousin, Jordan Fattal (October 25th), and to Rochelle Emert (October 21st, I think, but then again, she hasn't written to me!) So:
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to Rochelle and Jordan,
Happy Birthday to you!
Friday
Hung out a lot at the Weasleys, er, Schmeedas, since Shabbat was so close. Played basketball with 15-year-old Amitai, which is akin to "competing in a butt kicking contest against a one-legged man." I met three of the other four kids: Elisha, who is seventeen and not as loquacious as Amitai; Yehudit, who is married, pregnant, and lives in the Arab Quarter; and Moriah, who spent Shabbat working at a drug rehab center (Yaakov, the fourth, is in the army). Had Shabbat with the Schmeedas, going to the Bnei Akiva minyan which was, to my displeasure, Sefardic. Staying with the Schmeedas was Hilary's cousin Sherry (or was it Shelly?) and her husband George. On the way home, Elchanan made an interesting remark which went along the lines of "you can be with family and feel like a stranger, and you can be with friends and feel at home." He was talking about my having no family in Israel- at least, I think he was; he spoke in Hebrew.
Saturday
A lot of shuling, as is the Shabbat norm. Read my "Hitchhiker's" book and played backgammon, chess, and cards. After Shabbat, we visited Elchanan's sister in Ofra, a nearby settlement. Apart from tea in the Sukkah, it was quite uneventful. From there, we went to a Simchat Beit HaSho'evah party in Givat Zev. This was interesting, I guess, but not to me. It wasn't my kind of party at all.
It was people in black hats and coats, dancing in a twisted circle to a repeated tune played by the band (piano, trumpet, clarinet) clad in the same. It was interesting not for the activity or music, but for the people. The diversity of the people there was astounding, even if they were all wearing the same black: tall and short, young and old, different beard styles, different hats, straight hair, curly hair, blond, black, gray, and white hair, and even a black person in the traditional chassid garb. Very interesting. But still, not my type of party.Sunday
A very long day, perhaps longer than my long Thursday. Davening at 8:00, which I guess is relatively late, and then I packed and did laundry before leaving for Jerusalem. I went to Ariel Hausman, who is a student at Yeshivat Ohr Sameach on Shimon HaTzadik Street, near Shmuel HaNavi Street (if that means anything to you). Walked to the Old City, or, as I will hereafter call it, The OC. Prayed mincha at the Kotel, and ran into the newly-arrived-for-Aliyah Baichman-Kass family in the Cardo (Trivia Fact #1: The word "Cardo" means "heart" in Latin, as it was the Roman marketplace in Aelina Capetolina. Trivia Fact #2: Aelina Capetolina is the ancient Latin name for Jerusalem. Trivia Fact #3: Whenever asked what the word Cardo means, I always say "marketplace" before realizing that I know the Latin prefix, as well as that I have been corrected on this error many times previously. Whew, long parenthetical). Then we walked back to his yeshiva for Hoshana Rabba.
Now I don't know if you know this, but the night of Hoshana Rabba is a night when some people stay up all night and learn Torah. So, being at a yeshiva, in Israel, on Hoshana Rabba, I did this. I went to a few lectures, some of them good, some of them esoteric, and one of them a bit funny. This rabbi told a funny yeshiva joke, but keep in mind that it is a yeshiva joke:
Person 1: Who was the real yeshiva student, Abraham or Choni Ha'Ma'agal?
Person 2: Abraham, of course, he toured all around Israel!
Person 1: Choni, because he fell asleep for 70 years!
Person 2: Ah yes, it had to been Choni- when he woke up and saw his chevruta wasn't there, he went back to sleep!
Person 3: It couldn't have been Abraham, because he invented shacharit!
Person 1: Who invited you here, Person 3?
Something like that. Again, it's a yeshiva joke.
So, I learned until 4:30 a.m., stopping only for a personal olive pizza at 3:30 a.m. At 4:30, we walked to the Kotel for early early minyan. I thought 5:45 was early! Unfortunately, I fell asleep at the Kotel because I was tired from all the learning. So, I took a cab back to the yeshiva.
Monday
Woke up around 11 and finished my davening. Then, I took a taxi
to the King Solomon hotel, where I have now stayed three times in eleven months (in November for my cousin's bar mitzvah, where we saw "Acts 4:10" written in glow-in-the-dark ink on the wall; and May, for March of the Living). Met up with my dad, and we rented a room. We went to the King David Hotel, and made dinner plans with Marty and Renee Lieberman (their son Daniel is at Resihit, and they have two daughters Janie and Nicole), my Uncle Avi's close friends who are in Israel. Walked to the Kotel for davening, which was quite nice. We ate Shmini Atzeret-Simchat Torah Dinner with them that evening. Had an interesting discussion with Renee about Americans keeping one or two days of the chag (see below). My Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Bigman, suggested that I keep one, 
and there are also Americans who are keeping two (we had a lecture at the yeshiva before we left). My real question, though, is one-and-a-half. I think one is okay, two is okay, if you have sources and a rabbinical authority to back it up. But isn't 1.5, while solving the halachic technicalities, just dodging the whole one vs. two issue? If you've read this far and have an opinion, let me know.Tuesday
This is two holidays, Shmini Atzeret (praying for rain) and Simchat Torah (finishing and then restarting the Torah) wrapped up in one. Some Americans in Israel keep one, but I am keeping two, which is also valid, in some circles. I guess it depends who you ask. Walked around hotels in the King David area to look into hotel reservations for Matthew's December bar mitzvah. While walking, we ran into the tenth grade Shalhevet trip, staying at the Prima Kings Royale. Ate
lunch with them, reminscing over my tenth grade trip three years ago, and catching up with chaperones Eddie "The Ed" Friedman and Roen "Shalhevet Art Teacher" Salem. It was nice, even if it was fish and chips (in Israel???). Went to the room and read the 12th Lemony Snicket book. Interesting, but odd. And after chag, came to Ben Yehudah Street. And after buying a Goofy kippah, I am now writing. So that's all for now. More soon, I hope.Wait, one last thing:
Birthday time! Happy birthday to my cousin, Jordan Fattal (October 25th), and to Rochelle Emert (October 21st, I think, but then again, she hasn't written to me!) So:
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to Rochelle and Jordan,
Happy Birthday to you!
posted by Yoni Bain | 11:15 AM
2 Comments:
Yoni, I cant believe you remembered my birthday! I havent written because colleges are eating me alive and I am electronically inept. Josh Tabak just taught me how to post a comment. I miss you terribly. I really could use soem of your age-old advice and side-splitting comics. Keep bloggin', I'll keep readin'!
Hi Yoni,
I've sent you two e-mails and haven't received a response. I'm wondering if you got them or if they're rotting in cyberspace.
Love the blog. The last posting, about your community service, was truly touching. Amazing what one can learn if one is open to experience. We should all be grateful for the gifts we have instead of grumbling about what we don't have. I hope you will continue to work with this child --he needs you.
Post a Comment
<< Home