Shabbat at YMG to Sunday at the DanPan

The first night of Chanukah

Greetings to my loyal readers, and happy holidays. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Festive Kwanza­— whatever floats your boat.
I apologize for not writing last night, a scenario due to an unfortunate circumstance that will be explained shortly.

I am currently writing on my laptop at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Jerusalem. There is wireless internet here, but we have not yet purchased the password to access the internet. And so, we wait. I write these entries on my computer, waiting until I once again have access to the internet, and an opportunity to publish my reflections on this upcoming week off. If I do not have the opportunity to get online until after the break, I hope you will forgive me. If not, oh well.

Yesterday was a very rainy Shabbat. The word “rainy” does not do the day justice. It poured all day, and all night. Davening was none too memorable. But the food was. No, not the regular food, silly; I’m talking about the cholent.

Cholent Bowl V, spiced with just the right amount of paprika, helped ward off the cold, even if the cholent was a bit soupy. My family enjoyed it, I think; my mom talked with Jason and Yehuda, while Matthew and Freddy amused themselves by trying to eradicate the fly population that lives in Jason’s room.

That afternoon we played this game called “The Settlers of Katan,” and I highly recommend it to those of you who like to play board games. It’s a bit tricky to explain, and though it’s easier to understand the rules with the board in sight, truly understanding the strategies and flow of the game is something I picked up only about halfway through. Here’s what I can tell you: the first one to ten points wins; the resources are wood, ore, brick, sheep, and grain; and “never trade with the person who is winning, especially Yehuda,” according to Micah (Yehuda was winning that game, and eventually won).

For dinner Saturday night, we ordered pizza from somewhere in Beit Shean. We tried one delivery place, who rudely accepted then even more rudely cancelled, then got another company to deliver eight pizzas (minimum for delivery to YMG), which tasted none too special. Still, it was memorable.

No wait. The night was memorable because the power went out in our room. I was eating a slice of pizza with my mom and Yishai when suddenly, with a bang!, the power in our room went out. I ran to Micah’s room to see if the outage was next door too; no, they were still watching “That 70’s Show.” We did not have power in the room until we left the next day. It was a cold sleep.

I suspect that it was Josh Tal, who left the room’s kettle plugged in after heating water for some tea. The kettle has been known to act up before, and the lack of power meant that I couldn’t write last night.

This morning we took a taxi from YMG to Jerusalem. I didn’t have my iPod to help me pass the time, since the power was out not only in my room, not only in my building, but in all the dorm buildings. The prevalent theory is that everyone ran their heaters all night because it was so cold, causing something to short circuit.

We are in Room 517 at the Dan Panorama, which is a suite. This may seem luxurious, but remember that we are going to have seven people in this room and the adjoining one. An upside is that all people eighteen and up have access to the Carmel Lounge, complete with television, magazines, constant hors d’oeuvres, and drinks, both soft and hard. Hopefully, there will be wireless internet as well.

We walked around Ben Yehuda street, stopping at Burger King (Freddy wants the King Kong toys) and for menorahs, both for use tonight and to put in the “goody bags,” bags we will give out to the guests.

For the first night of Chanukah, we went to the Shmeedas, who, if you remember, had me ship a jacket to them mere days after letting me have it for a few weeks. We lit candles (or candle, as it is only the first night), as Elchanan, showing a remarkable burst of energy, hopped up and down as he sang MaOz Tzur Yeshuati. We also lit our own candles in the back of the hotel lobby, and while I do get the whole Pirsumei Nissah (“publicizing the miracle”) aspect, I’m not sure how that works for the part about lighting in a window. Whatever.

Happy Holidays.