Zichron, Cholent, and the Mother of all Toranut

Most of my American friends at their American yeshivot often set off for an exciting adventure, to Eilat or the Galilee or the Dead Sea. I, on the other hand, live on one of their tiyulim. So it was quite refreshing when the Americans at YMG took a day off to explore the great country of Israel.

We went to Zichron Ya'akov, perhaps most famous for its vineyards. However, we chose not to visit the winery, but rather, two museums. Perhaps the prospect of museums is why most of the Americans slept in. Of the thirteen foreigners, only five attended the tiyul: Ezra, Benjamin, DMD, Yehuda, and myself. Additionally, Rav Yossi came along as our guide.

After stopping in a 118-year old synagogue in the middle of town, where a rabbi who sounded like Rav Bigman was giving a shiur, we walked to the First Aliyah Museum. We learned of the trials of the first wave of immigrants to what was then Palestine. The museum used television screens at regular intervals to show the continuing story of an immigrating family, which we thought a fictional. The last station, however, revealed that "Ruthie" is now an old lady and "David" is an old man. Nevertheless, it still felt fake to me. My suspicions were confirmed when, in the credits, it had actors playing the roles of "Old Ruthie" and "Old David."

The next museum we saw was the Aharonson family museum. Everything about it seemed familiar, as I had been there a few times previously, but I could not remember what the place memorialized. It all came back to me, right before I saw the next exhibit or the next scene in the movie. I said to myself "this is where she shoots herself" or "his corpse became a palm tree that they discovered years later," and I was right. Basically, the museum preserves the story of the Aharonson family, who led by their brother Aharon (that's right, Aharon Aharonson!) established a pro-British spy group, NILI, before the British occupation of then-Palestine before World War I.

We headed back to the yeshiva after a shawarma in downtown Zichron (the yeshiva paid for the museums and the food!), and after the long van ride back to the kibbutz, prepared for shabbat. That was harder than you think, especially as we had not one, not two, but three guests in our room for shabbat. Yes, Ilan's friends Gaby and Mike, and Josh's friend Ben, took up our floorspace, defiled our shower, and were otherwise quite enjoyable as guests.

Shabbat was not bad. I cannot believe I have only two more In Shabbats before Pesach break, and since one of them is shabbat before Purim, when all the holiday festivities occur, I only have one regular shabbat left.

The yeshiva prayed with the kibbutz as part of "Kibbutz and Yeshiva Shabbat." Since we prayed in the synagogue and not in the Beit Midrash, there was some concern that the students would not be able to infuse the normal dose of spirituality and singing into the prayers. Fortunately for all, I came to the rescue. During the rendition of Anim Zmirot, the concluding hymn that leads straight into dancing at the yeshiva, I put my arm around Zev and started swaying to the music. Ilan came and joined us. Then Yonadav and Eitan came too. In a matter of minutes, the synagogue was a-rockin' with Jewish dancing and singing, most of it not off-key.

I did not go to the post-davenning Dvar Torah by Rav Meir, as I had toranut. Originally, I was slated for Friday afternoon, but since I was on the tiyul, I arranged to switch with someone. Turned out to be a mistake. First, I thought that the toranut for shabbat morning was only to set the tables. Nope; duties also include serving food. And then, when I thought I was done, clean-up was added, so that took about 45 minutes of rest time. And finally, as we finished cleaning, Head Toran Neta revealed that we also had to clear for guests of the kibbutz, eating in an adjacent room. Another half-hour. After that, I don't think I should have to be toran until after Pesach.

And now, the shabbat is now over. We had Cholent Bowl VIII, which was not as tasty as VII. I also need to confirm that we have not misnumbered, and that this is not actaully VII. And for some reason, I am feeling gassy, even though there are no beans in our cholent.

For now, a challenge. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to match the following yeshiva students with their Settlers of Catan nicknames (five points).

1. Yoni Bain
2. Jason Ast
3. Micah Koplow
4. Eitan Berkovitz
5. Yehuda Lerea
6. Yitzchak Brody

a. White Rabbit
b. The Count
c. Pavarotti
d. GP
e. Goofy
f. Brodo
Do not ask why. You cannot understand. Just guess. That is all.

End communication.