Kibbutz, Tel Aviv, I can do it all

Let’s dive in right where I left off last week and that would be the exciting news that I have been waiting to share for a weeks. I had the honor and privilege to spend an incredible shabbat with my once and still amazing friend Jason Paul Teitelbaum. It was an epic journey to even get myself to his doorsteps. That Friday morning I had planned on going to visit Eric and Karen(family friends of joshy) with grob but it seemed that there was some issues and so I did not want to complicate things and instead make my way north. I went straight to the Shuk to pick up a few items for the weekend and ran into Dani Carrus ot say goodbye to her. To my surprise her younger brother Scott(who was my wheelnik this summer) was also there and I was able to see him and say hi. I had the clock winding down on me since it was already late and I had to make my way to Hadera. I utilized all forms of transportation as I ran through the streets to the tachnah, a bus to tel aviv, a train to hadera, and then a taxi to kibbutz Hamapil. I made it there with just about a half hour left before Shabbat(the taxi driver took me and another family so I had to go the long way through town). This whole time all I could think about was finally seeing JP after 2 years. It’s crazy to think that he has been in the army for this whole time while I have been back home at school. To save JP from embarrassment, let’s just say that it was a manly welcome and long time reunion. The Shabbat experience was not one of rituals but more of catching up and enjoying each other’s company. I will admit that I have missed my friend. I could not have asked for a better way to spend the weekend than that.

Now getting back to Jerusalem was a lot easier since many soldiers from the kibbutz were going back so I got a couple rides. When I was on my way to tel aviv I had some divine inspiration to see my newly acquainted friend Miri Kornfeld(apparently she knows my brother Elliot and of course loves him) We decided to meet up in tel aviv and grab some dinner. It was very lovely to get to know her a little better and I figured that since she is here for the semester also it could be the first of many get togethers. Afterwards I made it back to Jerusalem and met up with Judy who came back from spending Shabbat with Katya on her kibbutz. The entrie weeks seemed like nothing compared to the week before. It started off poorly since Jerusalem decided to start its monsoon season. For the first 3 days I felt locked up in my room since I could not face the elements right outside my door. Luckily for me, it began to simmer down midweek and we were able to get out and enjoy the city. To my pleasant surprise I received a call on Wednesday from an incredible friend in the army David Abraham. He told me he was in town for the night and would love to meet up. Of course I jumped at the chance to see him and met for dinner. Judy came along for the ride and apparently he had an entourage as well. My old neighbor Benji Davis was there since he is studying at tel aviv, Maddison Gan who went to Arizona with me and went on native with benji, Shosh who apparently went on nativ with david, and her friend Molly who is staffing TRY and was also a bogeret nativ. It was great to hang out with all of them since now there are now age gap lines that prevent people from hanging out with each other. It rocks to be able to go out with friends and relax for the evening here with no pressure and no worries about all the stupid things in life. It is amazing how this city releases you from all the shackles and bonds in life that weigh you down(I guess we learned something from our ancestors)

Now that the week is once more done, I still have no clue as to where time went. Hey its okay though since my journey has still just begun. I am now off to my cousin leah’s house again but this time I am bringing Kaylee along for the ride. I can’t wait to spend some quality time with her.

Where did the week go

So here is where things begin to blend. My first real week in Israel was incredible but the days blend together and time doesn’t seem to exist. After the excitement of Motzi Shabbat in Jerusalem, it was time to get situated. I went back to Beit Nativ to pick up my stuff and of course I had to stop in the offices to see JJ, Yossi, and David Keren. I had extensive chats with those 3 wonderful men. With Yossi I talked about life and how great it is to be back in Israel since Nativ. We even worked out a possible internship that I have to do for school working for him. David just gave me his always warm you are a great kid praise. Then the real time chunk was bitten when JJ and I got started. He is such an amazing man to me I cannot even begin to explain. He was the reason I went on Nativ and has looked after me ever since. I can talk to him about anything and he is always there to lend a hand in whatever way possible. As soon as I walked into his office he asked me to come spend Shabbat and dinner with him and of course I said we would find time. Unfortunately our conversation was cut short since he had a previous engagement with Shana Weitzen of all people. It was fine since I had to go meet up with people anyways. We said goodbye for now (I came back to see him 5 other days) and I left to taxi back to Har hatzofim to see Josh Grob. It was the sweetest embrace of friends that anyone could ask for. It seemed as though we had not seen each other in years but it was great to finally be together again. I dropped my stuff and we just spent the night at his place talking, laughing, catching up, and enjoying being with each other.

The entire week seemed like a wave of hanging out with old friends in a new setting. It seemed as though every day I was downtown meeting up with people. From Nativ I saw Dani Carrus, Adina Weissman, Jenny Levy, Lydia Schulman, Dan Schwartzman, Greta, and Elkana. I met a group of Nativ 28 kids through my friend Dan Berdugo and it is awesome how once you become a Boger of the program you can connect with any other Boger no matter when they went on it. We of course took over ben yehuda since it is so funny to people watch there. I am pretty sure that I ate more falafel this week then I have in the past year and a half. I went out to dinner with my cousins Kaylee and Devorah along with Irv and Mordechai. It was a really nice time since I don’t see them often in America so of course we made a point to do it in Israel. I went to the Biblical Zoo one day with Joshy, Judy, and my friend Michelle Miller from Arizona. It was an amazing day that took forever. We walked around the park with the spirits of our kid selves not worrying about anything (I suggest everyone do that a little more often). An unintentional great surprise was Thursday night while waiting for Elkana, I ran into Nadiv and Shoshana who I met staffing wheels for the past 2 years and are now Madrichim on Nativ. Then while talking them who else but Max Gan, Aaron leven, and David Helfand came into the room and each one of them had a smile across their face. The biggest shock though was to run into Meir landau (who looks identical to David now) along with his girlfriend, David, Yael, and Diane. Everyone looked happy and healthy. Coming back has shown me that my younger friends are growing up FAST.

The entire week has just been a blur of taking a bus downtown to see friends, hanging out for the day, enjoying the beauty of the day, and then coming back to the cfar to sleep. Each day has its memorable moments: bargaining at the Shuk, praying at the Kotel, waking up to the Jerusalem hills, or even just seeing old friends. I have had the best time ever this first week which of course was only to be expected but it seemed to blow my mind still. Now the weeks over, it is time for Shabbat…Can’t wait!!

Everyone and their mothers

So I left my last blog with the stunning arrival of me to Israel and my miraculous beat the clock taxi ride to my cousin Leah’s before Shabbat. Let me just say that there is a superstition in Judaism that one should not sleep through all of Shabbat since it is as if you are knocking on death’s door. Luckily I did not sleep all of it but after the wonderful Shabbat dinner and a little stroll through the city of Petach Tikvah, Judy and I were passed out at 9:00 Friday evening. A tranquil sleep overcame us and when our eyes opened the next day even though our internal clocks thought it to be around 10:00 in the morning the digital clock next to the bed displayed 3:00 in the afternoon. HOW THE HECK did we sleep for 18 hours. I believe that is another first in my life that I would not have on my bucket list. Getting up was a mix of grogginess and disbelief but we had to get up and eat breakfast lunch and dinner all at once, what a way to start my trip. As things settled down we let out Shabbat and tried to figure out our next plan, luckily we were going with the flow and no one was worried. We got into contact with some of our Nativ friends in Jerusalem and decided to meet up with them that night. After thanking Leah so much for letting us stay, we bid farewell and took our stuff to the bus stop. She made sure that I had to return next week since Ruben’s daughter just had a baby boy and the Brit was something I could not miss.

Coming to Jerusalem is an experience that ceases to amaze me every single time it happens. There is no other place in the world that brings people together like the holiest city in the world. Unfortunately for Judy and I, the bus was totally packed and we had to stand the entire time. Fortunate for me, there was a nice girl standing behind me wearing a purple American apparel jacket (it’s a dead giveaway that you are American). We got into a conversation and turns out she is Canadian. Then credit to Jewish geography, I found out that she goes to camp with my cousins Kaylee, Dari, and Nissa Kreitenberg. That would be the first connection made in Jerusalem to start the evening. Once arrived at the Tachanah Mercazit, everything came flooding back. The sights/smells/people it seemed as though I had never left. I was so ecstatic to be back in a place that had been so meaningful to me 2 years ago. With all my crap I needed a place to drop it off so I could go out and meet up with friends. Of course the first place that came to mind was Beit Nativ. It seems that the place that you once called home always leaves its door open for you. So to our old stomping grounds we trekked and to the infinite surprises that this city brings who would be walking out of the door as I roll up none other than the cutest younger brother I never had Aaron Leven. It was his last night before he went off to experience gadna for a week. Of course it was a sweet reunion that we kept short since he had places to go and people to see. After dropping our stuff down for the night, we headed to kikar tzion where all the action is. On the way we laughed and reminisced about all the epic nights we had that started off with the infamous walk through gan ha’atzmaut. Once on the main square that is the heart of downtown of course it was infested with American tourists visiting on Birthright (it is amazing that I no longer feel like an American tourist when I come back). Of course small world that it is I run into Evan and Julia from Arizona. They were on the Hillel trip and of course it was their last night. After catching up and having Judy patiently wait, we meet with the guests of the hour. Jessica Cooper and David Bocarsly come running to meet us. It was great to see them and we decided to just walk around and hang out in the surrounding area. It seemed like the world came together that night. After having a blast and staying up till who knows how late bed time came rolling around. I could not have asked for a better start to my Israel experience!!!

Leaving America

Let’s start with the beginning of the journey to get to the Holy land. It was fate that got me here since the wrath of nature was in full swing as my departure approached. On Wednesday January 6^th I was sitting in Scottie Friedland’s house enjoying the single digit degree weather when he warned me of a potential blizzard that was inbound for Chicago. I immediately got on the phone and called my airline. They said there was an inclimate weather warning and if I wanted to change my flight it needed to be done immediately. I jumped on the decision to leave a day early to Philadelphia so I could spend some time in the city but it was with the sadden heart of leaving Scottie and our igloo behind (that’s right I built and igloo for the first time in my life and it was awesome). So I packed my things up and had a smooth farewell from Chicago. I was taken to the airport by Scottie and Rita two amazing friends any person would be lucky enough to have. I had an easy enough time getting through security and waited for my flight that left around 8:00. I made it to Philly with smooth sailing and was greeted at the airport by the always happy Sarah Richman. She was gracious enough to not only pick me up but also allow me to spend the night at her house (what a comfy couch).

My last day in America was spent enjoying the sites of Philadelphia. Sarah and I took the train into center city and met up with some of her friends and of course the one and only Aaron Smerling. I got a walking tour of the excitement. From sneaking into city hall to seeing the largest TV screen at the Comcast center. It was a beautiful chilly day that really made me enjoy life. Wrapping up downtown at the huge farmers’ market area for some amazing ice cream named after Elmo (that’s for my wheelniks). I came back to get myself ready to leave the country for another extended period of time which seems to be a recurring theme now, how come I can’t just leave for like a week or something. As I make my way to the airport the radio is announcing that the horrible storm front that was in Chicago is coming towards Philly now. I could not catch a break, it seems like the forces of nature are upset that I am leaving. Luckily it was scheduled to hit the city until an hour after I was supposed to leave so as long as nothing delayed my departure I would make it alright. I spent the last hours of my time in America saying goodbye to people. I called my family and close friends to bid them farewell for a little while. Of course the last person I was talking to on the phone before my plane took off was Roxy. She assured me I would love my time here and it would be another journey of a lifetime. My plane took off right on schedule and come 10 hours later and no sleep I arrived in Tel Aviv. To be honest it was insane coming in for a landing to the country that changed my life. I was in total shock for the entire hour we were landing. As soon as I touched down the words of Hatikvah slipped out of my mouth as though G-d was helping me. I got off the plane and took in all the sights that I had not witnessed for 2 years. I got my luggage and waited for Judy Oziel to land as well so we could both travel together to my cousin Leah Gaber for Shabbat which was coming in way to fast.

What is there to say but it is amazing to be back here. It is the beginning of my next adventure in Israel. Nativ was amazing but seems like a far off memory that served its purpose and makes me smile and laugh. I cannot wait to see what is in store for me this time around. I hope that you are all ready and eager to embark on this journey with me. I am a little trepidatious but so ready for it to begin. Now I have 2 weeks to explore until Ulpan begins, so ready or not Israel here I am.