The concept that the weekend starts on Thursday night is not a new one to me since last year at Arizona I made sure not to have class on Friday. So as soon as my last class concluded at 6pm I jumped for joy and made my way back to my place to get psyched. Mandy and her girlfriends came to visit and we began with dinner at the local pizza shop that I love. It is literally a 2 minute walk out of the Cfar and I know the owner now since I have gone so much. He makes everything fresh in the morning and you can taste the difference. They loved the fact that I spoke Hebrew with him since they are just learning it and it is a novelty. I had to show them a great time so we began the night at a local party in the Village that actually transitioned into another party in the next building. It was crazy how we all just migrated like a flock of geese. Eventually the “pre-party” finished itself and it was time to go out into the city. I took them to my old stomping ground Triple Bar that has changed its name yet again. We went in with a large group so I got all the girls in for free after talking to the bouncer in Hebrew. It’s a lot of fun there since it is on a rooftop and there is a bar and a dance floor. The girls laughed a little when I told them that this was the dance club since apparently in Tel Aviv the dance clubs are huge with 300 people not our normal crowd of 75. They had fun though they said and the next morning they left with smiles and assuring me that I had a place to stay if I ever needed it.
I decided to spend this Shabbat downtown since I was invited to dinner at Josh Goldberg’s place (Nativ 26) as well as invited to lunch at Rabbi Frank’s. Now the only question was where to stay so of course like a creature of habit I called up Arya Donay and asked to stay by him. I was in luck since they were coming back to Jerusalem and spending Shabbat at base. It was fate that I was there since I have not slept at Beit Nativ since I was there 2 years ago and guess which room Arya had. That’s right my old room and which bed did I get, of course the top bunk which was mine as well. It was scary funny how that worked out. I loved being there since I got to see everyone. Both Michally Lehat and Maddison Gan were there to hang out with. Jules Gutin and David Helfand were staying there for the weekend so we all went to Kol Rina together (I got to sit next to Jules on my right, a solider with a Tavor on my left, and a Chassid with a Strymel behind me…only in Israel). It was uplifting services that I truly cherished and then on to dinner. When I got there more friends came out of the woodwork. Tamar Rohatiner (Rothberg) along with Mordy Greenspan and Zack(Nativ 25). It was an amazing dinner with great company that really made me happy. I walked back to Beit Nativ to go to bed and actually get some sleep for once. Woke up the next day and made it to shul to see Josh Grob get an Aliyah(funny cause he is making aliyah now). Went with Rabbi Frank to visit an elderly British women who was just released from the Hospital so that Adam could make Kiddush for her(It was so elegant how she composed herself I am still amazing thinking about it). We then went to his house for lunch which was all vegetarian(loved that fact) and had a great time with his friends, neighbors, wife, and 3 kids. I ended the Shabbat with a walk to the Kotel with Tamar. We took our moments to appreciate what we have in this world. A nice walk back filled with discussion took us into the time of separation between Shabbat and mundane. I did havdallah to the beautiful Shabbat in the heart of Jerusalem and once again made my way back to Beit Nativ. I got to talking with Arya and he actually had some free time(rare). We went to grab some falafel. I have seen him a million times in LA and we know each other but this was the first time we actually had a personal conversation that I must say was special. It seemed like the perfect way to end my weekend.
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