PURIM

The holiday of Purim is one that is brought to our tradition by the ancient rabbis and connects to the average college student in 1 big way. Let’s remember our ancestors’ suffrage by drinking so much that we forget. I realize that the halacha was established to drink wine to celebrate our triumph over annihilation but I don’t think the rabbis were talking to college students. To us any excuse to party will be taken and blown up to the max. Needless to say, Sunday night the city of Jerusalem was bumping to the tunes of grogers, screaming, and hip-hop. I began my adventure at the closest shul to campus Ramat Tzion in the French Hill. It was adorable to see people of all ages celebrating there; families, elderly, children, students, and even babies. Adam, Alex, and I all decided to wear black shirts and painted whiskers on our faces to resemble cats(the idea was Adam’s of course). Hearing the Megillah read was beautiful and even interactive as each time a new chapter was read questions would be asked to the kids. Spirits were high and the feeling of a connection to our ancestors was felt in this holy land. Once the Megillah was finished and the obligation was over, the true aspect of Purim came out. The parties were ubiquitous in our fair city. There were huge ones at the convention center, medium ones that took over street blocks, and little ones that were in people’s homes. Everyone seemed to be having a good time celebrating the holiday.

Now in the second week of school, I find myself in a comfortable place that gives me structure. I have settled on all my classes and are loving them(most anyways). I have a routine as to what my week looks like. I am regularly attending class, having dinners with friends, and seeing people when they come to visit. I am also involved in a weekly discussion group with Israelis and non-Israelis called Face-2-Face. It has really given me the opportunity to learn from Israelis and how they perceive life. This week we had rabbis from Chassidic, Dati Leumi(Israeli Modern Orthodox), and Conservative. In brief, I learned a lot about their respective practices and how within each one there are people who would like to bridge the gaps as well as others who are not so found of that idea. I would like to take a moment to discuss the Conservative rabbi I met. His name is Rabbi Adam Frank and is in charge of the congregation Moreshet Israel(it is located at the Fuchsberg Center in Downtown Jerusalem). This man I believe truly is the future of the movement. He is an idealist that believes in the foundational pillars of the movement and articulates them with passion and reverenve. I see all my values and beliefs emulating from him gives me strength.(read his blog http://adamfrank.typepad.com/)

I got an exciting phone call this week from 2 of my favorite nativers this year A-Lev and Max. They informed me that the program was having some seminar in Jerusalem and they had a night free in which they wanted to hang out with me. Of course I jumped on that train enthusiastically. I went downtown with the guys(Adam, Alex, and Max) to grab some dinner and drinks. Aaron organizes a Nativ beer-pong event and invited Adam and I to join. Of course I said yes since I had to see him and it didn’t matter the function to me. It was adorable to watch these KIDS play their little games and be marveled at the whole drinking atmosphere. For us it was a cute trip down memory lane to what being a freshman was like. It took us no time to kick their butts and then we left to allow them to enjoy their time with the rest of the group. It is great to see that they are doing well and having fun, they are great friends. After school on Thursday I spent the evening cleaning up my apartment since Mandy(Arizona)was sleeping over and bringing friends so my place had to be cleaned. The weekend was going to start with a bang