'tis the season!

In America, "The Holidays" means Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and that lovely period between those days when the freeways, movie theaters, and shopping malls are entirely stuffed.

In Israel, "The Holidays" means Rosh Hashonah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and the few non-chag days between them when life doesn't function, except to decompress from and get ready for the next holiday.

This month, the month of Tishrei (which in 2008 almost perfectly overlaps with October), is the Israeli/Jewish equivalent of the American holiday season. People have many days off, schools are closed for a good two weeks, it's primarily time spent with family and close friends, there are lots of attendance at services, and an ungodly amount of food (see my RH post for my own foray into "more time eating than praying").

There's also this electricity in the air that one really feels in the states as people get more and more excited and into the Holiday season that I really felt strongly here (albeit here there's less emphasis on consumerism). It wasn't so much in the days leading up to Rosh Hashonah, but in the days following, and leading up to the rest of the holidays. In the time period of “the chagim,” everyone is really, really excited. Everyone greets one another with “Shanah tovah” (Happy new year) all month long; it’s also, like Santa in the states, written on all of the Coke bottles.

During the past weekend, the preparation time for Sukkot (what we’re smack dab right in the middle of right now), I would see people driving around with loads of palm fronds on the top of their cars that they are bringing home to use as the roof for their sukkah. The first time I saw that, I thought, “Oh, someone has a Christmas tree. In Jerusalem? In October? Oh, it’s palm fronds.”

What also struck me is how intense this period is. Especially this year, when none of the chagim fell on Shabbat but in the middle of the week, every holiday butted up against Shabbat. Rosh Hasonah or Yom Kippur or the first day of Sukkot (a chag in it’s own right) would end, and then suddenly it’s Shabbat! There’s hardly anytime to recoup and rest up before jumping into the next holiday. It was very intense.

The final piece of the holiday-chagim parallel fell into place for me this afternoon, when I saw the most amazing Sukkot Parade. Much like the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years Day Parade, this Sukkot Parade involved elaborate floats, marching, fabulous costumes, minutely choreographed dances, and thousands of Israel-loving evangelical Christians. During Chol HaMoed Sukkot (literally, the secular days of the festival sandwiched between the chag days on the ends), thousands of Evangelical Christians, from all around the world, take some biblical phrase literally and come to Jerusalem during the “Feast of Tabernacles,” take over the main streets, and march around Jerusalem in a parade yelling, “We love Israel! Shalom! Jesus loves you Israel! We love all of you!” It was a total, kitsch loaded trip.

Here are some parade pictures:

hosting and boasting

After the Kippur ended, I realized that (literally) the next day was Shabbat. And I had no Shabbat plans. It just crept up on me, especially after the intense Day of Atonement. Hastily conferencing with Meredith, I decided to have a little Shabbat dinner at my apartment. I suddenly got very excited, because this was my first opportunity to host Shabbat dinner.

We can only fit six, seated, at the kitchen table, and only have meat and milk dish sets for six (yes, my kitchen is kosher; more on that in a later post), so I had four classmates over: Meredith, Deana, LuAnne, and Jordan. Including Adam and me, that made six. I got a little overambitious, and cooked a (hopefully) scrumptious meal throughout Friday afternoon.

The menu:

Roasted chicken, marinated in and roasted with white wine, apple juice, thyme, apple slices, red onions
Roasted sweet potatoes with thyme and apple cider vinegar
Couscous with toasted pine nuts, apricots, and raisins
Sautéed eggplant with thyme and apple cider vinegar
Dessert: baked apples filled with chocolate

It was an ambitious menu, and while there are about three dozen things I would have done differently, I’d made nothing before and it all came out eatible at worst and delicious at best. The crowd was loquacious and jovial, lots of flowing wine and an extended, tremendous, postprandial song session of Shabbes zemiros.

Since the meal was apple-themed (due to both being in the month of Tishrei and celebrating the Jewish new year still, as well as it being fall and apples are in season), for a late night oneg (fun) we played Apples-To-Apples. Thanks to David and Alea (thanks, really), this game is now one of my favorites. It’s addicting. Adam brought it with him (thanks Adam) and so we played.

I dominated the first part of the game, and technically won, but we kept playing but by the end of game Meredith had the most adjective cards. It’s a buttload of fun and I and very excited about hosting many more Shabbat dinners and then playing Apples-To-Apples, and flaunting my mad ironic/irreverent/cleaver/funny word skills.

The Kippur in J'lem

Yom Kippur in Jerusalem was like no other Yom Kippur I’ve had. It was totally unlike the YK I was expecting I would have – based on what the Israelis told us to expect. It was indescribable, profound, and astounding.

I suppose the Kippur preparation started with Rosh Hashanah, when we made the transition from RH into the ten days between the two holidays. Religiously, we’re take this time and ask forgiveness from our friends and family for things we have done to hurt them in the past year. Emotionally, it’s a time to check in with yourself and reflect on the last year and focus on what I’ve done wrong or what you’re happy with. In the days leading up to RH, I didn’t notice anything special about the city. But the days between RH and YK were electric. Everyone was moving and talking in a more energetic way; the world functioned differently. I could taste Yom Kippur.

The day itself was virtually magical. Whereas RH resembles Shabbat – just two days of it – YK everything shuts down. Everything is closed. No one – no cars – are on the streets. The entre city, literally, is on holiday. It’s the one day of the year when every Jewish resident is observing the holiday together. After Kol Nidrei services, a group of students took a walk down to the German Colony, and there was literally not a single car on the road; it was almost like something out of a zombie movie. Throngs of people were walking in the middle of the streets, talking and walking and thinking and little kids riding bikes and families out together and couples strolling and groups of students learning in the middle of huge intersections and teenagers having song sessions and Israelis just enjoying the evening. The mood was bizarre; it was almost joyful, and yet at the same time very unfrivolous. Everyone was taking themselves seriously, but enjoying life, understanding the gravity of it all, while experiencing the world around them.

The HUC services were so much more rewarding that the RH services. I’m not sure why this is; I think part of me knew what to expect from them, as well as the novelty of seeing my friends and classmates perform in the choir had worn off. I had also gotten to a place where I was more familiar with the melodies and could sing along much easier, which made it feel more like praying, instead of a cantorial and choral concert. It was, again, wonderful to be with community and my friends here, because so much of the chagim is being with your community. I really felt that my last few YKs, in LA, had been missing that, and even though YK is a very personal holiday, the sense of community is very important.

Another reason I think this YK was so powerful was the fast itself. I really felt it the entire day, but it wasn’t debilitating or painful. It was a meaningful fast, definitely. The challenging part was the walking – to and from my apartment to school involves a rather large hill, so I minimized my own apartment walking (I took my contribution to the breakfast potluck over on Wednesday before the fast even started). But it all came and went fairly simply, and really enhanced the spiritual level of the day.

The break-fast as well was a lot of fun. Lisa, Meredith, and Deana (roommates) hosted our entire HUC class at their apartment. They had about 50 people, a shitload of food, a fair amount of wine, and whiskey, delicious cookies, and a lot of lap sitting (but thank God no grape throwing). Something about not-eating/spiritual fulfillment makes 20-something Jewish professionals act about 10 years younger. The evening really capped off a very meaningful, memorable, and amazing Yom Kippur.

"We're a team of mavericks!"

I would much prefer it if Tina Fey were John McCain’s running mate. For one thing, she’s much funnier than Sarah Palin (and that’s actually saying a lot). For another, I agree with her politics (there’s an episode of 30 Rock where she tells Jenna [Jane Krakowski] it say on MSNBC that she supports Barack Obama, and Jenna ends up saying Osama bin Laden – hilarious!). But seriously, wouldn't that be awesome? McCain-Fey form America? Talk about unconventional.

During the debate watching party this weekend (the debates are on at like 3AM here, and while we all get Fox News, no one wants to stay up all night to watch Joe Biden and Sarah Palin bicker, although of course I’ll be up all night to watch election returns come in next month), I had a hilarious time watching Palin express her love, and Joe Biden’s love, for Israel. Yeah. They both love Israel. Makes me feel safer.

Head of the Year - Day 2

My second day of Rosh Hashonah started with an all-class potluck at my friend Adena’s apartment. By the time I arrived I was still full from lunch (and dinner the night before) but Adena made delicious pumpkin soup, and Nikki made carrot ginger soup, and there was delicious quinoa and couscous and dessert, so really, how could I not eat?

For morning services on second day, Jaclyn, Meredith, and I “shul-hopped.” We started at the synagogue at the Conservative Yeshiva, which was very much like a conservative shul in the states, except we brought the average age down by about 40 years. It was basically a congregation of old immigrants who like conservative services. Next, we attended the Great Synagogue, with their amazing choir and cantor. But they didn’t even have siddurim for their congregants (people bring their own) so I couldn’t really follow along. Our third stop was at the Italian Synagogue, a Sephardic congregation in downtown Jerusalem. I had never really been to a Sephardic service, and I loved it. The serviced moved to a totally different pace and rhythm than a regular Ashkenazic service, and I really want to go back.

We finished the morning at Har-El, the oldest progressive shul in Israel, and where HUC had relocated for the morning. The service there was pretty much the same as the services at HUC the previous day, except totally in Hebrew – sermon too.

For lunch, I went to the home of Sally Klein Katz, my education professor. She and her husband have a second day RH lunch every year, and invite their friends and family, and their students. So there were a bunch of HUC students (the ed students, Sally’s rabbinic reflection group, and some HUC students they knew from when they worked at URJ camps in the states) and lots of other people; faces I’d seen at various shuls, and a girl I knew from UCLA, and people I’d met over the last few months. It was a lovely, lovely afternoon. But I was totally full for food, and nibbled throughout the afternoon.

I went home and napped, and then went to Leslie’s apartment for a final meal: dinner. That evening was awesome; even though I was totally stuffed and bloated, I managed to put down a big plate of chicken (finally a meat meal!) and rice and roasted veggies and potatoes and salad and lots of wine. The evening morphed into this bizarre retrograde of middle school behavior: throwing grapes, and dancing to one-hit wonders from the late 1990’s, and stuffing grapes down people shirts, and wine spills, and bad hip-hop music from the 2000’s.

It was a great holiday, and incredibly fascinating to walk around Jerusalem for two days in a row and see everyone on their way to shul or to meals, but the whole city settled in to the holiday. In the days leading up to RH, every time I would talk to someone (a store clerk, a teacher, a bus driver) we would say, “Shanah Tova!” It was amazing to be in a place where everybody celebrated the holiday. Never before had RH seemed like such a legitimate and real holiday, instead of something we Jews so secretly and on the side. I loved it. And I’m very excited for Yom Kippur.

Head of the Year - Day 1

Literally, Rosh Hashonah (ראש השנה) means “head of the year.” Or, figuratively, it can be translated to mean new year. Specifically, in colloquial English (and Hebrew too), it means the first two days of the month of Tishrei, during which Jews celebrate the creation of the world (yes, we say it happened on this specific day 5769 years ago – I’m sure Bishop Usher could tell you what time) and start the process of “cheshbon nefesh,” of checking our souls, of looking at ourselves this past year and thinking about what we are proud of and what we could have done better, at least in regard to our fellow human beings. This leads to Yom Kippur which we finally atone for the sins against God, and start the year anew and refreshed. But more on YK later.

RH normally, for many American Jews and me, is a time spent with family. There is a fair amount of time spent in services, but the holiday is really based around family and community being together. It’s much more a communal holiday than YK, but since they occur in tandem, RH gets a bad rap. I’m not actually sure why either of them get a bad rap, but it may have something to do with fasting…

There certainly is no fasting on RH however. In fact, this year, I spent a disproportionate amount of time at meals, than I did at services. Monday night, Erev RH, I attended HUC services. The HUC student choir, made up of the cantorial students and a few other students who made up the bass/tenor sections, sang beautifully. The rabbi was our Dean, Michael Marumur, who is a Rabbinic Rock Star; the hazzan (cantor) was Eli Schliefer, who is, apparently, the patriarch of modern Reform cantoring. He’s very old, and sings in a very old, slow style, but was fantastic.

The service itself, as with the other HUC services I attended, focused disproportionately on the performative aspect – the choir sings, the cantor sings, the rabbi talks – without much by way of communal participation and praying. This is mainly done because HUC services are learning experience for the cantorial students, who all have solos and amazing voices. The downside is the very prayer-able congregation (mostly students) aren’t really able to pray. I went because HUC is my community here and I wanted to support my friends in the choir who had been practicing for months. And who sang beautifully. But if this were the states, I would have hated the service and not gone back. I need a service, especially during the chaggim when I can participate fully and actively. But in this context, it was fine. It was lovely. It was community.

For Erev RH dinner, HUC hosted a RH Seder (yes, there are not just seders on Passover) and five course meal, complete with a seemingly unlimited wine service. Most of the class was there, and it was a great way to start the holiday, together as a community. The seder was led my by friend Jordan (who was half of the bass section in the choir) and he had every table make a skit/pun about a food that’s part of the seder (e.g. pumpkin, beets, wine, fish head, dates). My group was dates – we made a pun with the English name (Can I offer you a date? Sure. How about tomorrow night?) and the Hebrew name – Tamar (A date tamar-ow! Tamar-ow night!). It was a lot of fun. The food was mostly pretty good. And Meredith and Harrison finished the night with a song session.

For morning services I returned to HUC. The service was more of the same, and literally more of it, as I oscillated between states of awake and sleep. Anyhoo, after the service was Tashlich (a service in which we toss bread crumbs into running water in order to symbolically cast away our sins), which I had been asked to lead. I was very nervous, but I felt I put together a good 6 minute service, including some singing, some Psalm reading, some reflection, some bread tossing, and some singing. I was very pleased with my efforts and how the congregation took to the service. The feedback I received was also very positive, which made me feel pretty good.

Lunch was at my friend Amy and Sarah’s apartment. They had “brunch” themed lunch, with all sorts of delicious items: baked french toast, polenta, potatoes, fruit salad, glazed salmon, pecan pie, apple crisp, kugel, mimosas, and wine. It was incredibly scrumptious and tasty, and a really nice group schmoozing and reflecting and just being together. That afternoon, I was exhausted, and then there was a full day of RH left to go!

Shanah Tova!

Dear loyal "of the sands and the cliffs" readers:

Shanah Tova! From my home, to yours, let me wish you a sweet 5769, filled with lots of love, happiness, health, smiles, learning, and fun. May all of your wishes and requests rain down upon you. May you be written and signed in the book of life. I wish you all the best.

With love,

Yoel

PS I have a very busy and excited Rosh Hashonah planned in the next 48 hours. While I'm sad to not be home and with my family, if there's anywhere else I would be satisfied being for the chagim, it's here. I'll write all about it during the Days of Awe, when my internet is not longer sketchy (b'ezrat hasehm) and I'm not in a rush to get all of my pre-chag cooking and cleaning done. The phrases above are loosely translated from the RH Hebrew class I had yesterday. In all seriousness, for those that celebrate it, Happy New Year, and for those that don't, Happy October!