The Holy Land

This was our first shabbat and we went to the Western Wall.

I haven't even been here for two weeks yet, but I feel like I've been gone for months. I've been putting off writing this blog entry because I don't want to face the truth that I am homesick already.

In every public area I feel so foreign, because I am. I'm generalizing when I say this, but Israelis are not the most accepting people. They cut in lines and push in crowded situations. I'm used to the pushing because of Berkeley High hallways, but at home I feel no shame in pushing back. I don't push back here because I feel like I will be giving Americans a bad reputation or something like that, I don't know. I feel vulnerable in every situation because I don't speak the language. Hebrew classes just started and they made me realize how much Spanish I actually know, because compared to Hebrew I could say I'm fluent in Spanish.

I spent the Jewish New Year with a girl named Melissa, with whom I went to Portugal, and her cousins up in Nahariya. We went to synagogue three times - all of which made me so happy to belong to Beth El back in Berkeley. Because the synagogue we went to was orthodox, the men and women are separated by a movable wall. The whole service (the rabbi, the torah, the bimah) all take place on the men's side, while the women listen in and stare at a wall. I felt so excluded like, "why the hell am I here?" In Israel the synagogues are 95% orthodox, 1% conservative, and 4% reformed. The Israelis don't accept the conservative movement so most conservative Jews who want to be accepted just become orthodox. You won't find an Israeli in any of the Reform synagogues - these are mostly full of Argentineans and Americans. So when I get back to Jerusalem I will have to do some research to find a reform temple near me.

Nahariya is so north that from the beach, Melissa and I could see Lebanon. Melissa's family showed us three places where missiles fell last summer during the war with Lebanon and these locations are all (don't read this mom)within 10 blocks of their house - scary!

On the positive side, my roommate Stacey (on the right the two of us are in an Italian synagogue in Jerusalem) and I get along and the Youth Hostel is very nice. We have a swimming pool and a gym (which I should be going to every day because meals are "all you can eat" buffet style). Hopefully once a little more time passes I will settle in more and stop comparing life in Israel to life in Berkeley.

Being away from home makes me realize that the city and the people of Berkeley are truly amazing. I miss you all so much and would love to hear about what's going on in your lives.

Shana Tova V'Metukah(have a good and sweet year),
Nina