Oh yeah, there IS a world outside of Jerusalem!

Six weeks. I have been here for six weeks already! How many times, in those six weeks have I left Jerusalem? Well, until yesterday, the answer to that question would have been "one." The combination of trying to establish a life here, finding a balance between "work" and "play", and generally acclimating myself has kept me pretty Jerusalem-bound. Also, the fact that I am here by myself has kept my adventures limited to mostly the Jerusalem area, as I tend to not go out adventuring all on my own very often. As a quasi-only child, I'm used to keeping myself entertained, and think that I have done a decent job thus far of so doing, but the time has come to break out of the bubble of HUC and Jerusalem and experience some more of this wonderful and complex country.

Yesterday, Friday, I did just that. I spent the morning and afternoon with a few fellow HUC students at the Ein Gedi spa on the Dead Sea. Words probably cannot describe how wonderful it was, but I'll give it a try. The weather was perfect: hot sun and warm breeze. Just sitting out by the pool was amazing. I feel as though I've not really had much of a relaxing summer - so yesterday was a taste of heaven. Sitting out by the pool was lovely in and of itself, but, dayenu, I decided to treat myself to a massage, and I'm glad that I did. It was, quite possibly, the best massage of my life. After the massage, feeling like Jell-O, I wandered down to the Dead Sea with some friends, floated until that got old, then went back to the pool. The Ein Gedi spa is pretty no-frills in terms of what we would consider a "spa" in the U.S. but I'm tellin' you, after six weeks of schlepping, stressing, sweating, and generally running around - this humble little spa hit the spot. And apparently it's a pretty popular spot as it was packed by the time we left.

I returned to Jerusalem with a few short hours to freshen up and rest before hopping into a car with some friends to head to Herziliya for a concert. Two trips out of Jerusalem in one day! And to two completely different parts of the country! Here I have been sitting in J'lem for the past six weeks thinking that it would be such a shlep to get out of the city - or waiting for my Israeli friends to invite me. Silly me. It took us about an hour to get to Herziliya, and as it was Erev Shabbat the roads were, blessedly, quite clear. Suzie, fellow classmate and driver-par-excellance, did an AMAZING job of navigating the roads (Israeli drivers are insane, think Boston-traffic, only worse). We grabbed a quick dinner near the beach in Herziliya while reveling at life-outside-of-Jerusalem. It was so nice to see women who dress like me, children who dress like my nieces and nephews, and men who would make eye contact with me. Jerusalem is a wonderful city, I love it here, and I'm gradually making headway with my tentative feelings about being a Reform-Jewish-Woman here... but boy, did it feel nice to be in a city where my only "otherness" is the country on my passport! Again, dayenu, after a nice dinner near the ocean, we went to an amazing concert by Israeli musician Idan Raichel. (It so turns out I just gave my Hebrew oral presentation on Idan Raichel, so I was well prepared.)

Idan Raichel's first album, The Idan Raichel Project, was released in 2001 and was one of the first forays by an Israeli popular musician into the realm of "world music". The project really focused on fusing Ethiopian music with Israeli, and it was a massive hit. His second album came out in 2005, the last time I was here, and ventured out from only Ethiopian music to more of a "world vibe" - and it is simply amazing. They both are. And he and his band put on a fantastic show. Going to concerts has long been one of my favorite things to do. There is little in this world more moving to me than being a part of the momentary community that happens at concerts. Idan Raichel played this show in a rather small venue (about half the size of the Keller Auditorium in Portland, sort of like the Moore in Seattle), so it was intimate, but it was definitely a "seated" concert. He's playing again tonight at an open-air amphitheater in Binyamina and I'm sure that will be equally as amazing! I can't express how happy I was to not only get out of Jerusalem for a little while, but to do so in order to see one of my favorite musical groups.

We got home at about 1 am, and I proceeded to sleep for 12 hours - apparently I needed it. I was plum tuckered from a day full of relaxation. I'm feeling happy, rested, and re-energized, which is what Shabbat is all about, right? I don't spend all of my shabbatot in "real life" going to services and making shabbat dinners, so why would I spend all of my shabbatot in Israel doing that? Shabbat, in my estimation, is a day of rest from the rigours of the day-to-day world. Shabbat is a taste of the world to come. I'll be one happy camper if the world to come is full of sunshine, really good masseuses, good food and live music. You may disagree with my version of "keeping" and "remembering" Shabbat, and if so, more power to you, but this is my blog, and my experience.

Shabbat Shalom v'Shavua Tov L'kulam.

Until we meet again...