Rosh Hashanah in Israel

There is a saying that wherever you are, and whatever you're doing on Erev Rosh Hashanah will set the tone for your year to come. Lucky for me, my cold disappeared for a few hours (I've caught the nasty cold-stomache-flu-plague that has been sweeping the nation like a new craze), and I had a lovely Erev Rosh Hashanah.

HUC holds High Holiday services in the adjacent Mercaz Shimshon - a large gathering hall with one wall made entirely of windows looking out over the Old City. While no High Holiday service can compare to the High Holiday services of my youth, at Temple Beth Israel with Cantor Schiff's angelic voice, Rabbi Rose's mighty presence, counting the pages until the end of the service with my cousin Adam, and the generations of CBI children craning their necks trying to count the number of bricks in the domed ceiling of the Byzantine-esque synagogue... I will admit that the HUC services came quite close. Despite the fact that we are a relatively new community, there was something very familiar about being in a room mostly comprised of classmates, being led in prayer by our faculty and the HUC student (and community) choir. Many of my friends are in the High Holiday choir, so it was really a treat and a pleasure to hear the beautiful choral voice which was the result of their months of work. I wound up joining in a dinner hosted by Kesher in Israel (Kesher is the college-arm of the Union of Reform Judaism Youth Division) for Reform College students studying in Israel - and HUC students. I'd say that about 80% of our class showed up - severely dwarfing the non-HUC contingent. The dinner itself was delicious, and created an air of joviality and, well, holiday cheer amongst the classmates assembled - something that I don't think we've really experienced much of since the summer and orientation activities ended. It was fun to be all together, everyone dressed in their High Holiday best, ringing in the new year with good food, a little "family-drama," and an overall fun atmosphere.

Good thing the saying about how your year will turn out doesn't mention anything about how you spend the first day of the year. Some flip switched in my body right around the time I returned home, and the cold said "alright, fellas, break's over". I finally managed to fall asleep despite the growing pressure in my sinuses and inability to breathe through my nose - an ability which I highly value. Rosh Hashanah morning services were just a little on the long side, and a little on the painful side as the DayQuil didn't quite do the trick I had hoped it would. I wound up spending the day laid out in bed, praying that the pain in my head, and general icky-feeling would go away. At one point a friend of mine offered to bring over some American Sudafed, and, of course, some food. The realization that I was about to have another person over to my apartment shot me into action - as I am my mother's daughter and hate for others to see me at my ickiest. As I looked around my bedroom I couldn't help but laugh at the scene I had created: sick girl, alone, in pajamas, slightly red-nosed, sitting in bed, propped up by a million pillows, surrounded by empty tea-cups, room littered with wadded up tissues, sappy-girl-tv-show ("Felicity"... yes... I sank that low) playing on the computer... it was quite a site. I do "sick" up right.

At any rate, I'm very happy that I'm not doomed to a year of pathetic-runny-nosed-alone-ness, but, hopefully, blessed with a year full of friends, food, and jolly-good-times, as seen on Erev Rosh Hashanah. Let's hope. כין יהי רצין.

Moving away from the micro-level of my personal experience of High Holiday cold... the New Year in Israel is quite unique. Rosh Hashanah began at sundown on Wednesday night, and was followed by two days of holiday (chaggim), ending Friday at sundown... but, what begins every Friday at sundown, but the ultimate day-off: Shabbat. So, essentially, Jerusalem has been "out of commission" for 3 whole days. Well, 3 and a half really, as most things started closing up at around 3 or 4 on Wednesday. I went out Wednesday afternoon to get provisions for the next few days, anticipating the fact that nothing would be open in this oh-holiest-of-cities during the long-stretch of holiday. What a crazy-mess! The energy was great: everyone running around getting their Rosh Hashanah provisions: Newspapers, food, a last-minute kippah, etc... The craziest place in the entire city, I would probably wager in the entire country, could quite possibly have been the "Shuk" (the open-air market). The only thing that I can equate the craziness to is the supermarket on Thanksgiving day in the States. Hordes of people everywhere, moving in streams. Definitely not a day to browse the wares of the various vendors. Luckily, I was on a mission - and lucky for me, I was with my friend Adam - tour-guide-extraordinare. He took me to "his pita guy", where I was treated to pita so hot that I could barely pick them up to get them into the bag. We also saw some very interesting apples that had been "wax tattooed" with a "Shana Tova" wish. Crazy.

The resounding quiet of the last few days has been the best part of this holiday, in my opinion. People are out on the streets, walking either to shul or to holiday meals. There are still a few cars, but they actually stop for pedestrians, and, blessedly, the YMCA construction behind my apartment has been silenced for 3 whole days. I woke up yesterday morning (and by "morning" I mean, "around noon") to the sound of one of my neighbors playing the violin. There are two things so very sweet about that: 1 - that I have a neighbor who plays the violin and plays it well, and near an open window, and 2 - that I could actually HEAR the music, i.e. the silent canvas upon which he or she could paint their notes... i.e. the jackhammers across the street were off. Lovely.

Shabbat was, in this respect, just another day off. I went to services last night, and swung by school this morning in time for the Torah service (sleep is so so sweet). I managed to make it through the 4ish days of no-commerce pretty well, fueled by the challah I bought on Wednesday, catching up on old episodes of "The Daily Show," and "The Colbert Report" (I did not realize how much I missed them until a few days ago with the whole microwave popcorn incident), and compulsively downloading and listening to "podcasts" of my favorite NPR shows (Especially "This American Life" - oh the wonders of the internet). While the quiet and solace of a city-at-rest has been quite interesting and refreshing, I must admit that I do miss the traditional lunch-out after Rosh Hashanah services. It's been a little frustrating at times, knowing that, if I wanted to, I couldn't go to my favorite spots to get a bite to eat. Oh well. It's an experience! And the funny thing is that, for years I have been thinking about how nice it must be to be able to walk out of High Holiday services to quiet streets, in a quiet city, where just about everyone is celebrating Rosh Hashanah with you. The grass is always greener, eh?

Sadly, I know that tomorrow I will wake up to the din of the construction, and the return to school. But I take solace in the knowledge that I had a restful, albeit sick and a little lonely at times, holiday, and will be treated to another long vacation after Yom Kippur. (We are taking a "school trip" up to the Galil and the Golan for a few days before Sukkot vacation - and my trip to Italy, and my parents visit!!!!)

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, sweet, challenging, 5768!

לשנה טובה ומתוקה