חתונה או לא חתונה

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

We were invited to our first wedding in Israel, which Phillip went to because suddenly Coby was sick. Ahhhhh? How could this happen? We're not one of 'those' families who are constantly missing events because the kids keep coming down with mysterious illnesses. But how could I leave with a child who looked green? From the pictures and eyewitness, Brian and Yamit's wedding was beautiful. I have to share an Israeli joke which encapsulates the cultural difference between Americans and Israelis and the 'formality' that they bring to weddings, bar-mitzvahs, etc... "How can you tell an Israeli groom on his wedding day?...New sneakers!"

Are you laughing?

I think it's funny.

Oh well.

I had been working all week on my first paper ALL in hebrew for my Bible class. I've written small assignments for my hebrew class, but this was 2 pages, TYPED, in hebrew, about a verse in Exodus. I had to research what modern and middle-age commentators said about this particular verse, and do it in Hebrew. So though the paper was simple, the hebrew was not. Whew! I think I broke a sweat doing my first draft. The verse I chose was Exodus 2:6, where Pharoah's daughter finds Moses in the basket on the Nile. She opens the basket, looks at the baby and has pity on him. The detail I was analyzing was why the text repeats that she saw a boy, a lad, when she opened the basket. Some of the answers were that she looked, and seeing that it was a baby boy, a jewish boy, she knew he was sent down the river to avoid the fate of all other jewish baby boys--to be killed by her dad's decree. Interesting, no?

Well, we'll see if the teacher thinks so.

On Thursday, April 2nd, we skipped school and took a bus up to Afula, then to Tivon to meet our HUC bicycle riders who participated in the Israeli Reform Movements' fundraiser: Ride for Reform. Cute town, they did an amazing job of riding about 300 km in 5 days all the way from Har Hermon around the southern tip of the Kinneret, up through Tsfat and out westward towards Haifa to Tivon. Fun, pretty town, maybe next year I can participate. After 5 days, don't they look great?

2009 celebrates Tel Aviv's 100th birthday, and we were stupid enough to pretend there wouldn't be an overwhelming crowd in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, and went to join the festivities. It was shabbat, so we took a Shiroot with some friends, took the phone number of the driver, who promised to pick us up IN Rabin Square after the party, and had excellent hamburgers on Rothschild Blvd.

It was a very cool event, there must have been thousands of people, so packed, the kids were on our shoulders. The Israeli Pharmonic was playing song by famous Israeli composers, there were people suspended from huge canvases painting, a la blue man group style, people dancing on the stage with flags, roller blades, so many things. We couldn't see, so we snuck up onto the roof of a nearby apartment building--where the fireworks were shooting from. So we managed not to go deaf, and not to get pushed off the roof; which was good, because the real challenge was connecting with Asher the shiroot driver after the event. Wow, what a crazy night.

This morning we woke the kids up before dawn and desperately tried to flag down a cab at 5:30am. Today is The Blessing of the Sun, which only comes once every 28 years, and here we are in Jerusalem, how could we miss this? So, after failing to find a cab--and no, we were not the only ones out on Palmach looking for taxis, we skulked into Yakar Synagogue in our own neighborhood; where we were reassured to see some people we knew. But as I sat in the corner of the women's section, sitting low in my seat, without a prayerbook, holding Coby on my lap, still in his pajamas, I waved to Phillip, this just didn't feel right. I think we should give it another try--to meet up with Nava Tahila, the Renewal Congregation on the Tayelet and greet the sun in person. Success!

We ran under the Pavillion at the Tayelet just as the sun was reaching up out of the horizon. It was spectacular. We arrived in the midst of their service, but I was so glad we came. We gave the kids chocolate bars for breakfast to bribe them to be happy, and wrapped ourselves around them to keep them warm in the pajamas. The roosters actually started to crow, and down below in the Kidron Valley, in the desert, overlooking the old city and the Mount Olives, the Jordanian Mountains, the villages started to wake up and go about their day. Mostly preparing for Pesach. Such a great mix of all different kind of worshippers, and as we walked back on the Tayelet, there were so many groups of people from different synagogues there, having learning sessions, or burning their chametz.

Tonight is THE seder, remember, here it is only one. Then tomorrow is the holiday, when the whole country will digest matza, and make their way to the Kotel to hear the Birkat HaCohanim. Lynda and Lee--this is you, this would be your job on the Temple Mount. Of course only if this were 2000 years ago, and you lived here, and you weren't a woman...picky picky.