For example:
(ugly wrap)
(hint of the whole-or most of the front)
This was all on the way to our outing with MAKOM. I did not like today's session. We spent the day discussing religious views and identities in Israel and "interviewing" Israelis about their views. This meant processing, discussing and watching youtube videos about what it means to be Jewish and Israeli- are the two synonymous? What about Jewish and American- is it the same identity regarding the Jewish part? Basically it was the same learning that I did on MUSS (11th grade) when we were asked are we American Jews or Jewish Americans. In short, how do we identify? Which word is the noun and which is the adjective? We also learned about Masorati Judaism in Israel and some of the challenges that they face especially by not receiving government money (except 8,000 shekels a year- total!)
We split into groups to discuss the types of questions that we would want to ask Israelis. What are your favorite and least favorite things about Israel? Do you know what Masorati Judaism is? How do you identify? If I was making aliyah, what advice would you give me? Do you think that the Rabbanut should be able to control who can marry and convert in this country? etc. Then we walked to our charter bus (where I saw the bride) which took us 10 minutes to the central bus station. There we had 2.5 hours to eat lunch and talk to Israelis. I was not excited to do this. Went with a friend and found a spa where we tried to get manicures and pedicures. They were booked for the day but when I explained that we were students and that was why we could not come on Monday for appointments, I decided to play along and do part of the assignment. I asked the receptionist behind the counter what her favorite and least favorite things about Israel were. She answered that Israel is the best and is the greatest and she has been other places-US and England and Israel is better. She can be herself and there are fewer pressures here. I asked if she was referring to religious freedom. She said yes so I followed up with the question did she think that it was ok for the rabbanut to control all marriages? She said sure because people were going to do what they wanted anyway. It was almost the exact answer that I expected from the receptionist's demographic.
Then I had lunch and window-shopped for the next two hours. It was a long and slow lunch. I found this, which I guess can also be called a trend as the cashier said that it was the best seller on the barrette rack.
I wonder if you wore this in your hair and had braces on your teeth if you might be able to not only pick up radio stations but also make international calls.
After the bus brought us back, we debriefed for another hour and a half. It was after MAKOM finished that the real fun began. I went into the center of town where we sat for coffee and then walked around for an hour. Then we got dinner and ate it as we walked through Mamilla, and the Armenian quarter of the Old City to a small Sephardic shul on Mt. Zion for bakashot. Bakashot are supplications that are said at certain times of the year. This shul recites them every Thursday night as a way to make requests for Shabbat. They chant pages and pages of requests and poems that are acrostics with opening prayers. As a woman, it was harder to take part as I had to sit in the entry hall on a chair right outside the door where the men were. We did not know until we had already started to leave that apparently they start at 7 (when we got there) and end at 9 (regardless of how many of the bakashot they got through). In the hour and a half that we were there, they got through about 20 pages of the bakashot but had another 50 pages to go which is why we decided to leave. Were not sure when they would end- 2am? While bakashot are in a slightly different category than shabbat morning services, can you imagine if in shuls in America, if 12 hit and the service was not done, services just ended?
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