ani rotza ooga! (i want cake)

im sorry for not writting in a very long time..its been extremely busy. Other than changing dorms to a bigger dorm where boys and girls live in the same building it was an intense week of learning and then to end it one of the best weekends ever. The past week was Holocaust week, we learned so much, more than I ever imagined. We started off the topic by having a day of class for nine hours including and Holocaust Survivor speaking to us, we all were kind of not looking foward to this long 9 hour class because we have all learned a lot and thought we knew it all. I cant speak for everyone but i think most of us were wrong, we learned about the conditions of the rest of the world which helped us to understand how the set up for World War 2 and the Holocaust came about. During the things we were supposed to write a journal thing telling what we did and how we felt, i think it was a very good way of letting us reflect on what we learned. During the lesson throughout the course of the week we also went on Tiyuls to Mount Carmel and learned of the Messada Plan, to Vad Yashem *the Holocaust Museum* and also to a resistance museum which was very interesting. After all of these Tiyuls came Shavuot weekend, for some reason in the United States it is not really a big deal holiday, i dont think personally if i was at home i would have even done anything for the holiday, but in Israel its a big deal. Me and my friend Libby stayed with my cousin Naama for the weekend in Tel Aviv and had a lot of fun. During the day Friday we went with my cousin and her mother Sari to the Kibbutz Sari was born on, the Kibbutz was one of the most beautiful places Ive seen. I doubt on this trip, which is unfortunatly coming to an end faster than expected *15 days* I will not get to go back on a Kibbutz but I want to come back later in life. Then Sunday *yesterday* we went on a Tiyul all day, woke up in the morning and went to a beach. We played games as if we were the Jewish Refugees sneaking past the British and the ocean was so nice. Today was another day of class and we had a speaker this morning who helped in the Navy to save Jews and bring them to america. Then we started this documentary called The Long Way Home, I think this is the only documentary Ive ever not even dosed off or even let my mind wonder because its so interesting and well made. Ill fill you in again probably next week because once again we have things to do. and by the way i never got the purple hair dye if anyone was wondering.

The Weekend in Jerusalem

Hi its sunday night, after a day full of classes. This past weekend we went to Jerusalem if you couldnt have guessed. Friday after a morning class we got all our stuff together and got on the bus for that way to familiar almost 2 hour bus ride to Jerusalem. Honestly weve been to Jerusalem a lot but still everytime we go we see something different and experience something amazing. Just like everytime we go, we started with some shopping, after checking into the LEV YERUSHALIEM (the name of the hotel) we went on a shopping trip to an outside market. It was really cute i bought half of a watermelon for 10 sheckles! Thats really good, thats like around 2 ish dollars, i still get confused with the conversion between sheckles and dollars, so whatever. :) um then we went back and did a small shabbat service, had our shabbat dinner, and then walked to the Kotel (Western Wall). We had a small service overlooking the Kotel lead by my teacher Alan, then we went down, seperated from the boys. The best part was seeing all the Soilders dancing and singing and also watching all the men doing there prayers and then dancing around. A couple girls and i did a small service right near the wall inside the girl section of course lead by 2 of my friends who know the friday night service. Then we all left and went back to the hotel and all hung out and stuff it was a lot of fun bonding time :) we played a like game show with our group and it was really nice. The next morning we had the option to go to either a Reform, Conservative, or Othordox synagauge, i was planning on going until i woke up a little to late, hopefully ill get another opportunity to go in Israel. Then we all went with our teacher again as our tour guide around the top of the Kotel wall, it was an amazing view. We could see the Rock of the Dome really well and it looked so pretty in the light. After we had a really nice havdallah with everyone outside and it reminded me of camp, it made everyone feel like family. :) i got to go though im going to get hair dye!! :) purple! lol ill write after our next tiyuls

Tiyuls Tiyuls Tiyuls

hi. :) its thursday after class. ill explain what has happened since last time i wrote, tuesday we went to Tzfat, we went to a sephartic synoguage it was very different then any other synoguage i have ever been to before.  Everyone was facing eachother and sat around a beema in the middle where im guessing the Rabbi would have led a service.  The circular room design is symbolic for community.  Other than that on our trip we did a lot of shopping, i bought some presents for people. :) 

Yesterday (Wednesday) we went around Jerusalem, we visited this place, im not sure what is it called in hebrew but in english it is lifeline for the old.  It is elderly immigrants working on many arts and crafts projects.  It was so inspirational and amazing, these people who are at least 60 years older doing really detailed work on pictures, cards, tallet, blankets, stuffed animals and many other things.  Its a mitzvah to buy something, so of course i spent more of my money. i bought a stuffed animal purple and orange elephant. Its amazing that i saw the people working on one just like that right in the other room.  After we went to a soup kitchen to volunteer, and unlike i expected we ended up cleaning the back warehouse, it was still a nice thing for us to do.  Then we handed out bags with full of food and drinks to people sitting outside waiting to recieve there meal for the day.   Then we went to a park and ate our lunch, after we went to a scrib who ended up being cousins with Rabbi Segel *if any of you know who that is*.  We unrolled an old torah that he was getting ready to repare and looked at it, he estimated that it was from the late 18th century.  We then learned things about the letters which i never knew before.

well i have to go to class now. :) ill write later. but for a heads up, this weekend we will all be in Jerusalem.

<3 Roxy 

ani lo midaberet evret

^ that quote means: i cant speak hebrew. its the most usefull thing to knwo how to say on this trip. just thoguht i should let everyone know. alos i should let you know how sorry i am for not writing as frequently as i would like too. its very hard. our schedule is always jam packed and sitting down to write a blog get pushed back way to often. so ill start with last week. Regular days of class, getting out of biblical times in history and moving slightly foward. Our trip to go along with this was a very exciting one: Masada! so first wednesday we went to Jerusalem, went to a museum where we say what all of Israel would look like in a mini form in the times where the Hellenists *or greeks* were trying to either change or make the Jewish people leave. After this we went shopping and ate for a little then we went to Masada Youth Hostile, after going to sleep at 9 pm and then waking up at 345 the next morning, we climbed up the mountain. For me it took about 45 minutes i think, the fastest kids got up in 20. we then watched the sunrise and it was so beautiful, after we had class on top of Masada until 11. it was pretty amazing. Then after we left we went to the dead sea, it was the coolest thing ever. We floated, i mean obviously everyone knows that the dead sea you can just float in but experiencing it was like so cool. lol. then Friday after class i went and stayed with my cousin Naama in her apartment in Tel Aviv. She showed me around we went to the beach, her favorite cafe, and a party :) i experienced what it would be like to be a college student in Tel Aviv. It reminded me of any other city ive been to; baltimore dc or some parts of new york. the only thing is that its 20 times cooler because its Tel Aviv :) lol Then yesterday we went on a Tiyul and climbed through tiny tiny tiny holes underground and went in small caves where the jewish people hid when using guerilla warfare when fightin the Romans. It was really scary, i couldnt really handle it but once we got in the bigger spaces it was fine. it was cool, because even though i didnt really enjoy it because of the small spaces, not many people that i know can ever say they experienced climbing in underground tunnels mutiple times where there ancestors were fighting for our religion today. Tomarow and Wednesday we have more Tiyuls ill telll you about them after they happen though. i promise to try to get on sooner than a week from now though. okay write laterrr :0 byeee

So little Time So Much to Do

hello everyone, right now it is friday at around 2 pm. i am at my aunt and uncles house getting ready for shabbat dinner with more of my cousins and relatives. i have to admit im a bit nervous because i have never met any of these people, but my madricha Michal tells me its all about experience. this past wednesday (april 29th) was Yom Hatzmaoot, or in english Independence day, our group visited the beach in hertzalia for the second time. At night we went to a party with other children our age and some younger outside in hod hasharon with fire works and bands, it reminded me a lot of the forth of july back at home. We stayed out late but as we woke up the next morning we realized how much earlier we all wished we would have gone to sleep. yesterday, thursday (april 30th) was my first trip to Jerusalem. We first went to a place called The City of David, we watched a 3D film explaining the underground tunnels David took to take over the city of Jerusalem which at the time was called Judah. Then even cooler, we actually went in those exact tunnels, they were dark and very small but i would have to say it was pretty awesome. Throughout the day our teacher Alan teaches us about the stories and the people who were where we are standing 3 thousand years before, its so amazing to think about. After this we went to the most holy spot in the world, the Kotel, also known as the Western Wall. We all put on our long skirts and seperated from the boys and walked in. I saw many women around me, some with children, some with older people, and some by themselves. Honestly as i walked up i wondered what to pray for, my moms best friend had given me this small white book with a prayer to say when i got there but i had left it in my dorm. We will be going back and i will bring it then, but i was upset, my first time at the Western Wall and i had no idea what i was supposed to be praying for. I looked at all the women around me, some had books, some had notes, and some had nothing like me, but i felt like they had something to pray for. I dont want to share my prayers that i did end up saying but i want to share how i felt, i felt so grateful. Grateful that i didnt have anything huge problem jumping out at me telling me to ask for someone specific or to ask for forgivness, this thought made me happy. Then i ended up Thanking G-d for everything i had and of course much more, but this is getting too deep for me. After we walked around Ben YaHooda street, i didnt end up buying anything i wanted to save my shekles, all i bought was schwarma, which was really delicious like always. Well i have to go. thanks for reading :) roxy

shalom!

Hey, sorry for not writing earlier. Life in ha'aretz is very busy, and the internet is difficult to access. I arrived in Israel 24 hours late after a flight delay in Reagan airport, but the wait was while worth it - we came to Israel in 70 degree weather on a beautiful spring day. Anyways - aside from our in-school learning, we go out on various tiyulim, or field trips, one or two times a week. Yesterday, on Sunday, we went on our first tiyul to Tel Gezer. Tel Gezer is an arachaelogical site located at the site of the ancient city of Gezer, located off route 44 today but in the old days at the cross roads of the ancient Via Maris (sea road), and the Ayalon. We went for a three hour hike around the tel and learned the history of the place, and about archaelogical digs in general. Today, of course, was Yom ha'Zicaron (Remembrance day) in Israel. Well the day started out normally with our history class, and then our general studies, around 6:30 a sombre mood began to settle in... all the sounds in the city of hod ha'sharon slowly became muted. We walked over to the city square and there met with a huge portion of hod hasharon's population and watched a ceremony which included the reciting of the names of all Hod Hasharon's citizens killed in wars, and singing by a children's choir. Sorry for the length of this post, but I have experienced a lot in the last few days, -Roxanne Gordon