Family and Friends

Well, the illness I spoke of in my last post finally faded into oblivion. In the end, it turned out to be a nasty stomach virus (not "digestive troubles, as Dr. Know-Nothing assessed) and eventually it passed. I missed three days of school, but gained three days of rest. Adam took excellent care of me and continues to watch over my health like a hawk. An adorable hawk with a 'fro.

My body healed in time for the weekend, so we traveled north to Netanya to visit more of Adam's extended family. To say it was a wonderful experience would be a huge understatement. It was an incredible two days on so many levels, and I was thrilled to be included in all that we did.

Not only does Adam have a huge family in Marin, but his parents, uncle, and grandparents have invested a tremendous amount of time and energy into maintaining connections with their extended relatives all over the world. It's amazing to me, and I wish I had that with my own family. Alas, the Fromer and Hoffman clans are a small bunch, and to my knowledge there are few relatives to speak of abroad.

Adam with the Sugar Mishpucha

The entire Sugar family lives in Netanya. Mom and Dad are Alex and Ruth. Their kids are Anat and Dana (both married with two children each) and Tal is their twenty-four-year-old son, who still lives with them. Ruth's mother, named Marta, was Adam's paternal grandfather Leo's sister. Marta died over two decades ago, but Leo continues to stay in touch with the Sugars.

The Sugar parents own a beautiful home not far from the beautiful beach. We arrived in the early afternoon on Friday, spent a little bit of time at their home, and then Tal drove us down south to Tel Aviv (about a 20 minute drive) so we could walk around the ultra-chic port Tayelet, eat a sushi lunch, and swim in the sparkling Mediterranean.

Adam, Tal, and the Mediterranean Sea

That evening, Alex and Ruth invited the entire family over for an extremely delicious Friday night dinner. I think they were initially uncomfortable with my presence there as a female future rabbi, but I later realized their concern was that I would be disappointed with the lack of Judaism. There were no candles, no blessings, no nothing. And quite honestly, I didn't care. It felt like Shabbat to me because of the gathering family, and the warmth and love. I explained to the whole family exactly what I am doing here in Israel, and the unique nature of the Judaism I believe in. I think they understood.

The Friday night dinner was an amazing thing to partake in. The little kids were screaming, the adults were talking maher maher in Hebrew, the food and sodas flowed endlessly, and it felt like a true, delightful family meal. Adam was in his element, and those beautiful blue eyes of his sparkled as he connected with these people; his relatives, his family, his blood. By the evening's end, we were exhausted and full with huge smiles on our faces. It was just a great experience.

All of us conversed in decent English and broken Hebrew. My attempts to communicate with the four and five year old little ones were particuarly embarrassing. As soon as I saw them walk in I thought, "hooray! Little people I can talk to in Hebrew!" Yet I was mortified to discover that their Hebrew speaking skills could kick my own English skills at the age of five. I could barely understand them, they were so good. It was maddening, yet kind of hilarious.

Now's probably a good time to mention that my Hebrew has, regrettably, gotten worse since I arrived. I'm not quite sure why, as I spend four and a half hours a day in Hebrew classes. I honestly think the issue here is with Israelis speaking Hebrew here in Israel. It's a particularly muffled, mumbled, incoherent vernacular; I don't even think Israelis understand each other's words! They just moan and grunt in such a pattern that they quasi-comprehend one another. Unfortunately, I have yet to cross the threshhold of speaking Israeli Hebrew, and feel that I am falling behind because of it. I fully intend to do everything necessary to pull myself through it and kick ass on Ivrit. Just so you know.

Anyway, back to the weekend. Saturday was spent walking around the Seven Stars Mall in Herzliya. This was such a trippy, welcome respite from the deafeningly quiet Shabbatot of Jerusalem. First of all, the mall was packed. Absolutely packed. It was such an Anglo-cized mall, and looked uncannily like Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks. The fashions were just as sexed-up and indecent as they are in the states, and there wasn't a single "religious lady" store to be found. It was awesome. Not because I have anything against Middle Eastern malls or fashionable Orthodox women. But it was awesome to observe Shabbat life outside of Jerusalem; to see culturally-identified Israeli Jews enjoying their weekend.

Eventually it came time to bid the Sugars farwell, for the time being. Adam and I will probably stay with them again next weekend. They were incredibly kind, generous, and lovely. And it's safe to say Adam and Tal got along like best friends. Adam seems to bond with every long-lost family member he comes in contact with, and it's really wonderful to behold.

We headed back to Jerusalem in time to catch Mamma Mia at the Malcha Mall. (considerably less Anglocized than Seven Stars) The movie was awful, but kind of hilarious. And we were with a huge group of HUCsters, so it was loads of communal fun.

We've settled into a routine here in Jerusalem and at school. It's good, sometimes monotonous, but always interesting. Something new happens every day here. Partially it's because HUC designs it that way, partially it's because we're still at the beginning here, getting to know each other. And the newness of it all is still fairly fresh and exciting. The people are still great, the classes are still fun. We're all still discovering and gaining our ground.

My only regret is that I am not spending more time exploring my spirituality. I've been to several services at HUC, but have yet to venture out into greater Jerusalem for T'filah. Hopefully that will change tonight, as Adam and I intend to visit Har-El Synagogue here in Rehavia. But beside that, I feel that I am not committing myself enough to prayer. I know this will change as time goes on, but for now I'm feeling spiritually confused amongst all these different kinds of Jews in J'lem.

To close out this post, Tuesday Night was the first Beit Cafe (Coffee House) of the year, held outdoors at HUC. It was such a lovely evening; there was dinner, drinks, and lovely performances by my classmates. Adam and I performed two songs together, and it brought back many Nick Roth Trio/Mazeltov Cocktail Memories. I love singing with him, and hope that it continues upon my return to Los Angeles. Here is a pic of us singing together, behind us is the sun setting over the Old City in Jerusalem.



Take care, Much Love!

Jaclyn