Almost That Time.

Well my trip is winding down. Only a few more weeks to go. I'm trying to squeeze in as many sites and as much learning as I can. I've traveled more in two weeks than I have the whole eight months I've been here. Wow...eight months. This is a monumental trip for me. I can't believe I've been away from America this long. Look for more pictures over then next few weeks. ttyl.

The Beach in Tel Aviv

Today was pretty awesome. My friend Levi asked me to hang out at the beach today. I haven't been to the beach in years. I used to lifeguard and it brought back some awesome memories. I gotta go back before I leave Israel. Enjoy the pics. Shabbat Shalom!

Tiveriah, Tsfat, Meiron

View From the Rooftop

I took some pics from the rooftop of the dorms today. We were having our pre-Shabbat oneg. For those of you that have been here before you know how I feel when I say that this view is why I don't want to leave. For those of you that have never been here I hope the pictures convey the beauty of this place. HIS eye is truly forever on this land.

Al Naharot Bavel (By the Rivers of Babylon)

Last Thursday night I decided to go to the Kotel tunnels to recite Tikun Chatzot. There is a custom to mourn the destruction of the Temple. The prayers are arranged specifically for this purpose. I spent the whole night there and also recited other tikkunot and the prayed at neitz. I was so tired I almost fell asleep during prayer. I slept well the next day. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Craig's List Jerusalem

So one night after a long day I was having a little to drink. I began to feel a little daring and decided to look for jobs in Israel on-line. I went to Craig's List and found they have a Jerusalem section.

I found a job as a swim coach for a private team about 25 minutes from me. I've been coaching swimming since I was 18. I was like hey lamma lo (why not). So I emailed them and sent them a resume. I didn't believe I was gonna get a response. Sure enough 3 days later I received an email from the mom. I have an interview soon. Freaky isn't it? I'll let you know how it goes. L'hitraot.

Long Time

Hello all,

I know it's been a long time since posting. My sister has dropped some "hints" that it's time to update. So here goes it.

War kicked off in Aza (Gaza). Elections started. Don't know who won yet. I think it's between Benyamin Netanyahu and Tzipi Livni. Check Yahoo! as you open your emails. Lots of prayers for geshom (rain). We are in a major drought. R'Noah Weinberg passed away last week.

As for me, since I do Western Wall Prayers I have to be in Yerushalyim for 40 days straight. I can go places during the week but I just have to be able to get to the Kotel sometime during each day. This poses a problem for Shabbat. I can't go out of town because there's no way back to do the prayers because using automobiles is prohibited on Shabbat. So when it was over I took off. I've been to Or Aqiba which is near Netanya (I think) to visit my friends Tal and Moran. I went to B'nei Barak near Tel Aviv. It was like I was at the beach. It was amazingly warm and there were palm trees there. Wonderful religious town there. The following Shabbat I went to Bayit Vagan to stay with a rabbi from yeshiva. Had fun there. He has a really nice family and hilarious children. That following Shabbat I stayed in the Old City and kept Shabbat with some friends at the Sephardi yeshiva. Had a great time. To wind down my travels I went to Har Nof to stay with my friend Dan and the guys at Machon Shlomo yeshiva. I had a blast there. Once again the weather was very nice. I ate by the Posens on Friday night and then went to some really nice families for second and third meal.

Third meal in Har Nof was especially nice for me. We went to Mr. Amar's for seudat shlishi. He has 14 children and he is very happy. It was amazing to see. We davened arvit and then went back to his place for havdala (the end of Shabbat to seperate the holy from the mundane). We sang some songs and ate some more. Dan and I had a great time.

Just this past week friends from Atlanta came to celebrate a wedding (for which I have no pictures for)and a bar mitzvah. I'm close with the family so it was special to be there for their celebrations.

Well...ebidi, ebidi, ebidi...that's all folks.