1/5 to 1/6 | The Journey Ends

This is it.  I am currently sitting in Ben Gurion International Airport, staring at the screen for my El Al flight to Newark, New Jersey.  In one hour, I will be boarding the plane, thereby ending one of the greatest experiences I have ever had as I go from homeland to home.  Hands down, these past four months have been some of the best of my life.  I have fallen even deeper in love with the State of Israel: its people, its landscape, its cities and towns, its culture, its politics, its strengths, and even its weaknesses.  This is a pivotal time for the Jewish state; not since the 1973 Yom Kippur War has Israel faced such challenges!  This will not bring the people of Israel down; in fact, it will only make them stronger.  Israel will only grow in the face of obstacles placed in the way by the Palestinians, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the entire Arab world, and the United Nations.  Israel will thrive.  And Israel will be a light unto the nations.  I may be leaving, but not for long.  I was here in 2010, I was here in 2011, I am here in 2012; it is only natural that I come back in 2013!  Lehitraot, Israel.  I cannot wait to see you again.

The walk to the terminal features an exhibition of Jewish and Zionist artwork.

A bust of David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel.

The shopping area of Ben Gurion Airport. 

Only in the Jewish state: a Chabad Lubavitch booth. 

Flying with El Al, Israel's flag carrier.

The plane that will take me home.

Lehitraot, Israel!

1/4 | My Last Full Day in Jerusalem

Today marks my last full day in Jerusalem.  Over four months after I arrived back in August, my time here at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is coming to an end.  Not wanting to waste precious time, I decided that today would best be spent wandering the city from the Machane Yehuda shuk to the Old City, ending at the Western Wall.  This proved to be a wise decision, as it allowed me to see everything I wanted to see before I leave tomorrow.

 This picture depicts Jerusalem at the center of a flower with Africa, Asia, and Europe as petals.

 This building is part of the city hall complex, right next to the Old City.

Safra Square--Kikar Safra in Hebrew--is a big plaza right in front of city hall.

 When I arrived at the Western Wall, soldiers were setting up for some kind of ceremony.  The red and black flags appear to be those of the IDF Artillery Corps.

Soldiers dragging a flag stand across the Western Wall Plaza. 

I could not figure out why a symbol of the Israeli Air Force (a sword with wings) would be included in a ceremony for the Artillery Corps.  Very intriguing!

The Western Wall.  I will miss the ease with which I could access the holiest site in the world. 

I also made a point to go back to HaKotel HaKatan.

 There was only one other person, a Hasidic Jew, at the Little Western Wall.  He was deep in prayer, occasionally screaming and yelling out loud to G-d.

A Jerusalem oddity: An Israeli flag flying over the minaret of a mosque right next to the Via Dolorosa, where Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion.

1/1 to 1/3 | The End of Papers and Finals, Goodbyes, and a Visit from Jake

As of today, my checklist looks like this:

• Finish my paper on "Business Ethics within the Israeli Diamond Industry."
• Start and finish my paper on "Modern Diplomacy, Ancient Societies: Analyzing the Relationship between the People’s Republic of China and the State of Israel."
• Take the second part of my Hebrew final exam.
• Take my Foreign Policy of Israel final exam.
• Take my Archaeology of Israel final exam.
• Visit my family in Ramat Gan.
• Shop for souvenirs.
• Say goodbye to everyone!

...and my classes look like this:

✔ Modern Hebrew: Bet, Lower Intermediate Level, Part I
✔ Business Ethics and Social Responsibility: A Middle Eastern Perspective
✔ Foreign Policy of Israel
✔ Archaeology of Jerusalem

All done!  Fall semester of my junior year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has officially come to a close.  I only have one grade--an A in Hebrew--as of now, but I feel confident that I did well in all of my classes.  Here's hoping for straight As!

As for goodbyes, last night marked the end of Monday night beit midrash sessions with Rabbis Grodner, Lebow, and Udren, as well as my chavrutah Ben.  Every Monday since September, I have made it a point to go to the Hecht Synagogue for free dinner and Jewish learning.  Over this time, I have developed great relationships with everyone to the point that I even started going to Rabbi Lebow's Grill and Chill on Tuesday nights and Rabbi Grodner's Talmud class on Wednesday afternoons.  I will miss having the chance to learn new things about Judaism on a regular basis.  If someone is going to study abroad in Israel, why not get the complete Jewish experience, right?  A special thanks to Ben for personalizing this great experience, and especially for his generous gift: Out of the Depth: The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last, a memoir by former Chief Rabbi Meir Lau.  This is even more special because I actually got the opportunity to see Rabbi Lau in person back during the Jerusalem Conference in October.  I cannot wait to start reading this book--sefer in Hebrew--on the plane!

Ben, Rabbi Grodner, and I discussing the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Cook.

Ben and I reading from the Talmud.

Rabbi Lau at the Jerusalem Conference in October.  I cannot wait to read his book!

As of this writing, I have about two days and seven hours until my departure for Newark, New Jersey.  This means that I have two full days in Israel to do whatever I want.  I think I will spend all of tomorrow wandering Jerusalem, starting at the shuk and making my way back to Mount Scopus.  I was considering touring the city of Hebron, but I haven't found anybody who wants to do it with me.  It will be my last full day before leaving Jerusalem, though, so I figure I should enjoy it while it lasts.

Update:

Tonight, I had the great pleasure of meeting up with Jake Gillis, a fellow SigEp brother and friend (as well as my former Little FYSH: First Year Student at Hillel).  He is here on a three-week yeshiva program over winter break.  We were supposed to meet tomorrow night, but his plans changed, so we decided instead to meet on Ben Yehuda Street at 8:30 this evening.  It was great to see Jake; I consider myself very fortunate that I can study halfway around the world and still get to see people from home.  Israel is central to us Jews, so people--whether it be my bosses at NCSJ or my cousin Scott on Birthright--are always coming and going.  We spent the night wandering up and down Ben Yehuda Street, Zion Square, and the surrounding vicinity, talking about everything under the sun.  Jake also showed me an incredible 15 shekel shawarma place and we got some in a lafa to go.  Later on, Jake walked me over to see the current president of AU Students for Israel, Helena Bondar, who is here on yet another program!  Incredible, right?

Jake and I on Ben Yehuda Street.  Eliezer Ben Yehuda was the man who revived Hebrew as a modern spoken language.  His last name literally means Son of Judah; however, since there are two of us, we would actually be Bnei Yehuda--Sons of Judah.

*Credit for the pictures from the beit midrash goes to Rabbi Yonatan Udren.*