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
✔ 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?
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.*
It was a pleasure to have you as part of the program, and you added a lot to our community. As you said, you were looking to get a full Jewish experience and you invested your time and made that happen. I hope that you will be able to find opportunities to continue your Jewish learning. Please keep in touch and come back and visit us soon--Rav Yonatan
ReplyDeleteIs this your last post?... I hope not as I would like to hear about your last few days and how you make the most of them. I have enjoyed reading the blog, it made me feel almost like I was there with you. You are a good writer. XOXOXO
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