Living the dream...

10am. And the siren sounded - cars stopped . People got out of their cars, standing at attention, hands at their sides or clasped behind their backs. This same siren sounds every Shabbat to signal the beginning of our day of rest. And today, this same siren signifies the eternal rest of so many of our people. In ancient days, the ram's horn called people to prayer. In modern days, youngsters learn how to blow the horn to bring in the new year, to help in repentance. If you've ever walked into a store that sells the rams' horns, Shofar, you immediately exit. The smell is atrocious. They were once attached to a live ram. Birthright participants pack the shofar into the overhead compartment on their El-Al flight home - a souvenir of a life changing experience - a Judaism that sadly many will never visit again, quickly returning to their lives they left to come here for ten days. When the flight lands, they'll rush off the plane to catch a connecting flight and the ...

20 squat toilets, 37 bed bug bites, 20 pieces of chicken smothered in egg and mayonnaise, 7 bottles of Cognac and 43 statues of Lenin later, its safe to say that I'm back from the USSR. Time spent in southern Ukraine (Crimea) and St. Petersburg were no doubt memorable. Overloaded with final papers and celebrating various Israeli holidays, I'll do my best to give a delayed reflection on the trip because my brother told me I'm doing a poor job of blogging. In a few days, I will post about various Israeli national holidays. Notes of thanks for ending the blogging drought and serving as my mailing address all year can be sent to my brother whose address somehow comes up on my email account as "Coolest Man in US and A." *** My time spent in Ukraine and Russia is best summed up by a severely disabled man we visited in a home for people with physical, emotional and mental disabilities. As the 39 year old man confined to a wheel chair began to cry, "Please don...

I'm back in the holiest of lands after a 10 day Midwest tour in the great states which I'm happy to report are still united. I fell seamlessly back into life in America and only noted a few major differences. -People are generally nicer in Tennessee than in Israel. -Similar to churches, Starbucks can be found on every street corner. -Stores give you receipts and allow you to make exchanges and, gasp, even complete returns - a foreign idea in Israel. -Anti-abortion signs escorted me along my drive from Tennessee to Indiana where it is unquestionable that "A family that prays together, stays together." At the end of the day, I found myself comfortably catnapping in my parents new home in Knoxville, snuggly sleeping at Chez Adland (family friends in Indy), thrilled with my dorm room dozing in littlest Gubitz's IU dorm room and a splendid slumber in an elegant bridal suite in Cincinnati. Then again, I can sleep anywhere... But still nothing beats the 10 hou...

A devoted reader wrote to me today: DevotedReader: omg jen your blog is pathetic... update it! :) its been 45 days DevotedReader : what if someone only keeps track of you on your blog and they think you got eaten by a camel or something... In fact, I have not been eaten by a camel. I am alive and well, though I do wonder - has anyone ever been eaten by a camel or has anyone ever eaten camel? If so, please let me know what it tastes like. In recent days - I've had a few Hebrew mishaps I'd like to share with you. First - every day, I feel the dire need to quench my thirst for God's gift to the earth - coffee. However, if it is past 6pm - I need to drink decaffeinated coffee. Now we've been over this before in a previous post (which was refined and more enjoyable in an actual Israeli " publication ") - but its impossible to get American style coffee in Israel. So the only option is really a Hafuch (meaning flipped) - which is basically a Latte. Anyways, ...

After a long hiatus on my blog, I'm happy to report that all is well in the holiest of lands. First semester is a distant memory. I spent winter break traveling to Istanbul and Petra with great friends. The highlights of Turkey was visiting Starbucks four times and of course, searching for Constantinople . (Pictures and a video are included in those links.) Being let back into the Israel, which was a concern given an expired visa, was also a relief. Surprisingly, I didn't see much lunch meat in Istanbul. My Hebrew is improving and second semester classes are off and running - and my return to the states at the end of May is rapidly approaching. Life in Israel would not be complete without another season of holidays - next on the docket are Purim and Passover . Of particular interest, I will be traveling to Ukraine during Passover to lead the traditional Passover Seder. I have to raise $2000 USD - to contribute to the overall costs of an $80,000 project. Every donation...

I'm on vacation and there is a lot to report: Image of a car being towed on our street: Police officer sits in car and makes the announcement on a bullhorn loud speaker: "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." waits 5 seconds. "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." waits five more seconds. "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." "If this car is yours, you better come and move it or we will tow it." Said person who owns car - fails to hear the announcement (note: we do not often stay within shouting distance of our cars when we park them) and car is towed away. We consider claiming the car - as it would make grocery shopping much easier. Alas, car is now towed and we will continue our shopping pursuits with a " Shuk Cart " that we are told every...

I learned yesterday that a close childhood friend passed away unexpectedly. We were raised together in Fort Wayne at our Temple among about 10 kids in our age group, running the halls of our synagogue during the Torah service our parents kicked us out of because we could not keep quiet, attending Camp Joe Levine Jewish Day Camp together, Hebrew high school, and youth group events. While our mom's played Mah Jong, I remember doing arts and crafts and playing other quiet games, David was always so nice to me - a far cry at the time from the other crazy boys our age. I remember nagging my parents regularly to make plans with his family so we could hang out. David and I even went to prom together - though attending different high schools, the proms were held down the hall from each other and we ran back and forth all night long. I just found some of the pictures while cleaning out my room before my parents moved to Knoxville. It could be argued that we were quite a spiffy looking ...