First Shabbat and some traveling

It is not Sunday afternoon and I just returned to Jerusalem. We are experiencing a hot spell right now. Jerusalem is brutal right now, and it is actually unbearable to be outside during the high point of the day. I'm hoping it'll end soon, because I know it won't be much better once we get into July...

On to my days....
The last time we spoke I was sitting at the Jerusalem bus station about to my buy my ticket to head up to Kibbutz Ohalo for Shabbat with Shosh and her group. I got on the 2 PM bus, and settled into my seat with my 5 kilos of rogalach, flowers, and mountainsmith bag (my backpack was under the bus). The bus ride was normal and easy, I was able to have my own seat for the whole ride and got a little cat nap on the way up. Israel truly amazes me at how it can change within an hour or two of driving. Even during this hot spell, the north still is lush and very green. Very different from the desert climate that surrounds Jerusalem. As we got deeper into the north I started wondering where my stop was. I had asked the bus driver to announce when we arrived to the Kibbutz since I wouldn't be able to recognize it. I knew it came after Kibbutz Kineret, and once I saw the sign for that I hopped out of my seat and asked if Ohalo was next. he nodded, stopped the bus and I got off. I looked around for a second, with my accessories in hand, and realized I couldn't find the entrance. Every kibbutz I had ever been to had some sort of sign to let you know how to get in. From what I could see, that didn't exist. I called Shosh to see where she was only to find out that she wasn't arriving for another. (disclaimer! Keep in mind that I was supposed to be staying there incognito, thus I didn't find it a good idea to try and 'check in'). I continue walking around, find a cemetary that I assumed that wasn't it. Walked out, cursed the heat, and continued up the road to find the entrance. Lo and behold! I found it. I walk in, make friends with the receptionist, asked if I could hang out in the lobby, and take a seat. While waiting for her group, I was throughly entertained by a group of French tourist who crowded into the lobby and were yelling about everything possible. I couldn't understand a word they were saying, but I couldn't stop staring at the short pudgy man, that refused to wear a shit. It was like an awful painting. You don't want to look, but you are curious at how it was put together. Thus you stare. After that fiasco, I, along with the receptionists, made of the tourists. Shosh and her group arrived around 5:45, and I couldn't have been happier. I greeted her with flowers, and the whole group let out a resounding "awwwww". I guess my reputation had proceeded me. I knew that Shosh was in work mode, so I was more than happy to help her with anything possible (especially since she worked as my chaperon during a couple trips to Colorado last February). I already knew I was going to assist Noah, her co-staff, in services so Noah and I sat down and went over what we wanted to do. After meeting for an half hour, I finally went to my room and got see Shosh. The first word that comes to mind when I got to see her was 'refreshed'. I had missed her so much, and it felt so good and reviving to be able to hug her again. To say the least I was looking forward to Shabbat...

The Sabbath
Shabbat was certainly welcomed by everyone there. The previous week had been hectic to say the least, and the prospect of taking a deep breath and taking it all in was more than enticing. We first went down to the beach to sing a song, and explain all the options for tefillah (services). Noah and I lead our group to the room and began. The service itself were parallel to what I did when I was working with NFTY. I was okay with that for this situation, since most people in the room didn't know any of the prayers, but for my first Shabbat in Israel I was looking forward to a very spirited Kabbalat Shabbat and Ma'ariv. Luckily I have plenty more Shabbatot to come for me to enjoy, for the birthright group this is their only one. I wanted to make sure they got as much out of it as possible.

From there we had dinner, nothing special to report about except for the fact that I was starving and enjoyed eating very much. I also did my second rendition of Aishat Hayil for Shosh and I must say that the second go around went much more smoothly. After dinner we had an oneg, and I finally was able to get the bounty of carrying around the rogalach all day. It was very tasty, and I was happy that Shosh's group got to enjoy them also. After that we had a tish, which is nothing more than sitting around on Shabbat and telling stories. Traditionally you tell Rabbinic stories, that either talk about Shabbat or teach something. In this circumstance, the floor was open to everyone to share a random (Jill, I hope you noticed that) story that has opened to them in their life. I shared the Chick fil A story of course. Once the tish was over, we went to bed and it felt great.

The next morning we were able to sleep in, and I lead a Parsha HaShavua lesson for Shosh's group. This was a bit easier since the Parsha was Shelach Lecha, and it's my Bar Mitzvah portion. In fact this past Shabbat was my 15th anniversary. I taught a lesson about faith, since that is one of the main themes of the Parsha. Faith in oneself, and people around you. I felt it was appropriate for the experience they were having, and some of them told me afterwards that they were able to take a lot from what I taught. Those are always my favorite moments. Next was some free time and lunch. During the afternoon we had an activity about Jewish identity. This is a hot topic on Birthright, since every participant really comes from all over the board in how they see themselves as Jews. We were split into three groups, and I went with Noah to help him. We would hold up signs with different Jewish aspects on them, some examples of these are "Fasting on Yom Kippur", "Keeping Kosher", "Learning how to speak Hebrew", "Making Jewish Education a Priority for your children", and "Marrying a Jewish man/woman". The discussions were very intriguing. Some of the people were a bit more on the observant side, and wanted to learn to speak Hebrew, and wanted to make sure their children had the same background that they had. Others (including all the Israelis in our group), didn't really have or need a dedication to these traditions. It was eye opening to many of us, where varied the Jewish demography is around the states and in Israel. I contributed some, but tried to hold back and let the participants dictate the conversation. After the discussion, I took a nap since the heat of the day really took a lot out of me. Shosh woke me up around 7:45 and we started practicing for our Torah readings. You might ask "What were you reading Torah for?" Well, that's a great question! Birthright trips give the option of letting any of their participants become Bar or Bat Mitzvahs if they haven't already done so. 4 girls in Shosh's group wanted to do this, and 2 girls wanted to receive Hebrew names. We did an abbreviated mincha services (just the Torah service to be exact), I acted as gabbi and Shosh read for the first two, and we switched for the last one. All six girls came up for their aliyot, and after the Torah service gave a brief speech. For the girls receiving names, they spoke about why they chose those names. The four girls who became B'not Mitzvah spoke about their commitment to the Jewish people, why they chose this moment to go through with the ceremony, and to teach something to the rest of the group. All six girls put a lot of thought into what they spoke about, and all did a beautiful job. After the ceremony we had havdallah, and prepared to go to Tiberias for the evening.

That night we went down to the pier, and spent the evening out and about. Shosh, Noah, and i went to dinner at a dairy restaurant (so Shosh could actually eat something) and enjoyed the random nice weather. Overall wasn't the most the eventful evening, except for the stomachache I had after dinner.

This morning we woke up at about 6:50 and got ready to pack up. I had a very nice shower, and went to breakfast. Shosh's bus driver was nice enough to drop me off in Tiberias so I could catch my bus. It came on time, I found a seat, put on my Ipod and passed out. I woke up when we got to Jerusalem and started gathering my belongings. I got everything together and got off the bus, and had to go through another set of security to enter the bus station. This is where the day got sticky. I emptied everything (or so I thought) out of my pockets and went through the metal detector. It beeped. I realized I had my Ipod in one of my cargo pockets, I took it out and put it on top of my one of my bags. After I went through the metal detector again I put my Ipod in one of the side pockets of my mountainsmith bag. This is where I always put my Ipod. I walked through the bus station and went outside to catch another bus to go into town. I looked in my bag, and to my disbelief my Ipod was nowhere to be found. I was crushed. I ran across the street, back in the bus station to retrace my steps and speak with security to find a lost and found. Nothing. Nowhere. So now I'm Ipodless. Before any of you respond with a "Marc! How could you be so irresponsible?!?!" Please don't, I'm already pissed at myself. It sucks, but atleast I still have my external with everything backed up.

Anyhoo, I'm at Pardes now and will be going to get something to drink soon. I look forward to hearing from everyone!