Services, and Services, and Services, Oh My!

I am LONG overdue for an update. Majorly. So much has happened lately, and there is so much that I could talk about, but since this is a cantorial school blog, I mostly want to focus on some of the prayer experiences I've had. This will be long, but I promise it will be interesting.

But first, let's talk about my Biblical History class. This class is part lecture and part site seeing. I don't know if that's the correct description, but we go on field trips to some of the sites we've talked about, so I guess that's the best description I can come up with. These trips have mostly consisted of my sweating half my body weight, but there have been some cool things too. We got to see the city of David. I did bring my camera, but I found that the coolest things there happened to be things that you can't really take pictures of. Example: Hezekiah's tunnel. This tunnel was allegedly built by King Hezekiah as a water supply during the rebellion against Syria. It is no longer used for this purpose, which is good, because I bet hundreds of tourists walk through it every day. It's pretty narrow and has low ceilings. Even I had to bend down at one point. There was one point where we were told to turn off our flashlights and be silent. Awesomeness. On another one of these trips, we went to see a bunch of caves. Some of them used to be cisterns. In one of them, we all went inside and sat on the floor. The acoustics were so good that someone started singing the beginning part of "Circle of Life." Followed by a lovely rendition of Ozi V'zimrat Yah. Then, we got to go into burial caves. This is what I look like as a zombie:

But I digress. Two weeks ago, twelve of us went to this moshava (I guess that's Hebrew for town) about forty-five minutes outside Jerusalem to spend Shabbat, or at least the Friday night part of it. We started out by taking a tour of the moshava. It was really interesting. Gedera was settled in the late 19th century by this group called Biluim, people who wanted to settle the land of Israel. There are actually still remnants of the first farm in the town. Even though it was one of the first moshavot, it is still very small. They are in the process of redeveloping the main street to make it more chic. Many people there know each other. They have a community garden, which was gorgeous. There is also a group of Ethiopian Jews who live there, but they have their own neighborhood. The congregation that we went to is a small Reform congregation called Kehillat Yuval that meets in a local elementary school. It was started by a woman who had spent some time in the US and decided that she wanted to be a part of a Reform community in Israel, so she found other families in Gedera who felt the same way, and voila. The rabbi, Myra Hovev, was ordained at HUC in Jerusalem, and she has done a wonderful job of helping this community grow. The service itself was lovely. They have a songleader, and Rabbi Hovev also plays the flute. The focus is mainly on Kabbalat Shabbat and not on Ma'ariv because that is the culture of the community. So, they skipped things like the Barchu and the Amidah because that is what works for their community. The kids got to participate a lot, which is great because the community is basically all families with young children. Two of my friends, Chase and Dan, and I got to play guitar, and we even taught a melody for Oseh Shalom that they didn't know previously, and now the rabbi wants to use it! After services, we went to our respective host families' houses for dinner. I went with Dan and my other friend Leslee to the house of a wonderful couple with a fourteen year old daughter, a ten year old son, and a six year old daughter. The six year old is going into first grade, but she already reads at a second grade level. She even to us from a book of jokes. The son was very nice and friended us on Facebook. The oldest daughter was very sweet, and definitely your typical teenager, complete with magazine posters on the wall. She was telling us all about her favorite music. The food was delicious and included homemade tahini. Yum!!! The best part was that I got to use my Hebrew, and they corrected me when I needed it. I understand Hebrew very, very well, but sometimes when I speak I think way too much and it messes me up, so it is nice to have people who are willing to help me out and won't just start talking to me in English the second I make a mistake. It was a lovely evening and I wish I could have spent the entire Shabbat there. I will have to go back at some point.

Last Saturday morning, I went to the Great Synagogue. You may be asking, "Sara, was it great?" Yes, yes it was. The Great Synagogue definitely lived up to its name. It was also a really interesting experience. If you go to a traditional Orthodox synagogue, the entire first part of the service is led by a lay person. That part was really hard for me to follow. It might have been easier if I was sitting on the bottom floor with the men, but in all honestly, being on the balcony wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Once they got to a prayer called Shochein Ad, the hazzan (cantor), Hazzan Chaim Adler took over. He led the service with the choir. The synagogue does have a rabbi, but he did not lead the service, and I get the sense that he is mainly responsible for learning and programatic things. The chazzanut was hands down the best chazzanut I have ever heard in my entire life. I wasn't really familiar with most of the melodies that were used, with the exception of the Torah service, so I mostly just listened and followed along in the siddur, which was nice. I like to participate while at services, but sometimes its nice to do that in a more passive manner. It was a really wonderful service, and even though it was so huge, I felt that there was a sense of community there. I am going to have to go back there, definitely on S'lichot if not sooner. After the service, I struck up a conversation with the Rebbetzin (rabbi's wife) and managed to get myself invited over for Shabbat lunch. This was even after I told her I was an HUC student, which I for some reason felt comfortable doing, probably because she's American. It's really interesting how in America the majority of Jews, no matter how they observe Judaism, accept that there are many different ways to observe Judaism, while in Israel there are actually groups of people who think that the way I observe Judaism, including the part about studying to become a cantor, is hilul HaShem (an act profaning G-d). So, when I encounter Orthodox Jews in Israel, I will usually try to gage things before I tell them what I am doing here. Anyway, the lunch was HUGE and very tasty. It's a good thing I don't eat meat because if I had tried to stuff one more thing into my body, I would have been like that guy on Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life." Also invited to lunch were a group of Modern Orthodox 20 and 30-somethings from New York and their Rabbi. They were from this community called Manhattan Jewish Experience, which sounded really cool and like something I might like to check out once I'm in NYC. There was also a young recently married couple, an older couple of which the husband is a well known and talented artist, and another woman. The Rabbi required us to go around the table and say who we are, where we come from, and what we're doing in Israel. And then people asked questions. It was really interesting hearing everyone's stories. Again, no one had a problem with the fact that I am an HUC student. And, again, almost everyone there was American. We also talked a bit about the Torah portion, which was cool. It took me way too long to write this post, so I don't remember what was said, but I do remember that it was really interesting.

This post is getting long, so here is a picture of some waves crashing on the shores of Tel Aviv:

On Sunday morning, I went to Women of the Wall again for Rosh Chodesh Elul. Just as the last time, it was awesome. However, this time, four people got arrested. They didn't actually do anything to disturb anyone; they were simply wearing black and white talitot. They weren't even wearing them like you would wear a talit; they were wearing them more like scarves. So, they shouldn't have gotten arrested, but they did. Since my talit is colorful and feminine, it does not count as a talit as far as the police were concerned, so I did not get arrested. What's really interesting is that the only people their talitot seemed to bother were the police officers. Seriously, I know it's technically a law, but don't the police have anything better to do than to arrest people for wearing talitot? Shouldn't they be out arresting thieves, murderers, and other violent people? If I were an Israeli police officer, I do not think that I could, in good conscience, arrest someone for doing something that causes no harm. Anyway, we ended up doing the Torah service in front of the jail. One of my classmates got an aliyah. It was all a very meaningful experience. It sort of made me realize why I am here. While I know that I cannot change an entire culture in one year, I do think that I can at least do my part to stand up for what I can believe. I care a lot about Israel, but in order for it to survive and not implode, there needs to be more religious tolerance among Jews. As I stated in a previous post, there is no halacha against a woman wearing a tailt; it just makes a small vocal minority uncomfortable, so it became the law. This all made me a few minutes late for ulpan, but my teacher was totally cool with it, and there is no other way that I would have rather spent my morning. Oh, and we all got to blow the shofar at the end because it was Rosh Chodesh Elul, which is the month before Rosh Hashanah. For the first time in my life, I was able to get a sound from a small shofar. Going to keep practicing. . .

This evening, I went to Shabbat services at Shira Hadasha, a feminist Orthodox congregation. I don't know that I would call it egalitarian, as there is still a mechitza (separation between men and woman), but it is as egalitarian as you can get within the framework of halacha. Let it be known that I have absolutely no problem praying in an Orthodox community with a mechitza, I just very much like to feel like I can participate. I have been to services with a mechitza where the women do participate, and I have also been to services where they don't. In this one, not only are the women allowed to sing, they get to lead part of the service. On Friday nights, the women lead Kabbalat Shabbat (psalms and poems to welcome Shabbat) and the men read Ma'ariv (evening service). The amud (podium) where they lead from is in the middle of the mechitza, so both sides are able to participate equally. Kabbalat Shabbat was a lot of Carlebach melodies, so I was able to sing along. It was quite spirited and enjoyable. Ma'ariv was led by the men and was a little bit less sing-y and more daven-y, but it was still also enjoyable. I had a moment where I realized that as long as I know the liturgy and the nusach (which in this case, I did), I can pretty much walk into any Ashkenazi synagogue and participate. It was nice. I will go back at some point. I want to go to a Shabbat morning service. . . the women there get to chant Torah!

Whew! That's all for now. Signing off!

Happy Sad Happy

It's been a heck of a week! Last Friday, Udi, our Israeli intern, took me and four friends/classmates, Lindsay, Daniel, Alli, Lisa, on a hike to the ma'ayanot (springs) just outside Jerusalem. So much fun! I hadn't been hiking since I've been here, and frankly it's been a little bit too hot to do a big hike, so this was refreshing. It was the perfect summer hike. Some of it was exposed, but there were a fair number of shady parts. The best part about the hike was that we got to stop at a couple of springs. The first one was honestly kind of sketchy. It had a lot of algae and bugs, and some people do not know how to pick up after themselves. So, I didn't stay in for very long. But it was fun because we got to chill, and Udi made us tea out of zatar and mint that he picked from the trail. Apparently, making tea while hiking is an Israeli thing. Apparently, so is making coffee, as I learned when Udi made us some when we stopped at the picnic benches by the second spring. The final spring we came to was a hidden treasure. It was nice and clean. I stayed in that one for much longer. It was also considerably colder than the first spring, but while I am usually not much of a cold water person, on a hot day like this, that was a good thing. So refreshing!

Oh, and did I mention that the hike had amazing views?

It was overall a wonderful day. In the evening, I unfortunately ended up going to Temple Sha'arei Mitbach (Gates of Kitchen) for services. Silly rice for taking so long to cook! But my dish came out nicely. I am digging this Shabbat potluck almost every week thing. I love cooking, and I love tasting other people's cooking. I don't know that I would have the patience to cook an entire meal for twenty people with the amount of counter and oven space that I currently have in my kitchen. But cooking one dish for a potluck or a meal for a few people I can do. Based on apartment prices in NYC, I'm resigned to the fact that I will have a small kitchen for the next five years.

Anyway, Saturday night began Tisha B'av. Tisha B'av is a day in which we commemorate basically everything bad that ever happened to the Jews, all of which supposedly happened on this date.  The big one is the destruction of the First Temple in 586BCE and the Second Temple in 70CE. It is a fast day. I do fast, though not because I mourn the destruction of the temples, without which Judaism arguably would not exist in its current form. I fast because according to tradition, the Second Temple was destroyed because of internal hatred between Jews, and I see so much of that paralleled today that I worry that we are going to end up being thrown into some sort of figurative exile if something isn't done. We began with a program at HUC and then split up into four separate services for the reading of Eicha (Lamentations): the Kotel, Nava Tehilah (Jewish renewal), Kol Haneshama (Reform), and the Sephardic Beit K'nesset. I chose the Sephardic Beit K'nesset because I wanted a traditional experience that was not the Kotel (as I have mentioned before, I do not really like what has become of the Kotel).

The Sephardic Beit K'nesset was a really interesting, and I'm told a very Israeli, experience. It is one of the oldest synagogues in Jerusalem. Unlike the congregations back home which focus on bringing in new members and recruiting from the outside, some congregations in Jerusalem apparently are made up of a bunch of member families, descended from a long line of founding members. I'm not sure if this is just a Sephardic/Mizrachi thing or if it extends to other kinds of congregations, but regardless, such is the Sephardic Beit K'nesset. It was a really interesting prayer service. The women had the option of sitting either on the balcony or in a side room. Most of the non-HUC women sat in the side room, and those HUC students who also sat in the side room had some interesting conversations with them. I chose to sit on the balcony because I decided that it was easier to see what was going on. The service was interesting. They don't really have specific clergy people who lead the service. They have sort of a lay hazzan (cantor), and other than that people just all pray together, or they go around in a circle. The men were sitting in some sort of a circular formation near the ark. There was a little boy there who was singing along with them. Apparently, that is how kids learn the nusach.

The service was a bit hard to follow. I didn't recognize either the text or the nusach, which is quite different from Ashkenazi (Eastern European, like my antecedents), so I didn't quite understand what was going on all the time. I was able to follow a lot of the reading of Eicha. It made me feel mournful just listening to it. I regret to admit that this was the first time I ever heard a reading of Eicha, but I am told that the Sephardic Eicha trope is also very different from the Ashkenazic. Honestly, I was trying to pick out some sort of pattern but couldn't. This may be because there were quarter tones, which do not exist at all in Western music, i.e. my ears are not used to it. Like the service, there were some parts where the lay hazzan was chanting, and some parts where all of the men were chanting together.

The synagogue itself was pretty interesting too. Unlike Ashkenazi synagogues, Sephardic synagogues have the bimah in the middle. Though, they didn't actually make use of the bimah, since they were sitting on the floor, which I am assuming is because Tisha B'av is a mourning day. I also had the fortune of sitting next to Cantor Tamar, who explained some of the artwork. For instance there are pictures around the synagogue of the various names of G-d, all surrounded by related artwork and descriptive words. There is also a plaque that listed all of the founding members, and Cantor Tamar's family name is on there. What's really interesting is that in Jewish tradition, when you're naming someone in Hebrew in any religious context, you're also supposed to give their parents' names. In Ashkenazic tradition, you always give your father's name first, so I am שרה בת אברהם וקרן. Or if you want transliteration, Sara bat Avraham v' Keren. In Sephardic tradition, the mother's name always comes first, and that was evident on this plaque. Cool, yes?

After the service, a few of us, decided to go to the Kotel. No, I didn't change my mind about the Kotel; I just thought it would be interesting since so many people go. We only stayed for about fifteen minutes. I first took a look at what was happening on the women's side, then decided to venture into the women's side, but quickly retreated due to the masses of people. I then took a peak at the men's side to see what was going on over there. On both sides, people were sitting on the ground, which is a traditional mourning practice, since you are not supposed to be comfortable while mourning. The main difference between the men's side and the women's side is that the men were reading Eicha aloud while the women were reading it silently. And people were full-out mourning. Like, weeping. It's not something I've really seen before.

But I don't want to leave all of you on a mournful note, so here are a few happy things that have happened in the past few days. On Monday, I went to the Jerusalem wine festival. I managed to have the different wines explained to me entirely in Hebrew. I even had a lovely conversation with one of the pourers about the different kinds of grapes that grow in Israel. Yes, in Hebrew. w00t. There were so many tasty wines, and I found out that I can buy many of them in the wine shop next to the shuk. Fancy dinner, anyone? Speaking of food, my friend Abby took me to this place called HaSabichia. All they make is sabich (hummus, eggplant, egg, and other stuff in a pita), and it was the best sabich I have ever tasted. I will be going back. If we want to continue with the food topic, we went to this dairy buffet on Tuesday night at this art gallery called Ticho House. There was live jazz music, and I could eat everything at the buffet. We had an ulpan "concert" on Wednesday where each class sang a different Israeli song. Our class sang a song called "Halleluyah" that won the 1979 Eurovision song competition in Jerusalem. Quite the cheesy song, and we had fun with it. The other classes were also amazing. I had a very happy moment today while doing some pre-Shabbat shopping. I was visiting my favorite spice/rice/other bulk stuff place in the shuk, and one of the guys who worked there was telling me that in addition to working in the shuk, he is also a hazzan. Then I overheard a women saying that she spoke Spanish. So, I started talking to her, and it turns out that she was born in Chile, which is one of my favorite countries. In fact, she lived in Providencia, which was the neighborhood right next to mine (Las Condes) when I was there! I love the social aspect of the shuk. Sam and I also managed to find vegetarian Indian food for dinner, which is nice because while I love Israeli food, I have been missing other kinds of food. Must be the Angelino in me. There, is that happy enough for you? I hope so, because I am off for now!