Our cousin Shula lives in Jerusalem. What you have to understand about Shula is that she runs a full-scale Bed & Breakfast when it comes to hosting members of our family. Her door is always open, and her home is beautiful, warm and welcoming. After being the consummate hostess and serving both pre-breakfast and actual breakfast, we exited Shula’s apartment and I was struck by the reality of where she lives. (A miklat is a bomb shelter.)
Shula kindly drove me to the Haas Promenade, which was the meeting point for our Matan Bellows Eshkolot Cohort. It offers breathtaking views of the Old City.
Once there, Rivi Frankel of Matan and Midreshet Emunah v’Omanut had us set our intentions. What did we hope to get out of this trip? What were we looking to gain? After reflecting privately for some time, we also did an activity in pairs called Camera/ Photographer. One person (the Camera) chooses an object to focus on. She positions the photographer in that direction. Then the photographer has to recount what she sees. The goal was for us to realize that it’s rare for someone to immediately see our point of view, but being open to other points of view can be valuable and important.
We then went around the group and introduced ourselves. We shared where we worked and the subjects we taught. People talked about what it meant for them to be on the trip and what they hoped to gain from the experience. Some members of the group have been to Israel frequently but are usually the ones planning the experiences for others (such as their students). Attending this trip was an opportunity for them to receive rather than to give. Other members of the group have not been to Israel in years and relished the opportunity to connect to the Holy Land. Still others were excited about the opportunity to experience tiyulim and see holy sites through the lens of the Tanakh. And some had gone through personal crises or challenges and were appreciating this opportunity to refresh their spirituality.
We boarded a bus to Matan.
It’s a beautiful space where women gather to learn, grow and collaborate on sharing their knowledge of Torah. Our schedule today featured the following speakers and topics:
Methodologies in Tanach Studies with Dr. Yael Ziegler
Lunch and Divrei Bracha with Rabbanit Malke Bina and Rabbanit Shani
Intro to the Beit Midrash with Dr. Bryna Yocheved Levy
Chavruta class with Rav Leibtag
Matan also served us a dairy lunch with a variety of salads, bagels and spreads, a fruit platter and muffins.
Alas, I basically fell asleep during the last class of the day because the jet lag started to hit me. Hopefully the rabbi wasn’t offended.
The day ended on a bit of a sad note because Rabbi Moshe Kahn passed away. I took two Gemara classes with Rabbi Kahn but I wasn’t a devoted student of his (like people who were in the GPATs program were). However, there were members of our cohort who knew Rabbi Kahn well and were very affected by his passing.
Upon leaving Matan, I used Google Maps to get back to Shula’s house. (I was very proud of myself.) Then we began the second part of our day, which involved having fun in Israel.
We began by stopping by Max Brenner so I could buy a gift for my hosts for Shabbat. (I’ll be in Alon Shvut.) Max Brenner is a fancy chocolate shop and they also sell wine.
Then, I had told Shula that I wanted to try out a dairy cafe, so she took me to Caffit in Emek Refaim. Caffit had a very fun vibe with both indoor and outdoor seating. They had heat lamps (that were pink) by the outdoor seating, which I enjoyed.
We had a salad and a dish with mashed potatoes and cheese and I discovered that I love limonana.
Then we stopped by a bank and I was entertained that everything was in Hebrew. (Yes, I understand that this is Israel so of course it is, but it still tickled me.)
I was also entertained by the Hebrew graffiti. For some reason I can’t take Hebrew graffiti seriously. I’m used to swear words being graffitied on the bus or subway or on large overpasses, and this is just sweet in comparison.
As we walked, I saw Steimatzky (which is the equivalent of Barnes and Noble, but with fewer books.)
After dinner, we stopped by a supermarket (which was very similar to Sarah’s Tent back home in Chicago.) Then, since I had told Shula I wanted gelato, we went to an ice cream store for dessert.
Everything was delicious!
Here’s hoping that I can sleep tonight.