From Feast to Famine

Sign for Rishon LeZion

Deserted road on Yom Kippur

Sorry it's been so long! I could say it's because I have been super busy, which I have, but if you know me at all you know the truth is I have just been lazy. Don't hold it against me, I'm back! When I last left you I was gearing up for Rosh Hashana so we have a lot to catch up on. I started the holiday with Gal and her family who were so kind and welcoming. When I say it was a feast, it is a complete and utter understatement. Gal's mom and the rest of the family made so much food that by the end of the night I was pretty much catatonic. Everything was delicious but my favorite was a Moroccan dish called Bastilla that Gal's mom made. It is basically a phyllo dough pie stuffed with chicken and dried fruit. So yummy! The next morning, Amanda and I went on a search to find a Chabad for services and to hear the shofar. After somewhat of a wild goose chase, we finally found one but at that point we were sweating profusely in our shul appropriate attire so we only stayed for a little while. Luckily in that short time, we met Leah who was born in Israel but speaks impeccable English because her mom and grandmother are from Brooklyn and she invited us over for dinner that evening after knowing us for all of 10 minutes. That is one thing that I feel like is very unique to Israeli culture. If someone meets you and knows that you are far from home with nowhere to go for a holiday or Shabbat they will immediately invite you into their home to celebrate with their family. This has definitely helped with missing home. Since Amanda and I didn't really know where Leah lived and she couldn't use her phone to text us because of the holiday, she had her children meet us on the corner and walk us to her apartment. In keeping with Jewish tradition, she made a ton of food which was all so good and before we left she invited us over the next day for Shabbat lunch. Her and her family are so sweet and though I am not used to being in a very religious environment, I felt completely comfortable. The next day I finally went to the beach in Rishon since my burns have healed and had a very relaxing time. Then I only had two days of school before Yom Kippur. On the eve of Yom Kippur I made myself schnitzel and pasta to tide me over during the fast and headed out with my roommates to take in Rishon without any traffic. It seemed like the whole city was walking in the middle of the streets since everything shuts down for the holiday. The next day after waking up at 1pm which definitely helped with the hunger, I went on a solo walk since the novelty of being able to walk in the middle of the streets had not yet lost its appeal for me. Then I went to the park to read and finished the last hour of the fast in bed since I was starting to not feel so great. My roommates Sam and Sivan woke me up just before the end of the holiday to stand in front of the shul by our apartment to hear the shofar signalling the end of Yom Kippur. It was so cool to wait with everyone else during that moment and experience the whole country standing still for those 25 hours. Once the fast was over, my roommates and I went to a bar down the street called Bernard that has really good sandwiches and I had the "Buffalo Soldier" sun-dried tomato paste, pesto, tomatoes, lettuce and mozzarella on a toasted baguette. It was no bagel and lox but it did the trick. Although I have about 9 months left here I can confidently say that Yom Kippur in Israel will be at the top of my list of memorable moments. Today I woke up at 6:40am (grumpy face) to meet Amanda in Jerusalem and we had an epic day. More on that later. Thanks for giving me a reason to keep documenting my journey!