jerusalem is a very special place during the high holidays. things shut down, people are friendly, and food is everywhere. and, while these characteristics are not uncommon during shabbat, there is a rare feeling of calm perpetuated by almost every jew in the city. not everyone keeps shabbat, myself included, but it seems like everyone celebrates rosh hashanah. different customs and traditions dictate everyones behaviors. the sense of jewish unity is strong and bold in every neighborhood and synagogue. yom kippur is monday and i am confident the same characteristics will apply this week as they did the week before.

yeshiva is getting better. i am still in class from morning till night but the classes are getting more interesting and i am getting to know more people. rabbinic and cantorial students still make up a large sum of the student body, however i am feeling less intimidated by them. the gap year college students (18 year olds) aren't bad either. i hated being with them at first because of their 'high school mindset' but, as it turns out, the college sorority mindset isn't much different. you decide if that is good or bad.

i am about to have almost two weeks off from class and i am excited to see what happens. there are music and art festivals, concerts (matisyhahu is coming on the 7th!!!), and i finally move into my permanent apartment on October 1st. i have been feeling very transitional lately because of my yeshiva environment adaptation and month long apartment lease. i think that once i hang something in my new bedroom i will feel more at home (tapestry, weezy, kramer, whatever.).

backtracking though, i spent most of last weekend at other people's apartments for meals. i walked all around jerusalem (mostly barefoot because fancy shoes suck) eating and drinking and laughing. i learned so much about my classmates and met their friends from all around the world. i saw their apartments and realized that although they were small and crowded, everyone felt at home. they were excited to welcome me and share their holiday with the people around them.

i keep thinking about my next step in life. i talked about this in my last entry, but i am extremely torn about staying in israel for the next year. it is still early and towards the beginning of this one, but maybe i should start making plans for fall 2010 and onwards. staffing a year program or working at the american consulate would be cool, but then again so would working for sony in la. i honestly have no idea what i want to do, nor what i should do. people (my mom) keep telling me i am lucky to have these years to explore the world and identify what and who is important to me. i agree, but i keep wondering if i have to be in israel to do that. i can question and learn in the states, but questioning and learning in israel is awesome as well. as i said, i just don't know.

i still really miss my best friends and i always look at flights to denver and la to visit. i definitely feel the walrus withdrawals but find comfort in knowing i am not the only one missing that life. i know we all miss the late nights on pearl, the (sometimes shameful) morning afters, and the eagerness to repeat it all over again. the weather is changing in boulder (thank you facebook statuses) and i remember the snow and the beautiful leaves around me. israel is still hot, so no parallel there, but i am starting to notice cool breezes in the evening when i run. i run (mostly walk) around the different parts of jerusalem and look at the faces of those i pass. people are young, old, students, professionals, religious and secular, but all are in israel. i cannot get past this feeling of a common passion for the livelihood of this small, terror ridden country.

i often pass soldiers on the street, which is fantastic, but i am starting to wonder what they are thinking. they probably see me as a wealthy american drinking my way through the country, and while they are wrong, i could see how this is probable. i, on the other hand, wonder where they grew up, what unit their parents served in, and if they are counting down the days until they are released. the army is difficult, to say the least, and i respect them so much for serving.

i am excited to begin the new year on good terms and a clean slate. i will grow and mature in ways i never thought possible through experiences i never expected to have. i am excited to see where my decisions take me and who i will meet because of them. hopefully this is the year i will go on tour with weezy and rap for holly grove; one can only hope.

i love and miss you all and i cannot wait until i have my next mysterious drink on pearl.

happy new year. be well and prosperous.

lisa