Precious sleeeep

So - moments before going to bed tonight I semi-remembered (then verified with my good friend the internizzle) that daylight saving in Israel ends tonight. Although I normally mourn the end of DST, in this instance I'm rather pleased since I have to get up early tomorrow to shlep back to Arad. One hour more of precious sleep! How fortunate!

Walk sit pray stand pray sing sit eat stand walk sit pray stand eat more drink sleep (Repeat x 3)

And so ends three days of Jewish Holiday! This Year, Erev Rosh Hashana (the eve of the New Year) fell on Wednesday Night. This means that Thursday and Friday were Rosh Hashana (I) and (II). Then, we roll right over into Shabbat (Friday evening and Saturday). In Jerusalem terms this means that everything closes for three straight days, and most people (the religiously observant at least) engage in the sequence of activity described above.

Two days of New Year? Yes, that's right. Why, I hear you ask? Hmm, good question. This is one that I've wondered about for several years. You see, I am aware that many Jewish Holidays are traditionally celebrated for two days OUTSIDE Israel (the first/second night passover seder, for example). Why? Because in times past, the Hebrew calendar depended on witnesses in Jerusalem appearing before the Sanhedrin to report that they'd sighted a new moon, and hence the beginning of a new month. If no moon was sighted (let's say it was cloudy), the month would be deemed to begin on the next day - and it would be clear on which night each Jewish holiday for that month would fall. However, Jews exiled in Babylonia couldn't necessarily know that a new moon had been sighted in Jerusalem and hence they would celebrate two nights in a row, to ensure they didn't get the date wrong.

So, let's now put aside the fact that we no longer need witnesses to tell us when there is a new moon. WHY would this two-day rule apply in Israel? According to my research on the Internizzle,

"On Rosh HaShana this problem was compounded. Since Rosh HaShana was the first day of the month, immediately upon the Sanhedrin's declaration it would be Yom Tov (actually earlier because of the doubt). It would therefore be prohibited for the messengers to leave the city limits (techum) of Jerusalem. Thus no one outside of Jerusalem would know when the Yom Tov began. It was therefore necessary for all residents of Israel as well to keep two days of Rosh HaShana.

BUT - further reading shows that in Israel, once a "fixed" calendar had been introduced in the 4th century, Rosh Hashana become a one-day affair INSIDE Israel and remained a two-day chag OUTSIDE Israel. According to Rabbi David Bar-Hayim, whose article I found on the web, it was only in the 12th Century that the two-day observance was re-introduced back into practice in Israel by some powerful European rebbes who migrated back to Israel. It's all quite interesting - you can read more about it here

Jerusalem Week 2007

Shana Tovah U'Metuka to all the J-crew out there!
Shout-out to Oren!

I'm writing this posting from the Holy City of Jerusalem where I've been for the past week, spanning the final days of 5767 and the first few of 5768. It's been a very interesting week of walking tours and visits to various sites.



Some highlights:

- Touring the Christian Quarter of the Old City, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and visiting various churches on the Mount of Olives

- A walking tour of Abu Tor, an old Arab Neighbourhood, and the Haas Promenade which gives a commanding view of the whole city of Jerusalem. (I've been there before but it's always impressive)

- A day looking into the world of the Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) society, including a guided walking tour of Mea She'arim and surrounding shtetls

- Visiting ZAKA - a religious volunteer organisation that goes to the site of terrorist attacks, accidents, car crashes etc and helps to aid survivors and to recover every body part and piece of tissue so that those who have died can be given a proper burial

- Visiting Hadassah Hospital and learning how they deal with mass casualty events (Israel is, unfortunately, world-leading in their preparedness for these kinds of emergencies)

- Going to a friend's Very Orthodox wedding!

I have been getting a little slack on the photo-taking, but you can see a few pics on my Facebook album here

Goodbye King George!

Not the Monarch - the Address.

Woe unto me, tomorrow is our last day living in the Rooftop Ghetto apartment at 37 King George!! This marks the end of our PSJ Internship period. It's been a great 2+ months. Living in central Tel Aviv was fabulous, even with the suffocating humidity. I enjoyed my internships, even though they didn't particularly relate to my professional experience (well actually #2 did but I haven't blogged about it yet, and didn't manage to progress with it as much as I'd hoped).

I'm very happy with what I did for the Heschel Center. The website isn't complete yet, but that's largely due to the fact that we need a graphic designer to help us to realise our "vision". If you want you can check out the work in progress, that is, the website. Please note that it's not finished yet!! (But if you see bugs you are welcome to let me know).

OH and if you want to be on the mailing list to receive the exciting Heschel Newsletter that I created, post a comment or email me and I will add you to the list!

From here it's onto Jerusalem for a week of WUJS activities, then a break for Rosh Hashanah (I think I'll be in Jerusalem participating in some nice Kesher Outreach courtesy of HUC!). Then back to Arad for the final 2-3 days of BBQs, "graduation", packing up our rooms, etc. Then I'll be couch-surfing for a month or so... with a possibility of a house-and-cat-sitting position for a couple of weeks in the middle... FINGERS CROSSED!