So during the week after I last wrote, we celebrated Purim. On the first night, we went to Tel Aviv to celebrate and then returned to Jerusalem on Thursday to continue our celebration. It was such a neat experience to celebrate this holiday in the Holy land. Everyone was dressed up around the streets of Jerusalem starting on Tuesday and lasted the rest of the week. I learned about the story of Purim and why it is celebrated at different times depending on whether or not it is being celebrated in a city with or without walls. It was so interesting to learn about Purim in so many different contexts - with my Reform internship and with several Orthodox teachers. I've always known the story of Purim, but it's amazing how many different details I learned about the holiday in one week from all of these different teachers. It truly is a reflection of my semester here and everything I'm learning. I feel like a sponge, trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can about Judaism, conflicts in Israel, and just learning how I want to live my life.
Throughout the rest of last week, I did a lot of touristy things. On Thursday, I went to an Ice Festival which took place in the old train station in Jerusalem. It was the first ever Ice Festival to take place in Jerusalem. Everything inside the building was made out of ice and the temperature was very low in order to keep the ice from melting. It was so neat to see all of the different ice sculptures, ice slide, and ice bar. Below is a picture of a merry-go-round made out of ice.
On Friday I went with my school on a field trip to the Dead Sea. We were supposed to go on a hike at Ein Gedi in the morning, but there was a flood warning so we weren't able to go. We ended up going on a short stroll through a nature reserve, which did not even compare to the hike we were supposed to do at Ein Gedi. It was still a good field trip though, because we were able to float in the Dead Sea. Below are a few pictures from my trip to the Dead Sea.
On Saturday morning I went to a Shabbat service at HUC where I am doing my internship. It was really good to attend my first Reform service in Jerusalem - it was a breath of fresh air. I was called up to the Torah for an Aliyah during the service which was a really nice opportunity and it gave me chills to think that I might be back here in a year and a half leading services as a Cantorial student.
For the next week I am focusing on midterms and then in only ten days I will be on my way to Europe for 11 days!!
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