Yesterday was my first full day of classes. Our program of 22 girls is split into two groups- I'm in the "Dimensions" group, which means we have some more basic Jewish knowledge than the other girls. There are only 9 of us in the class which is nice.

My first class was on kashrut (laws of kosher) and what they represent, taught by an older religious English woman. The second class was called "More Essential Jewish Concepts" which appeared quite vague but was really interesting- a rabbi from Toronto who had previously explored many other faiths (like Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism) before deciding to pursue what he was born into... These classes are intense- big thinking all the time and challenging claims by the orthodox word. Though most teachers encourage all questions, it is still uncomfortable for me at times. This rabbi discussed the difference between knowing, believing and having faith in a very real and upfront way.

After our lunch break (falafel!) I had a class called "Path to Prayer" which was taught by another religious English woman, but this time an unmarried woman- not as common here. Again, very heavy, but interesting. Unfortunately she said something about Muslim prayer that kind of set me off but I'm trying to keep an open mind for the next class I have with her. We have our teachers a few times throughout the program- which is good and bad. Some of the teachers' form of communication is difficult for me to connect with, but again I'm trying to stay positive. The last class of the day was about happiness and not as interesting- but the woman who taught us had went to Brandeis, which was cool.

My roommates and I enjoyed a bottle of Israeli red wine on our balcony off our room- pictures to come soon! Heather from Toronto, Liz from Denver and Marissa from Seattle, are all awesome. There are two houses for the program- one is where most of the girls live and where we learn, and the other, where I live, is two blocks away and much more spacious and mellow. We spent some time beautifying our room- Liz is a virgo like me and we've connected on many levels, including cleaning and organizing our room :)

A bit later Liz and I went down to a cafe near our place with one of the madrichot (counselors) who lives in our house. Her name is Leah and she has been studying in a seminary in Israel for almost 2 years now. We had Turkish coffee and went to the grocery store called "yesh" which means there is or have. It was so incredible to see everything with Hebrew labels and to try to decode what it said- everywhere I look is like a mental puzzle trying to read the Hebrew words. I love being surrounded by Hebrew!

Today was another intense day of learning. We went to the Old City and spent the entire day at this seminar called "discovery." The basic goal of these classes was to "prove" that the Torah was written by/comes from God- WOAW crazy right?! So I was skeptical going in and still am... but there were a few lectures that were really interesting. I don't want to bore everyone with details from every class I take but one that was quite unique was about the codes found in the Torah by researchers here in Israel... the lecturer wasn't the best but it was pretty crazy to see these encoded Hebrew words in the Torah, discovered by statisticians in Israel and then confirmed internationally. I'm not doing the best job at explaining this- too complicated without the visual examples from the text. I can show you when I come home if you want :)

Finally back at the house chilling out and watching the sun set over the gorgeous horizon of Jerusalem. Ramot means heights in Hebrew, so our area, Ramot Eshkol, has wonderful views and a cool breeze a night. I still have to pinch myself that I'm here in Jerusalem- so much I still want to explore, especially the museums and different neighborhoods.

Tomorrow we're learning then going to the blind museum where they simulate being blind... should be quite an experience- like everything else! Laila tov :) good night!