Shabbat in Efrat

Having just returned from my long weekend in Efrat, where the Abrams family lives, I am adjusting back to the routine of classes in Ramat Eshkol. Its becoming more apparent that this learning experience will not be influencing how I live my life Jewishly... although I have gained many insights into orthodox practices, it is difficult for me to be here. Many of the girls on this program had little to no Jewish practices in their lives prior to coming to Israel and it appears "easier" for them to absorb all this "new" information. For me, I've had moments of feeling judged as a jew- no one has said anything negative to me directly and when speaking with one of the directors last night, she specifically said to me that no jew can make that judgment. Although I was quite touched to hear her say that and I know its true, it is difficult to learn about the mitzvot for men and those for women (from this orthodox perspective) and then question or ponder these mitzvot "for men" that are deeply important to my Jewish identity- like wearing my tallit and chanting from the Torah. Yes, they tell me women can do these mitzvot, but they don't "need" to... Anyways, these are just some of my challenges with the learning experiences. There have been MANY other experiences outside of Jewel:

-My cousin Rina (her dad and my mom are first cousins) picked up me and my friend Liz on Thursday evening and drove us to her parents in Efrat. As my first experience in a car and driving into the Gush Etzion (where the "settlements" are located, more to come on this word), it was very exciting and eye-opening. Although at night, I saw a great deal of the city and countryside, and realized how close they live to Jerusalem.

-After a comfortable sleep in a clean room, we awoke to coffee and burekas- yummy pastries. Cousin Bruce then took Liz and I on a whole tour of the Gush, which means bloc but really means like a county/area. He also explained how the word yishuv or "settlement" really just means a dwelling, but that politics charges the word with so much more. What surprised me the most about the "settlements" is that throughout the town's neighborhoods there are these open areas of land, which usually have small vineyards or orchards. These are pieces of land that have not been purchased by jews, but rather still belong to arabs and thus they remain untouched. The connotation of a settlement, to me, had implied that the Israeli government took over an area and moved jews in- implying also that this pushed arab populations out- wrong. I could go on about other details I learned from my first hand experience of the area... we can chat more when I return :) overall, a very eye-opening experience.

-Thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the whole Abrams family- Bruce and April, Rina and Shoshana, who I remember from many holiday gatherings in NJ. And also, meeting Coby, Yonatan and the twins, Maayan and Ela, and getting to play/talk with them, was wonderful. Incredible to see their home and especially the view from their mirpeset - porch. Efrat is higher in elevation than Jerusalem so that the winds from the Mediterranean come their way and the breeze is heavenly. On Shabbat afternoon I got my first sunburn reading and lounging on the porch.

-After Shabbat ended, April, Rina, Liz and I went to the mall in Jerusalem, and traveled through an arab village in which they were paving a road. They informed us that the project was being funded by American tax dollars and employing arab workers to construct it- quite interesting.

-The mall opens for a few hours when Shabbat ends, and it is packed with people- quite a phenomena. Shopped at H&M (which most know I love) surrounded by secular, scantily-clad Israelis and religious, covered-up types as well- wow, like no other shopping experience. When the store closed, we got gourmet ice cream from a place called Aldo, which is super yummy. On the drive home, cousin Rina taught me some slang and curse Hebrew words- also quite fun.

-Before heading back to our program, Bruce took Liz and I to a kibbutz, K'far Etzion, to learn about the history of the area, the gush, before the war of independence, during and then after... quite remarkable- heart-breaking and also inspiring. Afterward we went to the Gush Etzion winery for lunch. Tasted a few wines and enjoyed a sweet potato Mediterranean gnocchi- another intriguing experience.

-This morning I had a 3 hours class (or lecture as I would call it) about dating, marriage, sex and then the mikvah (ritual bath) in which we were sitting the lobby of a mikvah center. I struggled greatly with the teacher and her way of communication, and therefore didn't enjoy the experience.

-This evening, a chef is coming to teach us to cook... something. Afterward I am going to meet my friend Sari, who was a chaperon on my birthright trip two years ago. She now lives in Jerusalem. I'm really looking forward to catching up with her and getting out for a bit.

Promise pictures will come soon- signing up for flickr now :) Love and sunshine to all!