Shavuah Tov!
Its only Monday and it feels like Shabbat was so far away L
Some of the few people still reading my blog (lol) have
asked why I haven’t posted in the last few days. The answer is….there are not
enough hours in the day! For example, todays is Tuesday (although when I
started this it was Monday) and I started class at 8:30. Class run until 12:30
and then there is lunch followed by class at 1:30. At 2:30 I have another
program because I have a MASA scholarship, which means we must do 2 extra classes
a week (its really 3 but I’m exempt from the ulpan classes). 3:30 was a meeting
with one of the rabbis followed by a 20 minutes span of time to change for
Zumba (officially the hardest workout I have ever had!!!). Dinner is at 6 then classes
from 7 to 9. Are you exhausted from reading all that? Imagine how I feel!!
HOWEVER, I have to admit that it is all worth it because I am learning so much!
The truth is that not too many exciting things have been going on since I spend
so much time in school but I do have a few things to share. First of all, I had
an absolutely wonderful Shabbos with Mur in Nachlaot. I was able to bake
challah which made me super happy and the start to Shabbat was made even when
greater since Mur and I made dinner (she made delish chicken!) for ourselves and for kids whose mom was sick
(lucky them they got to eat the chicken too!).
The shul there is awesome, filled with people who are so completed
immersed in the davening and singing that it almost feels like an otherworldly
experience. I loved singing kabbalat Shabbat so it was a great place for me J
For Shabbos day we had lunch with the Rabbi of the Shul
where I got to taste homemade ice cream, which was delicious. Shalosh Seudos
was spent by the Rebetzin of a seminary in Nachlaot called Shirat Devorah.
Obviously, at both meals I made have said at total of 6 words L
On Sunday I was walking to one of my classes when I ran into
an old friend from Massad – Rebecca Enbar. It was so awesome to see a familiar
face and to catch up on a load of years missed. On that note, the social
situation here gets better everyday especially since I’m finding my groove with
a bunch of girls who are super friendly and entertaining to be around. At the
same time, I really enjoy spending time alone after classes doing errands or
doing work. Its such a different experience to live your life one day at a time
and not panicking over what each following day will bring. Honestly, that’s the
problem with our world today! We are so busy worrying about what’s coming next
and what we need to acquire to be satisfied that we don’t spend time on
ourselves to be the full person Hashem put us here to be.
Yesterday was wonderful not only because I learned some
really great Torah commentary (which is one of my favorite things to do here)
but because I got to spend most of it with Joelle! Before we get to that, I
must share a typical Dana story: After my class called “Duties of the Heart”
with Rabbi Bear I ran to put my books away and then to the cafeteria to grab
lunch before doing an errand and meeting Joelle. When I got to the cafeteria it
was empty except for some cleaning staff who were eating. I started to serve my
self all the while thinking how bizarre it was that 10 minutes into lunch I was
the only student there. Then I think “maybe there is something going on and I
just don’t know about it. Hmmmm. That doesn’t make sense because usually when
that happens more than one person is lost and confused”. As I gather my take
out meal for the bus I realized that it was actually in the MIDDLE OF 4TH
PERIOD!!! Which means that while I was getting lunch my teacher was teaching in
MY class! So I had to inconspicuously (which if you know me at al was anything
but) walk in and obvi sit right in front of her 30 minutes late with my lunch L
Slightly embarrassing but I think makes for a good story.
Anyways, the rest of my day was spent hanging out with my
boobah Joelle doing work and eating yummy food…really couldn’t ask for anything
better! (Thanks for introducing me to Marzipan
- the paste!) Around 8 I made my way to the Shimon HaTzadik train
station, my old stomping ground from JEWEL. There, I spend some time with one
of my JEWEL teachers’ who was so gracious to have me so late and to spend time
catching up. I don’t know how she manages to have such immense energy after
work and spending time with her children but man is it inspiring and pretty
infectious too. Btw she is the teacher who showed me how much I love text study
and took me to buy my first shell J
- More grateful than you’ll ever know.
As I said, today is Tuesday, which is probably one of my
busiest days (as seen in my intro to this post). Yet, besides for tired I feel
super fulfilled. That’s the incredible thing about being here, I don’t grunt
about going to class or wish I could sleep all the time or go shopping; I don’t
go to sleep at night feeling like I got nothing done. Instead, I feel like that
place in my heart that has been waiting for its sustenance. Everyday the hole
gets smaller.
Before I say goodnight, I want to share with you guys that
Elul (the Jewish month that we are currently in) is all about introspection. (Btw
the idea behind this message goes for any of my non-Jewish friends who might be
frequenting the blog) As such, we should all take the time before Rosh
Hashannah to think about 1-3 things that we need to improve on, big or small,
that may fall into our relationship with others, with GD or with ourselves. Try
writing it down - I'm trying it and its not easy - it’s a scary exercise to do because as I said earlier, we’re
so caught up in the physical nature of this world that we often don’t take time
to figure out how we can still grow and become better people. This is not Dana
being preachy because she’s in seminary (well maybe a little) but a suggestion
that I think we should all take to heart because at the end of our lives (B”H
until 120 years) we wont be able to take all our belongings, attachments and finances
with us. Rather, we’ll hold onto our deeds and the traits that made us who were
and lead us to the decisions we made.
On that note, goodnight to all of you and sweet dreams J
Xoxo
Dana
PS included in this blog was the picture from the wedding I
promised (the one we went to here). As you can see from the hands around my
thighs, I made a little best friend!
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