Awesomeness!

It seems these late emails are becoming a trend, sorry! This Friday Israel finally switched the clocks leaving me an hour short and feeling bamaboozled and harried. I had an hour to dress, pray, and pack before I headed out to lunch with my friend Ayton (!!!) after which I headed to Efrat, where I spent Shabbat.

Which was awesome. As was Friday (despite bamboozlement) since I got to see Ayton, who is visiting for a whole month!! Actually this whole week was pretty awesome.

Thursday was awesome, because we had a special "Raise your Glass" party for all the lone soldiers on our base. Being a lone soldier means that you are living in the country without your parents. Many of them are olim (immigrants) like me, but there are also some orphans and soldiers who are not in contact with their parents for one reason or another. We tend to get special attention, as we are generally supporting ourselves and have more to worry about then the other kids/soldiers. Anyway, they threw this little party for us where the Base Commander told us how awesome we are and gave us each a Pesach present (a mug full of candy that is not kosher for pesach :) and 200 shek to the grocery store). It was really nice of them and a good sendoff right before vacation (Im off for all of Pesach!!). 

Wednesday, my Commander took our whole office out for a "Yom Keif"- a day of fun. We got to go out in civilian clothes (the real treat) and we headed out into the hills of Beit Shemesh and went hiking. We went to Emek HaEla, the supposed battlefield between David and Goliath, and climbed up the mountain for a positivly stunning view of the area (which made me once again sigh and think "I love Israel"). We then headed to a national park in the area to another outlook (which I had previously visited with my HS) before settling down for a BBQ in the park. So by 2pm I had gotten to hike, eat meat, and run around outside in comfy clothes. Thus, it was an awesome day. (click here for more pics)

Tuesday was awesomely simple. Dont really remember what I did on base, but I spent the whole evening hanging out at my friend Josh's lounging on the couch and watching How I Met Your Mother while I helped him finish off all his chametz.

Monday I got to go to a wedding, which while they are always at least a little bit awesome, this wedding had 

a) THE most amazing wedding food I have ever had. (I just wrote hadded like it was a word). I mean the smorgasboard was good, but even the real food was awesome. I found myself sitting there wishing I was a teenage boy so that I could actually eat everything in sight. 

b) Open bar + my friends Ari and Dov to drink with

c) A really good band. We danced until I thought I was going to throw up (all that awesome food and wine), paused, and then danced some more. 

So, altogether, awesome wedding. Mazal Tov Nechama Dina and Zack!

And Sunday, well Sundays are always awesome because I get to talk to my parents. But this Sunday was especially awesome because everyone's timing was perfect and we did not have that "everyone from America call within the same five minutes" crisis that normally occurs on Sundays.

Anyway, I have now used up my break time and need to return to the chaos that is my kitchen and finish cleaning for Pesach. I hope you all have a Chag Kasher v'Sameach (and a Happy Easter!), enjoy the extra revelations of a second seder (heheheh), and seriously consider coming here for next year :)

Shosh and Ez, good luck hosting your first seder!! I wish I could be there for it (well the first one at least)!

Life's candy and the the sun's a ball of butter

I know, I know, Im super late this time. What can I say? Im just so incredibly social that I didnt have time (thats only a little bit true). Luckily, I am at work now, and surprise, surprise, dont have anything really important to do. Plus I need to escape Boris who has decided this week to interrogate me on why I think Scientology isnt a valid religious choice.
So this past week, hrm, this past week.... I was really happy. I remember that. It wasnt because anything in particular happened, it was just one of those weeks where I would be sitting on the bus and looking out the window and be like "Whoa! I live in Israel :) This is so cool." As for what I actually did?

Well on Sunday I spilled hot tea all over my lap and though I thought it was sufficiently embarassing to sit in my office with a frozen bottle of water between my legs, my Mefaked insisted I go to the clinic where I got to sit for an hour with said bottle between my legs waiting for some 18 year old to rub cream on my thighs. That wasnt awkward at all.

Monday, I went to a wedding down on Kibbutz Alumim near the Gaza border. It was gorgeous and its always nice to see people so adorably in love, but it was also a little awkward. The girl getting married was my old roommate from seminary and the only people I knew there were girls I hadnt seen in 5 years. Of course, they all remembered my name, and I remembered none of theirs. Which is all fine and dandy until they insist you take their number and you cant save it because you have NO IDEA what the lady's name is. Ah well.

Tuesday, I dont really remember anything in particular happening, BUT I did get to see my (now former) bus buddy Motti before he got released from the army, which was nice. Oh and I got to have a long chat with the Rabbis soldier about yet another ridiculous thing that some Rabbi said that he thinks will save my soul if he shares with me. But he is a sweetie.

Wednesday I had my lovely chavruta over and learned about how when Bnei Yisrael crossed into Israel after wandering the desert for forty years they promptly circumcised the entire (male portion of the) nation. This quite literally created a mountain of foreskins which is still by the river Jordan. How lovely.

Thursday I got to administer the english test for the course that I dont teach. They kept trying to get me to help them cheat, but ha ha, I showed them who was boss! I didnt even know the words they had to translate!! I got to go home early, which is always fun, and that night we had a french toast party (because Nechama had 6 loaves of challah in the freezer that we had to get rid of), then I headed over to my friend Michael's housewarming party, and THEN I hung out with my new friend Josh. Wasnt I such a social butterfly?

Friday, Mia and I went to the Conservative Synagogue in Jerusalem and got to pick up these special holiday packages they make for lone soldiers. We then went to Beit Shemesh for Shabbat with my old high school rabbi. His children spent most of the weekend screaming, but it was a really fun Shabbat and I got to take home cookies.

Anyway, this week Im working on translating aircraft manuals, sitting in on english classes to learn how to teach, and I have yet another wedding to go to :)

Life is wonderful and its almost Pesach (= vacation!!!) so I am happy. I would love to hear from you and know how you are all doing and I hope that yall have a wonderful week and experience a general state of happiness :)

I splurged on blueberries this week because it feels like summer and to me, that means cobbler

This week felt really long. Sunday was our last day of frenzied cleaning. I succeeded in slicing my finger open on the glass window panes in the bathroom (and not even the one that I dropped and shattered all over the floor!) and then went through a long spout of cursing when I picked up something that was covered with some mysterious cleaning solution that made my hand burn like hell. Luckily, it all got washed off during my water fight with Boris and Chezi. Chezi's method of cleaning the bathroom is: 

1) cover everything with soap and mysterious burning chemical. 

2) Scrub the walls with a broom and everything else with the toilet brush (ew). 

3) Pour water all over everything. 

4) Squeegee it out.

Boris unfortunatly got on the wrong side of Chezi, and as I know whose side to take in these things, I got on the right side of Chezi and together we drenched Boris. 

Anyway, after all that balagan (craziness), we finally had our visit from the Base Commander on Monday. He walked into each room, gave a cursory glance, and walked out again while we were left standing with our mouths hanging open and our bandaged wounds. He did however, stop and chat with everyone, ask their complaints etc. There was an awkward moment where he asked me what I do and I turned to my commander for help, despite the seeming simplicity of this answer. My commander, and his commander (who I met a few weeks ago) both launched into the ridiculous story that is my life and assured their commander that they were taking care of it. They all agreed that my Hebrew is perfectly fine and have apparently come up with a plan to let me teach. 

The higher forces have decided that I am going to teach Level 3 english to the salaried officers on base. They have even agreed to send me to a teaching course, just not the english teaching course, because we still cant tell them that I am teaching english. In the meantime I am supposed to be working on a lesson plan for a level of english that no one but the head of the english teaching department teaches. So after perusing the Job Guides and picking out all the hardest words (apparently a clevis is U-shaped or forked metal connector within which another part can be fastened by means of a bolt or pin passing through the ends of the connector), going through Level 1 and Level 2 to try to figure out the differences, I finally convinced Lihi to go into the database and print up the Level 3 Master Workbook which she is not supposed to have access to. Oh, and they have also told me that the way everyone else teaches english is boring so I should figure out some ways to make it more exciting. And that all of my students, though they are supposed to be ready for Level 3, probably wont be. So Im kind of nervous about this whole thing and not as excited about getting a job as I was hoping to be. 

In other news, I had a very nice week of non-army things. I started running home from the Central Bus Station which is nice because the weather is awesome and because my body is becoming restless with unexpressed emotion. It is not so nice because I have to do it with a backpack and I cant get my headphones to stay in my ears, but I'll figure something out. I also went to a shiur (class) this week with my chavruta, Ophra and my friend Avital. It was given by this young British guy and we delved into the different sides of the Akeida (the sacrifice of Isaac). We went through traditional sources and then he brought in Kierkgaard and Elie Wiesel and there were lots of opinions as to what our forefathers were thinking and feeling and how this even affected their relationships with each other and with Hashem. It was really interesting and we have decided to go next month as well.

Okay this is now getting as long as my week felt, so Im going to say Shabbat Shalom and wish you all a wonderful week!

Some thoughts that Im sure will piss off my brother

My dad and uncle have been having a conversation about some recent issues in orthodox judaism and invited me to add my two cents. As it was a topic about women, I of course got riled up and have decided to share it with all of you as well:

It started with this article:

Avi Weiss: No more rabbas

By Ami Eden · March 5, 2010

Rabbi Avi Weiss sparked plenty of controversy with his announcement in January that his student Sara Hurwitz would now be known as rabba -- a feminized version of rabbi, replacing her previous title of “maharat.” He declared in a statement that the name change “makes it clear that Sara Hurwitz is a full member of our rabbinic staff” at the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in the Bronx where he is the spiritual leader.

The Agudath Israel of America declared that by taking such a step and insisting it was tantamount to rabbic ordination, Weiss had placed himself outside the bounds of Orthodoxy. More importantly -- at least from the perspective of Weiss and the students at his Yeshivat Chovevei Torah rabbinical school -- The New York Jewish Week recently reported that the Rabbinical Council of America was considering expelling Weiss.

Our sources say such a step was never under consideration -- though some were pushing for a clear declaration that Weiss had crossed the line.

Either way, the RCA and Weiss have reached an agreement of sorts. Weiss will not be handing out the title to anyone else. And, we're hearing, it's not even clear if Hurwitz will keep the title (or if Weiss will continue to insist that she is essentially a woman rabbi). The buzz is that he will address the issue this Shabbos.

Here's the coordinated statements that they are releasing today (with an intro from two important RCA members):

Please see the statements below, which are the result of quiet efforts over the past few weeks, as approved by the RCA Officers.

They will be shared shortly with the RCA membership, and thereafter with the media.

These statements represent a first major step in bringing this matter to closure in a fashion which avoids a damaging battle in the public arena.

We expect continued discussion to resolve other outstanding issues.


Moshe Kletenik and Shmuel Goldin
________________

Over the course of the last several weeks, at the request and initiative of Rabbi Avi Weiss, the leadership of Rabbinical Council of America and Rabbi Avi Weiss have engaged in discussions concerning the issue of ordaining women as rabbis. We are gratified that during the course of these conversations Rabbi Weiss concluded that neither he nor Yeshivat Maharat would ordain women as rabbis and that Yeshivat Maharat will not confer the title of “Rabba” on graduates of their program.

We are delighted that we have been able to resolve this matter in adherence with Torah principles and in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of peace and unity within our community. We are confident that continued dialogue of this type will enable us to resolve other important issues facing the Jewish community today.

The RCA reaffirms its commitment to women's Torah education and scholarship at the highest levels, and to the assumption of appropriate leadership roles within the Jewish community. We strongly maintain that any innovations that impact the community as a whole should be done only with the broad support of the Orthodox rabbinate and a firm grounding in the eternal mesorah of the Jewish people.

______________

Letter from Rabbi Avi Weiss to RCA President Rabbi Moshe Kletenik

Dear Rabbi Kletenik,

This has been a most challenging time. The change in title from “Maharat” to “Rabba” has precipitated a level of controversy in the Orthodox community that was neither expected nor intended.  In light of the tension caused to our greater community and my commitment to the principle of gadol hashalom, I share the following:

It is not my intention or the intention of Yeshivat Maharat to confer the title of “Rabba” upon its graduates.  Yeshivat Maharat prepares women for positions of religious leadership in the Orthodox community. Each student who completes its course of study in Tanakh, Talmud, Halakha and Jewish Thought, and is deemed fit by her faith, knowledge of our Mesoret, ethical integrity and temperament to assume positions of religious leadership in Orthodox institutions will be confirmed as manhigah hilkhatit, ruhanit, toranit (Maharat).

They will have been prepared to provide varied forms of communal and synagogue leadership in accordance with halakha.  They will also have been trained in pastoral counseling, as well as having the ability to answer questions of halakha to those who seek them out, as has been recognized and well established in both classical and contemporary halakhic sources.

I hope that good will emerge from all of this, and that some of the meaningful conversation and communication that has taken place these past few weeks between myself and yourself as the President of the Rabbinical Council of America, might continue.  I thank you for your candor and your receptiveness.

In the prayer that we all continue to work for the betterment of Am Yisrael--

Biydidut,

Avi

 And I then added in my two cents:

The Maharat program is one of the first to train women to be religious leaders. He came up with the term Maharat because he knew what a ruckus it would cause to say these women are rabbis. But the truth is, they are receiving much of the same training and in my opinion its about freaking time. 

Ten years ago, Nishmat (the seminary I went to in Jerusalem) started a Yoetzet Halacha program. It is a program especially designed to train women in issues of family purity. Rabbanit Heinken (the title is due to the fact that she is married to a Rabbi), saw that there was a need for a female authority on the matter as so many women felt uncomfortable asking male Rabbis halachic questions about their periods, birth control, and the issues of niddah. It is a four year program that trains women to answer halachic questions on the matter, although they still do not say that they can posken without checking with a Rabbi. These women go on to be leaders in communities or help with a hotline that Nishmat has started to answer questions about family purity. It is a step towards making female religious leaders, but as Rabbanit Heinken continuously insists, she is not trying to make female rabbis (check out this [abridged bc jpost archives suck] article for more-http://www.jpost.com/Cooperations/Archives/ ).

The Maharat program was created to expand these same ideas. There is a need for female religious leaders. In a world where orthodox women are becoming more learned and more active in their communities it is not only unfair, but unpractical that there be no leadership roles for them to fill. Classically, the female leader in a community was the Rabbi's wife, but how can that woman be more qualified than one trained for this very purpose? There are many issues that women face in Judaism that they may not feel comfortable discussing with a male Rabbi and issues that men simply may not understand.

I was just debating this with my roommate, and we think one of the big issues here is fear of innovation, or rather the best way to do it. Over the course of history halacha has had to adapt to new ideas and new ways of thinking and I think we are facing one of those moments again. Feminism and human rights have changed the world we live in and I think the orthodox world is having trouble adapting. Judaism is so fractured and so afraid that change is not welcomed but shunned. Orthodoxy refuses to discuss female rabbis because they dont want to get too close to Conservative Judaism. Programs like Nishmat's are creating change but very slowly and making sure to get "permission" for each slow step they make. They have to continuously declare that they are not making rabbis and even then they are not widely accepted. Rabbi Weiss and Sara Hurwitz are ready for bigger changes, and so are alot of women in Orthodoxy. But how far to push the envelope? Rabbi Weiss is dangerously close to being expelled, and once out of the Orthodox fold he will no longer be an innovative Orthodox rabbi, he will be disgraced and dismissed, as will his ideas and his students. We do need to keep a greater peace, and as the RCA states changes this big can only be made with the support of the greater orthodox community. 

The truth is, this is a real and present issue, and it is only through actions like this that the orthodox community begins to look at itself and discuss. Because, really, why not? Why cant we have female religious leaders? Why cant the women in our religion have someone they can turn to for guidance? We have already established time and again that women are as capable as men, can learn just as well. So why cant they lead?

Israelis think "hamantaschen" is a really funny word

Hey all! Sorry Im late this week, as has become so customary in my life, I went on a random adventure Friday morning, ended up changing my Shabbat plans around noon, and then had to pack and get out of my house before I had time to write an email. But we'll get back to that.

This week was awesome. Mainly, because it started with Purim, but there were other highlights as well. I spent Shabbat with my brother-in-law's mother's best friend who lives right outside Jerusalem proper. I went with my roommate and friend and had a really nice (though very wet and hail-y) shabbat. We then had to hurry back to Jerusalem Saturday night so we wouldnt have to keep two Purims. The way Purim works is that there is Purim proper, which is celebrated by most of the world, and then the next day is Shushan Purim, which is only celebrated by those who live within a walled city (like Jerusalem). If I had wanted to, I could have kept two Purims, all you have to do is sleep outside of Jerusalem the first night and then inside Jerusalem the second night. But that also means you have to do everything twice and I didnt have the strength for that. Also, when I tried to keep two days last year I got a little bit too drunk and didnt make it back to Jerusalem for Shushan Purim. So Sunday I sat at home and prepared Mishloach Manot (food packages for friends- one of the awesomer parts of Purim) and hid in my house all day as it was hailing again. It felt weird to not be keeping Purim at the same time as everyone else, but that night our Jerusalem festivities began. I went to hear Megillah (the story of Esther- which we must hear twice on Purim) at a neighbors with some friends, and then entertained a train of friends that came by my apartment allowing me to socialize without dealing with the weather :) I even got serenaded by some Fine-Skverskys.

Monday morning, my roommate Mia hosted a women's Megillah reading in our apartment. We had about 15 women over and four different readers. My friend Shira even did voices! It was a big success and it was really nice to get to hear my friends read. I really want to learn how to do it myself, so heres to hoping I get around to learning how by next year! Anyways, we then kicked everyone out of our apartment and started cleaning and cooking for the Seudah (festive meal) we were hosting that afternoon. We were expecting about 25 people, and in typical Jewish-mother fashion, I was terrified we wouldnt have enough food and made everyone double everything. We are still trying to finish the leftovers. The meal was awesome, lots of food, lots of wine, and lots of friends :) I marbimed b'simcha (was really happy) all evening and fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Tuesday morning I reported back to the army (a little late as I misplaced my ID in the wreck of our post-seudah apartment) and was immediately put to work, which for me, is especially exciting. We have an inspection this coming Monday, and spent the entire week tearing apart our building and cleaning EVERYTHING. I mean we took the windows out and cleaned the runners, we emptied every closet, desk and drawer, I uncovered piles and piles of dust, vacuumed every chair in the building, removed and cleaned four rooms worth of windows and painted two hallways and a storage closet. I thought our apartment was a mess when I came home Tuesday night and saw how much we had to clean up, but by Thursday our entire building looked like it had been turned inside out and covered with dust and dirt. We all stayed late Thursday night trying to put everything back in its (now clean) place. In typical Israeli mopping fashion, there was a giant lake of dirt and trash in the hallway we then had to shovel and squeegee out the back. When I finally got home at about 8pm my hands were red and filthy, my back was sore, and my feet were killing me. But at least I was busy all week. And, since we were all doing it together, and I work with a bunch of five-year olds, our hard worked was interspersed with alot of water fights and fake poop pranks. (Thank god I have years of dog-pooping-on-floor experience and can spot a fake poop from a mile away).

Friday I headed up north with my adopted family for their son Shlomo's army ceremony. He is a paratrooper and has just finished his like, 9 months of training. (I swear that kid is in a whole different army then the one I serve in). Anyway, it was great to see him, we all beamed at his new pin, and I ended up going back to Efrat with them for Shabbat. As always, it was fun and comfortable and filled with delicious food.

Anyway, its back to work early tomorrow morning, so until next week, (feel free to respond in the interim)

Shavua Tov!!

Love, Kfi