Walk through these streets... I don't think I have ever seen a painting so colorful... heard a song so lively and loud... smelled an aroma so deep and inviting...
Ah, the streets of Yerushalayim... I am amazed, shocked and amused every time I walk the streets, get on a bus or board the now functioning Light Rail (a life saver for poor Seminary students... its currently free!)
I have spent a good part of my time here so far wandering the streets, lost in my own thoughts, admiring the different people and sites. The other day I got lost going to the Kotel (Don't laugh) and ended up between two churches in the orange glow of the street lights at night... when the church bells tolled the time, and all I could do was laugh at myself...
I have been to the Kotel in the morning, just as the day is beginning... the world feels fresh and new... and the calm at the Kotel square feels just like home. The afternoon hustle and bustle makes me edgy and the heat as the sun sets on the wall always burns... but night- now that is an experience. You can almost feel the urge and the need, the want and the desperation to be next to the wall... to simply pray and talk to G-d... or to unburden a whole day or week's worth of pain and frustration...
Every time I go out I feel myself go on high alert- who will I see? What amusing event will happen? The world seems so much smaller in Yerushalayim... it's comforting and confusing all at the same time.
Rosh Hashana was pleasent... I stayed with my cousins near Modiin. They live in a Yishuv where there is every kind of person- from shorts and tshirts to curly payos and sheitels... In a moment of bravery, I asked to have the fish eye... of course, the moment it landed on my plate in all it's jelly, gooey glory I lost my sense of adventure... At least I tried :)
I have been in Israel for almost a month and have fallen in love with life here... sure, it's not as cushy as America and I feel the strain of living as my own person, it's still incredible and I am extremely blessed to have the chance to learn here.
It's a new year... I can't wait to find out what's in store...
No comments:
Post a Comment