So here it is the end of April. I have one week left in this amazing place and am flooded with thoughts and emotions... chiefly exhaustion. Of course, it is 1 am, and I have not slept in the same bed for more than 3 nights in a row in weeks. I started counting tonight just for fun and realized I have slept on more than 30 beds, couches, and camping mats in the last 6 months. Yes, that averages out to a different place more than once a week. Oy! It has been quite the ride!
This past week, I started out with seder in Maccabi with my Israeli friend Noa and her family. It's a lovely rapidly growing town between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. There were 26 people at their house this Pesach, and I was so glad to be there for what will probably be one of my most memorable seders. Friday night before Pesach began, Noa and our friend Danielle indulged me by coming with me to a reform service. It was truly like coming home, and I am so thankful to have had one prayer experience like it in Israel. I was open for all prayer experiences this year, but this particular one was much needed for me to feel I truly have a religious as well as spiritual place in Israel.
Monday, I was in Tel Aviv and Netanya, and Tuesday, some of my friends and I rented a car and drove down to the Dead Sea for the Ahava Music Festival. We swam, played in the mineral mud, camped out right by the water, went to see the concert at night, swam again in the moonlight... and all the time snacked on matzah right along with the rest of the camp site. Traveling and camping this time of year are very Israeli things to do, since most people have a chofesh or vacation from work/ school and the weather is fantastic. Wednesday morning, I woke up to the sun rising over the mountains of Jordan and the sea. We made breakfast on our camping stove, put on lots of sunscreen, and headed to Ein Gedi nearby for a river hike complete with waterfalls. What an awesome way to spend Earth Day!
Last night (Wed.), I arrived for one last time (of this trip) in Jerusalem. The city has come alive with the fast approaching summer heat. Flowers are blooming in every garden, every courtyard, down every street. Sweet honeysuckle, citrus, roses, and other fragrant species waft in every direction amidst the sparkling white Jerusalem stones which the city is known for. It is a site I never expected, and one that truly must be experienced first hand! You can not only see the pretty, you can smell it too!
I had lots of plans for today, but like most plans I have tried to make lately, they changed as soon as the day began. I did, however, see a number of friends unexpectedly when I ran into them on the street. First, Sam this morning while out getting coffee (surprise!), and then Aliza tonight on the way home from a spur of the moment dinner date. It is one of the things I truly truly love about this country and will miss the most! But maybe living in DC won't be so different. Guess we'll see.
Tomorrow "the plan" is to go back to Tel Aviv first thing in the morning and go to the art museum which I have been meaning to explore for quite some time. Then it's off to Nachlat Binyamin and Allenby for some final souvenir shopping. If there's time before Shabbat, I might head down to Neve Tzedek... or it might have to wait until Thursday aka my last day in town. Saturday will probably be time to catch up on sleep and beach, and Sunday I leave to volunteer at a small winery down in the south as my time draws to a close. Then again, this is how I try to plan and rarely it seems are my days quite so organized in the end... but I absolutely love it! May it always be so! If you only knew how many things were "planned" and crossed out again each day.
This time in one week, I will be sitting with friends on the beach drinking coffee, saying goodbyes or l'hitraot... til we meet again. I know I will look out at the sea and make promises to return soon. I will think of my parents packing to come to NYC to meet me and of my grandparents who will be awaiting my call to say I have landed and will soon be back in their arms. I will be sad to have made calls to all of the relatives here one last time from my Israeli cellphone to thank them where words will simply never be enough.
In the last six months, I have learned Hebrew and patience (sovlanut). I have learned streets and entire cities. I have learned history, and I have learned about myself. And maybe it's strange to say when so far away from some of my dearest friends and loved ones, but this year, I have learned the meaning of family and friendship. I knew this week would come as all beginnings have an end, but this chapter of my life will always be precious and dear to me and very close to my heart.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment