Just a hop across the pond

See you later (l'hit-ra-ot) להתראות
Welcome (bur-chim ha-ba-im) ברוכים הבאים

I am currently sitting in Ben Gurion International airport having spent the past 24 hours traveling (including the time changes). Why, you ask am I sitting at the airport and not on m way to my new humble abode for the year? Well that would be because through some miracle of events my flight arrived almost an hour early, there was no line at passport control, and managed to get both of my bags in a relatively quick fashion. So that left me with the fact that if I left right away I would have gotten to Jerusalem an hour and a half before my landlord and I thought that instead I would give a brief update before embarking on the next part of my journey.

Saying "goodbye" is always a bittersweet thin for me. On the one hand, it is sad that I will not physically be with my friends and family I the States for the next year. On the the other hand, the good book says that I will be barking on a life changing journey that is only beginning this year, and promises to have tonsod learning opportunities and eye opening experiences. So I instead, I like to think of it as never saying goodbye but instead saying l'hitraot or see you later. I know that I will see everyone virtually or for real throughout the next year and I can't wait to hear about all of the new things in your lives as well.

One of the most exciting things about getting to Israel is hearing the captain and crew welcomin you to Israel. To me, I hear " welcome home to your home away from home." When I arrive in Israel I have always felt as if I were returning to a place that I just left for a little while and have now come backbto visit again.

So l'hitraot for now and I will update again soon.

P.S. I apologize for all of the typos and grammar errors. I blame it on a mixture of lack of sleep and autocorrect!

"The time has come," the Walrus said...

Preparation (ha-cha-nah) הֲכָנָה

It is hard to believe that almost a year and a half ago I was accepted to be a rabbinic student at Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). It seems like years ago, and at the same time, yesterday that I got the call from my college roommates that my letter had come and that I was actually going to be a rabbi!

Since then I have spent a busy year working at various different jobs, taking a break as a student for a year before spending the next 5 years of my life as a rabbinic student. I don't know that it has really hit me yet that I am going to be a rabbi, but I am certainly excited at the prospect of living in Israel for a year.

Preparing to go to Israel this time around seems much easier than the last time I did it (when I went to go and study at Hebrew University in Jerusalem for the spring semester of my junior year of college.) I know basically what to expect weather wise, and also culture wise, although it is never easy to figure out just how exactly to fit your life into two suitcases for the year.

Like many other people who go abroad for various reasons, I decided to keep a blog of my adventures over the next year. My hope is that this blog is something that I will be able to keep throughout the entirety of my rabbinic studies, and perhaps even beyond then. I don't know exactly what direction this blog will go in, but I hope that it becomes one that will give people insight, not only into the life of a rabbinic student, but insight into a world that is constantly changing and evolving for the better.

My "preparations" in the Cayman Islands!