I have tons of work due tomorrow that I don't want to do, so I'm updating the website... I finally got pictures of the spaghetti eating contest that you can see below. Aren't they attractive? But I won a dinner from it (that I still need to go on) so it was worth it, right?
The trip to the Golan was really nice. We saw the Syria border and the Lebanon border, learned about the wars of 67 and 73 and what it meant to immigrate to Israel at those times. We went on a hike that I went on when I was here in '98, and all of you IST people or anyone who ever saw me hike before I started college would be proud to know that by the end of the hike I was carrying 6 backpacks helping everyone else out... It was quite the change from what I was used to.
I've now seen almost all of my madrichim from when I was here in high school (Chelli, Gabbi, and Yonatan) and a lot of the Israelis from camp, and it's so much fun seeing them all in different settings. Gabbi may even join the HUC football team (whose opening game is tomorrow night... don't worry scores will be posted, unless they're bad) I saw Rabbi Cohon last week which was also nice, and I even got a dinner out of it.
Talk to you all soon,
Joel
This weekend was too much fun! Dave (from camp) is working at a kibbutz in the north, and he came down to spend Shabbat with us in Jerusalem. Yael (also from camp) decided to make the trek down from Ashkelon to try out the accomidations at The Simon and Satz Inn. We went to the Conservative Yeshiva for services Friday night. They had invited all the rabbinical students in town, and it was a really nice service followed by a great potluck dinner. Then some people came over for a nice chill night in the living room. Saturday, after services of course, we went to the Tower of David museum, after meeting a new friend in my room.
Now we're off to another long week of class, but I really do love it. I'll talk to you all soon, and I hope you have a great week as well...
Joel
First exciting news is that Mike and I will be spending Turkey Day in Turkey!!!! We head off on November 28, and get back on December 1. So, it's a short trip, but we got a great deal, and it will give us a chance to see a new country. Now you can all look forward to new exciting pictures when we get back.
Speaking of new pictures, we had our first Beit Cafe (sort of like a talent show) for our class (where we raised almost $1000) and we had a blast. You can see pictures of everyone performing on the picture page.
This coming weekend we are going as a class to Haifa and Tsfat, and that should also be a lot of fun... Anyway, lots to do, but I wanted to give everyone a short update. Keep e-mailing, and I'll write again soon,
Joel
It was a scary week in Jerusalem as we saw the first attack here since I arrived. I was in Haifa during the attack and am fine, but 11 people were killed and many more injured. To me, however, this attack is just as scary as every other attack we've had, and like with every attack, life must go on... I wish I had something profound to say about what can be done or what I see in the future, but I can't. I only hope that the number of these messages I have to put up will be as few as possible.
Part of life going on is going to Turkey on Thursday! (GET IT!!! TURKEY DAY IN TURKEY!!!) You can look forward to pictures. Speaking of pictures, there's new pictures up from our classes trip to Tsfat and Haifa. Make sure you check those out.
We have our last day of class before break tomorrow, then the big football game (we still haven't won, but we're getting closer) and then a beginning of break almost chanukah party at my place (so if you're in Israel, come). Not much more, except thanks to Mark and Mindy for sending me M and M's. My first package, and it made me feel so good (hint, hint). And Darren called to see how I'm doing which was very nice (hint, hint). Also Josh is coming to visit in January which will also be great (hint, hint). Ok, that's all for hints,
Joel
We're into crunch time with papers and finals coming up, but this is when it gets fun, eh? Yesterday was my D'var Torah (sermon) for our Reform Liturgy Workshop, and I'm working on finding a productive way to put it on the website. If someone has an idea, let me know.
The football team just had our most exciting game of the year. In pouring rain and 3 feet of mud, we battled our way through to win the second half. Make sure you check out the football team's homepage for more information!
That's really all I have for now. I know these messages are getting boring, and I'm sorry, but things are really going well. If you're looking for more inspiring messages, check out the archived messages for any you may have missed :-) And if you have specific questions, email me! I like getting emails. Ok, I'm tired and cold, so that's it for now, but I hope all is well with all of you, and I look forward to hearing from you. Oh, and congrats to Mindy for getting into her master's program and rocking the GRE's. And I'm psyched to have Josh visit. Hi Mom and Dad. And now that's the only people who will probably see this, so I'm set ;-). Have a wonderful day,
Joel