Kaleidescope Eyes

After returning from Batya's, I dreamed that I missed what was planned for the next day.Then I woke, and I was lucky to be early. It was 4:45am. I got dressed, grabbed my camera, and met the group downstairs.

What followed was a day focused on "Visual Thinking." We were guided by Tobi Kahn, an internationally-renowned artist, excellent speaker, and very passionate teacher. He led us through the Old City, pointing out shifts in light as the sky welcomed in the sun, the moments where the shadows disappeared, the colors of the stone, the depth of the alleys, the lines on our faces, etc. The students and I indulged in the photo opportunities.

The Week in Perspective: Har Adar

Apologies for the gap in time. In the last week I spent most of each day internally fighting some sort of food poisoning or gastroenteritis. I thought it would be exciting to look up and “celebrate” my Hebrew birthday as well as my English one, but the former was spent in a medical clinic with an IV. In short, I'm feeling better, and in sickness as well as health, I have been indulging in the seasonal offering of sufganiot! During my sickness, I still found time to see HP 7 p1, as well as the Western Wall Tunnel Tours. There was also a very festive and warm Thanksgiving meal, filled with heated up apple juice and light night Skype chats with the family.

Living in the Theater

Lately, I've found myself exploring, if just for a little, Jerusalem under the art lens. Last night, the Jerusalem Theater was showing the new Woody Allen film "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," a comedy that explores faith as a source of meaning and stability. The film was projected onto a stage, and the average age of those in attendance had to have been in the 60's.

Tonight, after a bite out, I entered my hostel from an alternative entrance, just in time to make a spontaneous purchase: the 11th International Oud Festival was taking place in Jerusalem, and Bet Shumel was hosting an Arab-Jewish Youth Orchestra!

With very minimal exposure and information on eastern music, I slipped in and enjoyed the evening, eventually being able to break the sounds down into the three oud players, the eastern violinist, percussionist etc. The conductor was a man named Taiseer Elias. He's pretty accomplished...

United in Drought: Jews, Muslims, and Christians Pray for Rain

Today began with errands for work with Sarah, the other counselor staying back from the trip. However, immediately after arriving in Talpiot, a Jerusalem suburb, I got a call from a frantic Batya, our Israel Coordinator, about an exciting event taking place in two hours. An inter-faith gathering was to take place just south of Jerusalem at a spring called Ein Haniyya, including an appearance by Rabbi Fruman, a very unique leader who lives in the settlement of Tekoa near Herodion, but has conversed with Hamas and PLO representatives. The reason for the gathering of Jews, Muslims, and Christians was to pray together for rain.

Alone with the Stalactites and Stalagmites of Soreq

Only a few Jews remain in the Jerusalem Kivunim community. While the rest are off exploring and discovering Greece and Bulgaria, I dug into the web for a local sight that wasn't too accesible, but would provide an easy day of adventure. I found the Soreq Cave.

Kiryat Ono, Ethiopians, Anti-Zionists, and Dreams of Hang-Gliding: The Heights of Mt. Tabor

Before the weekend, I took a night walk around the city with my camera, trying to capture some of the contrasts in dark and gold. PICTURES

The next day I awoke to a phone call by one of my Dutch Israeli relatives, and since I didn't have a plan for my day off, I jumped on a bus up to Kiryat Ono, a Tel Aviv suburb. There I found Fien and Shimon, who discussed with me their lifestyle in the neighborhood and the difficulties of efforts they and their family has made to promote co-existence. They also shared their warm hospitality, offering fruits of their garden, including some enormous oranges, as well as a palmello they bought recently. I ended the day wandering around the outskirts of the town, on a walk with Shimon. Where there were once endless orange groves, there are now neglected dunes and future sights of mile-high apartment complexes. PICTURES

Thursday I took Ari and Zoe, two students, to explore some local hot spots, the Ethiopian Church Compound and Mea Shearim. Both the Church and the neighborhood are a next-door to each other, yet both are insular environments. PICTURES

I made it a priority to see Fien and Shimon, because I was fortunate enough to find two students, Zach and Emily, who hadn't made plans for the weekend yet, and were interested in trying something new: a hike up north!