As I sit here laying on my all too uncomfortable Israeli bed, I think about how fortunate and unfortunate it is that it is only when I get sick and have no energy to do anything productive, that I have the time to write a journal entry. We are told over and over again on this program that one “should not sacrifice their education for schooling.” Thus, while living in Israel and studying at HUC, we should be seeking adventures and planning trips instead of doing our twelve hours of homework a week. (Can you sense my sarcasm?) The truth of the matter is I am beginning to realize after finishing my third week of school that I, Julia Aronson, am in graduate school. This summer was a small taste of the intense schooling we would be going through during the year. Most of my days start at 8:30 a.m. and end around 6:00 p.m. Although I absolutely love my classes, I am not quite used to the long days and the fatigue that I feel around 7:30 p.m. Honestly, if I did not have work to finish for the next day of school, and a fiancé who wants to see me and hear about my day, I would be asleep before the sun went down.

It sounds like I am complaining. However, I am really happy with being in graduate school. I just did not realize how much change and “getting used to” it would take. The main difference between being at HUC and college is that I wake up happy to go to classes every morning and enjoy sitting down to do my assignments. The challenge that both David and I are faced with is trying to set aside time to spend just the two of us. We have noticed that over the past few weeks since he has started work and I have started school that we spend a short time during dinner together and then are off to do homework and emails. Obviously, we are both missing each other a lot and wondering when we can find the time to see each other besides eating.

I have also discovered that I tend to forget that we are living in a foreign country. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that I am feeling more comfortable here and that my Hebrew is getting much better. The other day, I had an entire five minute conversation all in Hebrew with a taxi driver. That is a huge accomplishment for me! Also, I am always on campus and in a small bubble so that as well adds to my forgetfulness.

I will try to catch you all up about what I have been doing over the past few days and well weeks at this point:

Like I said, most days are spent at school until the evenings. However, there are a few days where I get a bit of a break. Tuesdays I am done with school at 1:30 which allows for me to run errands and work out. Thursdays I am finished with classes at 11:45 and then I opted to take an enrichment class titled, “Why I am a Reform Jew,” because the man teaching it is the dean of the Jerusalem HUC campus. He is one amazing person and any opportunity someone gets to listen to him speak should take it. So, I did! I am still trying to get myself into a routine. For instance, Wednesday nights are my study nights with Karen and Lauren (I studied with them all through the summer as well). We get together, along with David, and switch off having dinner at our place or their place. After dinner and some catch-up gossip, we spend a few hours doing some of the homework we have assigned for the next week. This group has really worked out for me and the girls have become very close to me. It is also great because David is invited to their apartment when it is time for them to cook and then he spends the time working on the internet as we study for school.

I have spent most of my evenings working out and also doing school work. So that I do not forget I must tell you about my experience this Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Every Wednesday is our Israel Seminar day where the fourth years and first years divide into groups to text-study and explore parts of Israel together. Three times this year the entire class gets to go on over night adventures throughout Israel. Last Wednesday, for instance, we went to two museums in Tel Aviv. This Wednesday was a completely different experience. For those that do not know, we are approaching the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement. The days and weeks before these holy days, many people concentrate on forgiveness. Some congregations have services called Slichot which means forgiveness and concentrates solely on asking God to pardon our sins. Traditional synagogues hold Slichot every day or sometimes every other day. We were told that instead of our Israel Seminar during the day this Wednesday, that we would be meeting at HUC at 3:30 in the morning to attend Slichot services at a Spanish-style synagogue in the French Hill quarter. I was so excited for this opportunity. A friend of mine, Rachel, decided to get together some of the girls and have a “sleep-over.” The reason why I put that word in quotes is because we did NOT sleep at all! We were up watching movies and eating junk food until we had to be ready to meet at HUC. It was so much fun just hanging out with girls and getting to know them better.

After meeting at HUC in the middle of the night, we hopped on bus to attend services. These services started at 4:15 in the morning and ended around 6:15 a.m. The women were separated by the men (this is a traditional Jewish custom) and we were to sit up in a balcony. Everything was in Hebrew and the prayers were done extremely fast. The coolest part of the service was the amount of times the shofar was blown. It really was as if the shofar was a morning alarm to wake everyone up. I have to admit, it did not do that great of a job. (hahahahah!) After services we went back to HUC to have breakfast and de-brief from the evening/morning. It was an extremely unique experience and I really enjoyed taking part in it.

That being said, I am STILL trying to catch up on sleep. David and I are renting a car tomorrow and heading to the Sea of Galilee and Tiberius area for a little adventure. Then we are meeting my Israeli friend, Lior, for Shabbat in Haifa where he will be showing us around and we get to meet his family and friends. It was time for us to get away from the bubble for a little while and explore the foreign country we are in. I hope to write soon before leaving for the States on Wednesday for Ashley’s wedding, YEAH! There will be much to talk about I am sure!