Party Time- Jewish Style

So, while I’ve been in Israel, I’ve had the opportunity to celebrate many religious holidays with the local community. From greeting in the Shabbat at the Western Wall, to attending local synagogue services, it’s been really cool to learn about all the holidays!

The first Jewish Holidays we were here for was Rash Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It was really cool to go to the synagogue with a group of my friends and watch part of the service. It was in Hebrew, so I didn’t understand what was said, but it was cool to watch how the service progressed. It was fun to watch the people there to. At the synagogue we attended, men and women were separated. Still you could see the family connections. There was woman near us that you could see waving to her husband below us, and then he would wave to her too. It was really cute! We had to leave the3 service a little early, but it was cool as we exited, each of the Jewish women patted us on the back, gave us a warm smile, and wished us Shana Tova (Hebrew for Happy New Year) it was so cool to attend that service!

The next Jewish Holiday (a week alter) that we were here for was Yom Kippur, the modern day equivalent of the Day of Atonement. However, historically this day has been one of conflict in the region. In fact one of the wars over ehre was called the Yom Kippur war because of when it was fought. As a result, we were in lockdown in the center that day. We couldn’t go out, so instead we picked olives for the olive oil we made the next week, and studied for our history midterm.

A couple days later Succot started. In the Bible this holiday is called the Feast of Tabernacles. It lasts for a week, and Jews will build a little hut to live (or at least eat in) for the week. It is in memory of the temporary house the Israelites lived in during the Exodus. It was a lot of fun to wonder the Jewish areas of Jerusalem and see the Succot. Restaurants even build them so that there customers can honor the celebration! I have a picture in one, and me and one of my roommates actually attempted to make one on our balcony. I actually slept outside in it one night. It was really cool to sleep under the stars in Jerusalem!

The day after Succot is another important holiday. It is called Sumhat Torah. It celebrates the time that Jews finish reading the Torah and immediately start reading it again. This was my favorite holiday! We went to a local synagogue to watch the celebration. The congregation takes out all the Torah scrolls and actually dances around with them! It is an extreme honor to get to dance with the Torah, and if the Torah is dropped, 40 of the present people must fast for 24 hours to purify the scroll. It’s a lot of pressure to dance with it! Well, my group joined in the dancing and singing of the congregation who danced around those holding the Torah scrolls. It was a lot of fun to talk to the people, and I learned a lot. In the middle of the circle folk-dancing, those holding the Torah danced. It was passed around, with different groups given the honor to hold it and dance. The rabbis had a chance, than those who had been in Israel for a while, the youth had a chance, those serving in the military had a chance, and then it was time for students to dance with it. The person I was dancing next o said I could go and dance with the Torah, even though I wasn’t Jewish. I asked the rabbi, and he told me I could, so I got to dance with the Torah! It was really exciting, and I was so afraid I would drop it! My friend snuck some cool photos. I got to participate in a Jewish holiday! It was a really cool experience!

Another cool Jewish celebration to witness is the greeting of the Shabbat at the Western Wall. Jews will gather and sing and dance to greet it. We went as a program, and it was a really cool site. There were so many people there! One of the best parts was a group of soldiers dancing. They were smiling and enjoying their Shabbat, even as the machine guns hanging on their backs banged against each other. It was really interesting to see how secular and religious aspects of Israel mix.

I don’t know if all my descriptions have made sense, but I always get really excited when a new holiday happens here. And so many have happened this past month! In fact, this time of the year is known for being the month where nothing gets done because almost every day is a holiday or the eve of another one. It is cool to see how they celebrate, especially considering many of the celebrations have Biblical roots! Witnessing all the holidays made me so glad that I’m studying in Israel at this time of year!

Well, I'm getting closer to catching up, but it's still going to take more tiem! I'll see what I can do tomorrow, so that way, I cna write mroe regularly when I get back from Jordan!