just the balls, please.

Jerusalem

It's raining here, those glorious, thick, large rain drops that pelt against the windows and completely drench everything. Almost like a complete cleansing. I love this kind of rain. I'm still analyzing in my head the whole Manhattan vs Chapel Hill thing, and I keep thinking I really want to see my nephew soon. Ever have that feeling of wanting to just leave everything behind? Sometimes I have that urge. I'd go to Israel. I can't believe it will be 3 years on June 6 since I went on my trip. That was truly one of the best experiences of my life and has shaped who I am as an American Jewish woman. I felt instantly at home there, maybe because I speak and read Hebrew, I don't know. For some reason, I had no fear about suicide bombers - I just didn't. I loved the waterfalls of Ein Gedi, the view from the Golan Heights, the view of the Kinneret from the corridor of our hostel, the hot springs on the border of Jordan, and our Shabbat service at our Jerusalem hostel. And, of course, the Wall - the Kotel. I've blogged about this before, about my experience of going up to the wall to pray and bursting into tears. The emotions that run through you in such a holy place cannot be described. The mechitzah separated the women from the men, and to my surprise, I didn't mind. It was actually nice and peaceful on the women's side. I went to Israel with over 10 years of daily, full-time Jewish education behind me. I had gone to a private school where the morning was alloted for secular subjects, and the afternoon was Hebrew/Bible/Jewish history/Holocaust. I was no stranger to the landmarks of Israel and the stories behind them. But when I came back from Israel.....my faith was renewed. I can't describe it any other way. For weeks after coming back to the States, I was so incredibly homesick for Israel. That's really the only word for it. I still miss speaking Hebrew. I miss authentic falafel, and the feeling of being among...my people, if that makes any sense. I loved how on Fridays, everyone said "Shabbat Shalom" - to everyone. After years and years of being wished "Merry Christmas" during the holiday season (EVEN when I'm wearing my Star of David), it was nice to be wished a good shabbos. I think when things get tough here, I often return in my head to my 10 days in Israel. That trip taught me so much about myself, what I could do, what I really believed in....And of course, I got to eat amazing falafel. I would order it in Hebrew, and since I don't like any of the salad or sauce or anything in my pita, I would say, "Falafel, b'vakasha - aval, rak ha cadoorim." Which means, "Falafel, please - but just the balls." I swear to G-d. This is what one of the Israeli soldiers told me to say. And it worked. But I laughed to myself every time I said it. 

I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love right now, which could account for my Israeli nostalgia. I've been reading lots of books on faith this semester - Blue Like Jazz, Through Painted Deserts....I'm looking for a good Judaica book. Fiction, non-fiction, doesn't matter. In NC, it's kind of hard to find decent ones (shocker).