InTents Hag

          I sat down and explained to her why I didn't know where I was going for Sukkos. It was because I had no idea how the holiday worked. How many days? Which days are observed like shabbos? What do you mean by meals? So after a long chat, my Rebbetzin set me up to stay by a woman with two kids and  to eat all my meals by the dean of Neve, Rabbi Refson. Not only was I completely honored to have been invited to all the meals with Rabbi Refson and his wife, but I was also in for a big surprise for the woman I stayed with.

          She was a convert, a divorcee, an oleh (someone who has immigrated to Israel), and one of her sons has leukemia. I couldn't believe her story but she has had a fascinating life and is one of the kindest people I have met. And in light of this, we both misunderstood the set-up, and since I observe two days of hagim (you only observe one if you are Israeli), I ended up staying there three days longer than she expected. Not only that, but she was going somewhere for shabbos so she simply trusted me and gave me the key. It's not typical of the Jewish community to be this open and trusting, however this woman was wonderful in every way. But so, too, were the Refsons. I was blessed to eat at the Refsons' because I was able to ask questions and see how the meals in a Sukkah worked, what blessings to recite, and got great food from wonderful people. It's one thing to learn about Judaism, it's another entirely to actually live it. And with that I feel to have been blessed to have had an incredible experience during the first days of Sukkos. 

          But, with growth, comes many mistakes. I went to Tel Aviv right before sukkos and kind of had a "blast from the past," so to speak. I felt like I was walking the streets of New York back in my old setting. But it's one thing to go back to where you have gone, and another to go back as you were. I was in such a completely different mindset I felt it had been a mistake returning to Tel Aviv. And not because I didn't have fun, not because it isn't beautiful, and not because I don't love the city. It was because I was looking at the way people dressed and the things people were doing and the way the whole society worked as opposed to Jerusalem. It was so familiar. It felt like America. It was completely (in) my past. I'm not sure I liked re-walking through all of my mistakes.