I don't know if cities have souls- for every city has their own character. Jerusalem is the grandfather of cities, intense and powerful. Sometimes I feel swallowed by the the expansive Jerusalem stone and lost in Har Nof's conformity. Recently, this powerful intensity had been bothering me- I feel the stones melt into Iron. B"H, Pesach couldn't have come quick enough! I needed to breathe and starting on the 23 of March (Rosh Chodesh Nissan) I was free from school to choose what ever it is I would like to do.
I winded down my first week of vacation, just getting out of school mode, and relaxing. The second week, I went on a hike with a few girls from my school to a bat cave by Beit Shemesh, which unsurprisingly turned into a beautiful two-three hour exploration (aka: getting lost in the woods). Then, a few days later, I took two friends to Kibbutz Tzuba! I got to visit my old home and BOY was I surprised! A few factories popped up at the entrance, but more importantly, once on the kibbutz, I realized this was my home three years ago! Three years?! Wow. But, more than that, it felt like Paradise! It looked like paradise with all of the foliage and flowers abloom. Then, I took my friends to Tel Tzuba, the archeological site, and then hiked down and up the next mountain to Sataf. In Sataf, we trailed through some of the oldest agricultural findings in Judea & Samaria to three beautiful fresh water springs, one of which I took them inside to see the water drip from the limestone. If that was all I did, I would of been happy enough. But then, Pesach and Chol Hamoed came. Still one week left of exploration.
For the first Seder and Shabbat, I went to the Art Colony in Tzfat and enjoyed spending it with this great family. The mother was a wonderful artist and the very cheerful father helped run the business downstairs, both Baalei Teshuva. They had five beautiful children running around. I can say that this was the highlight of my month. While in Har Nof, I see the Yeshivish-Haredi families and how they work, what it's like and all of that... I don't often enough get a chance to see how OTHER types of Orthodox families work. Like, how they celebrate Shabbos, what kind of minhagnim they are doing, and how they go about teaching their children Torah. In this family, I got a feeling I don't normally get. They spoke about Torah, like a secular teenager would talk about their crush: they had overwhelming affection in their eyes. I really enjoyed the way the father shared mussar from Reb Shlomo Carlebach as well as from other well-known rebbeim with a sense of great joy and faith. It was... a very, very positive experience for me.
Once I came back to Jerusalem, I was feeling such a new and positive energy that I couldn't sit still. I wasn't yet ready to stay stagnant in Jerusalem, like I had been for the last few months. A day later a friend and I took off to the woods and spent all of Chol Hamoed camping with a group of people among the fresh and beautiful valleys and woods outside of the greater Beit Shemesh area. Not exactly sure where I was, no electronics, and more matzah than I would of ever wanted... I celebrated the most liberating Pesach I've had yet.
Back in civilization for the last days of Hag, I walked to the Kotel to finish off my journey. In the heart of Jerusalem, where the Shechina still rests, the Iron walls faded back to gold Jerusalem stone. I am rejuvenated and excited to return to my studies with eagerness of a curious mind and an open heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment