So much Funnukah to Celebrate Hannukah

This week was full of fun and Shining Lights, because it was the start of Chanukah! Everyday was full of excitement leading up to and enjoying the Holiday.

On Monday my week began with a family visit! I got to see my Auntie Caren all the way from Detroit, Michigan.  Auntie Caren has 2 daughters living in Jerusalem, Bat-Sheva and Shira, plus Chana(her niece, my cousin) and I live here too. That afternoon I met up with Chana, Shira, Auntie Caren, and Bat-Sheva’s new baby boy (we’d meet up with her later) and took a walk through Geulah to this cute bagel shop. No one was really hungry for a real meal so we all got frozen yogurt and just got time to catch up. Being with family was such a nice treat, and Bat-Sheva’s baby, Meir Simcha, is gorgeous! Spending time together was so cool because of the fact that we were all in Jerusalem together, which made our get-together extra special. After we had our ice cream, we took the bus to Bat-Sheva’s apartment to drop of the baby and spend some more time together. Bat-Sheva looks gorgeous, even with the stress of a new baby, and it was so exciting to see her. Unfortunately I still had a football game that evening so I had to leave, but it had still been an awesome afternoon seeing family. Not to mention Auntie Caren had brought with her a few winter clothes that Imma had given her so the package was a bonus to the evening. But the nights’ excitement had just begun. When we first got to the football game, I was mostly scared, we only had 8 players (half of what we usually have), everyone was sick or had relatives visiting. But with only half our players we were still able to win! It was a close game (7-6) but we still won, which was a huge confidence booster and made the few players very proud! I definitely think our team is improving.

Chana, Simchah, and Auntie Caren

Chana,Bat Sheva (with Simcha), Auntie Caren, Shira, and I in Bat-Sheva's apartment

From one day to the next, the excitement continues. Tuesday night we always have Erev Nativ (mandatory meetings for Nativ), and since it was the night before Chanukah, we got to make Chanukiot! It was really fun being with all of Nativ and basically doing arts-n-crafts. It was also really interesting to see that we all had the same resources and materials, yet every single Chanukiah was different and unique in their own ways. I was really happy with mine and I can’t wait to use it in the years to come (as long as it doesn’t break!). When I finished making my Chanukiah I had another adventure for the evening, I got to see Chen! Chen was a “Chavera M’Yisrael” (friend from Israel) last year in Cinicinnati. Netanya is a city in Israel that is “sister-cities” with Cincinnati, so every year Cincinnati brings in two high school graduates who take a year off before the army and educate Cincinnati about Israel at different events and schools. I got to be friends with the two “chaverim” from this past year and already saw Tomer when I visited Netanya, but Chen was already in the army so I wasn’t able to see her. Luckily her troop took a tiyul (trip) to Jerusalem that week, so I was able to visit her. Seeing Chen was amazing, especially since I’d been trying to see her since I came to Israel, but her army schedule made it very difficult. Being back with a friend, who even though is an Israeli, was a friend from home, was so fun and her friends were funny too, plus I got to use more of my Hebrew, which is always good practice.

Making my Channukiah

Aviva, Maya, and I making Chanukiot

I finally got to see Chen!

The day we’d all been waiting for was finally here, Chanukah!! Wednesday night was not only the first night of Chanukah, but it was also my first Chanukah in Israel, and it was not a letdown. We got out early at Yeshiva so that people would be home in time to light candles, which was a nice start. But when it was candle lighting time for Nativ the real fun began. Chanukah has always been a very big family-oriented holiday with singing and being with the family so I was a little homesick. Luckily, that didn’t last long. Nativ got together and sang the blessings together, and we each got to light our own homemade Chanukiot. The room was lit up with so many candles, it was beautiful and full of happiness, plus there was tons of singing afterwards. It was still a family holiday, just with my Nativ family. After songs Nativ gave everyone soufganiyot (jelly-filled donuts), which are an important food during the holiday because they are fried, which celebrated the oil found in the temple that miraculously lasted 8 days. I also thought it would be a nice gift to myself to go out to dinner, so Tali and I went to The Village Green for dinner, and I had some of their amazing sweet potatoes I’d been missing. When we came back I lit the candles with Tali again since she had been in class during Nativ lighting. When I came back to my room I opened one of the four little gifts Imma had sent me with the Schneiders. It was the cutest little Chanukah story book, so that night Maya Dolgin, one of our staff, read it to my roommate, Rotem, and I before bed. The story is called “Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat”, and I definitely recommend it to both kids and adults, it’s very cute.

Roni and Zoe lighting candles the first night of Chanukah :)

My homemade Chanukiah - I'm very proud

Corey, Debra, Allie, and I with our first Soufganiyot of the Holidays

 Since it was still Chanukah, class ended extra early on Thursday (at 12!), so I went to the shuk (outdoor market) with my friends Hilary Zarnett and Ariel Siegal. Going to the shuk during Chanukah was such a cool experience, there were soooo many soufganiyot everywhere, and not just jelly-filled, like the typical holiday treat. When I came back, I was tired from my adventure so first I bought my new Nativ fleece, which my aunts got me for ChanukahJ!I don’t have a fleece here, just my heavy pea coat and sweatshirts so the fleece is perfect for the evening weather right now, plus its suuuper comfy and has the Nativ logo on it. After I was all toasty in my new fleece, I relaxed with my friend Allie Griff andI watched Boy Meets World, it was very nostalgic. Then, at dinner, we were told that football practice was cancelled, so even though I had plans for later that night I had some free time for some Chanukah appreciation around the city. We went to Mamilla, which is basically a very high end strip mall that leads to the old city and is very well known for its classy stores and art. For Chanukah, they decorated the streets with lights, not for Christmas, but for Chanukah of course. The lights were beautiful and especially cool because they were just for Chanukah; there were even street performers and other cool displays. Even though there was so much to see, we had to rush back to base because we had plans to go see the exhibit, DEEP. During the first three weekends of December in Jerusalem, they have this event called Chamshushalayim, to celebrate all the festivities of Chanukah. Basically, Thursday night, Friday night,  and Saturday night, they have activities, events and museums open to the public for free or at discounted prices. DEEP is this exhibit from Paris all about rare fish from the ocean depths. I found out about it a long time ago and have always wanted to go but my schedule has been too busy with classes. One of my staff, Aaron Sherman, also wanted to go and found out that not only was it open at night during Chamshushalayim but it was also free! I went with Aaron and my friends, Aimee, Debra, Aviva, Tali, Sam, and another Tali. The exhibit was sooo cool. I was expecting to see more real fish, but the fish on display were so unique, and not just in their looks. I learned so much and finally got to see the exhibit, especially since it closes in a week. Since the exhibit is in the Children’s Science Museum, Aviva, Tali, and I had fun looking at some of the hands-on exhibits at the museum too. There was even a man-powered merry-go-round, which was especially entertaining. I was sooo exhausted from my busy day that I saw one more episode of Boy Meets World with Allie when I got back, and then went straight to bed.

Look at all those Soufganiyot!

Mamilla decked out in lights

Aaron and I with a funky fish

Tali peddling the carousel

Aviva enjoying my hard labor

After my very busy week, I was ready for a school-free day on Friday to get to sleep in, but that was apparently, not in the agenda. Since that Shabbat was a closed Shabbat, all of Nativ had to stay on base, they had scheduled some morning “activities” for us. Since Nativ is associated with the USCJ (United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism – the main organization of the Conservative Movement), and so is USY (United Synagogue Youth – Youth group for high schoolers that I was hugely active in), each year they ask Nativ to make a video (semi-promotional) for the International Convention that USY has every year. So all morning, we got to film scenes for the International Convention video, instead of catching up on some much needed sleep. The only good thing is that now my friends at International Convention will be able to see me, which is pretty cool. After lunch is when the fun really began. Jerry Ribnick, Tamar (my sister)’s boyfriend (Joel Ribnick)’s dad, was in Jerusalem for some Jewish Federation work but was able to meet up Friday afternoon. He was staying with his friends, the Kahns, and they were going to the Shuk (outdoor market), to pick up produce for dinner, so I was able to meet up with them for an awesome afternoon. It was really convenient because I needed to go to the shuk anyways to pick up my “secret santa” gift for my friend I was assigned and I knew he’d love an assortment of candy and treats from the shuk, plus I really wanted to see Jerry. The afternoon was so fun, talking and catching up, plus learning about some great shops in the shuk that Jerry’s friend pointed out (they aren’t so common but have great prices). It made my day, seeing almost-family and he even got me an Israeli dreidle from the shuk which will add to my collection at home. I came back to base in an extremely happy mood, with hope that I’d get to see Jerry one more time before he left for home, and with a little package from home with a few new pairs of leggings to keep me warm as the cold weather approaches. That night we had services and dinner with everyone from Nativ, on base. It was fun being with everyone for Shabbat dinner, but since I never got my chance to sleep in, I was exhausted and didn’t even have enough energy for the tish (song session) after dinner, which I never miss. I guess being tired is better than being bored, because it shows how much fun I’d been having all week.

Because of the closed Shabbat, I still could not get a morning of sleeping in, because we all had to be at services on base at the very beginning (unlike my usual “arrive when I arrive” schedule). Since it was Shabbat, the day was pretty chill, we had services, lunch, and free time until Seudat Shlishit (third meal of the day/early dinner). Right after Havdalah, was also the Schneider’s flight home, which was sad to see such good family friends leave, but the hugs goodbye were nice, and they’d be back for Pesach, more faces to see in the future. Even though one Cincinnati friend was leaving, I actually had plans to visit Dena Rapaport, a friend from Cincinnati studying for the year in Israel, that evening. I had not seen Dena in a while so we had planned to get together after Shabbat and just catch up on each other’s lives. It was so fun seeing Dena and her new apartment is so cute, the decorations make it so homey, and her roommate’s dog was cute too.

Even though in Israel we have school on Sunday, because of Chanukah, The Yeshiva, Hebrew University, and Ulpan, all had the day off! There are two girls in the Karmiel group who never have class on Sunday so they usually go out to brunch and have a typical American Sunday. Since we were all off, they thought it would be a great time for Karmiel-girl bonding and invited us along on their Sunday Funday.  It was so fun being with the girls, and the brunch was a nice change to the typical cafeteria environment we’re used to; it got me really excited for when we’re all in Karmiel, plus we hope to have fancy dessert nights too as a group. After brunch, my friend, Allie Griff, and I planned to go boot shopping. We have both been wanting cute boots for the winter and heard about this sale at the mall for buy-one-get-one-free, and decided we could each get a pair for 50% off! Sunday was the perfect day, considering we had no school, and the brunch put us in the shopping mood. We mentioned the sale and a few of the other girls could not resist the deal, so the afternoon entailed even more bonding and just plain fun. Going to the mall and seeing the boots is nice but the fact that I was able to find the exact boots I was looking for, made the afternoon a big success. We all left with at least one pair of boots and huge smiles on our faces, and complete exhaustion. But after my full morning I didn’t have time for a nap. Since no one had classes, Nativ had mandatory volunteering (yes it’s an oxymoron) for all three groups at different “Old people’s homes”. We went to sing different Chanukah songs and pass out soufganiyot. Sometimes it can be hard in general to volunteer with the elderly, and the language barrier made it even harder, but just seeing one of the men’s huge smiles as he saw us walking up to the gate made it all worth it. Even though most of the people couldn’t really have a conversation, they all really enjoyed our songs and soufganiyot, and those who could converse, seemed to appreciate our company. I was still exhausted, but instead of coming back from volunteering and taking a much needed nap, I had a delicious dinner to go to. The Glassmans are good family friends from Cincinnati who go to our shul. Their daughter Leah made Aliyah (moved to Israel), so Bev (the mom) came to visit Leah and sightsee. They were in Jerusalem that night so they had a dinner at Caffit (amazingly delicious and well-known restaurant in Jerusalem) for all the people they know in Israel. I loved seeing Bev, and having another hug from home. It was also great seeing Leah since I haven’t seen her the whole time I’ve been in Israel, but since I will live in the North second semester, it will be a lot easier to see her! There were also other Cincinnatians like Rachel and Nina Schneider, Dena Rapaport, and Adam Ganson, so the evening made for a Cincinnati night. Plus the restaurant had its own Chanukah candle lighting which was such a cool experience, which would only happen in Israel! Even though seeing everyone was the best part of the night, the food came up at a close second. Caffit is known for their delicious food, and when we visited Tamar in Israel when I was in 7^th grade, the food was scrumptious, or at least I’m told, since I can’t really remember. Ever since I’ve been in Israel Abba keeps asking me if I’ve gone to Caffit, and even though it’s taken me a long time to eat there, the wait was well worth it. I ordered one of their famous sweet potato “Oreganatto’s” which is their prized salad. When the bowl of mouth-watering goodness came out, I was speechless. And after my first bite, that didn’t change. The salad was piled high with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and covered in goat cheese, nuts, and sooo many strips of sweet potato, the salad itself was hidden. Needless to say I could only eat a third of it, but thank goodness for carryout because now I have amazing leftovers for the week.              

Delicious Karmiel Brunch

Most of the Karmiel Girls happy, and full

Yay Boots!

They lit the Chanukiah at Caffit!

The Cincinnati side of the table

It was so great seeing Bev and Leah

Monday morning, I was back to the normal school schedule after a nice American Sunday, and even though I definitely was not in the mood for waking up early, I awoke to a pleasant surprise…RAIN! Finally! As I’ve mentioned before, Israel has been going through a drought, and while I’ve hugely enjoyed the beautiful weather and warm temperatures, it’s been awful for Israel and it’s already low water supply. The only bad part about the rain is the cold weather that comes with it- especially because it was so hot on Sunday- I wore a tank top and capris! I was not ready for the drastic change in weather, but even with the colder temperatures, the rain put everyone in an excited mood! Since school at Yeshiva has been getting out early because of Chanukah, our Talmud class decided to have a Chanukah party. I love my Talmud class, we have so much fun together and finally, I got to play dreidle! (with Israeli driedles). There was gelt, latkes, and soufganiyot, like any normal Chanukah party, but having it with the class made it unique and extra fun. Our teacher, R’Hillel, even brought a projector and we were able to play Super Mario Brothers on a big screen and watch funny Chanukah clips on youtube. We even saw a clip from Rechov Soom Soom (Israeli Sesame Street), where Moishe’ Oofnick (the “Oscar the grouch” of Rechov Soom Soom) got drunk at the Passover Seder- I can’t believe that was in a real episode for little kids! I left the part a little early, after having a perfect amount of time with the class, so I could meet up with Jerry Ribnick again! I was so glad that my football game was cancelled so that I could see Jerry one more time before his flight home. I wasn’t even that hungry but just spending time with Jerry walking around and sitting at the restaurant made for a fabulous evening. I was sad to say goodbye to Jerry because it was so nice having someone like family spend time with me, but at least Tamar will be here soon! When I got back it was late so I thought I’d have to light the Chanukiah by myself,  but luckily I got back just as a bunch of my friends were about to light. Lighting the candles and singing songs was the perfect ending to another special day of Chanukah in Israel.

Talmud class playing dreidel

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Jerry and I at dinner

Coming home, I saw the Nativ window filled with shining candles!