Personal Day in Jerusalem

So I haven't done much since my last post; I just spent a weekend cooped up in my apartment (and Adam's) writing three papers, doing two projects, writing a take home exam, and studying for another exam. Finals breezed through and break started. The first few days of break were relaxing but annoying because all I did was sit in my room watching TV and going on Facebook while it poured rain outside (but I did get a couple chances to go running on the beach). Either way, yesterday was the most exciting day of break so far because I took a trip to Jerusalem by myself.

Facebook kippah in the
middle of the picture

I woke up and went to the Arlozorov Bus Station to take a bus down to Jerusalem (the student price is just 9 shekels!). I got to the Central Bus Station around 11:30am and realized that I had a few hours to kill before I was supposed to meet up with my friend, Noah, who lives in Jerusalem and just graduated from my program. However, he did help direct me to a couple places over the phone. I started walking to Ben Yehuda Street as my main mission was to get a Facebook kippah for a very good friend back home (he worked an internship at Facebook's international headquarters in Dublin, Ireland this past summer). After searching around the numerous kippah stores on Ben Yehuda, I finally found the one I was looking for. Afterwards, I walked to Machane Yehuda, a very popular shuk in Jerusalem. This outdoor marketplace has over 250 vendors and spans two major streets. I remembered going here right before Shabbat on Birthright and it was PACKED; it was less so yesterday but still busy. I walked around for a while but didn't find anything I wanted so I started on a aimless journey throughout the city.

My trek took me through neighborhoods such as Machane Yehuda, Zichron Moshe, Ge'ula, Me'a She'arim, and past Migrash HaRussim. As I walked, I noticed there were ultra-Orthodox Jews (both Haredim and Hasidim) all over the place; this was when I knew that I was the OUTSIDER! However, it felt good to get another view of the world. In Me'a She'arim, I saw a sign that stated, "To women and girls: Please do not pass through our neighborhood in immodest clothes". I eventually ended up at the Jaffa Gate of the Old City. I walked in, realizing that that gate was the same one I entered on Birthright, too (I almost walked in through the Damascus Gate into the Christian Quarter). Passing a few shops, I entered one walkway with some smaller shops selling t-shirts for tourists, hookahs, and other tourist paraphernalia. I eventually unknowingly approached the sign every Jew likes to see: "Western Wall -->" I knew I was going in the right direction to the Wall, and that I was close. I got to the Wall, did tefillin (putting it on and saying the Shema), wrote a note and stuck it in the Wall, and stood there for a few minutes just breathing in the energy of being there again. Just like on Birthright, I got a chill of being there, and thoughts of my family, friends, and memories of what I'd done in Israel so far raced through my mind. It never gets old going there, it's such a magical place. After that, I walked around the Jewish Quarter for a bit, seeing places and things I've seen before.

Me at the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism

Shortly afterwards, Noah called me. He was in the area and was ready to hang out. We ran a couple errands he needed to run, but regardless, it was fun catching up with him. Noah is a Hasidic Jew from Los Angeles who skateboards. You wouldn't expect that from a Hasid, would you? He and his wife live on the western edge of the city, but he loves it. We stopped off at a pizza place for dinner in Me'a She'arim; that is some of the best pizza I've ever had and the accompanying sauce was phenomenal. I have no clue what the place is called, but I know where it is. And yes, there are gender segregated seating and pizza lines.

I eventually got a call from my friend, Noa, to hang out at her place in Giv'at Tsarfatit (the French Hill), a neighborhood in northern Jerusalem. Noa now goes to Hebrew University for her Bachelor's degree. I took a bus to her place and we had a little Birthright reunion. Our old friend, Zeal, who since the trip has become Orthodox and has been studying at a local Yeshiva, visited, too. He's been in Jerusalem for two years, but wants to go back to New York and get his Master's in Art Therapy. I wish him luck. I then trekked home by Jerusalem Light Rail, then a bus to TLV, and finally walking home from the bus station. It was a busy 16 hours but a very fun day.

HAPPY PURIM!

By the way, if anyone has any ideas on what I can be for Purim, let me know. I don't like buying things for one-time use, so if you can think of something using just my clothes, that would be great!