Shalom from Jerusalem, where we had a great and relaxing Shabbat of a different sort... We walked all over the city, from Nachlaot where our apartment is to the Ramah Day Camp to Hartman to YMCA for lunch and back to the apartment, and then tonight out to Ben Yehuda street as Jerusalem came alive after Shabbat.
It's late and we have an early morning getting the kids off to camp, but I needed to share this great anecdote. The boys are in bed talking quietly; it's super late and I should tell them to be quiet, but they're sharing the Hebrew they learned as we walked and talked, and Lys and I just can't bring ourselves to tell them to stop!
Afo atah gar? Where do you live?
Yesh lanu dira b'Nachlaot. (We have an apartment in Nachlaot.)
Aich omrim...? (How do you say...?)
Ma zeh...? (What is this...?)
Sababa! (Awesome!)
Nachon. (Correct)
Ani lo yodea. (I don't know)
And on and on... We've been here for 28 hours, and I already feel like a part of our work here is done!
Lailah tov and shavua tov,
Joel
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
An amazing two weeks...
Shabbat should be like this more often; sleeping till 10 a.m., leisurely lunch with great friends, 8 games of volleyball followed by 23 games of basketball followed by umpteen games of cards, all infused with silly/interesting/agitating/wonderful conversations. I wonder what's possible to actualize in my every-week Shabbat observance...
I also spent some time finally digging into "The Sacred Table," a new food book I contributed an article to. Between some of what I've read, and the intense study and deep conversations we've done these past two weeks, I have a feeling my congregants are going to hear about Kashrut this upcoming High Holidays...
What a terrific two weeks it's been here at the farm... Once again, spending time with great, idealistic, funny, smart people. Before my sabbatical began, when it was all theoretical, and I really didn't know what I wanted to do, I had this idea that I wanted to sweat and study. Kayam and the Kollel have given me that great opportunity once again, and I surely hope to be able to come here again and again. I have planted some of my roots here. And to mix metaphors, this place, this ground, these people, have gotten into my blood.
Your farm quiz
Can you guess what we're growing in each of these pictures? Winner (most correct answers) gets a Pearlstone t-shirt!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. (a little tricky?)
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. (a little tricky?)
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Monday, June 20, 2011
One Week Down...
So far, I've planted tomatoes, cucumbers, fennel, and musk melon. I've weed whacked vetch (a cover crop) to make way for corn (ironic, based on last year's experience of weed-whacking a failed corn crop!).I've harvested peas, beets, lettuce, and strawberries. I've weeded flowers, onions, potatoes, and nearly every other crop in the field.
I'm also on goat- and chicken-feeding/watering duty this week, and Eitan tells me that I'll have a chance to milk the goat before I go.
It's been a wonderful six days on the farm, with six more to go. Shabbat was glorious-- stayed up with the gang until two a.m., slept till 11 a.m., went for a walk for an hour and a half, then slept for two more hours! I think I was a student at the UW the last time I had a Shabbat like that... This place has just become one of the very special places in my life; I hope that I can make time to come here every summer, and perhaps a couple of other times in between summers.
It's also been extra special since two people I met last summer, who started dating last summer, got engaged on the farm on Thursday night. We toasted more than a few "l'chaims" to them, which probably helped in the quality of sleep Friday night!
The work has been hard but so good; the study has been intense and rewarding. The community of folks here this year are much more laid back in every way than the folks last summer, much as I loved them. That's made for more laid back discussions on religion, more laid back eating/shopping/cooking, just a less intense and confrontational atmosphere.
Hard to believe that in 10 days we leave for Jerusalem-- on the one hand, I can hardly wait; on the other hand, I know that part of me won't be ready to leave Kayam Farm. If I have to leave here for somewhere else, Jerusalem is a prtty good substitute!
I'm also on goat- and chicken-feeding/watering duty this week, and Eitan tells me that I'll have a chance to milk the goat before I go.
It's been a wonderful six days on the farm, with six more to go. Shabbat was glorious-- stayed up with the gang until two a.m., slept till 11 a.m., went for a walk for an hour and a half, then slept for two more hours! I think I was a student at the UW the last time I had a Shabbat like that... This place has just become one of the very special places in my life; I hope that I can make time to come here every summer, and perhaps a couple of other times in between summers.
It's also been extra special since two people I met last summer, who started dating last summer, got engaged on the farm on Thursday night. We toasted more than a few "l'chaims" to them, which probably helped in the quality of sleep Friday night!
The work has been hard but so good; the study has been intense and rewarding. The community of folks here this year are much more laid back in every way than the folks last summer, much as I loved them. That's made for more laid back discussions on religion, more laid back eating/shopping/cooking, just a less intense and confrontational atmosphere.
Hard to believe that in 10 days we leave for Jerusalem-- on the one hand, I can hardly wait; on the other hand, I know that part of me won't be ready to leave Kayam Farm. If I have to leave here for somewhere else, Jerusalem is a prtty good substitute!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Down on the farm...
It's great to be back on the farm-- it feels a little like a homecoming; I also had the feeling as I turned onto Mt. Gilead Road that I always had turning onto Lac La Belle Drive heading back into OSRUI; a stomach churning excitement combined with a bit of nerves. Will my friends be back? Will the new kids like me? What will be different this time? What will be the same?
Well, the folks are nice; Gabe and Jakir are the old friends, and there are a small group of new ones living in the village. There's another Joel-- this one from Australia, on his way to study at Hadar. And Rachel, who worked on the farm all last summer, is coming up on Mondays and Tuesdays as she has decided to focus her PhD on Kayam!
It seems it'll be a nice group. For now, I have my own tent. It's funny to have such a small group in the village; by the time I left last summer, there were 20 people to cook for; tonight, there were 7.
I walked down to the farm, and was instantly "lost." Other than the grape vines and the strawberry bushes, all the crops have been rotated, so I don't know where anything is! I'm sure I'll learn quickly.
Off to bed for an early rise tomorrow.
Well, the folks are nice; Gabe and Jakir are the old friends, and there are a small group of new ones living in the village. There's another Joel-- this one from Australia, on his way to study at Hadar. And Rachel, who worked on the farm all last summer, is coming up on Mondays and Tuesdays as she has decided to focus her PhD on Kayam!
It seems it'll be a nice group. For now, I have my own tent. It's funny to have such a small group in the village; by the time I left last summer, there were 20 people to cook for; tonight, there were 7.
I walked down to the farm, and was instantly "lost." Other than the grape vines and the strawberry bushes, all the crops have been rotated, so I don't know where anything is! I'm sure I'll learn quickly.
Off to bed for an early rise tomorrow.
Renewal again
Sabbatical Part II: Back and Better than ever
Part 2 of my sabbatical began this past week with a wonderful trip to the midwest, bracketed by a family Bat Mitzvah in Indiana and a family friend Bar Mitzvah in Cleveland.
Suprising bit: Cleveland has great food! Check out the West Side-- Momocho for Happy Hour, great Mexican, and great people, especially on Thursday between 5 and 6:30 p.m.! The Happy Dog, for hot dogs with 50 different toppings-- I recommend the chole! And the West Side Market, which got us ready for Machane Yehuda, near where we'll be living in Jerusalem for the month of July.
Today I'm off for a couple of weeks back at Kayam Farm, and I can't wait!
More later. Thanks for reading!
Part 2 of my sabbatical began this past week with a wonderful trip to the midwest, bracketed by a family Bat Mitzvah in Indiana and a family friend Bar Mitzvah in Cleveland.
Suprising bit: Cleveland has great food! Check out the West Side-- Momocho for Happy Hour, great Mexican, and great people, especially on Thursday between 5 and 6:30 p.m.! The Happy Dog, for hot dogs with 50 different toppings-- I recommend the chole! And the West Side Market, which got us ready for Machane Yehuda, near where we'll be living in Jerusalem for the month of July.
Today I'm off for a couple of weeks back at Kayam Farm, and I can't wait!
More later. Thanks for reading!
Friday, August 27, 2010
613 Pictures
Each state we've entered, we've read the Wikipedia entry for, which has been so much fun. We've learned about the mottos, demonyms (look it up!), state dances, and more; we've learned about all the famous people who were born or lived in those states; we've learned state capitols and vital statistics and economic drivers and histories of each one-- it's been great.
We arrived last night back in suburban Chicago after a mad dash across the country in six days. Last Friday, August 20, we reluctantly left the Left Coast, passed through Portland to pick up a few items we'd left there (subconscious desire to return), stopped in Pendleton, OR for ice cream, and stopped in Boise, ID for the night.
The next day we visited a great craft/farmer's market in downtown Boise, and then headed to the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. We stopped there at the National Fishery that raises one million steelhead each year that they then release into the Idaho River.
This was a particularly fascinating place to me, even though there's not a ton to see. That the place even exists is interesting; pretty cool that there's an effort to replenish the ecosystem destroyed by the damming of rivers. I also think a lot about industrial fisheries and have wondered what they look like-- now, I have an inkling.
At Hagerman itself, the little visitor's center turned out to be the most interesting part: it's the only place in the park where you can actually see fossils! Visitors are really only permitted to see much of the rest of the massive park from look out points and roads; we did see the remains of the ruts caused by wagon trains from pioneers on the Oregon Trail and read about those brave souls. Little did we know that the day after we visited, three quarters of the park would burn in a forest fire!
We ended the day in Salt Lake City, walking around the Temple by night,and saw some spectacular fireworks from the State Fair. Sorry once again that we didn't have more time to explore this interesting town. We thought about attending the performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but Lev didn't quite make their minimum age, so we listened to the live broadcast on the radio on the way out of town!
Sunday, August 21, we drove to the spectacular Arches National Park, where we hiked around the North and South Windows, Turret Arch, and Double Arch, and took some great pictures of "The Three Gossips," "Park Avenue," and "Balanced Rock." What an incredible place... and we basically just happened on it as we glanced at the map a few days before looking for potentially interesting things to see. On the way out of the park, we chose to drive the long route on scenic route 128, which follows the Colorado River for more than 40 miles. It was another stunningly beautiful drive, and along the way we found Big Bend Bouldering area, a well-known place for rock climbers to practice their craft; we all tried out our skills and had a lot of fun.
We had dinner in Grand Junction, and drove into Aspen in the dark, arriving at a beautiful condo that some wonderful friends generously offered for us to use. We all collapsed, exhausted from another great day.
Monday the 23rd, we awoke to look out on the spectacular view of Aspen Mountain from our balcony. We headed to the Silver Queen gondolas to ride up the 3,000 feet to the top, where there were all kinds of fun kids activities. After a bit, it started to rain, so we went into the Sundeck to eat lunch and wait out the weather. When the rain stopped, we headed back down to town. We drove from there to Aspen Highlands. We took a shuttle from there to Maroon Bells park, site of stunning scenery-- some of the most photographed scenery in America, apparently, and we could see why. Heading back into town, we had dinner at Boogie's Diner, and ordered our milk shakes extra-thick. Back at the condo, the boys and I had a late night swim, and then warmed ourselves by the fireplace poolside-- what a great way to end the day!
On Tuesday, the boys surprised us by making breakfast. We poked around town for a bit, and then headed to Basalt, CO to see David Segal and Rollin Symmons. (David was our student rabbi for the past two years, and David and his wife were just hired to be the rabbi/cantor team at the Aspen Jewish Congregation.) We saw their beautiful new home, and had a great lunch at a local Mexican place. They showed us the library which has the best view in the world, and told us about a great playground where the boys let off some steam. We came back to Aspen, stopped by the synagogue for a little tour, ate some gelato at Paradise Bakery, and then went on a lovely hike on the Rio Grande Trail near the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. We reconnected with David and Rollin for dinner at Little Annie's, then back to Paradise for more gelato (hey- we're on vacation!), and then brought them back to the condo for wine and more chatting-- it was terrific to see them and see their great new digs.
On August 25th we left Aspen, driving over Independence Pass at over 12,000 feet. We actually "lost" 11,000 feet as we ended the day in Omaha, NE at around 1,000 feet above sea level! On the way, we saw a marmot and a prong-horned antelope. We stopped in North Platte, NE at the Golden Spike Visitor's Center and Observation Tower-- the Bailey Yard of the Pacific Railroad-- in short, the world's largest rail yard. It was quite impressive; we all love trains, and this was a train-yard on steroids-- 8 miles long and 2 miles wide! The observation deck is staffed by volunteer train buffs who will talk your ear off about everything happening with the yard.
Thursday, we passed through Iowa-- our 18th and final new state on what will soon be 7,600 mile journey. Looking at a map, it didn't seem that there would be much to see along the road; what I really wanted to do was to see the Field of Dreams movie site, but it was simply too far off of Route 80. Elyssa located the National Balloon Museum and Hall of Fame, where we saw some cool hot air balloon related gear and memorabilia, and we also met some very nice people who told us about 10 more things we should see in Iowa-- turns out, there ARE things to see in this state; we'll have to come back. We had a dinner date to make with my mom back in Chicago!
Today we spent the penultimate day of the journey chilling in Chi-town-- got a long overdue oil change for the car, got hairs-cut for all the boys, took a lovely walk around Lake Katherine had dinner with my my aunt, my cousin and his kids. We just needed a relaxing day before the last long-haul-- 12 hours of driving to New Jersey tomorrow. We wanted to show my mom the pictures from our trip, so we took the SD card from our camera to Walgreen's to get the pics put on a CD. Turns out it took 3 CDs for all of them and, incredibly, randomly, there were a total of 613 pictures from the farm, camp, and our trip-- a very fortuitous Jewish number!
I've run out of superlatives to describe this journey, and this first summer of my sabbatical generally-- I know I've overused them all. It must be time for me to go back home, and to return to the work I love so much. I think it will truly take some time for all of these experiences to sink in, but I do feel renewed and refreshed for that great work and life that we've built these last 9+ years. Elyssa and I will celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary on September 6, and I am so thrilled that now more than half of those years have been spent in greater-Mahwah. I am immensely grateful for this time away, and will look forward to the second half in Jerusalem next summer, and I also feel blessed to be where I am in my life, both personally and professionally.
My staff gave me a bunch of parting gifts on my way out in May, but the one I've cherished most of all are a pair of little sparkly pink shoes. They told me that I should remember that "there's no place like home." After 6 weeks in a tent, 2 weeks at camp, and 4 weeks sleeping in some 14 different beds, I can honestly say that I'm ready to click those heels!
We arrived last night back in suburban Chicago after a mad dash across the country in six days. Last Friday, August 20, we reluctantly left the Left Coast, passed through Portland to pick up a few items we'd left there (subconscious desire to return), stopped in Pendleton, OR for ice cream, and stopped in Boise, ID for the night.
The next day we visited a great craft/farmer's market in downtown Boise, and then headed to the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. We stopped there at the National Fishery that raises one million steelhead each year that they then release into the Idaho River.
This was a particularly fascinating place to me, even though there's not a ton to see. That the place even exists is interesting; pretty cool that there's an effort to replenish the ecosystem destroyed by the damming of rivers. I also think a lot about industrial fisheries and have wondered what they look like-- now, I have an inkling.
At Hagerman itself, the little visitor's center turned out to be the most interesting part: it's the only place in the park where you can actually see fossils! Visitors are really only permitted to see much of the rest of the massive park from look out points and roads; we did see the remains of the ruts caused by wagon trains from pioneers on the Oregon Trail and read about those brave souls. Little did we know that the day after we visited, three quarters of the park would burn in a forest fire!
We ended the day in Salt Lake City, walking around the Temple by night,and saw some spectacular fireworks from the State Fair. Sorry once again that we didn't have more time to explore this interesting town. We thought about attending the performance of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but Lev didn't quite make their minimum age, so we listened to the live broadcast on the radio on the way out of town!
Sunday, August 21, we drove to the spectacular Arches National Park, where we hiked around the North and South Windows, Turret Arch, and Double Arch, and took some great pictures of "The Three Gossips," "Park Avenue," and "Balanced Rock." What an incredible place... and we basically just happened on it as we glanced at the map a few days before looking for potentially interesting things to see. On the way out of the park, we chose to drive the long route on scenic route 128, which follows the Colorado River for more than 40 miles. It was another stunningly beautiful drive, and along the way we found Big Bend Bouldering area, a well-known place for rock climbers to practice their craft; we all tried out our skills and had a lot of fun.
We had dinner in Grand Junction, and drove into Aspen in the dark, arriving at a beautiful condo that some wonderful friends generously offered for us to use. We all collapsed, exhausted from another great day.
Monday the 23rd, we awoke to look out on the spectacular view of Aspen Mountain from our balcony. We headed to the Silver Queen gondolas to ride up the 3,000 feet to the top, where there were all kinds of fun kids activities. After a bit, it started to rain, so we went into the Sundeck to eat lunch and wait out the weather. When the rain stopped, we headed back down to town. We drove from there to Aspen Highlands. We took a shuttle from there to Maroon Bells park, site of stunning scenery-- some of the most photographed scenery in America, apparently, and we could see why. Heading back into town, we had dinner at Boogie's Diner, and ordered our milk shakes extra-thick. Back at the condo, the boys and I had a late night swim, and then warmed ourselves by the fireplace poolside-- what a great way to end the day!
On Tuesday, the boys surprised us by making breakfast. We poked around town for a bit, and then headed to Basalt, CO to see David Segal and Rollin Symmons. (David was our student rabbi for the past two years, and David and his wife were just hired to be the rabbi/cantor team at the Aspen Jewish Congregation.) We saw their beautiful new home, and had a great lunch at a local Mexican place. They showed us the library which has the best view in the world, and told us about a great playground where the boys let off some steam. We came back to Aspen, stopped by the synagogue for a little tour, ate some gelato at Paradise Bakery, and then went on a lovely hike on the Rio Grande Trail near the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. We reconnected with David and Rollin for dinner at Little Annie's, then back to Paradise for more gelato (hey- we're on vacation!), and then brought them back to the condo for wine and more chatting-- it was terrific to see them and see their great new digs.
On August 25th we left Aspen, driving over Independence Pass at over 12,000 feet. We actually "lost" 11,000 feet as we ended the day in Omaha, NE at around 1,000 feet above sea level! On the way, we saw a marmot and a prong-horned antelope. We stopped in North Platte, NE at the Golden Spike Visitor's Center and Observation Tower-- the Bailey Yard of the Pacific Railroad-- in short, the world's largest rail yard. It was quite impressive; we all love trains, and this was a train-yard on steroids-- 8 miles long and 2 miles wide! The observation deck is staffed by volunteer train buffs who will talk your ear off about everything happening with the yard.
Thursday, we passed through Iowa-- our 18th and final new state on what will soon be 7,600 mile journey. Looking at a map, it didn't seem that there would be much to see along the road; what I really wanted to do was to see the Field of Dreams movie site, but it was simply too far off of Route 80. Elyssa located the National Balloon Museum and Hall of Fame, where we saw some cool hot air balloon related gear and memorabilia, and we also met some very nice people who told us about 10 more things we should see in Iowa-- turns out, there ARE things to see in this state; we'll have to come back. We had a dinner date to make with my mom back in Chicago!
Today we spent the penultimate day of the journey chilling in Chi-town-- got a long overdue oil change for the car, got hairs-cut for all the boys, took a lovely walk around Lake Katherine had dinner with my my aunt, my cousin and his kids. We just needed a relaxing day before the last long-haul-- 12 hours of driving to New Jersey tomorrow. We wanted to show my mom the pictures from our trip, so we took the SD card from our camera to Walgreen's to get the pics put on a CD. Turns out it took 3 CDs for all of them and, incredibly, randomly, there were a total of 613 pictures from the farm, camp, and our trip-- a very fortuitous Jewish number!
I've run out of superlatives to describe this journey, and this first summer of my sabbatical generally-- I know I've overused them all. It must be time for me to go back home, and to return to the work I love so much. I think it will truly take some time for all of these experiences to sink in, but I do feel renewed and refreshed for that great work and life that we've built these last 9+ years. Elyssa and I will celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary on September 6, and I am so thrilled that now more than half of those years have been spent in greater-Mahwah. I am immensely grateful for this time away, and will look forward to the second half in Jerusalem next summer, and I also feel blessed to be where I am in my life, both personally and professionally.
My staff gave me a bunch of parting gifts on my way out in May, but the one I've cherished most of all are a pair of little sparkly pink shoes. They told me that I should remember that "there's no place like home." After 6 weeks in a tent, 2 weeks at camp, and 4 weeks sleeping in some 14 different beds, I can honestly say that I'm ready to click those heels!
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