Finding a Routine--Or, What Does One Do on a Sabbatical

Coq D'or Marselan Wine, Kosher from France

What exactly will I be doing on my sabbatical, I have been asked multiple times. I am often tempted to answer "as little as possible" as I attempt to recharge, rejuvenate, and rest after 3 years of Covid Rabbi-ing. However, not only is that flippant, it's not really accurate. I at least plan to eat lots of amazing Kosher foo, drink lots of amazing Kosher wine, and buy lots of things, thus doing my part to stimulate the Israeli economy. But I jest. I am not just taking an extended vacation. The goal is actually to use my brain in ways I don't always get to in daily life.

Traditionally, sabbaticals were often utilized by professors and clergy to do some sort of project or to study something in depth. But what I want to do is what we call Torah Lishma, learning for its own sake. And I now have a schedule of sorts to accomplish that.

Ulpan. I will be doing a two day a week Ulpan (conversational Hebrew intensive) at the Community Center in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem. No, I will not emerge fluent. I have had many attempts at this in the past, and I can never progress past a 4 year old in spoken Hebrew, albeit one that is really good at tenses but really terrible at understanding anything. But it's good for my brain and it's important to keep trying. Karen also finally found one for her level, called Ulpan Morasha, and she is loving hers. Hers meets 5 days a week for 3.5 hours a day, while mine is only 1.5 hours a day 2 days a week, so, in a a couple months, she may very well surpass me, which would actually be great.

My Ulpan Text Book

Yeshiva Learning. Rabbi Judah Dardik, who was the rabbi of the Orthodox synagogue in Oakland called Beth Jacob for 13 years at the same time when I arrived, now teaches at an Orthodox Yeshiva in the Old City. He has graciously arranged for me to sit on any classes I want there, and that will include, at least, his Talmud class and another Rabbi's class on Maimonides Life Lessons. I may sit in on a few others as well. It's a Yeshiva designed for one year gap students between High School and college, so it's me and a bunch of 18-19 year olds, but I love it already.

Back when we co-officiated a wedding

Yom Hashoa Siren. Yom Hashoa, the day that commemorates the Holocaust, is very special in Israel. In America it's about trying to educate people about the Holocaust's existence, in Israel, it's a national day of mourning, and people really understand the historical trauma that still affects the Jewish people today. The key moment is at 10 AM, where a siren sounds, and everyone stops what they are doing to pause and reflect. People get out of their cars and stand at attention. It's really quite moving. I also took an hour long walk to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, and walked around through the various memorials set up there--for the children, the lost communities, and the righteous gentiles who saved Jewish lives.

A Very Israeli Bus Ride. I'm smiling in the picture below, but it wasn't actually funny. But it was very Israeli. On our way back from Beit Shemesh right when Passover ended, the bus became overcrowded, and, at a certain point, the driver was not allowed to pick up any more passengers. At one stop, two people attempted to force their way onto the bus, but there was only room for one person by law. They argued with each other, and neither would get off. The bus driver came out and nearly got into a fight with the man. The woman was giving a sob story about how she had to get to the hospital (though she seemed physically fine, plus a bus would arrive 30 minutes later, 5 by the time it was resolved. Every passenger was yelling something, most of which I couldn't understand, and each person thinking they could resolve the situation. Eventually, the police had to come, and the male was the one who was forced to leave the bus. You kind of had to be there, but it was another of those rak b'Yisrael, only in Israel moments. 

Upon arrival at the bus stop in Jerusalem, we had our first Chametz from a bakery right there and open in the station.

In any case, this was what a "normal" week looks like here. Looking forward to Shabbat at another new synagogue tomorrow.