T-Pain Takes On The High Holidays: RH Edition

It's been a while since I've posted, and I know that you guys are getting restless.  I am truly sorry, but with all of the Chagim and Shabbos it's been hard to keep up and to post on a regular basis.  Not much has happened in terms of during the week, so I am going to update you on the High Holidays, then on the past Shabbat, and then I will finally be up to date.

Pre-Rosh Hashana in Israel is a big deal.  When you buy something in the store, the owner tells you "Shana Tova" as you leave.  Random Israelis on the street wish you a happy and sweet new year.  The country is filled with the holiday spirit, and for once, it's not the Christmas spirit.  Although we don't listen to the radio, I'm sure that there is some sort of Jewish music playing, and for once the Christians can get mad at the Jewish music, not the other way around.  A few of my friends and I took a trip to the mikveh and got ritually cleansed; I swear we got dirtier from that water.



The special thing about the chagim this year is that for the most part, they all fall on Shabbat.  It's great because then chag and shabbos are on the same day, and we don't have to "waste" more chag time without electricity, cooking, etc.  At the same time, some of the services combine such as Kabbalat Shabbat.  After getting prepared for Rosh Hashana, all of Nativ convened in the basement and davened together (finally...they always split us up into Kehilla and Kibbutz).  The experience was magically overwhelming.  I sat in a clump with some of my best friends on the trip, and the ruach of Nativ filled the small room to the brim.  I felt as if I were back in my Shabbaton community, but this time with my own friends.  I shuckled back and forth with immense passion, and had a beautiful Rosh Hashana introduction.  We then ate dinner, which was more than interesting, especially when we had to take a bite of the fish head.  I didn't think it tasted that weird, but many, many people were really grossed out.  Some kids even ate the eyes, which I thought was a little much, but apparently it's a delicacy somewhere in the world.

For the first morning, we were hosted by the Conservative Mayanot shul.  To be honest with you, I was less than impressed.  Nativ made the minyan, the congregation was less than lively, and they tried to get me to take the first Aliyah (last time I checked I wasn't a Kohen...so I finally got up the courage to politely ask to switch).  They were nice though in the fact that they let me open up the ark during one of the prayers.  The Kiddush though was pretty good, and I was happy to be hosted for lunch.

As soon as we were done with services, we were quickly welcomed by our hosts, Nehama and Gary Teasedale, and taken on a walk to their apartment.  They were somewhat elderly, grandparents, but still very lively and happy to have us over for a festive lunch.  We first picked up their grandson Jason, and then walked towards their house.  I had lunch with Miri Elmaleh and Jordana Gilman from Nativ, and another family from the shul joined us as well.  The other family had lived in Pittsburgh, so we played some Jewish geography and realized that we both knew, and loved, Rabbi Chuck.  We ate a delicious meal of chummus, wine, salad, meat, and rice, and then talked for a while.  I played a card game much like Yu-Gi-Oh! with Jason, but really had no idea how to play.  Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost...I'm not really sure how.  We met with the rest of the group back at Mayanot, davened Mincha and then headed for home.

The second day of Rosh Hashana was much more enjoyable in my mind.  That morning, I left with my two friends Gabe Cohen and Michael Gelb, to go to the Ashkenaz shul at Yamin Moshe.  I felt much more comfortable in this orthodox shul, in the men's section, using my Artscroll Machzor.  The funniest thing I saw was a man walk in with a gun on his belt.  I was just hoping he didn't shoot himself like Plax did.  That would not look too good for shuls, especially not on Rosh Hashana.  Allegedly Yamin Moshe has the best Kiddush in Jerusalem, according to Gelb, but I have yet to see this phenomenon because for some reason every time I go, no one is sponsoring.  It's a shame because I heard it's delicious.

Later that afternoon, we walked across the street with our group to the park to partake in the Tashlich ritual.  We emptied out our pockets and cast all of our sins into the little creek that snakes through the park.  I was ritually clean and ready to enter the new year.

Rosh Hashana in Israel just isn't the same as it is at home.  At home every Jew you know migrates to shuls, and you see every person that belongs to your shul in shul on the first day.  Here, it's just a really special day of davening.  There is no Rosh Hashana show, no mass migration; it's a special day with a really long Musaf.  I'm really glad I was in Israel for the High Holidays, it was refreshing.  Everyone is into it, but the same people you see on Shabbos are the same ones in shul on Rosh Hashana.  That's just how it is.