Three weeks (and counting)

I’ve been in Israel for three weeks, and can I just say @#*(@+_$#!!!!! (got all that ;) I mean really it’s been three weeks, where did the time go? Since I’ve arrived I’ve been though so many different emotions, had so many experiences, and learned so much that it makes my head hurt just thinking about it. I can hardly believe that Jerusalem has become home and my life in New York feels like a distance memory. I don’t even associate myself with it anymore. That’s not to say I don’t miss it because I do. I miss my little apartment, a quiet piece of real estate, where I could insulate myself from the outside world. I miss my privacy and the satisfaction I got knowing that I was a self-sufficient creature. Mostly though I miss my family and friends, it feels like a little hole in my heart knowing that I’ll miss Thanksgiving for the first time in my life. Thinking about friends going to see Islanders games without me, living lives that I no longer have any tangible connection with, other then the connections that were made and forged in what feels like another life time. I miss being able to call people whenever I want to as opposed to having to think about the seven hour time difference. And yet I’m happy here, there are up’s and downs but I know I’m where I’m supposed to be, doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ve had a busy week, now that I’ve had sometime to adjust I’m starting to get rolling with classes. I’m learning about the finer points of Jewish law and philosophy, and I’m making my way though the deep waters and figuring out where I stand in them. Last night I went to a shiur (lecture) at Mayanot, it’s a Chabbad Yeshiva. I love going to shiurs there I love they’re style, whenever they talk its all about the feeling. How did this person feel about this decision? It’s a different style then we’re taught, so its fun to get a diverse perspective on what I’m learning. I went with some friends and on the way there had a uniquely Jerusalem experience. As we were walking a door opened and a man with a beard beckoned us in. They were about to do evening prayers and they needed a minyan (ten men) so before we knew it we were davening with people we had never met before, only in Jerusalem!! That’s just how this place is, people come from all over to be a part of what’s happening here and you can really feel it, and I’m excited to be a part of it. I’ve been learning with a friend who’s connected to a couple I know from New York. He’s a great guy, has a great family and lives two minutes from me in the Old City. Yesterday we started going over the construction of the gemara, how its put together and how the arguments are constructed. Soon we’re going to get into it further, I can’t wait until now so much of what I’ve done and learned has been theoretical. Once I start learning Talmud I’ll finally be into the source of the material that all this philosophy actually comes from, which is a big step for me. It’s going to be a wild ride and I’m just doing my best to hang on, Eretz Israel.