New York City Dreaming

Is December really almost over already? Wow, my parents will be here tomorrow so I'm staying in Tel Aviv for shabbat. Hopefully I'll get a chance to update the site in the next week but I doubt I'll have the chance, I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a good New Year's, missing NYC but loving Israel.

Hanukkah: Wrap Up

Getting to be in Jerusalem for Hanukkah is an experience I never thought I’d have, seeing the curious tourists wander around the streets of the Jewish Quarter taking pictures of us lighting our menorahs has been quite a sight. It was also really nice to have a break from our normally packed schedule, me and my friends used the time well, mostly goofing off and going to the many parties thrown. I got to see my friend Ben perform twice, he brought the house down with his raps. Rabbi Yom Tov Glazer had a party it was in the Cardo square amongst the columns, he performed along with Ben and a few other Aish students. Aish had two parties one was just for the Pre-Intermediate group that I’m in we mostly danced, ate jelly doughnuts and sang songs, they even brought in a famous composer who’s name I can’t remember. The other was for the whole school, the night started with a comedy / music show during dinner and then moved up to the Beis Medrish for music, singing and dancing (noticing a theme here?) they did a great job with both parties. The last party I went to was at Rabbi Hurwitz’s home in Mea Shearim, drinking, singing and eating was the theme of the night. We had a blast, with all that going on we also celebrated the birthday of my friend Todd last night, I needed a nice long nap yesterday afternoon to prepare for another late night. Tomorrow we head up to the north for a week, it should be great and in just a little over two weeks my family will be here! It’s a very exciting time here in Israel and I know the next month is going to fly by. The weather has been so beautiful I have a hard time remembering it’s the middle of December, much love and of course Eretz Israel.

Hanukkah: night 8

How many ways can you spell this holiday? I don’t know but it must be a lot. As I sit in my room I glance over and see my roommate’s menorah lit up and I can’t help but to be filled with a sense of wonder and awe. Hanukkah is the festival of lights it occupies a special place in the hearts of all Jews. It is the one holiday that even the most secular of Jews celebrates and it is the only holiday not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Hanukkah is a rabbinical holiday, it commemorates the date the Holy Temple was retaken, cleaned and rededicated. It is a symbol for our people it lets us know that even in the darkest hour our light still survives. Hanukkah was the first ideological war fought in human history. The Greeks weren’t just killing Jews; they were trying to kill Judaism and they were stopped, this wasn’t a war against the physical body it was a war against the very soul of the Jewish Nation. And so for eight days we celebrate Hanukkah we light lights which we are forbidden from using for any purpose. We are instructed to sit with our lights, to sing songs, eat greasy food and talk Torah, and remember that even in the darkest of times we have hope. Eretz Israel.

Alone Time

Alone time is hard to get around here; I in fact, realize I’ve come to forget what the word actually means. Its part of the charm of this place people pop in and out it’s always moving never stopping. In this rush I can get lost in myself, forget what it feels like to be alone. I’ve found that there are only a few things that give me relief in this environment. One is sleep, after a day of learning my dreams are a safe haven I blow off steam in my head every single night. I wake up more often then not ready to start the day, a shower and twenty five minutes of prayer later I’m ready for breakfast. Sometimes those twenty five minutes are the only moments of clarity I get a day. Sometimes they’re not, but I’ve stopped needing the amazing time. It’s okay to have those twenty five minutes to myself, either way it’s the best part of my day, I hold it holy. Writing this blog has given me an amazing opportunity to examine myself. I really need a little alone time to write and dig inside my head. Thanks to all of you reading this blog and joining me in this journey, it wouldn’t be the same without you.

Rabbi Quote

Physics is the physical equivalent of spirituality, just as in physics everything has an equal and opposite reaction, so to in the spiritual world everything has an equal and opposite reaction. R. - Lichtman

Approval and Acceptance

Inspiration doesn’t come cheap, or so I’m told. After being in Israel for seven weeks I’ve had a little writers block, its difficult day in and day out to properly describe my experiences in the Holy Land. With every passing week my calendar gets more filled up and my free time shrinks. And what gets pushed to the side? My writing naturally but I’m making an effort to get thoughts down at least twice a week even if you all only get to see them every other week. We have a new guy in our room, he’s here for the next three weeks and it’s very strange. He’s a great guy fits right in, but what’s strange about it is he makes me realize how much I’ve grown in the last two months. How my expectations of what’s normal and accepted have changed. For instance every time this kid opens his mouth every third word is a swear word. I’m not going to claim I never swear but I’ve grown used to a different manner of speaking. Almost no one here swears casually. In fact most of the guys here never swear at all, and I hadn’t realized how used to that I’ve gotten. Also I hear him critique the Rabbi’s at Aish and I realize that many of the problems I have with them I’ve grown used to. It’s not that I now agree with everything they say, but more often then not I don’t let it get to me. I’ve come to accept them as the wonderful human beings they are; even if I don’t approve of everything they believe in or of how they live their lives. Because there is a big difference between approval and acceptance and if you figure that out your life will become a lot simpler, you won’t get as riled up about as many things. Because the bottom line is there are many, many, many people in this world whose lifestyles I don’t approve of. But just because I don’t approve of their lifestyles that doesn’t mean I can’t accept them as human beings. That doesn’t mean I can’t love them as human beings. And it doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the beauty of their souls. Learn this dear friends it will serve you well.

Class Notes: Prayer & Hanukkah

Enjoy…

“Who is for the lord, follow me.” – Mattisyahu: a battle in the story of Hanukkah

Essential message of Hanukkah: The power of light over darkness. Be willing to fight with your life to protect what you believe in. Having a meaningful life is more important then life itself.

Sin: Hebrew: To miss i.e. when we ‘sin’ we’re searching for pleasure and missing the mark or going about getting pleasure in the wrong way.

In the first line of the Shema we say god’s name twice, why? The first time we’re choosing him and no other, the second time we’re acknowledging his unity. When saying the Shema one should focus on the love of Hashem.

1st line of the Shema:
Shema: Internal focus
Israel: what am I doing this for? Why am I here? I’m a servant of god, I serve god.
A’n’i: He is my master, Hashem is was and always will be, the infiniteness, implies giving no limitations.
Eloheinu: strict justice, power comes from truth
A’n’i: What the four letters in gods name represent
Ehad: god is in all directions, the oneness, everywhere, if nothing else existed god would still exist.

When saying the Shemoneh Esrei one should focus on the recognition of greatness, fear and awe of god.

Three essential parts to prayer:
1) To praise, the recognize the greatness of god
2) To depend on god, to ask of him
3) To thank god

Before prayer one must remove all thoughts, you can’t just think it you need to say it in this way our hearts and mouths become one.

When a person prays with the right intentions they leave this world and go to god, picture yourself in the Holy of Holies, imagine standing before god.

Baruch: means expansiveness, a source of openness, may Hashem please be expanded in through this prayer. The power of prayer is it can bring about Hashem in this world, though your words/actions/blessings. May your awareness be expanded.

Five tools for prayer:
1) Anticipate that god wants to help you and only wants what’s best for you: he has the power and wants to give it to you.
2) After you expect to be given, be shocked when you don’t get it and think about why you not getting what you want, and respond to god.
3) Listen and pay attention to the lessons god sends your way.
4) Focus on what you want, be clear, don’t ask for things you know you shouldn’t have / are doing the wrong thing. Don’t fool yourself about your motives.
Within this step try to get to the root, ask yourself why you really want something, and then ask for what you actually want. When god gives it to you you’ll have an easier time recognizing it.
5) Make and effort try hard, the more you work on it the more it will be worth to you and the more you will grow. Ask how much am I really prepared to sacrifice? What’s it really worth to me.

Chanukah: night 1

The festival of lights is upon us in Jerusalem, the entire Jewish Quarter lit their first Chanukah candles tonight and it was a beautiful sight. My eight roommates and I all gathered outside with the rest of families. We talked and laughed and sang. We also have a new roommate in the Cardo for the next few weeks; he’s a cool guy and fits right into our dynamic. In fact all in all life has significantly improved around here. I’ve been making things I want materialize which is always fun. For instance I’ve been feeling very disconnected from the outside world and couldn’t find English newspapers. So what happens? A shop right next to my apartment started carrying them. If only the internet access was better then I’d be set. Unfortunately it’s mediocre with the cold setting in and my free time disappearing, I’m now on the 7th day without getting online. I don’t hate it, it can be really nice having a break from the online world, but there are those moments that I’d just like to be able to check my email and update this blog without having to go anywhere. This last week I took a series of classes at night called the “Possible You” it’s all about self actualization. I found myself sitting in the class realizing how good I’ve had it. And although I don’t feel like I really needed it, I keep finding myself using phrases from it, so it was a positive experience all in all. Once again I realize I haven’t written emails to people in a while, I feel bad but I simply haven’t had the time, to much learning and having fun makes Myles a tired boy. That’s all for now from Jerusalem. Enjoy the eight magical nights.

The North Country

No new posts in over two weeks wow! I have a lot of new material written, but due to computer issues I havn't been able to post them. My parents will be here in two weeks and hopefully I'll be able to solve my computer problems then. For now I'm up North for the week with my pre-intermediate class, exploring the Golan Heights, and having fun.