Our Ulpan is over, and about twenty of us are on a four-day excursion to Tel Aviv for our short break, which includes Purim. As the basic formula for Jewish holidays goes: Someone tried to kill the Jews; By some unlikely luck or resilience, the Jews are not dead; Let's celebrate! Purim is the epitome of this concept and the celebrations in Tel Aviv are across the board. A group of Hassidim dance in circles, little kids dress up as fruit and zombies, and the streets are filled with DJs, music and people of all ages roaming around. Day and night. ...continue reading "Purim"
Tag: Adar
Not Your Average Pet
By Adar
Haifa is a city filled with nature. Hills, forests, shrubbery and very strange animals. Here are a few you may come across in normal, urban areas (though the latter four are mainly in the park)
Cats.
For those who have never been to Israel this may be unfamiliar, but the streets are ridden with undomesticated cats. During the mandate, the British brought over a lot of cats to kill the rats. The rats left and the cats stayed. One day while I was sitting outside playing guitar, three cats came over to where I was and just sat and listened (albeit suspiciously). It was weird, and I’m scared to already be turning into a cat lady. And they go everywhere. They sit on your doorstep, they scamper around inside academic buildings. They wait with you at the bus station.
Hyrax
Kind of like a bunny, but uglier, the hyrax is an animal that can be found near the sea, on rockier shores. We saw quite a few at Rosh Hanikra.
Wild Boars
No joke, there are wild boars in Haifa. Because we are practically inside the national park, which includes all manner of wildlife, occasionally a few boars from the woods with wander into the streets of Haifa. Don’t mess with the mamas. 
Golden Jackal
Along with the boars, the jackals are mainly found in the National Park. I haven’t personally seen one yet, but I imagine seeing one will feel a bit like seeing my life flash before my eyes.
Egyptian Mongoose
I think this is probably the weirdest looking creature found in Haifa. Again, in the national park (which is about a seven minute walk from my dorms). 
Come as a Tourist, Leave as a Pilgrim
By Adar
There’s a saying in Nazareth that if you come as a tourist, you’ll leave as a Pilgrim: and if you come as a Pilgrim you’ll leave feeling holy.
Though that saying may be hyperbolic, I will say I found it very cool to walk through the hometown of the most famous person in modern history. And further, to see what kind of society stands there today. As far as I could tell, Nazareth is primarily Arab residents and has a large religious Christian population (not surprisingly). The Christians are Roman Catholic and Orthodox. I got an opportunity to walk through both sects’ Church of the Annunciation to see the differences The Church of the Annunciation is where Mary was met by an angel who told her she would give birth to Jesus. Though I personally would find that conversation a little unsettling, two churches were built in honor of it. The orthodox church is covered in paintings, and is bright and decorative with Armenian-looking patterns on its walls. It has a simple main room and many decorative altars. The Catholic one has engravings etched into the facade of important figures, and is absolutely huge. The bottom floor is where supposedly the exact location of the announcement was held (first holy site of the semester!) And above it there is a sanctuary with a beautiful pyramid ceiling. In the Catholic church, nearly all of the walls hold representations of Mary from every country with a large Catholic population. That aspect was absolutely beautiful.
One of my favorite moments of the day was standing in the courtyard of the church and hearing the loud call to prayer from a nearby mosque. The juxtaposition of cultures and religions that remains harmoniously in Nazareth is something I deeply admire. I was thinking about why this can’t be the case in more places. And I think that maybe part of it is that Nazareth is an old city. It is a place that people live in because their families have never moved out, or because they came solely to practice their religion and don’t deal with those from other faiths all that much. It is not a city I would find myself moving to. Maybe the reason it functions with different cultures is not because it’s learned to deal with it better than much of the country, but because it hasn’t yet dealt with modern changes in politically charged faith. There is still much for me to understand.
Though I don’t think I became a Pilgrim after my trip to Nazareth, I was certainly glad to have gone.
Working Hard
By Adar
I've been spending a fair amount of time with two of my Israeli roommates, who come from very distinct backgrounds. Iris is a Sabra. She was born and raised in a small town nearby, made up of almost all Israelis. She did the IDF and then worked in Tel Aviv for a year; then she started studying Communications and Sociology in Haifa. She's a tough girl, but with a friendly smile and jokester attitude. She wakes up late, stays up late, and is thoroughly annoyed (rightfully so) if there's too much noise in the morning. She goes out with friends often, and is holed up in her room studying for finals much of the time I've been here. I met Iris the first hour I arrived, and she offered me delicious food that she and a friend had just made. She's a no-nonsense kind of person, and gets right down to the point of things. ...continue reading "Working Hard"
You Can’t Catch a Cab on Shabbat
By Adar
In Israel, as is Jewish tradition, the weekend is one day from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, or Shabbat -- the day of rest. While in most places the weekends are busy for businesses and public transportation, on Shabbat Israel shuts down. This happens more in some places than others, and because Haifa has a large non-Jewish population, many things are still open and running. But much is still closed down or very much reduced. ...continue reading "You Can’t Catch a Cab on Shabbat"
Market Day
By Adar
A hallmark of the Middle East is the outdoor food market. Yesterday afternoon, our group of newly-arrived international students got on a chartered bus and toured a bit of our new city. We experienced stunning views of the Bahai Gardens, sloping narrow streets driving down the mountain, and the natural beauty of Haifa mixed with historical quiet neighborhoods. But the part of our trip that was really memorable for me was the market. ...continue reading "Market Day"