A meaningful Shabbat

My first few days in Yerushalyim have been very good so far. Friday after davening I headed off to sleep again since I hoped that it would cure my jetlag if I took just a 2 hour nap or so, well turns out after a few alarms went off, it was 4 PM. Not the worst thing that could happen. I planned on staying in Yeshiva for shabbat but wanted to eat at a family I knew in the neighborhood from last year, atleast for one meal. What made this sound even more appealing to me was the fact that the Eretz HaTzvi South African delegation was hosting the rest of the South Africans that are in Yeshiva at Gush (for a total of 30-40 guys) that weekend. I wanted to stay out of that situation because it would be just a huge bonding session for them, and then that random American guy sitting there too.

After failing to get in contact with Uri, who I learned with just about every night last year at Yeshiva, I decided I'd just go to his shul, which I'd been at several times before and hope he'd be there. I set off for the shul a few minutes before my Yeshiva would be davening Mincha, and decided that as a backup I could return in time to eat at Yeshiva if need be. I arrived at the shul and only a few people were there, I was early, so I sat there and waited. I was anxious every time someone walked in the door behind me, hoping it would be Uri. In past times, he had come in late because of all his kids that he has to get ready, so I wasn't expecting him to be one of the first ones. Slowly as people filed in, I recognized one member of the community that had also come to my Yeshiva last year to learn occasional. He noticed me 5 minutes later and came over and said hi. After another 10 minutes, another person I recognized came in. Uri had still yet to come and by now I was a bit nervous. A minute later, the second person who came in, Eli, came over and said hi. He recognized me from last year as well, and wanted to know what I was up to. I told him that I had just arrived Thursday and was here for the summer and he asked me the question: Where are you eating tonight? I told him that Uri had invited me a week ago via email but I hadn't spoken to him since. He chuckled and told me that Uri goes to the "early minyan" and in the same sentence invited me over. I accepted, of course, and he said he lived next door to Uri, so we could go say hi. I wanted to also see Uri and his family because I liked his kids whom I'd gotten to know very well over the course of the year.

Before we went to Eli's for dinner, we stood outside Uri's apartment building and Eli yelled to Uri to come out to his brand new mirpeset (porch) so he could say hi. Eli joked before he yelled, you know that you can't just go to his house now, we've got you for dinner. He apologized for "forgetting" about me, and invited me for lunch. Score! He told me he was going to the "Ethiopian" shul the next day, which Eli would tell me more about over dinner, and I agreed to join him there. Little did I know, this would likely be one of my more inspiring moments of my trip, so early on, too!

I met Eli at 8:30 AM as he said to walk with him to the shul. We walked together from Katamon to the lower Katamonim neighborhood. (My yeshiva is officially in Katamonim, but is much nicer, like a building one would expect in Katamon.) As we walked towards the shul, the buildings got more and more run down. I had walked through the neighborhood a few times before, but now noticed the area in a little more detail. Eli told me about the community, saying that the older generation Ethiopians in Israel are like the working poor of America. They barely speak Hebrew (their kids speak much better and have a better sense of what's going on in Israel as well) and can only work as janitors and guards, because that is all they are qualified to do. Those are the lowest paying jobs around in Israel, and frankly, its quite sad he told me.

When we arrived at the shul, which was in the back of the very run down local public school, we entered the shul. There was Uri, and about 25 other Ethiopians. Normally the community had a Rabbi, but this week he was not present, so Uri ran the show. The 2 oldest of the about 10 kids led the davening, and another man from the area came to read torah. Uri delivered a d'var torah before davening, and one of the kids translated it every few sentences from Hebrew to Amharit. One of the most interesting things that happened during davening, which was Sefaradi, was that when the Torah was taken out and removed, from behind the Mechitza the women threw candy at it for the children to run and grab, just like the Ashkenaz tradition for after a Bar Mitzvah kid does his Haftarah.

The most inspiring part of the morning was after the meager kiddush, sponsored by Eli and Uri, was that the adults all left and the younger children (about 7 of them) remained to learn from the Mibreishit Parsha sheets with Eli, Uri, and I. This is a weekly tradition that Uri told me they started when they began coming nearly a year ago. The children, some more enthusiastic than others, learned with Eli and Uri, and one younger kid came with me. I was at first hesitant to do it alone, since my Hebrew is not nearly as good as them, but after much coaxing accepted. I sat down with the kid who told me at first he was in 2nd grade, but then when I asked him to read from the sheet, he said, "I don't know how to read, I'm in Gan (Kindergarden)." I'm still not sure if he just didn't want to read, or if he lied to me, but no big deal. We talked for a few minutes about the parsha, then he ran out to get a drink, and by the time he wandered back we had only 5 minutes, so he did one of the fun activities on the back with me. He laughed at me halfway through saying, "You speak Hebrew like an American!" I told him, I am American, and he still didn't really get it. I thought that this mitzvah project was so amazing, that Eli and Uri would spend their shabbat mornings without their kids just to help some of the poorest residents of Jerusalem learn a little bit of Parsha, and to give general chizuk to the community.

On the way home, Uri asked me if I noticed how the kids didn't sit near their parents, rather all together on one side of the shul. I said, "Yes, I remember", but I hadn't though anything of it at the time. Uri told me that it was because, sadly, the parents have absolutely nothing to offer their children. No skills, language or trade, and no parental advice. He also told me that the meager Kiddush we snacked on after davening could likely be all that some of those families would eat all day. At that point, I was shocked, and Uri said he and a few other families had been personally sponsoring this kiddush for a year now. I was amazed. He told me that a few members of his community come occasional to do assorted programming for the families, to keep the kids connected and interested in Judaism, and almost act as parents at times.

If anyone out there that reads this that might know someone who would like to contribute to this shul, it would be most appreciated by everyone in the community as well as Uri and his community that are currently raising the funds and under the financial burden to support them.

For a quick recap of Motzaei shabbat & Sunday, keep going, but if I've outdone myself and/or bored you then you can stop here.

After shabbat I sent a text message to an old friend from Cleveland who is currently in the army as part of a hesder unit. I guessed that he was on an off shabbat from the army and in Jerusalem because he had emailed me on Friday in response to my email of a week ago saying I'd be coming to Israel. He called me a 1/2 hour later, and we went out for pizza on Emek Refaim, a quick 15 minute walk from my yeshiva. We talked about the army and YU and then I headed back, knowing I'd want to be awake early in the morning for my first full day back at Eretz HaTzvi. After davening in the morning, I went to shiur with the new Israeli rabbi at Eretz HaTzvi who I heard many good things about from my friends who stayed Shana Bet. I enjoyed his shiur which was completely in Hebrew. While it was hard to dive right into the new material, I still enjoyed it, and plan on attending the shiur for the rest of the week, before I head off to Yavneh Olami on Thursday afternoon. For lunch, I grabbed some Israeli salad from the Yeshiva's not-so-tasty looking lunch buffet, and headed towards downtown to meet Ian. I enjoyed my first Shwarma of Israel, at the famous Melech HaFelafel, where you can get a shwarma laffa for 15 shekel, Ian reminded me of this after we sat down to eat. He loved the fact that it was only $3! I walked back with him to his small studio apartment that he is renting for the summer in the Nachlaot neighborhood behind Shuk Machane Yehuda to see what he is passing up by not living together with Yavneh Olami this summer. It was quite a modest place, but that's all Ian wanted. Just one tiny room and a bathroom, but the location was well worth it. After a quick "tour" and we both headed back towards my neighborhood where Ian was volunteering for a few hours.

I've enjoyed my time in Israel so far, while at first I found it a little weird staying in Yeshiva, especially with all the South Africans wondering who I was and why I was there, people now know who I am for the most part, and now I only have a few more days left at Yeshiva. They are going on a tiyyul tomorrow, so I'll be free for the morning, I might go with Ian to the new Yad Va'shem museum, since when I went it was not yet open. Hope you enjoyed my post!!