Chanukah in Israel

Chanukah at Mayanot has been incredible so far and every night seems to be adding and adding in light not just with the candles

Before the 25 of Kislev, we started preparing for Chanukah in class. In Gamara and Halacha 200 we learned the Gamara, Mishna, Shulchan Aruch, Shulchan Aruch haRav, and commentaries like Tosfos and Rashi to understand where we derive our halachas of chanukah from. We continue to ask, Mai Chanukah...whats chanukah? Is it about the miracle of defeating the Syrian-Greeks when the odds were against us? Is it about finding the oil? or is it about the oil lasting 8 days.

We also learn the practical halachas of lighting the candles, where to light them if youre outside of Israel, in Israel, or Chabad. Women even have an extra minhag to not do work while the candles are burning which is really fun to because we get to sit around the candles for 50 minutes and sing and play games.

I also learned a maimer by the Rebbe about the different orders that appear in al hanism (the prayer added to benching and in Shmoneh Esrei) which changes the order of teshua, nflaos, and nism within the prayer, representing the order that they happened then, and the order that we see them occur now- with regard to how revealed we see Hashem's miracles. It makes the holiday really meaningful when you prepare for it ahead of time- so you can go into it knowing both the revealed and deeper aspects for it. 

Every night so far of Chanukah we light the huge menorah on the roof (as shown below) so everyone can see it on the streets. Then we all go back to our respective floors and light our own menorahs near the door- a tefach next to it and on the left side so we can be surrounded by mitzvos since the mezuzah is on the right.  Then we sing haneiros hallelu to the Chabad niggun- which is a really long song so its really fun and beautiful. We sit by the candles for a half hour, or 50 minutes as the Fredicher Rebbe says in yesterday's hayom yom, and sing other Chanukah songs, or listen to music or play dreidel. 

The past three days different apartments held Chanukah parties for the rest of the seminary. Today was our apartment (the 90's) turn and we had a make your own sufganyot and then watched a chanukah movie. Tonght a lot of us went to Mamilla mall and watched the chabad house's public lighting. Then a boys choir sang a bunch of chanukah songs and were really good and fun! 

On a side note, we just moved into our new rooms. We have to switch rooms twice a year in order to meet new girls and get different rooms. Now I live in the 80's which is awesome because both the showers work (which is an upgrade from the 90's) and theres internet! So start expecting more blog entries =)

Have a Happy Chanukah and we should all celebrate the rest of the days in Jerusalem =)

Menorah on the roof

old roomies

Chanukah party hosted by the 90's apartments 

Hadas and me

menorah lighting in Mamilla 

help my sister help her students!

http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/1169805

History of the Frum Language

Every culture or society has their own dialect and way of speaking. Over the years I've analyzed and studied the 'frum' language. Friends and I have come to discover that most of them are based on hebrew or yiddish being loosely translated into english.

Here is a break-down of common phrases and their probable origins

What’s doing? (vos machst du)

I don’t have what to do (ein li ma laasote)

staying by them for shabbos (atzel )

I don’t have where to go (ein l’an lalechet)

mother -instead of saying 'my mom' (simply, Ima)

I have also water and also soda (gam v’gam)

I won you (nitzachti otach)

do you want a coffee?

I want this blog to be more interactive- so here is your time to write down more phrases and if you can think of their origins!

SUCCOS BREAK

Succos Break

Fist day of Chag :(yes keeping one day of yom tov was awesome in eretz Israel), my roommate Hadas and I went to the yeshuv Neve Tzuf. It was really beautiful there and the family was awesome. They only spoke hebrew so it was good practice for me to speak it and good practice for Hadas to be a translator =) It was really cool how everyone in the yeshuv knew eachother. All the kids even go succa to succa and tell a dvar torah and get candy. It was adorable. 

Thursday Night: Simchas Beis hashuava- Chaya took us all around Gaula and Measharim to see all the dancing

photo credit: Yossi Levinger

Shabbos: Hadassa S and I went to Ma'ale Adumim and stayed by Ze'ev- our teacher for David Project. Thank you so much for hosting us! Ma'ale Adumim is a  big yeshuv (settlement) that is more like a city than a yeshuv. It was beautiful and the people there are really friendly and nice. We davened at the carlebach shul and had dinner by Tehilla. She only let us speak hebrew there (since she's our ulpan teacher), but by the end of the meal her parents were talking to us in english =)

Sunday: Birkas Kohanim- 3 times a year everyone would come to Jerusalem to offer sacrificing in the Beis Hamikdash (aliyah haregel), and one of those times was for Succos

stunning succa in the old city

Succa Party at Pearl Bloch's (talmud teacher) in Har Nof

Monday: Hevron- kevarim tzedikim

The room of Yitzhak's kever was opened!

My roommate and me

Moshav Festival in Moshav Modi'in. Such a cool concert and hippie atmosphere. 

Nora and me

Tuesday: Had chasidus with Rabbi Levinger in the morning. At night we had "Pizza in the Hut" at their succa and listened to one of the girls play guitar. Then a friend and I went to the Moshav Band concert on Emec. Soul Farm opened for them, but Moshav was really awesome live.

Wednesday: Erev Yom Tov so we all prepared and had a longer davening and we did Hoshanas with the 5 willow leaves that you strike on the floor. When you hit them on the floor you get rid of all your bitterness for the rest of the year so you can have a sweet year.

At night I went to the Mayanot Shul and danced so much! It was super crowded so it had a rave-like vibe but only with kedusha. We did hakafos for a few hours and it ended at 9 which was pretty early. Then we tried to go to the old city to dance and went to the Tzamech Tzedek shul.

Simchas Torah: 

Had a relaxing morning and learned Chisidus before we went back to Mayanot Shul. At Mayanot the dancing started right after the beginning of Shachris (I think) because by the time I got there they already started! It was a lot of fun to dance and be b'simcha (happy) and sing niggunim and the day wasnt as crowded as the night before. It went really late- we left the shul at 4 to get to our meal at Shlomit's. The meal was beautiful and her family is awesome- she's one of 11 siblings all with red hair. 

Tonight (Friday) is shabbos Bereshis were we start reading the first parsha of the Torah. Succos is over and we are going back to our regular routine, but we should continue to feel the excitement and happiness of succos over the whole year.

22nd Birthday

13 of Tishrei/ the 12 of October I turned 22! There are a lot of customs on your Jewish birthday such as giving extra tzedakah to charity, making a farbrengen, davening with more intention, saying tehillim, learning/giving over a maimer or dvar Torah and giving brachos.

My birthday falls on the yartzeit of the 4th Lubavitcher Rebbe- the Rebbe Maharash (Shmuel Schneerson) which is really special so I learned more about him on my birthday.  I also continued with the maimer Ive been learning "mi chamocha" by him that I started with Hindi and am now trying to review/finish it.

The Rebbe Maharash was known for delivering his ideas clearly and vocally, even if they were against what most people were doing or thought in Russia. At only 21 he attended a conference with the Russian government to fight for German translations of Jewish texts for the education of children. He spoke to the government and lobbied to try to stop the progroms and also dedicated his life to the spread of Torah knowledge to all Jews. Whether it was to government officials, or others who wanted to secularize the Jews, he spoke with dignity, clarity, and forcefully. The same characteristics are ascribed to Noa and her four sisters of Zelophchad in Chumash. Their father father passed away with no close male family, so she and her sisters wanted to inherit his land. They expressed their ideas clearly and deliberately to Moshe, who in turn asked Hashem what to do in this situation. Hashem told Moshe that in this case, the women can inherit the land, and that became the law. Because of the way they asked, they reached their goal. Both the Rebbe Maharash and Noa spoke their concerns and thoughts clearly and made a huge difference in their generation and afterwards. I try to learn from both of them and do the same when I'm passionate about my goals.   

I also had a farbrengen at night at Mayanot with all the girls since we are on vacation now and have free time. It was beautiful and really special and thanks everyone at mayanot for coming =) We learned two niggunim too, Litchathiler Ariber, which is by the Rebbe Maharash, and my favourite niggun- niggun hishtatchus by the Tzamech Tzedek. 

The next day we went to Tel Aviv to the art shook that is going on I think just in Tishrei. The art was incredible they had everything from hand made rings, to koleidiscopes, to a glass blower who was making earrings on the spot. Tel Aviv was fun but it was way more humid and hot than Jerusalem so it was a fun trip but I definitely prefer this city.

Here are some pics from the farbrengen =)

Cake that Batsheva and Adina 'surprised' me with =)

healthy food at a farbrengen

'Enclothed'

Lessons in Tanya coined a new word

5 years and 4 months Gilad Shalit is HOME

I don't want to get into the ups and downs of this agreement right now- but instead we all need to celebrate the return of our soldier! WELCOME HOME GILAD!

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gilad-shalit-reunites-with-family-at-idf-base-following-return-to-israel-1.390719

Rubashkin Petition

Dear Friends,

When we stand before G-d this month, we ask Him to judge us favorably. We ask Him to extend blessings to us for our needs. There is no better way to preface this request than by judging others favorably and assisting another in need.

Schluchim who have hosted me in PA, Rosie and Rabbi Aryeh Weinstein, have an uncle, Sholom Rubashkin, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for a white collar crime. He has a wife and 10 children. Similar offenses were typically given a 1 year sentence.

Here's my request... The White House launched a feature on their website called "We The People" where every person 13 years and older in the U.S. can now petition the White House on important matters. The Rubashkin Petition, now in it's third week, has launched a campaign titled "Fortune 500." The goal is to become the petition with the most signatures gathered in a 30-day span. The petition has gathered close to 35,000 signatures in about 2 weeks' time and needs to gather another 25,000 in the next 2 weeks.
The petition urges President Obama to respond with action to the request of 47 Congressmen and 75 law professors and U.S. Attorneys, including 3 former Deputy Attorneys General -- Philip B. Heymann, Charles B. Renfrew and Larry D. Thompson -- who have, in an unprecedented fashion, asked the Department of Justice to initiate an investigation in what they called "allegations of impropriety and unfairness in the Sholom Rubashkin case."

The deadline for the petition is October 22. That leaves just two weeks to go.

To sign the petition, follow these steps. If you have trouble in your first attempt, please try again. Imagine Sholom's 10 children who are waiting for their father to return home.

1) Visit http://wh.gov/gWM
2) Click "Create An Account" and fill out form (Sometimes “Create an Account” doesn’t work easily. Please try again if you experience this issue)
3) Check your email and click link
4) Click "Sign This Petition"
5) Please forward this to at least 10 friends

Thank you for your time and participation! One good deed can make all the difference. 

Wishing you an abundance of blessings and unparalleled success this coming year.

Yom Kippur

For the past 9 days we have been in the intermediate days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. We have been doing teshuva and working on ourselves and saying tachnun, avinu malkeinu, and some saying selichos. So what is different about Yom Kippur than what we have already been doing

There are two different types of teshuva. Teshuva out of fear and teshuva out of love
First we should address the actual meaning of teshuva- commonly referred to as 'repentence', chasidus teaches that it is more about returning. We are returning to our essence and trying to make our connection with our Creator more of a tangible reality.

Doing teshuva out of fear is more about the actual sins and averas you did. You understand the extent of what you did and how it affected your yiddishkeit, and therefore want to change out of fear of what could happen in the future to you. It is still a legitimate type of teshuva and Hashem could accept it and make it as though those sins were just done out of accident, they were mistakes and you were forgiven.
However, there is an even deeper level: out of love

If you do teshuva out of love, your focus isnt on the sin as much but your connection with Hashem. Its about where you want to be and what you can do to get there. It is about what it did to you and your proximity to Gd.

On Yom Kippur especially, the essence of your soul is revealed and your sins dont affect that level at all anymore. so when you do teshuva on specifically Yom Kippur- it can do so much more and reach an even deeper level

May everyone have an easy fast and strive to strengthen our connection with Hashem with love

gmar chasima tova 

Shana Tova!

Tonight begins the New Year Rosh Hashana and entering the year 5772

On Rosh Hashana we crown Hashem King and there is an elevation of the malchus. It is a time to consciously crown Hashem as our one creator and kabalas ol malchus shamayim (accept the yoke of Heaven). May everyone have a sweet new year and see only brachos

Now for some fun videos from youtube

Israel info

Areas Israel Needs to Protect

Quotes from this week's UN voting

Pres. Abbas- “We will not deal with any initiative” that does not meet our preconditions

vs

PM Netanyahu- "We have to stop negotiating about the negotiations. lets just get on with this lets negotiate peace.” 

Chabad Serving NYU

starring my friends Yaniv and Molly- fellow board members

Chabad serving NYU is taking it to the next level. They are in the process of moving into a new building that will not only expand the physical chabad house- but also be able to expand the number of students that can be affected by the Chabad house on campus. The schluchim put all their time and energy into making it a great environment for friends and learning and growth. I"m excited to come back and see the finished project  

ISRAEL

On Monday I landed in Israel where I'll be staying at Mayanot

I'm really excited to be here and I've been waiting for a long time for the chance to dedicate a solid amount of time to Torah learning. I want to give a big thank you to everyone who supported me financially or with their love and especially to my parents. Taking the year off of school was a big decision but with commitment and the right mind set I know I can make it well worth it.

So far we've had class from 745-9 or 10 and have also went on a tour of Katamon (in Jerusalem) and I've been to the Kotel and the shook, baked a banana chocolate chip cake for Shabbos, and learned even more Torah. The days are long and I'm still getting used to learning for such a long time all day but soon my mind and body will get used to it and I'll be able to internalize even more iyH. The teachers here are brilliant and we learn everything from the current situations in Israel with David Project, to the older Jewish History, Gamara, Mishna, Chumash, Parsha, Chassidus on the Parsha, Halacha, and ul pan. I'd like to say all of them are my favourites but if I had to chose I love Chasidus in the morning with Rabbi Levinger and Mishna.

Shalom from the Holy Land

Noa

**Disclaimer: the periods are all off on the document because my computer switched to hebrew format on its own, please be patient. **

Photos of untzinus women taken in Kfar Chabd...WTF?

Check out this article... I'm really opposed to any pictures taken of women just because they are wearing a tichel instead of a sheitle... its pretty ridiculous and the way a woman dresses is something that comes from such a deep place within her, having a 'pep' talk by a rebetzin is going to change that... this is ridiculous


http://www.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=16082

Prague

Hey! So today is Friday which means its time for a dvar torah and then some pictures from Prague..


This Weeks parsha is Ki Teitzei- "When you go out". We are currently in the month of ELUL- acronym for ani ldodi vdodi li which means-  Mine is the beloved and my beloved is for me. The first two words of the parsha are ki teitzei means when you go out and first two letters- ani ldodi- i am for my beloved. This relates about going out of yourself and being for the other,  being for Gd and working on your avoda, and being ofr another person. 

What is the key to happiness? The people who are looking for happiness all hte time are the people who are furthest way from happiness- they are so focused on finding that one thing they are losing sight of everything else that is around them. The key is to GO OUT WITH JOY. It is a difficult thing to do, but wherever youre going or what you are doing, you can have a purpose doing it.  What can you do and be helpful over here, or how can you change someone's day? That is a way of looking at what you can give and do to help get out of yourself. If we do this successfully, we can eventually merit to bring moshiach, in our days iyH!! 

Have a beautiful Shabbos!!! 

--Dvar brought to you by Mayanot Moment by Rabbi Glass.

Here are pictures from yesterday and today. A big thank you to Tori and Katie for hosting me all week!!! Today we went around the Jewish quarter and went inside a bunch of the shuls. They were stunning inside filled with stained glass and designs and HUGE. I couldnt take any photos inside, but there are a few from the outside. 

In front of the philharmonic

Crossclub- where it all happens

a market that has been around since the 14th century!

A sort of atomic clock

an old shul

view of Prague

Largest metronome in the world!!

Katie and me

prague day 3

Today I finally caught up on my sleep at woke up at noon! Then Tori, Lillian, and I went to the Prague castle and gardens. here are some pictures- 'czech' them out =)

                                           Synchronized motorcycling, band, and guards.

 a well- after learning tractate eruvin I know the laws of drawing water whether in a private or public domain or karmelis. Now I finally feel its relevance.

                            Awesome band on the Charles Bridge- the trumpeter would take drags of his cigarette during other players' solos and then continue to play cigarette in hand.... haha talent.