Yom Sheini

The top-secret Lifta night hike and bonfire happened last night. It was a great bonding experience for the group. This morning we continued with Rabbi Aaron's class There Is None Other Than Hashem, where we continued to explore the concept of Hashem's Oneness. After, Rav Binny taught the agada from the Talmud about Rabbi Yosei meeting Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah The Prophet) in the ruins. Then we had a great healthy Italian-style lunch. 

Our afternoon began with Rebbetzin Emunah Witt sharing wonderful stories and giving us a ton of practical ways of being in the world, like knowing when to let go. The end of the day was Rabbi Mottle teaching Jewtopia, exploring the concept of the Chosen People and the positive impact that Judaism has had on the entire world. 

Yom Rishon

Catching up from late last week, we took a morning trip to the City of David then had a relaxing afternoon before our pre-Shabbat program which led into a very special Shabbat experience here in the Old City. Today we had a interactive class of learning from the Torah portion of Lech Lecha, about Avraham's journey to the Land of Israel, which was simultaneously an inner journey of self-discovery. Then Rav Binny shared some deep insights into the concept of 'prayer' as well as some incredible army stories. 

Lunch was the usual surprise of gourmet healthy dishes from Chef Shmuel, which gave us the energy we needed for our Tower of David tour. We're now settled back into the Beit Midrash where Rabbi Aaron is helping us to understand the idea that There Is None Other Than Hashem.

Off To A Good Start

Yesterday's pleasant Fruit & Cheese shmooze on the roof started off the program which led us into our introduction to logistics and our first class with Rabbi Aaron - What Is Religion, Truth, and Faith? This morning we had the Morning Meditation and The Goal To Be Whole/Unpacking Jewish Baggage with Rabbi Mottle. Then Rabbi Aaron taught The Pangs of Cleansing part 1, then we ate lunch, and right now, The Pangs of Cleansing part 2. Our day will be finished with an Old City Tour with Rabbi Mottle. 

Ending And Beginning Again

Our 2nd program ended well with our final Shabbat. The last week+ has given us time to wind down, recharge, and begin to rev up for our third and final program starting tomorrow evening. We'll give you more information tomorrow.

The Last Couple Of Days

Shalom. We're back after a 2-ish day hiatus. What has happened since we last posted?

Tuesday had: (1) Morning Meditation with Rabbi Mottle. (2) The Paradise of Paradox with Rabbi Mottle. (3) Judaism & Environmentalism with Rabbi David Mason. (4) Strength & Spirituality with Rebbetzin Chana Rachel Frumin. (5) The All-Inclusive Divine Pleasure with Rabbi Aaron.

And lunch, of course.

Yesterday was our full-day tiyul (trip) up north. We started driving east out of Jerusalem toward the Dead Sea, made a left at Jericho, drove up the Jordan Valley, then ascended to the Golan Heights at the southern tip of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). There we spent time at both the Peace Outlook and Har BenTal where Rabbi Mottle taught us about the 6-Day War and the Yom Kippur War as it played out on the Golan Heights. We spent some time in a bunker, ate lunch, and by the time we drove off the Golan towards Tzfat, we had a much better understanding of both the spiritual and strategic importance of the Golan for the Jewish people.

Ascending to Tzfat was so natural. We had 3 good solid hours there. Rabbi Mottle told us some powerful stories and then let us wander on our own. Some of us visited the graves of some of the greatest Kabbalists of all time, some went shopping, visited synagogues, met with friends, and relaxed. At around 5:30ish we jumped back into the van and drove down to Tiveria (Tiberius) for our traditional Isralight dinner at Decks, where had 'Israeli grill' at its finest.

We were back here in the Old City at around 12am, and like any tired group would do, we went to sleep. 

Today we're starting a bit later than usual (some people need to sleep!) with the Burnt House tour, classes in the afternoon, then Songs and Stories with Rabbi Mottle after the fast (today is the 17th of Tammuz, a tragic day for the Jewish people) ends.

Have an easy fast...

Chock Full Of Classes

Today was non-stop. Morning Meditation, 'Dimensions Of Space, Time & Soul' with Rabbi Baruch Z'ev Olenick, 'Jewtopia: Our Gift To The World' with Rabbi Mottle, tasty lunch, 'Jewish Food and Health' with Chef Shmuel, and 'What Do We Mean When We Say G-d' with Rabbi Aaron. Talk about consciousness expansion & elevation! Tonight is our famous super duper secret night hike, marshmallow roast and guitar sing-along. Erev Tov.

Three Classes & A Tour

Today was a good day. We started with Rabbi Leibowitz exploring Avraham's experience of personal growth in Lech Lecha, the third portion in the Torah. Next was Rabbi Mottle explaining the real goal of Jewish life in The Goal: To Be Whole. We then had a great healthy lunch followed by Rabbi Mottle's special tour of the Tower of David (Migdal David), which gave us a good overview of the history of our holy city, Jerusalem. The last event of the day was Rabbi Aaron's class called Me, Myself, and I, explaining who we are, who 'G-d' is, and how to experience the natural state of devekut (bonding) that we are always in. Have a great evening, and talk to you tomorrow, which promises to be a very full day of classes.

Catching Up.

We have a lot of catching up to do from the last few days. Our first full day of classes (on Thursday) was very full. Rabbi Aaron taught his class 'Religion, Truth, and Faith', Rav Binny taught 'Praying For Keeps', lunch was great, Rabbi Aaron then taught 'The Meaning of Education', and our day finished with an intimate tour of the Old City.

Friday began with an exploration of 'The Old, Old City', meaning the original Biblical Jerusalem, now known as Ir David (the City of David). Then we were given several hours free ending at 6pm, when we began our pre-Shabbat Magical Mystical Candlelighting, which led to Kabbalat Shabbat on the rooftop, evening davening at the Western Wall, and dinner. 

Daytime gave us a relaxing lunch, bonding time, then a 'Jew & A' question & answer session with Rabbi Aaron. The third meal and musical havdala really brought it all together. We really went places (spiritually as well as physically speaking) this past Shabbat! 

Shavua tov, and stay tuned for previews and wrap ups of this coming week...

NIght One Complete

Program two is off to a nice start. We had a mellow wine & cheese shmooze time up on the roof, getting to know each other. Then we came down into the beit midrash, introduced ourselves including the optional 'most embarassing moment'. Rabbi Mottle and Alana gave us the introduction including logistics details, etc. The evening finished off with Rabbi Mottle helping us to unpack our Jewish baggage. It was a fun and interactive class/workshop where we listed what we don't like about Judaism and Jews, then what we do like about Judaism and Jews. Only the Jewish people can have a love-hate relationship with ourselves. We concluded that the way to live on the positive side of the list is to get to know the basics of what Judaism actually teaches, not what we think it teaches, and certainly not what we conclude about Judaism based on the actions of our fellow Jews. Let's take a fresh look, starting tomorrow...

Program Two Tonight!

In a couple of hours, we'll be starting our second 10-day program. Stay tuned for updates here and for more frequent ones, sign on to https://twitter.com/. Check back tonight for a wrap-up of our Wine & Cheese event and the evening introductory class. Shalom.