Matt's first week of class

This week was exceptionally busy for Matt because he started classes. All the students are taking a full load and are in class from 8:30am - 5:30pm almost every day. He is also going to be singing in the HUC High Holiday Choir so those rehearsals have begun as well.

I have been making my way around the city much better these days! I have found an ulpan (intensive Hebrew classes) that I would like to take, however I am not committing to anything just yet until I see if any of my part-time job opportunities work out. Its a big committment because the classes are 5 days a week, 4 1/2 hour sessions each.

On Thursday, the SOs(significant others as we are called to be politically correct) had an outing of our own with one of the HUC rabbis. He took us on a tour of the non-Jewish part of the Old City - however it wasn't your typical walking tour. Rather, tourists can pay to "walk on the walls" surrounding the Old City - a very interesting way to travel. Essentiallly, it is a way to "cross the border" without putting yourself in a sticky situation. We climbed, and climbed and climbed up many sets of steep steps and made our way around the Arab Christian and Muslim neighborhoods while the rabbi gave us a history lesson.

Friday we went with a group of about 40 HUC students to a kibbutz about 45 minutes outside of Jerusalem. It is no longer a working kibbutz, rather now it is a piece of land run by a reform rabbi and her husband and it is used primarily for educational seminars and youth group workshops/projects. Unfortunately, she is not recognized by the Israeli goverment as a rabbi (not Orthodox and female) so she does not even get a salary to run this congregation. They hold services every Friday night in their outdoor sanctuary. It felt just like camp and then we had Shabbat dinner with the other members of the congregation.

Attached are photos from the Old City tour and Shabbat at the kibbutz.
Take care everyone. We'll write more soon!