Tisha B'Av and Moving to Israel

Tonight is erev Tisha B'Av. It's always been a very hard day for me; to understand the imagery that we find in Eicha. Two years ago I sat at the Kotel all day trying to feel the destruction - but I can't - it's so much easier for me to feel the destruction of the nation through the Holocaust, the descriptions provided in the megillah of what the populace went through during the siege. This is why most shuls watch Holocaust movies - because we cannot connect to the Temple - despite our best efforts most of us cannot do it.

XGH says that this phenomenon is proof that we don't really want the Temple back; I don't think so, it's been 2,000 hard years and we - today's Jews - don't really get it. So we take other aspects of Tisha B'Av the other calamities that have befallen us on this day and connect to those.

Is it bad to do so? No, I don't think so, since it's also an integral part of the day. But this year I'm going to make a concerted effort - like I've done in the past - to think about the Avoda in the Beit HaMikdash and what the Churban really was.

I found RWAC's post to be truly moving, because I feel that I will come out of Tisha B'Av feeling very like that. Today I will accept God's judgment, but I'm moving to Israel in a week. I have the pain of packing and moving boxes in my arms and legs; I can't forget that. There is a day after Tisha B'Av and on Tu B'Av I will move to Israel.

This year's Tisha B'Av promises to not be the average Tisha B'Av. It will be hard and special in it's own way.

packing update

So rumor has it that we have have been assigned a caravan in Efrat. We kind of heard it from someone leaving the area and coming back to the states, but we should know for sure tomorrow. In the meantime our lift leaves in 6 days and that means everything going to Israel must be sealed up soon. My parents and Nate's dad will be coming down this weekend to help us finish up the packing, and to help us move everything going to Israel to the place where the lift is leaving from and everything staying to my Aunt and Uncle's house where it is being stored. Looking around the apartment it seems we are almost ready for this Sunday, however when I sit down to try and finish packing all I can see is that there is a lot more.

On another note, we are considering getting Vonage so that way many of you will be able to call us as if you were just calling another American number and we will be able to call you as well. If anyone has any takes on this idea please send us an email. We have been doing some research, talking to people in Israel about it, but more input would be great before we go and order it. Thanks!

-Naomi

Naomi's first post

Hey All!

So I am very new to this blog concept but here goes. So the stress is starting to disappear, now that we have things worked out with where we are going and how we are getting there, and now reality is starting to settle in. On Friday we tried to get visas from the Israeli embassy in DC (we were unsuccessful because we had one way tickets and you need round trip to get it) and as I was davening before we left I started to tear a bit thinking how this was really happening. It is amazing and I am so happy that my dream, which this past year became our dream, is happening. I will finally get to go to Israel and learn Torah full time. I can not express to you enough how happy I am and how excited.

On the other hand though, as it gets closer there is a definite sadness that is setting in. No it is not because I am leaving America, or the luxury life that we have been living, and as much as I love my friends it is not even because we are leaving them, but rather it is because we are leaving family, and more importantly for me, because I am leaving my Mom. I love my family very much but as anyone who knows me well, for at least the past 6 years (sine I finished those annoying teenage years) and maybe even longer, my Mom has been my best friend. I will miss our three (or more) times a day phone calls just to check in (which we will not be able to afford) and I will miss the ability to go home and just hang out whenever. I will miss chag, or at least the pre-chag cooking that we do and I will miss going to the women's Seudah Shlishit with her during the summers (and a couple during the year). We are going to visit my family this weekend, and thanks to my parents there will be a kiddush in honor of our leaving (Hashkama minyan at Shomrai if you are in town btw), and it truly will be a hard weekend for me.

Anyway, so I guess that is how I am feeling. Yeah for me learning to post on a blog and yeah for our upcoming move! Until next time!

We're Finally Packing and Selling Furniture

We're packing all of our books that are coming with us; and all of the books that aren't coming with us. We're packing all of my CD's (3 boxes worth) that aren't coming with us; but I bought a harddrive so I can take the mp3's with me.

Dishes, Books, Pots and Pans, Appliances, Books, Clothing, did I mention books? It's all coming.

Anyway, I took some pictures of the mess - I mean - progress.

Alan Johnston is Free

Alan Johnston, the BBC reporter who was taken hostage in Gaza, has been freed by Hamas forces. I truly believe, and CNN speaks of it, that the only reason Hamas decided to do something was that they sorely need some good publicity.

The captors - the Army of Islam - have been connected to Fatah; which is curious since Abbas was not able to do anything about it. There is no mention of what the military operation to retrieve Johnston was like - probably because the media is grateful to Hamas and doesn't want to publicize the event.

Either way, I'm glad he's safe and unharmed.

Mid-June Update

Well a lot has happened since the last update.

Instead of doing the Couples program at Darche Noam we decided that it would be better - for a number of reasons - that I instead went straight into the pre-Rabbinic track at Yeshivat Hamivtar. We didn't feel that Darche Noam was the best place for us philosophically and it would help me out for my Rabbinical school. It also finalized our issues revolving around housing and health insurance. Naomi is still going to Midreshet Rachel and will be commuting between Efrat and Jerusalem (J'lem) every day.

So, we're moving to Efrat instead of Jerusalem. And we have an apartment. Well it's more of a caravan on the side of a hill, but it's a free caravan on the side of a hill. The Yeshiva is busy building buildings on site so we may move into a real apartment soon - we'll see.

Efrat can be seen via Satelite here, and if you look just to the south you can see "Yeshivat Hamivtar". That's where we'll be for the next four years. It's a beautiful city with a fantastic community and an even better view of the Judean Hills.

With 3 Months to Go...

With three months to go we have a lot to still get done. As far as I know we've covered our tuition, which is nice since it is our single largest expense in Israel, but we expected it so it doesn't change our financial situation any.

Our very close friend Ari just got engaged, and his wedding is August 5th, six-days after we leave for Israel. Ari was one of the groomsmen at our wedding and sang during the ceremony. It's a shame that we have to miss the wedding, but we'll be there in spirit.

We're trying to find a place to live, the Yeshiva tells us that we're on the top of the list to receive one of their two apartments, but we don't know when we'll hear about those. They're building apartments next door in a recently acquired building, but they are not likely to be ready until October (which when you remember this is Israel; December would be nice).

So we're using Craigslist, FlatHunting, and the Nefesh B'Nefesh listserve to help us out. We've found a few places that we're interested in. Seems that the places that are perfect (price, location, and furnished) don't have the time period we're looking for. So, for now, we continue to sit and wait.

I have to figure out how to get our cell-phones unlocked so that they can be used by any carrier. I'm worried that it might remove our service from T-Mobile, but that's a question that needs to be asked.