Rabbi Eve Posen

Initially we were going to go to the Scottish Church in Jerusalem, a Presbyterian church where the service was in english, and there would be caroling throughout the evening. We began there, but at some point, a smaller group of us decided to make the trek to the Old City and see what was happening there! We arrived in the old City around 10:30pm, and began to figure out a plan. we tried the Chuch of the Holy Sepluchre, but it was closed, not their Christmas. Our next stop was the Dormition Abbey, a wonderful German Catholic (?) church in the old city. We had heard much about the church, the wardrobe of the priests, the monks, the beautiful chapel, i could go on. We found our way as we followed the masses of others going to Mass! =). We arrived and were lucky to be some of the first to be let into the Abbey, so we were able to get a space standing behind the last row of chairs. In our wait for the mass to begin (at midnight!) we took in the sights and talked with others who came to Mass. Mass began at midnight, with a beautiful ceremony, the monks walked in with the various instruments, books and ornaments for the service. The service because with a ritual involving incense which smelled divine, and much German. The service was set to go for 2 hours, and after about 45 minutes and an hour and a half of standing, we needed to go! I had school today!

So, my impressions. First of all, I felt as though it might be rude to invade or observe another religion’s holy day. I’m not sure how I would feel if a large group of non-Jews came to watch/take up space during our holy days. But, I was assured earlier in the evening that Mass in Jerusalem is actualyl a mostly Jewish/Israeli event. That is to say that only 2% of Israel’s population is Christian, and so, the majority of hte people who go to Mass are Jews or others who are there to observe and learn. The Churches open their doors to us, and welcome the opporutnity for an educational experience. The music, liturgy (although i didn’t understand it) and mood were very moving. The sermon, which was handed out in English focused on peace, and the need to live together in harmony, respecting each other.

For my first Midnight Mass, I was impressed, moved and welcomed! Merry Christmas to All, and to All a GOOD NIGHT!!

December 18th, 5pm:
We arrived in Greece after a short flight (we had to take a bus to our plane because it was too small to be at the regular terminal!) No problems entering the country other than the disappointment of the Greek stamp in my passport; it doesn’t even say Greece on it! We got our luggage, found the metro, and took 2 trains to our hotel! We wealked up from the train station and there, straight ahead was the Acropolis. It was incredible to see such an amazing piece of history just in the distance. I know I see history all the time in Israel, but this was different, this was new!
We set our bags down at the Hotel and off we went to explore Athens. We decided to save the Acropolis for day 2 or 3, so our only plan as we set off on foot was to avoid the Acropolis. We used it as a fantastic landmark, but did not want to end up climbing up! We went all around the city seeign ruins from one place and then with the map, trying to find them and figure out what they were. It’s like every street we turned down had another piece of History waiting to be discovered. We saw the fleamarket, which reminded me of the Shuk, and continued to be surrounded by worry beads, churches and other ancient ruins! Many pictures were taken and finally, at noon we decided we were hungry having not eaten since the night beore. Lunch was found at a cute little outdoor cafe: “Traditional Greek Salad” chopped cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, onions and crispy bread from Crete, tossed together with Feta! AMAZING!
Then we decided to ehad back to the hotel to see if our room was ready a bit early! Itw as, so we headed up, looked around and passed out for a much needed 3 hour nap!
We woke up, lit hannukah candles, in Greece, publicized the miracle!! After the lights went out, we headed out on the town to find some diner. We originally wanted to go to this vegetarian place, but it had closed. So we wandered some more and found a nice little restaurant. We sat down at our heated outdoor table and were greeted with a glass of Ouzo on the house! I dont’ love licorice, but this was pretty good! We ordred, too much food, but it was worth it! I had an incredible tortellini and of course a liter of the house wine, it was too cheap to resist!!
After dinner it was late, so we headed back to the hotel and called it a night, watching legally blond and al the other stations that were in Greek! It is all Greek to me!!
December 18th, day recap:
We woek up late today, headed out to the Jewish museum, a let down! I am sure there is so much more to Jewish Greek life outside sororities and fraternities on college campuses, but alas, what can you do! it was too late to begin hikin hte Acropolis, although, I’ve now seen it from just about every angle!! WE walked around town, saw the parliament, and the changing of the guard. Then we wandered through this strange Christmas wonderland to a ton of diferent stores and then thru the botanical gardens to Zeus’ palace and Hadrian’s Arch. We wandered and wandered and then found a place for lunch; another salad, another complimentary shot, and nap time!!
After nap time, we went to a cute little outdoor resturant for an amazing mozzerella pasta and a good glass of sangria. We were both feeling pretty tired so we came back to the hotel, and went to bed to prepare for our big day the next day! The highlight of the evening: Finding a Starbucks! I MISS AMERICA!
December 19th:
Today was jam packed! We left the hotel around 9:30am and headed off to the Acropolis, finally! We ended up finding a random ancient temple on the way, so we wandered through there and met Spartacus, the dog who led us up until we reached the top of the Acropolis! The Acropolis was amazing! We saw the parthenon, all these really cool temples and statues! I know it’s not a Jewish sight, but i felt such a strong connection to the incredible detail and other efforts that went into building all of these intricate buildings! I love walking throughhistory, living history, trying to visualize what life must have been like in those days!
The Scenary here has also been breathtaking! The views are always spectacular with history sprouting up in the distance, but mostly the skies and trees have touched me! Everytime i see an amazing cloud, storm or sky, I think of my Grammy and this trip was no exception! I miss her a lot. I know she would have loved to be in Greece and the natural beauty that surrounds me there, i know I get this love from her, and I know that I carry her in my heart and she is watching over me and enjoying nature as I am! This was very prominent today!
After the Acropolis, we headed out ot the nearset port city to see some water and get away from Athens for a bit. We got to the city, walked around a bit and decided to try and catch a boat to one of the islands for a while! We were in luck and bought tickets to the 1pm boat to Hydras on Hellenic Seaways! Our boat was a hydrafoil, which means that it sat ontop of the water. We had an hour to grab lunch, so we headed out to the nearest Starbucks and enjoyed a little treat from home, which made me all the more homesick! 1.5 hours later, we disembarked on Hydras and had about 1.5 hours to walk around. It was magnificent, with beautiful shorelines and forts built all around! I was so thankful we decided to visit an island. It was much mor elike the Greece I had imagined, much less commercial! A cute little island splattered with little white houses and blue doors, donkeys moving tourist luggage and other goods, peaceful, quiet and authentic! We stayed utnil just about sunset and enjoyd the sun setting over the watter (Mediteranian/Aegean sea) on the boat on our way back to the port. We got back after dark, found our way to the metro and headed back to Athens! Now, we are pros at figuring out Greek signs and what train to take!
We arrived back in our room at 7:30pm, enjoyed the lighting of the Hannukah candles, figured out where to go for dinner. We ate at this little resturant called Mi Sueno, some of the most amazing food I’ve had in a while, fish, Paella, wine, free liquor, this is vacation!!

*SIDE NOTE: I miss Israela nd knowing where I am going! I guess i fell in love with Israel more than I realized and I am looking forward to going back! Also, this was my first time travelling with soemone who wears a kippah all the time, and I have to say it felt strange to receive stares, people saying Shalom or acting differently because they figured out we were Jewish!
Also, people automatically assume that since a man and a woman of a certain age travel together, they must be married. Thus, making me very uncomfortable, but also showing society’s pressures and standards… UGH!!

December 20th:
MUSEUM DAY! Today, our last day in Greece turned into a museum extravaganza, 5 museums from 9:30am-6:30pm. We walked and enjoyd! We started at the Byzantine museum, followed by a brief visit to the War/Military Museum, then a long walk to the Archaeological Museum, lunch, a train to the Interactive Hellenism Museum where we visited in Olympia and the temple of Zeus, checked email and finally headed back across to our side of town to the Islamic Art Museum. Off to sushi for dinner, the hotel to light candles, change clothes, pick up our bags and off to the airport.
I have to say, I am more than ready to be back in my Apartment. Seeing American resturants: starbucks, Applebee’s, TGI fridays has made me miss America! I also just miss having my own space and being in a country where I understand the language!

And now I’m back, and tired just typing about the trip!! MORE IN A BIT when I’m awake! Peace out!!

School is going well, although, it is frustrating because there are just not enough hours in the day to do all of my homework, go to school for 11 hrs. and do the other stuff that needs to get done like my extracurricular activities and grocery shopping or cooking! I love the material I am learning, I love my teachers and my classmates, and I love the Hebrew I am learning. But, I could do with a little bit more sleep, and a little bit less homework! But, I guess we all could do better that way! I have been busy with my TaShma learning (interdenominational) and my women’s halachah class among other things. I still have yet to travel on my own outside of Jerusalem, but I’m hoping to do more of that soon now that my friends are done applying to Rabbinical Schools! YAY! Overall, Israel is a wonderful experience right now, and a wonderful place to be. I’m figuring out how to keep warm at nights in the cold apartment, where to get the best falafel, the best judaica stores and so much more!!

One of the best parts of being in Israel is celebrating hte yearly cycle of holidays! Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Succot were an incedible experience. And now, we’re gearing up for Hannukah. While I will not be in Israel for half of Hannukah, I will still get to experience the holiday season here. I am already seeing the hustle and bustle to buy chanukiot, candles, sufganiyot (Amazing with Ribat Chalav), and dreidles. I do wonder though, if i’d hear Hannukah songs on the radio if i turned it on?

I’m not a fan of all of the christmas decorating in malls, and having it shoved in my face all the time, so this has been a nice break! But, I do miss being able to drive around with my family and see all the pretty lights covered in snow! It is weird here. The city actually put up “Holiday” lights. There are the icicle lights up all over the place and ornament type lights up on Ben Yehuda. It is a little out of place, both because of the lack of snow, and because you’d think they would put up jewish lights, but alas, what can you do?

THe holiday season makes me sad because I won’t be lighting candles with any family this year. In years past I have had some family ot light with, or friends to light with who felt like family, but this year, I feel especially lonely here in Israel. It might partly be because many members of my class are on planes as I type back to AMerica, adn many more of my friends will be going to America in the next few weeks, and I have no plans to go home as of yet. I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but I miss home, and Hannukah just doesn’t feel the same without my family! But, I will make do, after all, I am going to be lighting the candles in GREECE!

I am leaving for Athens on Sunday. I’ll be there for four days, and hopefully will come back relaxed and renergized to finish up the semester! I’ll let oyu know how it is, and i”ll be sure to hide my dreidel from the Greek Authorities! Or, maybe I’ll wear a shrit and spread the words that we won out! Either way, I’m sure it will be fun!!

Take care, be well, and update me on your lives… I miss…