Hi all! Sorry for the long break, I've been VERY busy with lots of different things, but don't worry, I won't talk your ear off (or type or eyes off, I guess) So Mayanot summer semester came and went like a flash. It was really great, just what I needed at that time, and I'm incredibly excited to go back for the year-long plunge. After Mayanot, I ended up going on this ten day learning/traveling program in the Old City of Jerusalem called Isralight. I can't even really explain it other than by saying that it taught me how to:
a) look at Judaism and at G-d in a completely different way
b) answered a lot of questions that I'd had about seemingly unsettling/contradictory issues that I had with Torah
c) Helped me come closer to a loving relationship with G-d
Pretty much stated in an incredibly summarized, condensed version, G-d or Hashem is not some guy in the sky pelting down divine retribution at us; that is a severe misconception formed from Western culture. Hashem is infact EVERYTHING (and not the other way around G-d forbid, we're not G-d since that would be idol worship *tsk tsk*). However, while we are not G-d, we are a part of G-d, an aspect of G-d, the manifestation of G-d's free will/ability to choose. Hashem is the greater self and thus, by tuning into the will of Hashem (Torah), we in turn tap into that greater self that we are all apart of. It was explained to me as a good form of self centerdness, by seeing everyone as being a part of that larger self and looking out for that self through caring for others. Like I said, it's an incredibly condensed, rich, dense version of ten days of intense learning and living (contact me if you want more details on what I learned)
After Isralight, I spent two days back at Mayanot just knocking around the zoo and then went to Tzfat for the three day klezmer festival. It was pretty awesome; the performances were out of this world, but being in Tzfat by myself was at times a bummer. However, with this new found view on Hashem, the loneliness challenged me to tap into that higher self and to realize that we are never truly alone even when we are by ourselves. During the days of the festival, I went to some AMAZING art galleries. Tzfat opened up my eyes in regards to creativity and how that relates to the Divine. Hashem created us in His image and in doing so, gave us the ability to create. The fact that art exists is absolutely mind blowing. I mean, think of it, we take some colored oily stuff, smear it on a white piece of cloth stretched out over a wooden frame, and we suddenly make that quantum leap from the finite to infinite possibility. It's such a crazy concept. And to think that Hashem created us, the world, and everything else; we truly are like pieces of art in the largest art gallery ever!
Lastly, the month of Elul (the last month in the Jewish calendar) just started last tuesday, the day that I happened to arrive in Tzfat. During this time, it is common practice for people to do spiritual stock taking i.e. figure out your strengths, weakness, where you're lacking, how you can improve upon it, what you intend to do to improve upon it, etc. Simply put, it's like making a laundry list of yourself, yet then again, things aren't always so simple in Judaism. There's tons of customs such as listening to the Shofar (ram's horn) blast every morning at davening, reciting psalm 27 twice a day for the month of Elul, we switch up our greetings from a simple "shalom" or "shalom aleichem" to "ketiva v'chatima tova" translated loosely "may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year". If observed properly (or some what properly in my case) it can be incredibly meaningful. This past week in Tzfat has seemed like an eternity because I've learned so much about myself, where I am right now, what I need to do, etc. I've never felt so connected in my life. This has really been such a crazy year; I think that anyone who saw my transformation during it can attest to that. There's been definite ups and downs to it, I can't even imagine what's in store for me this year.
So with that I wish you all a fond farewell, much love, and ketiva v'chatima tova,
Zach
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