These and Those

Musings from Students of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem

A Month of Firsts!

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Stuart Matan Lithwick

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(Cross-posted from my blog)

Hello world!

This is the first post of my first ever blog on my first studymoon with the first person in my life, Annie. This first month has gone by so incredibly fast, and so much has happened, I hope I can capture at least some of it here.

Jerusalem is a city different from any other city that I have ever lived in. While I have been woken up by sirens, car horns, shouting, or general riffraff, here, on my first morning in the holy city I was woken up by the Islamic call to prayer, broadcast over a megaphone from the tops of mosques across the city. I have eaten more Falafel in the past four weeks than I have eaten in the rest of my entire life, even though I am allergic to Sesame seeds (no Tahina or Hummus, thank you very much!). But most of all, I have felt a warmth from the people around me here that I have never experienced before. It is hard to believe that there is so much strife in this city, when the energy and excitement are so palpable.

It has taken Annie and I a while to really get settled here with an apartment, cellphones, access to money, learning a bit of Hebrew, and on, and on! It is really funny the things that you take for granted until they are not there. But finally, Jerusalem is really starting to feel like home. It will take more than colds, a bout of cellulitis, an eaten bank card to slow us down!

There’s no way that we would have made it through if it wasn’t for the incredible people that we have met at Pardes! I have felt like part of communities before, but this feels somehow different. We have only known each other for a month but it almost feels like we are already family.

Well, looks like I have run out of time for today, but more to come!

Love from Jerusalem.

Shmatan