August 2009
46 posts
“Congratulations to our classmate, Rachel Kaplan, on her engagement to Albert!”
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Choose Your Own Adventure
It’s the end of your summer Ulpan and you have nine glorious days of freedom. No Hebrew grammar tests. No Biblical Archaeology readings. No Mercha-Tipcha. SUMMER BREAK! Where would you like to go during your vacation?
To travel to Egypt follow Bess to the Tel-Aviv airport….
To travel to Haifa follow Molly to the Jerusalem central bus station….
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“Happy Birthday to Molly’s Dad!”
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Last Week of Ulpan
This summer flew by and it’s already the last week of our Hebrew Ulpan. Unfortunately we will not have Osnat as our teacher during the year, but fortunately, we will have Zohara (sorry Kitah Gimmel for stealing your amazing teacher).
Here are our Top 5 Favorite Hebrew Expressions Learned During Ulpan:
1. !?מה הפלא - (Ma-HaPeleh?) - What do you expect? or DUH!
2. שפעת חזירים -...
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Shabbos!
Top 5 Favorite Things to do on Shabbat in Jerusalem:
1. Sleep in!
2. Eat a yummy Shabbat lunch with friends (this week’s Shabbat lunch provided by Jeff Stombaugh’s kitchen!)
3. Walk to Yemin Moshe, the park behind the King David hotel that has a nice view of the old city.
4. Play games (like bananagrams)
5. Meet friends at the park for Havdallah followed by waffles at Babette.
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Jellyfish/מדוזות →
Today was our second “Movie Day” in Ulpan and we watched Jellyfish. If you understand what it’s about, please get back to us.
Directed by Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret, which should explain a lot….
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The Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism →
Today we heard Rabbi Gilad Kariv speak about the Israeli Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) - the Reform Movement in Israel. Israel does not recognize Progressive Judaism as a legitimate movement and therefore does not support Progressive communities or organizations. Unlike America, Israeli synagogues and religious schools receive most of their funding from the state (taxes that everyone...
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We Thought You Left...?
That’s right, our interns are still here, and tonight they put on an “HUC Taste Sensation”, an evening of tastes and talk. Here are the 5 categories we tasted with our Top 5 Favorites:
1. Hummus - We chose Ben Sira (it was between Abu Shukri and Ben Sira)
2. Drinks - We chose the chocolate milk from Yotvata
3. Fruit - We chose the dried strawberries with the fresh grapes as a...
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So Long Interns....
Today we had our last Shabbat with our beloved interns. In the words of Haim Shalom (formerly known as James Taylor), “we thought we would celebrate your freedom from us with a get together in Independence Park”.
We’ll miss you interns….and the tyranny you bestowed upon us.
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HUC Visits Kol Haneshama →
We spent Kabbalat Shabbat with our spiritual home away from home (besides HUC of course) in Jerusalem - Kol Haneshama. Check out the link to learn more about this progessive Israeli community!
“Happy Birthday to Brandon!”
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An "Only in Israel" Moment from a Fellow Classmate
Traffic laws in Israel are a bit vague, especially concerning crosswalks. I learned from my boyfriend, who was a truck driver in the Israeli Army, that if I put my foot into the street on a crosswalk that drivers are legally required to stop. One day I was testing this theory when an ice cream truck came hurling around the corner before the crosswalk. He halted to a stop, almost hitting me, and began to yell at me...
Truck Driver: Why are you walking here? I'm driving!
Rachel: I'm on the crosswalk, I can walk here.
Truck Driver: This is a road for cars - you are not allowed to walk in front of me!
Rachel: Check the rule-book, I'm allowed to walk here.
Truck Driver: I'll wipe my butt with the rule book and throw it at you!
WOW! Way to go Rachel, especially because this conversation took place in Hebrew.
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Bess's First Shabbat at Kibbutz Gezer
This Shabbat was our first apart and while that made it a sad, sad day for Molly and Bess on Moshe Hess we still managed to push through and enjoy our respective Shabbats. Bess, her classmate Josh and his fiance will be spending about one Friday a month at Kibbutz Gezer as their internship for the year. Here are the Top Five of the first Gezer Shabbat:
1. Getting to pray with liberal Israeli...
The Coolest Website of All Time (that is, if you... →
Today we went on a tour of the City of David with our Biblical Archaeology class - check out the website to learn more!
“The yoga session with Janet will take place today at 3:00 pm in the HUC...”
– From our weekly email sent out by the administration - a classic example of this fascinating country we live in!
סיפור אהבה נכתב על-ידי בס וולנר
A Love Story for Tu B’Av by Bess Wohlner
יש לי הרבה מזל מפני שיש לי אחיינית. היא בת שנתיים וחצי. היא הכי יפה מכל הילדים בעולם. אני אוהבת אותה הרבה מאוד. היא נולדה בעשרים ו ארבע בינואר - גם אני נולדה ב עשרים וארבע אבל באפריל. אנחנו אוהבות לעשות הרבה דברים ביחד: לקרוא ספרים בלילה, לאכול גלידה, לסחק מסחקים, ולרקוד למוסיכה, לרוץ בגן של אחותי. ומה אנחנו אוהבות הכי טוב? אנחנו אוהבות לשיר שירים...
סיפור אהבה נכתב על-ידי מולי פלוטניק
A Masterpiece Love Story for Tu B’Av by Molly Plotnik:
עם אתה ממשפחה שלי אז אתה צריך לאהוב גלידה. אי אפשר להיות “פלוטניק” ולא אוהב גלידה. ואני אוהבת גלידת שוקולד. אפשר לאכול גלידת שוקולד כל השנה. עם המזג אוויר יהיה חם אני אאכול אותה בחוץ ואני אשתמש בזילופים וגם קצפת. זות יצירה טובה. בחורף אני אאכול גלידת שוקולד עם רוטב שוקולד חם. פעם אני עשיתי גלידה בבית שלי וזה בלאגן. עכשיו...
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Ha-Kochavim Shel Shlomi/הכוכבים של שלומי →
Today in ulpan we watched a super cute movie about a 16 year old boy, Shlomi. We laughed, we cried, and if nothing else, it made us want to eat baked goods. real bad.
If you have Netflix, you should add this movie to your queue immediately.
Campus Placement
Bess: Well hello fellow female classmates! So glad you could make it to ladies night.
Molly: Everyone FREAK out! We're going to hear about campus placement tonight!
Everyone: AHHHHHHHH!!!
Classmate #1: I'm moving to New York next year, and I just hope I'll also be going to school while I'm there.
Bess: It's all hearsay, it's all hearsay.
Molly: Alright, let's get the movie started and we'll all keep our ipods closely by our sides.
Molly: [one hour later] Hey Bess, why don't you stop obsessively checking your email and watch the movie?
Bess: Oh. My. God. I got the email.....
Everyone: AHHHHHHHH!!!!
Molly and Bess: bessandmollywood.tumblr.com! Reserve the domain name now, we're coming to Los Angeles!
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July 2009
42 posts
“Happy Birthday to Molly’s mom and Brian Immerman!”