This Shabbat was Molly and Bess’s last opportunity to experience a different synagogue in Israel, so Molly decided to visit Kehilat Tzur Hadassah. Tzur Hadassah is a Reform synagogue and they recently became a “twin congregation” with Molly’s home congregation, Temple B’nai Torah. Here is Molly’s Top 5 of the evening:

1. Meeting Rabbi Ofer Sabath-Beit Halachmi! He is genuinely one of the friendliest/happiest rabbis I have ever met. 

2. After a year in Israel, I am still amazed by how active the participation is in services.

3. Dinner at Alen and Gail’s house with their two children and the entire Sabath-Beit Halachmi family (one of whom happens to be Dave’s liturgy teacher). We were served dinner by someone who just happened to have been trained as a professional chef. 

4. Making a face-to-face connection with some wonderful people that will hopefully stay connected with TBT. Our conversation over dinner about Israel-Diaspora relations reminded me how important it is to make personal connections with Reform Jews living in Israel. 

5. Dave’s kippah getting us through the border check-point.

Today was the HUC-JIR staff and faculty appreciation ceremony. Unfortunately, many of our staff and faculty were unable to attend the ceremony, but here is the Top 5 Highlights From the Event:

1. Anonymous comment from the crowd to Yoshi: “Go back to the Shuk!”

2. Nancy’s phone ringing as Bess said to Nancy: “Whenever we hear the Beatles’ song ‘Something’ we’ll think of you.” (that’s her ringtone)

3. Ally Tick to the Kitah Aleph Hebrew teacher: “Hannah, I’m so glad I finally get to hug you, because I’ve been waiting all year!”

4. Ethan to Sima: “When you walk out the window to smoke a cigarette, you are still in the classroom.”

5. Kitah Gimmel student thanking the Hebrew teaching in Hebrew…and then the Hebrew teacher correcting the student’s Hebrew. Ah, we’ve come so far! 

Molly and Bess were honored to be able to attend their classmate, Jodie Gordon, and her fiance, Josh Bloom’s tenaim ceremony. The tenaim ceremony dates back to the 12th century, and was originally a ceremony for the two families to set the financial and logistical agreements for a wedding. Josh and Jodie put a lot of energy into researching the tenaim ceremony and reinterpreting it into something meaningful for them. The tenaim officially begins the wedding season, and is a way for Jodie and Josh to publicly declare that they are committing to each other, and under which conditions they are agreeing to marry. Also, it was a beautiful way to bring together all the people that have become a part of Jodie and Josh’s lives here in Jerusalem, before they head off to New York.

Click here to learn more about Tenaim!

Here is Molly’s Top 5 of Her First Tenaim Ceremony:

1. You always know it’s going to be good when Rabbi Elyse Goldstein is involved! Elyse helped Jodie and Josh set the conditions of their marriage, and opened the ceremony by sharing some beautiful words of Torah.

2. Even though the heart of the tenaim document, which detailed the conditions of their marriage, was very blunt and specific (discussing the possibility of divorce and what will happen at the time of death), it was weirdly emotional (for some more than others). 

3. Jason and Fran giving their blessing in the style of Wizard the Oz.

4. Exchanging Gifts - Jodie and Josh used this opportunity to exchange sealed love letters that they will open the night before their wedding.

5. Trying to think up a pirate name for Liam, Jodie and Josh’s nephew. I think his favorite was something along the lines of “Captain Stinky Lanky Wanky”. Shocking.

Click here to visit Jodie and Josh’s Blog and read their Tenaim.

Molly and Bess have been working all year towards their free waffle at Babette’s! Their dream was realized on motzei Shabbat (thanks to Dov), and a free waffle was had. Something to be concerned about: the lady at Babette’s recognized Molly and Bess. No matter. In honor of reaching their goal, here is their Top 5 List of Waffle Toppings to try at Babette’s:

1. Hot chocolate sauce with bananas. We didn’t think it could get better than the classic waffle with hot chocolate sauce, and then we caught a glance of someone adding banana slices on top. And in the words of Dave Mintz, “It has bananas, so it’s like a fruit salad.” Healthy and delicious. 

2. Vanilla cream with “forest berries”. There’s your second serving of fruit!

3. Apple sauce and sour cream. Sounds disgusting, tastes delicious. Plus the same healthy balance. 

4. Straight up dulce de luce. Risks include going directly into a sugar coma. 

5. Hot chocolate sauce with vanilla cream. Another classic. 

Babette, we will truly miss you and your waffles.

How has the year gone by without a report on Shira Hadasha in the “Jerusalem Synagogue” series? Shira Hadasha is a self-proclaimed orthodox, feminist congregation in the Germany Colony of Jerusalem, and might be Molly’s top pick of the year. Here is Molly’s Top 5 of Shira Hadasha:

1. The most liberal-friendly mechiza in town! Shira Hadasha’s mechiza is more like a sheer curtain that you can easily see through. And of course, it’s much easier to see through the mechiza when the little kids run through the aisle and pull the curtain open. Party foul! 

2. Shira Hadasha only begins their services when there is a full minyan of men and a full minyan of women (in other words there has to be 10 men and 10 women present). That being said, Shira Hadsha is always so crowded that the situation has never actually come up, but it’s comforting to know that the guideline is there. 

3. People here in Jerusalem take their synagogue names seriously. Kol Haneshama, for example, just loves to focus on breathing and our souls. So it is with Shira Hadasha (which, by the way, means ‘new song’). They Love. To. Sing.

4. The variety of hats worn by the women! Love them all. 

5. In addition to their prayer services, Shira Hadasha also loves to host “sing-songs” which are basically the Israeli version of a hootenanny. 

With less than a month left, Molly and Bess are taking their HUC-JIR Year-In-Israel Bucket List’s seriously, and today’s main event was shopping! All those things they’ve been putting off buying for the year. Here is their Top 5 List of Purchases:

1. We started out the day right with our tefillin purchases!

2. A few more kippot to go with that, purchased from Ann

3. Up the street to the outdoor market, where we bought some Emmanuel products (tefillin and tallit bags)

4. Next we walked over to Yad LaKashish for a few goodies

5. Molly picked up her new bracelet from Hadaya!

Even though most stores were closed for Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel made up for it by making a lot of museums FREE for the day! Molly, David, and Amy spent the day running around checking things off their list (including two museums). Here is their Top 5 of the Day:

1. F-Balls are 100% pure fun! Especially after a strenuous walk to the Temple Mount. 

2. Getting into the Israel Museum for FREE! Most impressive model of Jerusalem during the period of the Second Temple.

3. Diaspora Museum, we found you! And you were FREE! No one warned us that this museum takes approximately 5 hours to walk through. 

4. Enjoying Yotvata ice cream on the Tel Aviv beach

5. mmmm…Burgers Bar!

Today was the first truly relaxing day Molly, David, and Amy had during their vacation. Here is their Top 5 of the Day:

1. Random Russian lady who sat down to have breakfast with Molly at the hotel. Only slightly awkward. 

2. Molly and David hit up the Dead Sea one more time before driving back up north to Jerusalem. 

3. David got his wish to ride on a camel.

4. Exciting discovery of the day - “mini” Magnum Gold?! bars are available for purchase at Supersol! 

5. Back in Jerusalem in time to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day). We started at the live music stage on Hillel and then ended up at the Israeli Dancing at the municipality (still not sure how that happened).  

Trusty Getz, take us to the South! Molly, David, and Amy went down to the Dead Sea with a few stops along the way. Here is their Top 5 of the Day:

1. It should be noted that Budget is still out of maps (almost a month now), so we made the unfortunate mistake of relying on Google Maps…again…

2. Our first stop was at Qumran. So early in the day and already so hot!

3. This should probably be on the Low 5 of the Day, but the angry lady at Masada with her crazy fingernails. I guess I can understand that she was annoyed when I tried to claim I was Jonah Zinn, but didn’t have the ID to prove it. 

4. Amy climbed Masada and we have the photos to prove it! 

5. Man at the Dead Sea hotel: “Molly? Harry Potter’s best friend’s mom’s name is Molly!!!”

Molly, David, and Amy spent the day around Jerusalem getting ready for Shabbat! Here is their Top 5 of the Day:

1. Waking up super early to Skype with the family in Redmond. 

2, Shopping at the Shuk (outdoor market) and getting 6 shekel ($1.50) falafel along the way.

3. Scoping out the Pringles Restaurant Cravers situation with Vicky. Limited flavors available for purchase on Amazon.com. 

4. Putting Jonah in the trunk of the Getz. 

5. Shabbat dinner at our apartment with lots of guests including Todd Zinn and Vicky!

After a super yummy breakfast at Kibbutz Dalia, Molly, David, and Amy hit the road! Here is their Top 5 of the Day:

1. We started out the morning bright and early at Tel Megiddo. ARMAGEDDON!!!! 

2. We learned about The Bab at the Bahai Gardens in Haifa. He was just okay and “prophecized” (we don’t think that’s actually a word) that there would be a second, more important prophet after him. He was right!!

3. Lunch at Yotvata in Haifa. We only had to drive in three circles to figure out how to get to the restaurant. 

4. Two national parks in one day! We hit up Caesarea after lunch and spent a few hours exploring. Thankfully, Molly was able to convince David and Amy to drive to the aqueduct (spacial estimation is not on the list of the Plotnik’s skill set).

5. Hot dogs at IKEA! And David made the lamest purchase ever. 

Molly, David, and Amy took the trusty Getz up north for a nice overview of the country. Here is their Top 5 of the Day: 

1. A long drive up to Sefat, but definitely worth it! Lesson learned: when it’s scorching hot outside, it is definitely not worth walking to the cemetery. Especially when you get to the bottom and realize how many stairs you have to climb back up. 

2. Visiting Rambam’s tomb in Tiberias was super cool for David. Too bad the women have to sit on the other side of the wall…

3. Dinner on the water at the Sea of Galilee. It was pretty okay. 

4. David experienced his first Magnum ice cream bar. Magnum Gold?! to be exact. His life will never be the same. 

5. Finding Kibbutz Dalia after a two-hour search in the dark. Another lesson learned: all roads lead to Afula. Oh, and Israelis don’t know street names. 

After a smooth entry into Israel (complete with dinner at Abu Ghosh on the way to Jerusalem), David and Amy had an excellent night of sleep and beat the jet lag on the first night! Here is the Top 5 of their first day in Israel:

1. We started out by climbing the YMCA (Imca) tower to get a nice view of the city. Welcome to Israel. Get ready to climb a lot of stairs. 

2. After the Imca, we walked across the street to the King David Hotel. David was most impressed when he found out that Metallica stayed at the hotel and left their signature. 

3. Apparently the Chagall windows at Hadassah Medical Center are closed for the month, but since we made the excursion out to that part of the city we decided to head up to Yad Kennedy (Kennedy Memorial) for another view of the city. 

4. A taste of the Old City! We decided to spend the rest of the day doing a little bit of shopping in the Old City and going to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

5. Amy tried her first Magnum ice cream bar. Her life will never be the same.