Saturday, December 31, 2011

The Air Travels of 2011

Anyone who knows me knows how much of a plane nerd I am. How big of a nerd am I? Well, for one, I wrote an 11 page paper for one of my classes about how El Al is a symbol of civil religion in Israel. Yup. 11 pages on an airline. But I also like to keep track of the planes I fly.


In 2010, I started keeping a flight log. Every flight I take, I take note of the specific plane we're on (its registration number, not just Boeing 737 or Airbus A321...By the way, bonus if you can spot one of the dead giveaways for how to decide which is which! Leave it in the comments.), what time we push back from the gate and what time we arrive at the gate. It's been a really fun way to indulge my hobby. Plus, it has given me incredible insights for my flying history. And, I am able to get incredible statistics about my travels.


In 2010:


  • I was flying for a total of 81 hours, 31 minutes - or nearly 3.5 days
  • I traveled nearly 35,000 miles, meaning I circumnavigated the globe 1.4 times
  • 10 of the 29 flight segments (around 35%) I flew were delayed by more than 15 minutes
  • We were lucky enough to fly 6 segments in First class (to and from Costa Rica, and our way home from Philly)
  • I flew in or out of 14 different airports (San Diego was most often)
  • I flew using 5 different airlines (Southwest for 48% of my flights)
  • I flew on 6 different models of aircraft (15 on Boeing 737s)
  • I flew 22 different routes (the most common being my two round trips to Phoenix and three round trips to Oakland)
  • And I visited a total of 2 other countries (Costa Rica and Israel).
Pretty cool stuff. And that was just 2010!

But 2011 was a year of truly extensive travel. I visited Israel in January, and we have done some incredible traveling since we arrived in April. So, here is the end of the year summary!

In 2011:
  • I was flying for a total of 83 hours, 24 minute - or 3.5 days
  • I traveled 38,071 miles, meaning I circumnavigated the globe more than 1.5 times
  • Unlike last year, only 3 flight segments of the 21 I flew were delayed by more than 15 minutes (less than 14%! Not a bad improvement on things!)
  • We flew coach for every flight (although it would have been nice for all of those long-hauls!)
  • I flew in or out of 11 different airports (Tel Aviv was most often)
  • I flew using 8 different airlines (El Al for 29% of my flights)
  • I flew on 10 different models of aircraft (including Boeing 737s, a 747, 767s, 777s, and nearly all Airbus models, the 319, 320, 321, 330, and 340).
  • I flew 21 different routes, and never the same one twice.
  • And I flew through 7 different countries (US, Israel, UK, Czech Republic, Turkey, Cyprus, and Greece).

Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011 In Review - What Kind of Year Has It Been


2011 has been an incredible year. It's had its ups and downs, but what I have found most astonishing is to reflect on what the world was like just one year ago. It may not feel as if much has changed, but here are some things to consider, both in the global and personal contexts:


On January 1, 2011:
I was working at CBI as the Youth Director.
I knew Sarah and I would begin an adventure in Israel, but I had not even interviewed with HUC.
Sarah and I had a dog, Sully.
Sudan was still one country.
Outside of quick trips to Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica, Israel was the only other country I had ever visited.
Becky and Eric lived in Oakland and my parents had grass in their front and back yards.
The term "Arab Spring" meant nothing.
Japan had not suffered through a 9.1 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Cottage Cheese in Israel was just a delicious snack, not also a political statement.
Hosni Mubarak was still in power in Egypt.
Anthony Weiner just had a funny last name, not an ironic one.
All members of the youngest generation of the Royal Family were unmarried.
Osama bin Laden was still alive and at large.
The Space Shuttle program was still in existence.
Gilad Shalit was still in the hands of Hamas, and we did not know for sure if he was alive.
Muammar Gaddafi was still alive.
Amy Winehouse was still trying to go through rehab.
Harry Potter still had another movie up his sleeve.
Almost no one had heard of Rebecca Black. And Friday was just another day.
Steve Jobs was still alive.
No sitting president had ever addressed a URJ Biennial.
Kim Jong Il was still alive.
I had never spent more than 2 months outside of California.


Now:
I am a Rabbinic student at HUC-JIR.
Sudan is now two countries.
Sully is with a new, very loving family.
I have visited 7 countries, and next year I will visit 3 more. (Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Israel, Czech Republic, Turkey, Greece - although I also have stamps from London Heathrow and Cyprus from extended lay-overs)
Becky and Eric live in Amsterdam, and my parents have completely redone the front and back yards.
Hosni Mubarak was ousted as leader of Egypt, bin Laden and Gaddafi and Kim Jong Il are dead, and Gilad is home.
The Space Shuttle flies no more.
Amy Winehouse lost her battle with alcohol.
Harry Potter finally defeated Voldemort.
Steve Jobs has left behind an incredible legacy.
President Barack Obama spoke at the URJ Biennial in DC.
I have been living in Israel for 9 months.


What kind of year, indeed.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Video: Chanukah Night 1 - Latkes!


Who's Reading This Anyway?!


Well, it's been one incredible journey so far, and I'm proud to say that this is post #100. It's pretty surprising (even for me and Sarah!) that we have been able to keep this blog going. But by now, you've heard 100 posts worth of words, photos, and videos from us.

But who are you? Who is reading this anyway?!

Here are some stats about our readership (as of time of writing on Dec. 19 - after that, I'll be studying for finals):

There have been 10,524 total page views.

The most read post was "We're Leaving on a Jet Plane: Introduction" with 135 page views.

The most popular referring sites are Facebook (1,148 click-throughs) and Twitter (155 click-throughs).

Not too surprisingly, 80% of our readers are from the US, 9% are from Israel, and making up the remaining 11% are the following countries (from most readership to fewest): Netherlands (Thanks Becky!), Canada (Thanks Elle when you lived in Toronto!), the UK, Germany, Russia, Spain, Singapore, and the Ukraine. 

In terms of operating systems, 51% of our readers use Macs, 32% Windows, 6% iPhone, 3% iPad, and the remaining use (in descending order) Linux, iPod, Android, BlackBerry, Other Unix, and our blog has been viewed on Palm devices 4 times! (Andy, maybe?!)

For browsers, 40% use Chrome, 23% Firefox, 13% Safari, 9% Internet Explorer, 6% Mobile Web, and the remaining use (in descending order) RockMelt, Flipboard (whoever you are, AWESOME), Mobile Safari, and Opera.

23 comments have been left by 13 different people. Not surprisingly, the commenter "Yo Mama" has left the most. :) Thanks Mom!

Thank you for continuing to read and follow along with our journey. While the blog's purpose was originally mostly for posterity, it's really nice to know that so many of our friends are interested in our journey as well.

Off to study for finals!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

My Second HUC Service - A Musical Shacharit

This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to work with one of our incredible cantorial students, Laura Breznick, and a wonderful advisor, Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback in developing and leading our Thursday morning service (the term for a morning service is Shacharit). Below are some videos and the texts of my mini-sermons. The service was especially special because we were able to sing some of our favorite melodies, some of which were brand new to the community, such as Dan Nichols' "Shirei Zimrah" and "Beyond," Cantorial student Ben Ellerin's "Ahavah Rabbah," and a few of my own pieces. It was such an honor working with such talented individuals!


Iyun at beginning of service

The Psalmists wrote, "asher hir'itani tzarot rabot v'raot tashuv t'hayeini umit'homot haaretz tashuv ta'aleini. Terev g'dulati v'tisov t'nachameini." "You, who have shown me a great many and grievous troubles, revive me again, and from the depths of the earth, raise me up again. Increase my abilities, and turn back to comfort me." (Ps. 71:20-21)


Sounds like something we could all be saying right about now.


As we approach finals, we may need to take the time to decompress, to breathe, to listen, and to meditate. We know that we have the proper tools to succeed. Without prompting, we can engage with our lessons, sometimes together, and sometimes individually. We can take a moment to find a kavanah that speaks to us. Or we can just listen and soak in the music and sounds around us. The siddur gives us the order, and together, we take the time for Shacharit. 

Iyun before Kaddish Yatom (Mourner's Kaddish)
Have you ever thought about why a sh'liach tzibur would ask for names from the community before Kaddish? In my synagogue, as I'm sure in yours, a list of names is read, giving the community awareness that there are those in specific times of mourning. Then, often times, the leader will ask for additional names. But why? To what end do we encourage this sharing of names?

I think it is a beautiful sign of reaching out. I see it as an opportunity for the community to say to those in mourning, "this is a safe space." We traditionally welcome those in mourning by saying, "hamakom y'nachem etchem b'toch sh'ar avelei tziyon vi'y'rushalayim - may God comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem." You are not alone.

Instead of asking for just the name, I invite those who would like to share the name and also a brief sentence about your connection to your departed. This is a safe space. And we want to engage in God's work of giving you comfort. 


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

How Do You Spell "Shabbat"?

שבת. It's the holiest day of the year in the Jewish calendar, and it comes around every week! I've already written about how I've started to empty my pockets of unnecessary things on Shabbat, but now, let's discuss how to spell it! In this post, I'll go over the proper transliteration for "Shabbat," "Shabbat Shalom," and "Shavua Tov," the traditional greetings at the beginning and end of Shabbat.


שבת - Proper spelling: Shabbat

  • shin, bet, tav gives us Sha-Ba-T. However, there are two "b"s because, just like in Yom Kippur and Chanukkah, we have what is called, a dagesh chazak, or a hard dagesh. Since the bet is preceded by a letter with a vowel, it receives the hard "b" sound instead of the normal, easy "b" sound. Of course, in modern Hebrew, we can't hear the difference between these two sounds. 
    • Note: Sometimes, you may see Shabat, Yom Kipur, or Chanukah. Because transliteration is subjective, these are also considered colloquially correct. It's all about which system you're using for transliteration.
שבת שלום - Proper spelling: Shabbat Shalom
  • Meaning: (a blessing for) A Sabbath of Peace (or Wholeness).
  • Shabbat we already know. 
  • shin, lamed, vav, mem sofit give us Sha-L-O-M, hence, Shalom. Easy peasy! If you see it transliterated any other way, please send it my way. This is one of the few words I have never seen transliterated incorrectly.
שבוע טוב - Proper spelling: Shavua Tov
  • Meaning: A good week. Used as a greeting after Shabbat.
  • shin, bet, vav, ayin give us Sha-V-U-A, hence, Shavua. Even though we have an "ah" sound at the end of the word, because there is no "ה," we just end the word with an "a."
  • tet, vav, vet give us T-O-V. Any guesses for how to spell it? Again, if you see it differently somewhere, please send it to me. I'd be fascinated to see!
Well, there you have it! May you have a Shabbat Shalom and a Shavua Tov!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

We Went to a Soccer/Futbol Game!

One of the things I really wanted to do during our time in Israel was to go to a Jerusalem soccer game. Now, you have to understand that the infamous Jerusalem team, Beitar Yerushalayim, is really known for one thing: their fans and their ridiculous chants (because everything in Israel, from how you wear a kippah to which soccer team you support, has political implications). We have a new coordinator of Israeli cultural events at HUC and a group of us mentioned that we wanted to go to a game and have someone help translate the chants. 


When we got to the stadium, we realized some differences about professional stadiums in the US and Israel. For one, signage. In the US, even the oldest stadiums still have pretty good signage. Need to know where you're going? Follow the signs. Unsure where the restrooms are? Follow the signs. Another thing, American teams will never miss an opportunity to sell you something. Everywhere you go, concession stands, hawkers, program get your program! At this game, there were people selling scarfs and other Beitar merchandise, but none of it was officially organized. Just getting in was an experience to say the least. Oh, and people scalp tickets like it's going out of style.


Once we finally found the rest of our group, went inside and found our seats, the action really started. And by action, I mean the chants. The chants of Beitar Yerushalayim are the most insane, passionate, and yet racist, inconsiderate chants you'll ever hear. One chant translates to "I love you, Beitar." Awesome! Same chant with different words pointed at the fans of the opposing team: "Your mothers are whores." It's like a college football game, except there's no one saying, "Don't do that."


The other thing we noticed is the amount of Spanish involved in the fan sections. The Beitar fan section is called "La Familia," "the family." The Maccabi Haifa fan section was called "Infierno Verde," or "Green Inferno."


After a brief announcement from the mayor of Jerusalem (who had recently spoken at HUC during the governor's visit), they sang the national anthem. First of all, as you'll hear in the video below, no famous, or even half-way decent, singer led it. Also, there was no military honor guard. Nor was there even a flagpole somewhere that everyone faced. Instead, everyone held up their scarfs, which have the flag on them. In the La Familia section, a Beitar banner hung throughout the section and underneath, you could see each row arm in arm swaying back and forth. It was the most passionate yet uplifting rendition of "Hatikvah" I had ever heard. 







But on to the game!



Beitar started really well. They came out of the gate incredibly strong, scoring in the 10th minute in three touches - from mid-field to the corner, cross into the box, right past the keeper. Brilliant, and what we thought was the beginning of a Beitar routing. Unfortunately, the rest of the game was a routing. But Beitar was on the receiving end. After that first goal, Beitar's play just got sloppy, missing many great opportunities. Haifa responded 15 minutes later with a break-away, tying goal. 15 minutes after a short half-time, Haifa scored the go-ahead goal, followed 5 minutes later by another. By the 89th minute, it was clear Beitar was not going to win, so the goal keeper tackled a Haifa forward inside the box, giving them a free-kick. 4-1, Maccabi Haifa over Beitar. Highlights below. Although the commentary is in Hebrew, I'm sure you can figure out what the announcer is saying.





And there it was - our first Jerusalem soccer game. It was an incredible experience, not just for sports; it was really an anthropological experience. Much like the rest of this country, going to a soccer game means much more than just watching a game of sport.

Friday, December 2, 2011

How Do You Spell Chanukah / Chanukkah / Hanukah...?

Of all of the Jewish holidays of the year, this holiday has the most heated debate about how to transliterate its name. In fact, it is so debated that the Jewish comedy music group, The LeeVees, even have a song dedicated to said debate:




So, HOW DO YOU SPELL חנוכה?!


According to "proper" transliteration (see this post for disclaimer about "proper" transliteration), the correct way to spell חנוכה is:


Chanukkah.


You may ask, why is it transliterated so? And I'll tell you.
There are 3 syllables at work here (well, really 4, but we'll get there), so I'll go one by one.

  • ח - Cha - This is pretty basic, but causes a lot of problems. There really is no English equivalent for this sound. There is an, ironically, Romanized letter, "Ḥ," that implies the more guttural sound. Thus, some people transliterate this syllable as "Ha" (including Jewish websites like My Jewish Learning). In colloquial usage, they are right. For the purpose of proper transliteration, they are not so right.
  • נו - nu - Again, seems like it should be basic. But many a times, I have seen people write two n's, and I'm sure you have too. It's just wrong. There's no grammatical reason to have two n's. 
  • כה - kkah - Here's where we get to the real fun Hebrew grammar. There are two k's because the dagesh (dot in the middle of the kaf) is called "dagesh chazak," or a "strong dagesh." Without going into all of the nitty-gritty details (tachlis, if you will), this dagesh actually represents two Hebrew syllables even though it makes only one sound (a concept that has taken me a long time to grasp in Hebrew grammar class). This is because at one point in time, there actually were two kaf's. So, it is proper to write two k's. Also, because there is a hei at the end of the word, and it is not a common usage word or name like Moshe that is spelled with an untransliterated hei, the transliteration also ends with an "h."
There you have it: Chanukkah. Of course, as I mentioned before, pretty much any spelling is colloquially accepted. So, 

Happy Chanukkah/Chanuka/Channuka/Channukkahh/Hanukkah/Hannukka/Hanuka!