TELL May - July 2012 - Emanuel Synagogue

Netzer www.emanuel.org.au
Shabbat had been planned by the Machon Tzevet and everyone was staying at Kiryat Moriah for both Friday and
Saturday to participate in the activities. We had free time on Friday morning, so most of us slept in and ran various
errands. Some of us went on a walk to the Kotel and the Old City in the snow, which was stunning. In the afternoon
we had a Kabbalat Shabbat service as a Machzor, and then we were billeted out to various (very hospitable) Englishspeaking
host families around the neighbourhood. Also some of us had more trouble finding the houses in the rain
than others, most people really enjoyed having a home-cooked Shabbat dinner and meeting different people. The
conversations were particularly interesting, and most of the families were quite religious and had made Aliyah, so there
was a lot to discuss. By the time we returned later in the evening the snow had begun to fall again, and those who
got back earlier joined an impromptu ruach session/snowball fight with the rest of the Machzor. Saturday morning we
had our choice of shules to attend, as well as cultural services here at Machon. A few of us went to Shira Hadasha, an
egalitarian orthodox synagogue where women lead the services as well and Mizmor leDavid, a synagogue known for
its dancing and singing. Seudah Shlishit and lunch were had together with the rest of Machon, and several programs
in the afternoon until the Havdalah service where we finished the Shabbat altogether. It was a really lovely evening; it
was great to see how Machon could have an intimate vibe with such a large group.
Classes continued to be (on the whole) interesting and challenging this week, with electives and in-depth courses as
well as our regular classes. On Sunday night we saw a performance called the One Woman Haredi Show, which was a
truly incredible and mind-boggling play in which an Australian actress created four extreme, extremely different Jewish
women and involved us in a Q&A with each of them. It was definitely the highlight of the week! Monday night we had
a program run for us by Noam’s chavura, which Becca, Jess and Sophie were involved in. It was based on conspiracy
theories and involved some odd and quite scary running around in the dark being chased by clowns.
Tuesday we had Tnua time, so Guy ran an interesting program for both Machon and Etgar about the nature of capitalist
societies and the way we treat people within them. Today we have a tiyul around Tel Aviv and are staying there for
Purim celebrations tonight, which everyone is pretty hyped up for.
All in all, this week was a great and very packed one, but will only be topped by next week, when we go to the
Negev on Southern Tiyul!
Enduring Ties – Past to Present
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