New school and Rosh Hashanah

I am now more or less settled into life at LBC although academically speaking this year is much tougher than year one. I am learning Aramaic which is proving really very hard and we have lots of other classes as well because things are much smaller here there is really no where to hide which adds to the stress and strains.

The flat is great I really like it. Although not as much as I liked the one in Jerusalem. I have a placement for the High Holy Days Coventry its really small but a really friendly congregation. So far I have been up there for a Friday night and then for first day RH. I am currently busy working away on Yom kippur: Sermons, service, and Torah readings while trying at the same time to thing about the rest of my school work. Ah well had better go.

Moving forward

Things have been moving along nicely, I guess. I am well towards sorting out a flat to live in in London. My thesis is moving along albeit very slowly. And I am getting sorted out for next year at LBC. I only have last years hand books to go by. So I am not 100% sure that it will be the same this year as last but the courses themselves look okay.
I am also starting to work on High Holy Day stuff. As I now know where my placement is and a basic idea of what will be involved. So am very busy but things are settling into place. Am still missing HUC and Israel like mad.

Back home

Well I am still in UK and still at home, so not much has changed there. I have been on a family holiday to Suffork we stayed right on the coast and it was really a lot of fun, both big sisters came (Helen and Rosie well Rosie lives near by) apart from that all i have really been doing is working on my thesis (slow slow progress) and getting my room organsied and working sorting out a flat for next year. All necessary I guess but not that interesting really.

Back in the UK

Well I'm year in Israel is over, and I am back home in the UK. The ending was rather sad in the end as people started to leave one by one including Emily so I was all alone in the flat i was worried because there was plenty of cleaning to do so i didn't think that I would be lonely but then i got ill (had to go on a drip and every thing)...but got the flat nice and clean in the end and packed on got home okay. I am still working on one or two things arising out of my year in Israel. (see link) and am trying to sort out where Emily and I will rent next year, finish PhD and do admin so am very busy still but am really looking forward to family hoilday.

all the rest is packing

There were lots of closing events spread over three days: Starting with a cheese and wine thing at college with text study followed by Beit-Cafe, that was the same night as the wisky thing over at our place thanks to Gavi. On Friday we had an other event followed by a meeting with Rabbi Marmar and Kabbalat Shabbat and then a collective dinner. And on Saturday there was a closing Havdalah and a BBQ in the accademic courtyard all really
really nice but rahter sad making in the end.

I am now in the middle of packing and cleaning and doing all those little things than need to be done before I can head back. In addition to that I still have on final take home to do some work on my T.Project. Sigh

Eailer I went around to Kol Haneshimah and got their siddur and CD with Tina, will be going for dinner later with Emily and friends.

Tomorrow is my last Talmud study with Tina and Alona.

Revision

Exams start in a couple of days, first one is liturgy (should be okay), followed by Modern Hebrew (very not okay), Late antiquity (absolutly no problem), Bible (okay but its in Hebrew), and grammar (no comment). I still have a mid term to do (shouldn't be a problem) and a reading fluancy test tomorrow also should be fine.
Its sad though because people have started to leave already and all the talk is of when we are back (wherever it is that we are going) and as i don't really want to leave Israel this is a little tough. I am also really tired been working like made on my own and in study groups and there is a lot still to do.

In the final strecht

Today was the last Israel seminar of the year, and tomorrow is all but the last actual day. I think we have class on Sunday and then really soon my class mates start to leave and then I leave...I only have 16 days left thats barely two weeks. And although I would not have believed it possible at the start of this (July 2010) but i really do not want to leave. I have ajusted to HUC and love Israel and have a number of people here to whom I am amazingly close. And I just don't want to go, I really want to see my family and met up with my Friends back home. But I want to go knowning that I'll be back. I am going to miss people like Nathan and Chava, Gavi, Sam (both of them), Iah, Laura, Tina and many more. But I am going to miss Israel most of all. it is going to be hard going from a place that is so vaberant Jewishly to one that is less so. And i know that London is better than where i came from (in terms of its Jewish life that is) but even so.
I am really trying to make the most of these last few days of being in Israel. Then of course there is the little matter of finals and my PhD waiting for me to finish it when I get back home.