The "glory days"

In the middle of the night I had a revelation that I couldn't help but write down. Before I went to sleep less than 12 hours ago, I found myself nostalgic and longing for my college days. For those of you who have been reading since the beginning of my journey, you'll know that Bloomington, IN is not the most conducive environment for someone who is / is trying to become Torah observant. But as I saw everyone's posts, tweets, etc about moving back to Btown and going back to the glory of old IU, I felt a pit in my stomach that had me longing for that time in my life again. I'm not going to deny the fact that I had a GREAT time at college. Those are some memories I will carry with me forever. Some of the most life-changing things happened to me while I was in college. Before bed, my yetzer hara had me believing that my old, college lifestyle was what I was longing to have back in my life. However, in the middle of the night I woke up realizing that the longing is not for the parties, bars, and traif restaurants. During Elul and this time of teshuva, I think it's only fitting that my yetzer hara would try to trick me. Of course I miss my friends and the relationships I made at IU, but I still have those in my life. I didn't have to leave those behind. I am just that much more grateful now for the opportunity Hashem has given me to be in seminary learning Torah during this important time of year. So for now, I am grateful to say my daily tehillim and learn about Akeidas Yitzchak. My "glory days" are just beginning, and I will always have fond memories when I think about the events and moments in my life that have lead me to where I am today. Have a great day!

Elul 2013

We are now in the middle of Elul zman in school, and the 8:30 am - 5:30 pm schooldays are full of Chumash: we are currently learning about the Akeidas Yitzchak otherwise known as the binding of Yitzchak on Mt. Moriah. This parsha is read during Rosh Hashanah so we are learning it beforehand in school. For those who aren't familiar, the Akeidas Yitzchak is when Hashem told Avraham to take Yitzchak and offer him as a sacrifice. Of course, you may be thinking, "Why are those crazy Jews sacrificing humans?!" Don't be fooled by Hashem's seemingly outrageous command to Avraham, it was/is/always will be against Torah law to not only sacrifice a human being, but also kill anyone in general (see 10 Commandments for further info...lol). The real lesson we are taught through this parsha is that Avraham had so much yiras Shamayim (awe of Hashem) that he was willing to sacrifice his own son for the sake of Hashem's name. What's even greater, is that until Yitzchak and Avraham were on the mountain alone, Yitzchak simply thought he was going to help Avraham sacrifice a lamb. When Yitzchak found out that HE was the sacrifice, he willingly layed down and allowed Avraham to bind him with the wood. ***Please note: Yitzchak was not actually harmed during this parsha.*** We learn from our forefathers that especially during this time of teshuva and working on ourselves, we should always be constantly striving to have yiras Shamayim and to always trust Hashem and His ways. 

In addition to Chumash, we are also learning a lot of Mussar. The Mussar Movement was founded in the 1800's by a famous rabbi, Rabbi Yisroel Salanter. The word mussar itself means ethics or values, and through R' Yisroel Salanter's teachings we learn how to improve ourselves from within. Since this time before Yom HaDin (Day of Judgement), is all about improving ourselves, mussar is a great thing to learn at this time. Every morning we have breakfast class with the head of our school. We are currently learning "Discourse on Free Will" by Rav Eliyahu Dessler, who I could take up an entire post just speaking about his greatness and teachings. What's even more exciting than learning an essay from "Strive for the Truth" is that this particular essay happens to be the very first thing I ever learned (torah-wise) with my Rabbi from Indiana. I feel like learning this essay again really signifies the full circle I have made, and will continue to make in my Jewish learning.

Thursday night I went with two of my friends to the Jerusalem International Arts Festival. There were booths from all over the world, and also from Israel, displaying their work. For all the Louisvillians, it was basically like the St. James Art Fair, so it was pretty awesome. It may have even been better than that because there was kosher food that I could eat! They had live music including some of my southern favorites: Country Roads and Blowing in the Wind (circa 8th grade music class #throwback). My two friends I was with are from Canada and South Africa, and they thought I was very weird for jammin' to the music. You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl. I found the artist I have been searching all over Jerusalem to find his work, and I got my finishing piece (for the moment anyway) to hang over my bed. It's the Etz Chaim (Tree of Life), and it is SO fabulous. 

This Shabbos, I went to one of the tutors from Shearim in Ramat Eshkol. Her beds and pillows were 100% American and comfier than a 5 star hotel. The salads were first class, and the dessert was homemade but I thought it came from a bakery. Let's just say I was wined and dined this Shabbos, and I'm not complaining. In addition, her kids were super cute, and we had a really great time. 

I am now going to call my cute, baby cousin to wish her a happy 4th Birthday and go to sleep. I have to really get my rest because the days are long, and I have to be on my A-game. I hope you're all having a meaningful Elul, and are surviving the summer heat wherever you are in the world. Lailah tov! 

xoxo, Frum Girl

Bein Hazmanim 5773

Well if anyone has been through some serious technological malfunctions in the past couple of weeks it is this girl. After finally getting my internet to work after making numerous trips to Cellcom, I am back in the blogging business. A lot has happened these past two weeks. We have had half days in school because it is a time called Bein Hazmanim which basically means in between the times. It's just a little break for mostly yeshiva boys before the intense month of El Ul (Rosh Hashanah, etc) which is coming up very quickly.
I spent a really nice Shabbat in Ramat Bet Shemesh with my friends that I spoke of in the last post. I got to see a family I am friends with from Indianapolis, who just made Aliyah, so it was nice to see a little bit of home as well. I also got to meet Jamie Geller, author of Joy of Kosher cookbook and also the star of some videos for Nefesh B'Nefesh. It was pretty cool to meet such a down to earth celebrity from the frum world. I even got an informal invite to come for Shabbos, so I will hopefully be taking her up on that invitation in the near future!
Last Shabbos, I went to the family that I am close to in the Chassidish community of Belz in Kiryat Belz. The davening at the Belz shul in Yerushalayim is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lives. The singing of L'cha Dodi is incredible and really moving. We went to the Rebbe's tisch after the meal and didn't get home until 2 in the morning, and it wasn't even over! The Belz community tends to do everything later and longer than most. I even got a bracha from the Belzer Rebbetzin. It was a really special Shabbos with some really special people.
Shearim took a tiyul to the beach in Herzliya. It was amazing! The waves were grade A and so fun to be in. Imagine what you think of when you hear that there are tons of sea lions on a rock in the middle of the ocean. Now imagine that those sea lions are frum women with floating tubes and they are all in a small confined area of the ocean. This is what the beach was like. It was crazy. The waves were so big that they had to confine all the women to one small area, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. I got a delicious ice cream (obvs) and got some good color on my face. I didn't get quite as burned as last time, BH. I think it's due to the fact that I was sporting my unbelievably fashionable tznius bathing suit.
Today I did something I never thought I would ever do in Israel. I got my hair cut and my Keratin re-applied. I had to negotiate with the hair dresser so that he didn't over-charge me. I ended up paying the same I pay in America, which is fine by me. One thing I didn't take into account is the fact that I can't wash my hair for three days or wear it in a ponytail, and it is 1000000 degrees outside. We'll see how this pans out over the next 72 hours. It's only been 6 hours and I'm already way overheated. Tonight I went to a great little restaurant on Yaffo called Village Green with my friend from home. I have managed to go to the King George area two days in a row now without buying anything! It's a true miracle. For anyone who doesn't know, I have a slight shopping problem that I've been working, since I was 12, to kick. Shout out to my Dad for sticking by me all these years :)
As for news on the homefront aka Louisville aka Bloomington. The last piece of senior year aka the best bed ever has finally been moved out of 321 N Lincoln :( Dad and Jersey trekked up to 321 for the last (crying) time to move out my bed. Dad was pretty bummed he didn't run into Mr. Rogers (our cute, old landlord who loves nice Jewish girls). Maybe it was actually me who was bummed Dad didn't run into Mr. Rogers?? Anyway, my fond memories of the good times with great friends in 321 will stay with my for the rest of my life. As the final key was turned in, I have to face that 321 N Lincoln is now another closed chapter in my life (actually crying). I will forever be grateful for the memories made in that house, and I am so fortunate that I have friends that will last way beyond the walls of our little green house on the corner.


So as Bein Hazmanim comes to a close, I am now looking forward to one of my Rebbetzins coming back to the country tomorrow (!), my bestie coming back from Montreal to make Aliyah (woo!), getting back on a normal schedule, and getting ready for hopefully the most inspiring El Ul I've ever had. As El Ul is the month leading up to the High Holy Days, we are meant to be working on our Yiras Shamayim among all of our other middos we are trying to work on before the Day of Judgement when the Book of Life is sealed on Yom Kippur. I'm sure I will have a much better explanation of the month of El Ul once I get back into the seminary swing of things this Tuesday. I've heard this is one of the best times to be in Israel, so I am gearing up for the month ahead. Have a Chodesh Tov y'all!