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!