Jerusalem 10k

We enjoyed probably one of the most "Israeli" experiences today - as we joined some hundreds of Israelis on a 10k race through part of the city! The 10k was in conjuction with the 15th annual Jerusalem 1/2 marathon, which 3 of our more daring friends ran. Max actually decided to run with me at the last minute as a girlfriend of mine who had signed up with me became fairly ill this last week ... lucky for him, we had a great race and a great experience! From using our Hebrew (more than we usually need to) to pick up registration packets, to listen to annoucements, to understand the award ceremony and to check our bags ... we really felt like we were participating in an Israeli event ... and of course, if you know that Israelis can't even form lines to check-out at the grocery store, imagine trying to line up with them at the starting mark of a race :)

During the run - which Max and I did without walking once! - we were surprised to see many people walking and stopping. Confirmed by our friends who ran the 1/2 marathon, we concluded that unlike these types of races in the U.S. (my reference is Chicago), many Israelis didn't seem to train and therefore didn't know how to pace themselves. Rather, many seemed that they were just out on race day for the fun of it. In contrast to these types however, as I always experience when I run races, there were several runners who finished the races in "record" times - and not surprising, the Ethiopian Israelis made quite a showing securing the top honors for both races, and for both men and women.

Here is a pic of us after we finished - it took us about 1 hour and 6/7 minutes to run the 6.2 miles, which was partly due to the fact that the entire course was up and down the hilly streets of the city (it's so much easier to run in Chicago!). We enjoyed fruit, popsicles, and fresh bread at the stadium (where the race started and ended) after we were done!

Maybe the most exciting part of the race was listening to the cheers from the Israelis that were both working the race and the spectators along the path. Hearing "B'hatzlecha" (good luck) or "Kol HaKavod" (well done) and many other expressesions that we didn't even know just made the experience so unique! And it was a wonderful sunny day in the 50s ... perfect weather to enjoy the run, which took us through the big city park, Gan Sacher, up to the Israel Museum and to some great look-outs of the city.

Yay to the 5 of us from Pardes who opted to enjoy day away from school to experience a different aspect of life in Israel!


After returning to Pardes for afternoon classes, we then officially started our Pesach vacation -- so for the next 3 or so weeks, we will be traveling, enjoy guests (my brother comes Friday and then Max's parents at the beginning of April) and soaking up the approaching Spring weather as we anticipate the holiday. We are actually leaving tomorrow morning for a 3-day trip up North and will surely have more to report when we return!

Purim, Purim, Purim

Jenny's mom, Millie, arrived to Jerusalem last Thursday, ready for what was sure to be her topsy turvy 'round 2' in the holy city. And how could it not be? As we've mentioned before, Purim has all the right ingredients of a colossal holiday: the costumes of Halloween, the eating of thanksgiving, and the drinking of St. Patrick's Day & New Years combined! - not to mention the mitzvahs of sending gifts to your friends and to the poor.

All of Jenny's practice during the past 3 months paid off when she read her portion of megilla beautifully on Sunday night, surrounded by the Pardes community, the press and other guests. The public reading of the book of Esther is done both on the evening of the holiday and the morning after. The 10 different readers, one for each chapter, were all very different in style and performance. Some readers, who had a lot of dialogue in their chapter, read their portion in several different voices: low and authoritative for the king, high and soft for Esther, etc. - all contributing to the funny and light atmosphere of the holiday.



Following the reading on Sunday night was our school's Purim Shpiel in which students perform different humorous acts and skits. Many people thought Jenny has been dressed that night as a ballerina, but she was actually dressed as Carrie Bradshaw, from "Sex and the City", in order to act in a certain skit. I was dressed as Spiderman. Yes, I know. I just couldn't find a Batman costume, so this had to do. Not only that, but the costume was the size of a small boy, so you can see that it was 'forced' on a bit - made for good laughs. In addition to the shpiels, I emceed a service auction to raise money for students at the school. I was a little nervous going into it, but I received a lot of good feedback afterwards - I guess I had drunk the appropriate amount in order to be funny and not sloppy!

After the next morning's reading, Jenny, Millie and I walked around the neighborhood of Baka. We found a nice coffee shop and spent some time relaxing before the following rounds of celebration. Next we were off to the home of my gemara teacher, Meesh, who hosted the traditional Purim 'seudah' (meal) for the entire school. Those 3 hours consisted of a lot of food, alcohol, and singing - not to mention explaining to Meesh's children why grown-ups act so weird when they drink.

Next, we ventured to another party at our friend, Marni's, house. It was nice and low-key, save for a friend of ours who was dressed as a cohen gadol (high priest), and had drank himself silly. You can see in the picture that I had pity on him and had to be his dance partner.


Upon returning home from Marni's, we heard the sound of singing and drum-beating from our next door neighbors, so we decided to stop in, dance a bit, sing a bit, and take pictures with their cute daughter, Yonit.



You would think that by now we had had enough Purim and were ready to crash, but we instead we mustered our strength and headed into city center to see a free concert. The band was called, "Ha Dag Nahash", which means, "The SnakeFish". They were pretty cool. I'd liken them as the beastie boys of Israel. The scene downtown was very young and hip, and we surprisingly saw a lot of our friends there! Who would've known?

So that was our Purim. Jenny and her mom are traveling up north this week to see the Golan and the Kineret sea. I meanwhile, due to being home alone, get to be the brunt of jokes at school such as, "Did Jenny leave you an allowance while she's away?, "Are your shoes tied correctly today?" I guess it means I have a lot of friends.