!מ-ט-ו-ס מטוס! מטוס! מטוס

Blog Update (25/1/2010): A crash landing last night for the JETS... I'm guessing that the outcome of the game I watched last night was similar to the game that most of you watched in good ole US of A. A good and surprising season by the JETS, at least now I can dedicate my rooting to Hapoel Migdal Yerushalyim, Jerusalem's premier basketball team.

For all of those people that can't read the above title it says....

J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

Big game tonight! 10:30 PM start time in Jerusalem (I'm happy it is the early game).

I'll be watching and praying from the Holy Land.

Go Green! !יאללה ירוק

Because I'm not having enough fun this year....

Here is a Haiku to sum up this blog...

Semester One Done
Vacation to Egypt Fun
Let my people Go

On Sunday (yes we have classes on Sunday and I still have not gotten used to it) I started my second semester of rabbinical school. That means I have only 9 more semesters of rabbinical school left (not too much at all.) My first semester finished well and to celebrate the end of classes my parents joined me in Israel as well as my good friend Taryn (from my Namibian days) and her husband Christoph.

We had a great time in the Holy Land, hiking through Ein Gedi (an oasis in the Negev Dessert), eating our way through Jerusalem, and ringing in 2010 with our own set of sparklers and firecrackers. According to Taryn and Christoph, their stay at Kotel6 was amazing the only thing better was their experience at the Dead Sea.

And because I'm not having enough fun this year, my parents decided to plan an amazing adventure to Egypt for the second part of my vacation. Highlights of our to Egypt included.

1. The PYRAMIDS... and other amazing ancient sites
Since my 6th grade ancient world history class I have always had the desire to visit the only "wonder of the ancient world" still in existence, the Giza Pyramids. This break I got to visit them and they did not disappoint. I even got to climb 3/4 of the way up in the largest pyramid... don't want to ruin the surprise, but there is nothing inside the pyramid. Sorry to crush all of your dreams.

Besides the Pyramids, our travels throughout Egypt took us to amazing temples, tombs, and ancient sites. The beauty and the grandeur of some of these sites is astonishing, especially when you think that they were built over 3000 years ago. Here are some select photos of some of the sites we visited. And for a detailed description of the sites and our travels check out Arielle's blog at www.myholidayinnisrael.blogspot.com.

Statue of Ramses II, Sunset over the Nile through the Luxor Temple

Ancient Hieroglyphics, Mortuary Temple for female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, & Ancient stone statues of Pharaoh.

My favorite Egyptian God Bes, God of Fun & favorite Japanese tourist

Because of our visits to all of these temples, tombs, and pyramids, I'm now pretty good at my Egyptian Gods too... I might even know more about the Egyptian Gods than I do about the Jewish Gods... (Oh Arielle just told, me that there is only one God in the Jewish faith, I think I
learn about that in year three.)

2. Taxi Rides in Cairo
Another highlight of our vacation was our taxi rides in Cairo. If you are looking for an adrenaline rush, just take a taxi through the streets of Cairo. I think taxi drives like to see how scared they can make their passengers.

The vastness of Cairo


Muhammad Ali Mosque (not the boxer)

3. The Egyptians
The Egyptian people were extremely friendly, funny, and clever. We had great guides during our visit and lots of laughs. One Egyptian offered 5 Million camels to marry Arielle (not too shabby, especially when there only about 14 million camels in the entire world!) Egyptians also love Obama. I wore my Obama t-shirt to a market one day, and I got a lot of "OBAMA... he shopped here too!"

4. The Floating Market on the Nile
As we approached one of the locks on the Nile, our boat was approached by over 50 small row boats. Pirates? Nope, just Egyptians selling goods on the floating market. It was amazing! The merchants would show you their products and then would through them up to the top deck. If you liked it you would bargain with them and then throw cash down in a small bag. What an experience, Arielle and I bought a table cloth, not the finest of table cloths but we now have a good story. Pictures below of the experience...

5. Arielle winning the Hot Potato Contest on the Nile River
On the last night of our Nile cruise we had a Gala evening... (Basically a Bar Mitzvah Party, without the Jewish part). We wore traditional Egyptian dress (pictured below), and then played Bar Mitzvah games. The highlight of the evening was Arielle's victory during the hot potato contest. A video of the final round is below. Enjoy!

Overall our trip to Egypt was absolutely amazing (thanks Mom and Dad). I have plenty of more photos almost 1,000. So if you want more details or to see some of the most amazing sites in the world let me know and I'll send you a slideshow of our experiences!

Be well...

ERBP

And when I said the next day I meant two weeks later..

In my previous post, I said that I would have pictures of my Xmas Eve in Bethlehem up the next day. Well here are some pictures, not the next day but at least I'm putting them up within the 12 days of Christmas (I think...). They don't teach us that in rabbinical school.

Birthday Party Concert for Jesus in Manger Square

If you are looking for a nativity scene, Bethlehem is the place to shop.

Or you can shop for souvenirs from John the Baptist
or if you are looking for coffee you can buy it here...

Only an 8.57 KM walk back to J'lem... not very well marked just take my word on that.