Presence

The coal is smoldering inside of you,
keep fanning it till it burns to a flame.

And then..

We had a 10 day vacation at Machon Alte between the winter and summer program.
So I got myself a travel buddy, packed my bag with three outfits, a toothbrush and some money and took the next bus out of Tsfat.

In our travels we went to Ein Gedi, Mitzpeh Ramon, Tel Aviv, Jaffo, Kfar Adumim, Beer Sheva, Jerusalem, Ramat Gan and Chevron.
I took about 16 egged buses, ate cottage cheese for breakfast every day, slept in random places (including an absorption center), got a tan, hardly showered and spent as much as i planned to spend - but still it was a lot for a student budget.

Any way, it was great and I think everyone should get the "backpacking" experience at least once in their life.

That's Your Choice

Stand Strong.

Oops....

A fire at the Metzuda




Started by them?

Tsfat Fun

And you thought Tsfat was boring?







I decided to add the bottle of coke to the "Israel Collection" in my room and as I placed it on the shelf, I observed the order in which they appeared and thought - hmmm, the evolution of society?

Determination

Don't Fall Behind

Didn't you realize?

If you're not growing, then you're falling.
And if descent is really what you want, then make sure to put your whole self into it.
Otherwise its a waste.
A waste of life and purpose.
An insult to the child that is struggling to take it's first steps.
Because, It's nice that you've overcome what I'm just beginning

But what of it now, if it's not going anywhere?

And please tell me, why is it always the children,
the innocent, the new - that are the keys to our emotion and self-pity toward one another.

This all spilled into my mind at the park.
As one man sits, strokes his long beard with one hand and reaches for his daughter with the other.
Then take notice of other children zooming past on their bikes.
To the left, a group of college girls are giggling while drinking ice coffee.
And found on the right in the corner is an old man on a bench slumped over, next to his backpack.

Or maybe growth is really sort of inevitable.
But when you're aware of its importance
All the more better life is.

P.S.
Don't forget to not regret

Moving On

They've walked on Hollywood Boulevard and across ancient holy-land in Israel.
Its funny, it's weird, cliche.
No matter, I still feel that my shoes tell a pretty cool story.

It Was Fun While it Lasted

The testimonial to 14 years of my life ended in a few short breaths Saturday afternoon. However with every ending there is a new beginning, so lets get to work.

R.I.P Augustus [a.k.a. Auggie]

A Light In the Darkest of Chambers

The view from my window at night...

Wishing everyone a happy and kosher Passover

20 Seconds of Joy

In the span of 20 seconds you can:

take a picture

write a lyric to a song

cross a street

pick a flower

eat a piece of chocolate

straighten your bangs

smile at a friend

tell a joke

tie your shoes

sketch a drawing

turn on your t.v. and surf through some channels

take a deep breath

The people in Sderot however, only have 20 seconds to run for cover before missiles hit the ground.

My heart is with Israel. 

Goin' Back Home

Miracles come our way when least expected.

I'm going home for Passover so there might not be any posts for a while...

The Perspective

Who I am is how I see the world...

Stand aside and absorb the moments of life.

Will you be spent away in a rush? Is there any time left to just be?

Be it walking through unlit streets at night to sitting on a swing in the rain

 - stop moving and just feel.

Values

Where do you spend your time and money? What do we focus our energy on?

I believe that sometimes people get side tracked in their daily activities.
We forget that there should be more to life then that perfect cup of coffee in the morning to the newest style of shoes.
Some won't even consider that there could be possibly more to life.

These ideas popped into my mind from random experiences of the past week.

Because I discovered that even though Tsfat is a mostly religious town, there are those that will spend time, money and energy over events they consider holy and everlasting...














And there are those who those who spend their time, money and energy into something else.







These examples are a little extreme, but I feel that my point still remains clear.

Yep, The Olive Tree Forest

There's not much to write about the Olive Tree Forest. Pictures tell the whole story, don't they? - Well maybe thats not exactly true, but these pictures do.

"Rabbi Yehoshuah Ben Levi said: Why is Israel compared to an olive tree? Because just as the leaves of an olive tree do not fall off either in summer or winter. So, too, the Jewish people shall not be cast off, neither in this world nor in the World to Come."

              - Tractate Menachot 51b

The Jewish people are like olive oil - always rising atop. 

Sorry folks, us Jews are gonna be sticking around a long while!

Finally: The Almond Tree Forest

I apologize for how long it's taken me to put this post up. In all truth, it was the attack in the Merkaz Harav Yeshivah that threw me off. I wanted to write inspiring words full of hope, about how everything will work out for the best. Including the idea that G-d is everywhere - in everything, even in this. But I can't seem to come up with straight thoughts and ideas that really express how I feel.

So we're just going to go back to the original plan. 

Enjoy the pictures.

The Almond Tree Forest.

Tzfat [Tsfat, Zefat, Safed], Israel

Hope you enjoyed!
Here's a sneak peak to my next post - The Olive Tree Forest