A friend of mine from the US is here on a tour, and I had the opportunity to spend most of the day with him and his wife on Thursday. It was a chance for me to play tourist and tour guide at the same time and I truly enjoyed the day.

We met at 9AM at their hotel, and I immediately took them to Ben Yehuda Street to sit outside and have some morning coffee and watch the world walk by. This was really their first opportunity to sit and relax as they had been on the tour bus for several days and were suffering from serious information overload. (Anyone who has gone on a guided tour knows exactly what I mean!)

After relaxing for a little while, we walked to the Old City. I pointed out a number of areas there and ultimately took them to the Western Wall. We exchanged political viewpoints (which, in keeping with my promise, I will NOT share here) as well as historical information and had a marvelous conversation on these subjects.

Following our time in the Old City we went back to Ben Yehuda Street for a late lunch where I introduced them to Shwarma, a staple of Israeli life. We sat and relaxed and talked here for a while before heading back to their hotel.

They were back on the bus Friday, but indicated they would have some time again before they left and I am really hoping to see them again before they go.

Friday for me was spent practicing Hazzanut.

On Saturday I went to the reform temple for services. This was in part because I wanted to hear the cantor there. I had been told she was quite good. She was. I was given the honor an Aliyah.

There was also a group there from a temple in Connecticut. It was interesting to hear their perspectives on the service and on what they had seen over the last few days of their tour.

As usual, Sunday will be dedicated to practice. I have a class on Monday at which I am expected to perform as much of the Saturday morning service as I have been given thus far. I am finding this to be an exciting thing to do, and look forward to being able to perform it for my shul when I get back for my visit next month.

I had a wonderful cantorial lesson last night. I performed a large part of the Saturday morning service and most was “accepted”. I find this amazing, considering that I have had only 1 week on some of the pieces. I wonder just how much this is tied to the feelings I expressed the other day about help from Hashem.

I went for another brief walk today, just “around the neighborhood”. This was about a 1-hour stroll. I have attached a few pictures just to give you all a flavor or things in this area.

The first couple pictures are just typical streets in this neighborhood. These, to me, look like they could be in just about any major city.




The next 2 pictures are of local parks in the area. There are many neighborhood parks throughout Jerusalem.




I know these next ones will seem a bit ----- odd, but I found them interesting. They are of metal structures used to string power along the street. I found them strange because I am not used to seeing a 2-legged tower. The sign makes it abundantly clear how dangerous they consider it for anyone to play on the towers.




The next picture is a section of a street called Emek Refaim. This particular section is almost exclusively restaurants, ice cream shops, coffee shops and the like. Emik Refaim is a hub of activity most nights. When I go for coffee with friends, it is usually on this block. (Yes, if you blow up the picture by double clicking on it you will find a very familiar yellow on red sign on the left side. I don’t go there. It’s not kosher. But I’m just pointing it out.)



Along my path on the way back to the apartment is the Greek Consulate.




Finally, I wanted to highlight something that is apparent to people here. When you walk around, you see these round structures on the roof of almost every building. They are quite ubiquitous. Just to answer the question, I took a closer picture of some for you. These are solar water heaters. Most of the buildings in Israel make use of solar energy at a minimum to heat the water. Many also use it for electrical power. This is something that is relatively new in the US, but has been the case in Israel for years.

G-d Gives Me What I Need

This afternoon I was once again amazed and awed by the way that, in spite of myself, Hashem gives me what I need.

This realization came when I took a break from practicing and noticed the renewed vigor and enthusiasm with which I was pursuing my dream. I had started to become less focused and, while still enjoying the preparations, had allowed a certain amount of doubt to creep back in.

The “thing” that Hashem provided was the opportunity to lead services yesterday. This put the memory of the connection I feel with Hashem when doing so and the pure enjoyment of singing in His honor front-and-center in my head.

I have renewed energy and commitment, and owe this solely to Hashem.