Another holiday...

This is almost a week over-due, but here is my recap of Yom Kippur in Israel. Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, a day where Jews all over the world go to synagogue and fast all day to repent for their sins. At least, that’s what I learned in America. Here in Israel, where people don’t have to go out of their way to prove that they’re Jewish, it’s a little different. First off, EVERYTHING is closed, starting about 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm the next day. Also the only motorized vehicles on the roads are emergency vehicles. At sundown, people pour outside to meet friends and bike and walk in the middle of the street. Kids are everywhere, racing each other down the long, now safe and obstruction free streets. I went with Allie and Ali to meet my friend Alona. Every year, all her old high school friends come home for this holiday. They all meet at the same place and time to see each other and catch up. Another camp friend, Nitzan, who was in town came by with her boyfriend also. It was the most interaction I’ve had with Israelis at one time. I didn’t even mind that spoke to each other in Hebrew some of the time. It was just one more of those “Wow, I really am in Israel.” moments. I got home at about 1:00 am and slept in as much as I could. I fasted from food, and electronics, not water (because of my migraines) and read a lot during the day. We didn’t go to synagogue because the ones we were interested in (as in: not orthodox) were across town and we didn’t want to do that much walking on a day without food. Judging from the people outside and from what I’ve heard, at the beach, not praying is pretty common. Allie had made a wonderfully huge chopped veggie salad with tuna and cheese that we ate at dinner before the fast and again for our break the fast. Pretty good experience overall.
On another note, we found a new, small bar called Cerveza. I’ve only been once, but I’ll go back.