Happy Holidays!

So I'm sitting here in my cold kitchen in my cold apartment on Christmas morning. Cold, but dry. That wasn't my plan. Cold? Well, there's nothing to do about cold, I'll be spending the majority of my winter cold and I'm beginning to face that inevitable reality. Winter is the rainy season in Israel and it's been raining in Jerusalem for the past few days straight (and by straight I mean, other than a few moments of drizzle every few hours, there has been constant rain).

It rained as I walked to synagogue and then my Shabbat dinner on Friday night and then home again. It rained as I walked to synagogue and then my Shabbat lunch on Saturday morning. It rained as I left lunch and went to another friend's apartment to wish him goodbye before he leaves Israel. It rained as I walked home after Shabbat. Saturday night was Christmas Eve and it rained as I went out for Thai food with my friends last night. (There's an American Jewish tradition about going out for Chinese or other Asian food on Christmas Eve. Don't ask, it's just our tradition. And who was I to say no to tradition?) It rained as I waited outside for a friend of mine arriving from Be'er Sheva. It rained as we went into St. Andrew's Scots Memorial Church a bit before midnight. It rained as we left the church after the service. And this morning, we woke up to more rain. The weather forecast predicts rain for the next day and a half.

So, last night I went to a "Christmas Watchnight Service" at the local Scottish Church. A few friends have asked me why I wanted to go to a Christmas service, especially while I'm in Israel. The quick answer is, first, I miss the Christmas carols. I miss them a lot. They're playing on my laptop right now, but I grabbed at the opportunity to hear more people sing them together on Christmas Eve. The second reason is that I enjoy experiencing prayer gatherings of other faiths. I actively try to explore and understand other religious systems because the similarities are incredible and they can often teach me things and help me gain insight to my own practice. So I went to church last night both as a learning experience and to be surrounded by the music that *wasn't* being piped into every store and downtown for the past few weeks.

This morning, I woke up to rain beating against my window pane. Today, right now in fact, I was planning on participating in a Christmas Peace Walk. The plan was to gather in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity this morning, join together with other people of other faiths - laypeople and religious leaders - and together, walk the four short miles to the Old City in Jerusalem. The name of the walk is the Interfaith Peace Prayer Pilgrimage To Reconcile the Three Faiths of Jerusalem, but I'm sitting inside my apartment, cold but dry, instead of walking in the cold and wet from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. Why? Because when I called each of my friends this morning, one by one, who wanted to join me on the walk, they each bailed on me, one by one. One was too sick, one decided he didn't want to miss class (yes, most people have class on Christmas here), and the others just didn't feel up to braving the rain. And much as I was very excited to go on the interfaith peace walk, I didn't feel comfortable traveling to Bethlehem on my own. So I'm sitting in my apartment, cold, and dry.

Maybe it's for the best, I need to start packing since I'm moving to a new apartment this week. And Hanukkah starts tonight and I need to make a few more arrangements for that, too. And I'll be here next year. Anyone up for walking from Bethlehem to Jerusalem next Christmas?

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a Happy New Year, lots of rain/snow-proof clothing, thermal underwear, and plenty of warmth this wintry season.

(Except to you South Floridians. To you, I hope you are all especially grateful for your climate this December.)

Love,
sarah....