Shabbat in Reut

This Shabbat I went with Orr to her family's house in Reut. It's right next to Modi'in in between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It felt good to get out of the village and take my mind off my work. Shoko came too. Maya, Orr's little sister, told her she wasn't allowed to come home without him. Shoko didn't really like the trip all the way up there so much but when he got there he had a great time. I was a little worried about him since he had never been in a real house before, but he behaved himself.

Orr's family reminded me of other Sephardi families I've met before. I had barely been inside for 2 minutes before I was forced to sit down and eat something. And not a snack. A full on meal or rice, meatballs, artichokes and some other things I couldn't identify. Of course it was all delicious and made me a little homesick for one of my own Mom-cooked meals. Orr's mom quickly went into hostess mode and asked me all sorts of questions about my Shabbat observance to make sure she didn't do anything that would make me uncomfortable. After lots assurances that whatever she did on Shabbat wouldn't offend me, that I was the guest in their house, she stopped asking, but was still very careful about what she did.

I went to shul with Orr and Maya before dinner. The shul is half Ashkenazi and half Sephardi with two main sanctuaries. I went to the Sephardi side with them. It was beautiful with all sort of gold and silver artwork on the walls. When I got there, the Rabbi was giving a sermon so I waited before sitting down. But then someone told me that it was alright to go inside. The only seat open was in the front row and when I got there, I asked the man on the end if I could sit down. But he was asleep. So I nudged by him and he woke up quickly. It was pretty funny. Apparently shul is the same everywhere.

I played Orr's father in Shesh-Besh (backgammon) and beat him. He wasn't happy and said he we'd play again after dinner after my American luck wore off. We then went back to Orr's for dinner. It was delicious. But I didn't end up getting to replay her dad. Next time.

The next day we both slept through shul and Maya played with Shoko after I went back to sleep after taking him out. Orr then took me and Shoko on a tour of the town and Modi'in. Shoko met some nice dogs and Orr showed me where former Army Chief of Staff and current Likud Minister Boogie Ayalon lives. It was pretty cool. When we got back, Orr took a nap and I hung out and read the newspaper. I don't understand every word, but I'm almost there and I understood most of the articles. Go Ulpan!

Today was less fun. Studying and tutoring. These kids are driving me crazy. I teach them the same grammar rules over and over. I try to think of ways to make it more interesting, but it just doesn't seem to be getting through. It was nice that at the end of class, some of the girls told me that they really liked my class and hoped I would teach them again next semester. I just wish they would let me teach them. Now it's back to work!