kehilla kedosha

shalom, shalom from the perfect rooftop cafe in tel aviv at sunset!

today is christmas and i wish all of you celebrating a wonderful holiday! in my family, we have a variety of non-traditional traditions surrounding christmas including ladies' spa day on christmas eve, a hike in muir woods and a trip to the zoo the following morning, chinese food on clement street and taking in a movie to round out christmas day. being jewish, i've never experienced the rush of excitement waiting to open presents under the tree, or advent calendars, or the beauty of midnight mass.  this year, despite the fact that i live in the french capital of christmas (check it out, for real), i decided to leave my adoptive country and head to one of my homes to find different aspects of christmas: family, community and love. 

my trip to israel was rather spontaneous - i only booked my flights about three weeks ago - and came out of many conversations with friends who were also going to be in the country at the same time. so, all the signs pointed towards ben gurion airport and, after a little validation, plans fell into place. i guess if i had to point to one theme of my week here so far it would be "it just felt right." this past week, i have felt something i haven't felt in a long, long time -- i was within a kehilla kedosha, a holy community. i believe that i've discussed moments of awe on this blog before; however, the ways in which this week has unfolded are beyond my comprehension and continue to tint my time in this holy space with my chosen and biological family with sparks of the divine. 

there's something about israel that is difficult to articulate if you haven't experienced it firsthand. perhaps it's the idea that there are no boundaries - strangers come up to you and just begin conversations as if you're old friends. it may be the random people on vespas yelling shabbat shalom on friday afternoon, the feeling of meeting people and instantly finding a connection, or running into friends from all over the world in a country that is smaller than new jersey. it is perhaps the delightful mixture of kitsch and artisanal jewelry found at the shuk hacarmel. or the call to prayer from the local mosque along with the sound of the shofar celebrating a bar mitzvah at the kotel in jerusalem. maybe it's simply the fact that watching the sunset on the beaches of tel aviv is so beautiful that one can't help but feel like the world is theirs. it's a different world - one that is at once so complex and unpredictable and also so pure and touching. 

in the past week, i've been hopping all over this country and been fortunate enough to be able to partake in the christmas spirit: israeli style. from my oldest friend whom i have known for twenty years, to new friends i've met this week and everyone in between, sharing joy, celebrating lifecycles, embracing change with open arms, and building memories together is the fiber of this life that we create and spend together, which has made me infinitely happy. 

i wish you all the very best this holiday season and cannot wait to see what 2014 brings for us all. i look forward to hearing your updates and seeing you in this new (gregorian) year and know that i am sending you all my love from wherever i am in this crazy world. 

b'ahava v'shalom - with love and peace, 

doria 

winter solstice sunset, tel aviv

western wall; dome of the rock

tel aviv street art

sisters together in israel for the first time since 1995

coup du lapin (whiplash)

Bonsoir à tous,

The last month has been a whirlwind and rather surreal in different ways at different points. Part of the problem in neglecting this blog is that it takes so long for me to catch up to the here and now. I will do my best to fill you in on my happenings for the past month.

When I last wrote you all, I was headed off to Champagne to meet my father who was going to be there on business. Our 22 hours in the region included a private tour and ten-wine tasting at the Hautvillers Dom Pérignon chateau with none other than the chief winemaker himself, incredible food, a stay in the private villa of the Moët et Chandon family, and the consumption of more champagne in one day than I have ever had in my entire life, cumulatively, up to that point. What can I say? I'm not one to pass up the opportunity. Here are some photos of the day: 

Following our brief stint in Champagne, I headed back with the father to London where he was concluding some work and I was invited to hop along for the ride. It had been six years since I was in London and I completely forgot how much I adore the city. Perhaps it was the fog, the hipsters, the great coffee, or the English (language), but it reminded me so much of San Francisco and was incredibly comforting. Added bonus? Seeing friends from school who are making their lives across the pond. In my conversations with my French friends here in Strasbourg, I have been made much more aware of how unique it is to have friends who literally live all over the world. It is quite a humbling and enjoyable privilege to have and was a complete joy to see my friends. 

The timing of my stay in London ran into time that I had already scheduled at an archive in Paris, so I took the Eurostar for the first time and, in a little over two hours, had arrived back in France. While I saw some good friends in Paris, the majority of my time was spent in the 11th arrondissement (which was awesome, as it's a neighborhood I hadn't really previously explored) in the archives of an organization called CASIP-COJASOR. Of course, it being a French organization, that is an acronym for "Comité d'action sociale israélite de Paris - Comité juif d’action sociale et de reconstruction." Oy, it's a mouthful, I know. My time in the archives was incredibly fascinating and enriching - I found myself excited and extremely motivated to continue with my project, which is always good! Although the CASIP part of the organization was founded under Napoleon in 1809, I was looking mostly at transcripts of annual meetings and at speeches given between 1945-1970 as they pertained most closely to the influx of North African Jewish immigrants arriving in Paris and receiving social services. Trop cool. Geeking out finished. 

After two weeks of travel, I was very excited to get back to Strasbourg and resume normal life. For four days. Five days after I got back, I was on a train again to Paris. This time, though, I was meeting MEREDITH at the airport!!! That's right, folks. Meredith made it across the Atlantic ocean all by herself and came to visit her poor, old sister in Paris (emphasis on the "poor" - thanks, government stipends!). As the last time Meredith visited Paris was when she was five, we had a lot of ground to cover. Lucky for me (actually. No sarcasm!), Meredith has been taking courses in Art History and was a lovely tour guide in the Louvre. Her only requests other than seeing museums and going to an experimental dance piece and seeing Hamlet at the Comédie Française (high maintenance? nope. chai maintenance? yes.) was to have a daily apéritif, a newfound luxury given that she's still underage in the U.S. and her fake ID only works half the time. Just kidding about that last part! So, after four days of museuming, eating, drinking, walking, and more eating, we headed back to Strasbourg to celebrate Thanksgiving and Hannukah.

Thanksgiving abroad is never quite the same, but it's always exciting to share a traditional experience in a new environment with new people. This year, our guests included Meredith, myself, our friend Nora from San Francisco, and three of my friends from Strasbourg. Although we didn't have turkey, we did have latkes and I made a killer new stuffing recipe that will hopefully be a keeper -- roasted chestnut, leek and brioche stuffing? Yeah. The next day, we were joined by three more friends - two from Stanford and one from Cornell - who spent the weekend here in Alsace from Paris. So, the house was quite full of people and of love. If you can't spend the holidays at home, at least we can choose to make them as meaningful and full as possible, right?

I, and my house, have barely recovered from all the guests; however, everything is clean and tidy and ready for Natalie!! my freshman roommate who arrives tomorrow and will be here for five days. I'm so excited to show her my new city and to spend some quality time together. One of my favorite things about having visitors is that they ask me to look at familiar places in a new light and add a fresh dose of excitement to what may seem, to me, to be quotidian. I'll be sure to update you about her stay.

For now, I will leave you with this image that indicates a bit of the Christmas spirit that has taken over my little city in the past week. Wishing you all a wonderful start to the holiday season!