Being here for the holidays is truly amazing. Very different than being in the states. On erev Yom Kippur, everything became very quiet, no cars to be seen anywhere. People go out and purposefully walk in the streets. I went to a Masorti shul that was an easy walk from my apartment. They had a cantor and choir which was beautiful but there was not much participation from congregants. This shul and the Great Synagogue around the corner were done at the same time so there were hundreds of people walking in the streets, some with tallits. I wish I had taken a picture. It was quite a feeling knowing that just about everybody out there was Jewish. On Thursday vendors were selling etrogs and lulavs, restaurants were putting up succahs. Lots of activity. I am going to my cousin on Sunday to help decorate their succah. I will stay until Tuesday and then spend a few days with my friend from Tel Aviv. She is going to take me to Sderot by the Gaza Strip on one day and then to go look at some caves near the Lebanese border. I have also booked a one day tour to the West Bank and a three day tour to Jordan. So hopefully there should be interesting blogs in the future. I am done with my Hebrew lessons and am looking forward to sleeping in a little and not walking down a steep hill first thing in the morning. I have learned a lot of Hebrew but am nowhere near being fluent. The key is if I can follow up and not regress. I am exploring options. Most important I will need to have the discipline to study on a regular basis. Not one of my strong suits. For those participating, I hope you had a meaningful Yom Kippur. Next blog when I get back from Raanana and Tel Aviv.