What if everyday was a wine tasting and a dance party?

What a long day! Every Thursday is Dorot Day and every 6th Thursday is Community Day. Community Day is always devoted to planning the next 6 seminars, in addition to some kind of community-building-bonding-growing-as-a-group kind of thing.

This Thursday, it was Jake and my turn to execute the Community Day, which the Fellows have learned over the past 3 months is not nearly as easy as we thought it would be. We met at 9 at Pundak Besht, this cozy cafe/art space in downtown Jerusalem. Jake and I faciliated several hours of discussion and negotiation, voting and revoting, and assigning topics to dates and va'ads (committees.) By the time lunch rolled around, we had 8 topics:

-Education in Israel (Naamah and I are planning that one)
-Christianity and the Jewish World
-The Politics of Archaeology (planning this one with Rebecca)
-Israeli Politics and Political Systems
-Kabbalah and Mysticism
-Israeli Settlements
-What is Jewish Art?
-Who Is a Jew?: Politics and Power of the Rabbinate

Not bad? Definitely an exciting few months.

After lunch, we took a bus to the Ella Winery where we took a tour of their facilities and did a wine tasting. (Where I was reminded that there really is a difference between medicocre wine and the premium stuff.) Our wine tasting was followed by a "showcase," as we'd taken to calling it, of creative and artistic expressions of how we're experiencing Israel. Rebecca sang a song in Arabic that she learned at a conservatory in Morocco, Kate read a hilarious story inspired by our orientation at the Nevele Resort, Jake did a performance of a jazz-style poem ... a really memorable afternoon.

In the past, these Community Days have become stressful, anxiety evoking afternoons that leave all the Fellows feeling drained from hours of discussion and overanalysis of our decision-making processes. But Jake and I decided to fashion a slightly different event. I think we were successful in our attempts to create a relaxing, meaningful day ... although I'm sure the bottles of wine didn't hurt.

I threw myself stuff down on the bed when I returned to Jerusalem, and turned around almost immediately to go to my friend Jen's all-women dance party birthday celebration. It was a joint party for her and her classmate Shayna, which meant the dance floor was segregated in the 22+ crowd and Shayna's fresh out of high school, frum (very religious) friends. I couldn't help but observe the other half of the room with anthropoligical eyes ... while dancing crazily to mid-90s classics.

Shabbat is now upon me and I have to hunt down change for laundry, do my laundry, and buy challah and wine for dinner at Dena's. Shabbat shalom.