A Month of Living Free

A few weeks ago I finished Perek Klita (the absorption period) of Garin Tzabar, and now I am essentially free. The last three months were filled with learning Hebrew, group activities, and learning/acclimating into Israeli society. Now that this period is over, and there is nothing really going on until my enlistment date on January 4th, I am basically living free.

I recently came to the realization that in a few weeks, I will essentially be army property. This means that any autonomy I have in my life will essentially go away, asides from the few times I have off. This basically means that now is the time to live free and travel.

Due to the fact that COVID is prominent right now and traveling outside of Israel isn't the best idea, I have spent the last few weeks going up and down throughout Israel. When the absorption period ended, I spent a weekend in Tel Aviv, then a day in Rishon Letzion, then a few nights in Sderot, another weekend in Rishon, two days in Jerusalem, a day in Akko, a day in Haifa, a night in Jerusalem, and then another two days since in Tel Aviv. I am now planning to go to Ra'anana for a night, Tel Aviv for a weekend, Kfar Saba for a night, Be'er Sheva several times, a weekend in the North, and then probably a few more times in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

This time off has essentially given me the opportunity to travel and see parts of this country I have been before, and some areas I have never been to. However, what this time has really given me is the chance to live free before I will no longer have that luxury.

At the end of the day I am ready to enlist because I love having structure in my life. This past month has been hard because Israelis don't really love to plan ahead and everything is לזרום, which means in english to go with the flow. Most plans are made right before it happens, and most people don't know what they are doing in a weeks time, let alone tomorrow. Despite this, and my excitement to enlist in a few weeks, traveling Israel has nevertheless been fun, and living free has been a luxury I will soon not have.

Below are some pictures from this past month:

*Piano bar on Nahalat Binyamin on a Friday afternoon in Tel Aviv. Every Friday this street turns into a lively art fair with tables upon tables of things to buy. This guy is here every week playing piano and giving shots, a cool combination.

*Me enjoying a nice bowl of hummus from the hummus synagogue in the Carmel Shuk. It's not a synagogue, but rather a synagogue-themed hummus shop. Some might even say the best form of prayer.

*Beautiful sunset over Tel Aviv beach

*Best burger in this country, or even the world, is at "Zeh" in Sderot. This is called the Pablo Escobar which includes a medium rare burger with entrecote steak, sautéed onions, and an egg on top.

*Fun trip to Superland, an amusement park in Rishon Letziyon. One of two amusement parks in Israel, but nothing compared to Disney. Very underwhelming unfortunately, but still fun.

*Sufganiyot in Jerusalem on the last night of Chanukah. They got more than just your classic jelly donut, and there are way too many to choose from.

*Candle lighting at the Kotel on the last night on Chanukah. Very special experience.

*The church of the holy sepulchre. My first time here, and the Church is huge and grand.

*The streets of Akko's old city

*An artsy picture of me in Akko's old city at an artists area, as you can tell by the chair on the roof which is very abstract

*Hummus from Akko, one of the best I've had in Israel

*The Bahai gardens in Haifa

*Dinner with my sister Shira and our Shinshin Youval in Jerusalem. Kosher burgers with fake bacon and vegan cheese.

*Last night at the release party in Tel Aviv for several people in the older Garin on our Kibbutz. Many of them ending what we are just about to begin.