Folk Singers and Fun

Hi Everyone,

Time to add another NYC experience on my list. Went with a date to 92/Tribeca Y and saw a very awesome singer, Vashti Bunyan. She is from Scotland, and has created a following of people ever since her entrance into the music scene in the 1960's.

She has a beautiful voice -very clear and soulful. Concert was great! Too bad the date didnt work out.... NEXT PLEASE!

School is hard! And today it poured. So I didnt do much today except for go to the gym and practice. About 3 weeks to go until my practica. Too late to explain what that is right now... but I promise to include lots of information about it in my blog that week.

On another note, my mentor and cantor, Rabbi Alison Wissot was in town this week! It was so wonderful to get to see her and catch up.

I saw a great movie the other night. I should take the time to mention that the movie theater I go to is about 2 blocks from my house- it literally takes 5 minutes to get there! Sigh. The movie is called Damned United, and followed British Football Manager and his partner Peter Taylor as they bring the lowest number 2 division football team to the top of the first division. It also documents his obsession with the Manager of Leeds football team, and his destruction and reconstruction of his career.

OK... that is it for now! See you all soon.

Love,

Lauren :)

Adventure #1

Hello Everyone.

It has been 1 month and a half since I have last written in my blog. OK. Well at least it is not three. I am getting better people!

I decided the best way to do that was, to have at least one NY adventure everyweek and then blog about it. So that way, you get to see NYC though my eyes. Any pictures I take however, will be uploaded to my new mobile me gallery: gallery.me.com/laurenfurman note: no www comes before that! also note... I have no time during the week to do the pictures, so it will have to wait until next weekend.

Todays adventure was really awesome! I saw my cousin Mike and his husband Bill and their two year old adorable son Matthew. They are in NYC on vacation, and today we went and saw an amazing Bubble Show! Matthew was so mesmerized he fell asleep :) But it was very neat- the woman who did it has a guinness book of records for fitting 26 people in a bubble!

Then we had lunch and walked around, went up to the Upper West Side and visited my favorite spot in NYC- Riverside Park. Right on the water. Just like California. Ahhhhh.

Then it was to Union Square and back uptown to go up top of the Rockefeller Center! That was amazing- I got lots of great pics. Someday, you too will see them.

So that was my wonderful adventure today. It was so much fun to hang out with Mike Bill and Matthew and see the city. And get to play Tour Guide!

Off to sleep... stay tuned for another adventure next week!

Fairway...no, its not golf.

Hi Everyone...

I promise I will do a better job of keeping up my blog this year! Well.... at least I will do it more often than last year... I cant promise weekly or daily- but we will see!!!

I am one day in to my second week in NYC. Here is the scoop on where I am living:

I am at( ready folks...copy down! send me care packages!)

317 West 71st Street Apt. #4

New York, NY 10023

for those of you who are not from NYC- that is the Upper West Side, or West Side- either one.

So this week I have unpacked, made three zillion trips to Bed Bath and Beyond, one v. fruitful trip to Guitar Center- yay for portable pianos! And now... today I have experienced Fairway Market. Yup thats right, I managed to go a whole week here without groceries... I know... but so many more things were pressing.... that and I am living with 2 roomates- so we needed to clear a little bit of space in the refrigerator. Good thing I am a small person. And it doesnt take a lot to feed me.

So Fairway is this kind of Gourmet Market- but guess what it reminds me of? The Shuk ladies and gentlemen! No, there are no shouts in Arabic quaisi Hebrew but there are now shouts in some sort of language I do not understand... I think Puerto Rican? I am becoming very worldy and cultured. There are wonderful things at this market- a whole gourmet olive oil and balsamic vinegar section, homemade breads and wait for it.... a whole floor of organic products!!!!! After 2.5 hours I managed to find everything I needed.... hmmm this is beginning to sound familiar... and guess what? I have my own little makolet on the corner... except it is called a Souprette and I think it is more Italian than Jewish or Israeli, and they sell canned soup which was impossible to find in Israel.

Anyway- I have my own NYC version of a Shuk cart, and just like last year- it even has one bum wheel! So I have named it Faith in honor of the cart that served my roomie and I so well last year.

So now, I have food in the house, full closets, a piano, bed linens, an ihome( thanks E and S for the g.c!) and am waiting for a lovely desk and all of the wonderful things that I shipped from Israel and Los Angeles.

I miss everyone so much- it was so wonderful to be home this summer. L.A is where my heart is- though I am back on the East Coast, and you are all in my heart everyday.

Love,

Lauren

Placement Purim Pesach Packing! (packing???)

Well Hello Everyone!

How are you all? I know it has been a very long time since I have blogged- but I hope you have been coming to read all about my time here in Israel. 

Right now it is a lovely afternoon in Jerusalem. It has been raining for what seems like forever( really just the last couple of weeks) and now the sun is shining and the sky is a beautiful deep blue. Whenever I see a blue such as this, I think of this coming week's Torah Portion, Ki Tisa. This portion happens to be one of my favorite. In this parsha, Moses is back on Har Sinai again, after smashing the first set of tablets( think: Aaron and the Golden Calf.) What is beautiful about this portion, is here we find the 13 attributes of God which we chant on Yom Kippur, and also during this parsha, Moses expresses his desire to see God. 

Moses, great leader that he is, is still human, and expresses his need to see God in some sort of physical form. What does God do? He comes down and passes over Moses in a cloud. They cannot be face to face, for God's 'awe'someness is so great, that it would overcome Moses. In fact, as a result of God's passing over Moses, Moses comes down the mountain and his face is radiant, glowing so much it must be covered with a veil. 

Why am I thinking about this torah portion? Why is it one of my favorite? Becuase walking around Jerusalem today, looking into the depth of the sky, I noticed that really, God is passing over us all of the time. In the bright sunshine, in the blue sky- even in the grey, dull, and dreary weather, God is moving all around us- in all of that nature. I think about the attributes that we chant, rachum vchanun, erech apayim vrav chessed... etc. Mercy, Compassion, Great Loving Kindness- these are all a part of what God is, and also what we can hope to embody as we inhabit this earth. If we seek to embody these 13 attributes mentioned in this parsha, we can have a greater understanding, and care of the beauty of the world- it's nature, it's creatures, and it's people and thus, a greater ability to reach the sacred, to reach God. 

Ok, that is my little drash for now! Yes, I am having a wonderfully enriching, challenging, time here. I have been pushed farther than I thought possible, and have seen myself grow to reach those new levels. I have made some wonderful friends, and am so excited to share my experiences here with all of you. 

These next few months are going to be quite busy- Purim is next week, Placement is now, and well, then it is Pesach and Packing and I cant believe it but by the end of May I will be home, and so so excited to see all of you- my wonderful and dear friends and family. Your love and support keeps me going! 

Singing- ok I typed "singing" instead of signing off for now, 

Love, 

Lauren :) 

All is Well on the Western Front

Hello All,

In the midst of all the media regarding the operation in Gaza, I just want to take the time to let you all know that I am safe. On saturday, IDF forces launched a massive air strike on Gaza- on specific Hamas sites. Yes the death toll by the end of that day totalled over 300 people, but - and I say this happily- they were mostly Hamas officials. 

The reason for this operation is the end of the cease fire between Gaza and Israel. Upon it's end Hamas began launching numerous rockets first into Sderot and now into Ashdod and Ashkelon. 

The severity and number of these rockets raining on these cities prompted Israel's response. 

Though these cities are timewise, not far from us- we are relatively safe. Jerusalem is much closer to the West Bank- which incidently- though it condemned Israel's attack, also pleaded with Hamas to end their launching of rockets. Gaza and the cities which are involved are to the East and the South. 

We are all a little tense here- it is not easy to be thinking about things like this especially in the middle of finals, but we have recieved briefings from our wonderful Year in Israel coordinator Nancy, and our prof. Paul Liptz- both of whom have lived here 40 years. They have expressly told us that life here is going on as normal. 

Our hearts are going out to those innocent civillians who were killed on both sides. And we are hoping as a class to find away to show our support for IDF and the innocent people affected by these conflicts. 

So for now, all is well here in Jerusalem. I am just getting ready to go to school- for the second to last day before our reading days and finals. I am missing everyone so much and wishing you all a very happy healthy new year!

Love, 

Lauren 

Pics of the last few months

              These are some Pics from Berlin, and a couple from Qumran and Masada- enjoy!

The Roomie and I

                          Victory! Obama wins! A celebration in Ben Gurion Airport at 6am

          The Holocaust Memorial with the Reichstag(German Parliement) in the background

                                                           The Brandenburg Tor 

                                                          Obama in Germany!!!!!!!

                                     Good times with my friend Jason at the HofBrauhaus

                                        Where I stayed in Berlin-in a lovely wood. 

This is Masada, where the Romans destroyed a small Jewish community. 

                                                           Another Pic of Qumran

                               This is Qumran, where the Essenes left the Dead Sea Scrolls

Chanukah in J'lem

Hello Chaverim, ( that means friends) 

I hope this entry finds everyone well in this holiday season. At the moment I am relaxing with coffee on a friday morning. ( Something that doesnt happen often here!) 

This week has been terrific. Last friday night, I lead Kabbalat Shabbat services for my class, and those from HUC LA/NY school of communal service. What made the evening most special, was that I lead with my wonderful roomie/and friend, Jaclyn, who will be such a blessing as a rabbi

(who sings with such a beautiful soul and voice!) 

Though most of this week has been studying and (for me) preparing for my fourth( or fifth?) time singing on the bimah( this sat- tommorrow!) I did get a little hanukah celebration in with a lovely gathering that Jaclyn and I hosted. Pics will follow I promise! It was wonderful this week to be able to light the candles with the many friends that I have made here this year. 

These next two weeks will be quite busy with paper writing and final exam studying. Oh yes.... and NEW YEAR'S! Following the 8 finals, and two papers that I have will be two weeks of blissful break in which I will relax and enjoy myself here in Israel and get ready for 

Placement ( jan/feb.) Purim ( March) Pesach( April) and... Packing! ( May) It is so funny how quickly time is flying. Though I knew there is much more time( and work) that I have here. 

I must return to my wonderful world of studying and singing! But I miss everyone of you so much and I am wishing each of you a wonderful and beautiful, healthy New Year. 

All my love, 

Lauren :)