The craziness of the past two weeks–rushing to find a new place, jumping into school, mountain-climbing on a regular basis- caught up with me around noon today, and I hit a major wall. I could barely keep my eyes open, which was a little awkward since I was sitting in the front row of a lecture. I quietly excused myself from class and headed home for a good, long nap. Good thing, too, since tonight was date night.

Shuie and I left Yonah with Uncle Shloimie and Uncle Nechemia and headed out to Ben Yehudah Street for dinner. Ben Yehudah is a tourist hotspot with lots of cute, overpriced stores and restaurants, and is a great place for people-watching. You can see everyone from a Black-Hat Chassid selling amulets to a twentysomething girl shaking her patoot to a Shakira song. While we were eating at Cafe Rimon (Hebrew for Pomegranate–fitting, no?), a modestly-dressed woman set up a karaoke stand in the middle of the square and gave a full concert of American top-40 hits (Beyonce like you’ve never heard her before…).

During our date, we ran into our friends Leah and Gershon, two VERY newlyweds (only a week!) who just arrived from the States and are setting up their new home in Bat Ayin, the town Shuie and I were planning on living in before we ended up in Jerusalem. Leah and Gershon seemed very happy and also very tired, which I completely understand. I remember that crazy whirlwind feeling of the week after Shuie and I got married, a time out of life when we were running to Sheva Brachos every night, trying to figure out our next step, and then later, getting our new place set up. Eventually the dust did settle (Or did it?), and life carried us forward. I hope Leah and Gershon’s transition is an easy one, and that they have much mazal (luck), simcha (joy) and hatzlacha (success) in their new life together.

So Jerusalem is officially chilly. I didn’t think it would happen so quickly after we arrived, but I was definitely in need of a sweater tonight. The days are still hot, however, and hopefully will stay that way at least through Sukkot. It is not fun sleeping outside when you’re freezing. Which reminds me, the high holidays, or the Yamim Nora’im are approaching quickly. It’s amazing how quickly this year has come and gone, and how much has happened in twelve short months: having a baby, moving to Cape Cod, losing my mother, coming to Israel. I can’t help but think of the prayer we say during the High Holidays, Unetaneh Tokef:

“On Rosh Hashana it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed…How many will leave this world, and how many will be born into it? Who Will Live and Who will Die…?”. We all ask these questions, and only the passage of time answers them. In one year, in one second, really, a whole life can change. The Yamim Nora’im are a loaded time, a time of introspection and an opportunity for change. I hope that celebrating them here in Israel will be a meaningful experience that helps me connect to Gd and to the person I am striving to become.