Birthright Day 2

I have written about keeping the Shabbat before on my blog, but when in Israel, the day of rest takes on a whole new meaning.

In the United States, Friday night through Saturday night is considered the weekend, which for many is still a work day.  In Israel, the entire country basically shuts down.  All the shops close.  All business ceases as everyone spends this 25 hours with their family.  The roads become far quieter.  The whole country rests.

We were educated about the day of rest in the morning, but as I am a frequent attender of Chabbad, I found that much of what was said had already been imparted on to me.  I found it quite interesting that in addition to the guides themselves, many of my new friends on this birthright trip came to me with questions.  Proof that Chabbad really is succeeding in my own life in regards to education.

Just because it happened to be Shabbat did not imply I did nothing but rest though.  This is still a birthright trip.  We took this opportunity to take a shabbat walk around Tibereus.

In addition to seeing the beautiful and quite hilly city, we spent part of the day at the Sea (lake) of Galilee.  The waters are exceptionally clean and clear.  Also there are fish in the water that will clean your feet and legs, assuming you allow them to nibble at your lower body.

After the aquatic experience and another shabbat walk to return to our hotel, we rested for a couple hours before we gathered for Havdalah.  Closing Shabbat in Israel with more than 40 other Jews is a magical experience that I feel empowers the soul.

More journeys are to come.  This trip is only getting started.

Birthright Day 1

Today I spent my first true day in Israel.  Already seeing how amazing the country is, I was still not prepared for the splendor of the north.

First I went Banyas and got very close to the Lebenon border.  The waterfall was a spectacular sight as was the gorge created by the river that eventually becomes part of the Jordan River.

Next we went up to one of the northernmost points in Israel and looked down at the former battlefield of the Yom Kippur War and right past that,I paused for a moment as I saw the war torn country of Syria for the first time with my own eyes.  Even as I looked northward at the troubled country, conflict was errupting on one of the nearby border towns.  I was safe from any danger, but still quite close to it.

Last I got a chance to whitewater raft down the Jordan River.  It was quite a fun experience and also allowed some time to bond with others who have come on this same birthright trip as me.

Tonight Shabbat comes and for the first time I will spend it in the holy land.  Shabbat Shalom.  I will continue to send updates through the rest of the trip.

Israel Birthright Trip: Day 0

Today I embark on the journey of a lifetime.  Today I will be driving south to Miami to catch a plane to the holy land Israel.  My Birthright Trip begins today!

I will be doing my best to chronicle my trip on my blog, and in a perfect world I would write a post for each and every day of the trip.  Unfortunately, I will not be bringing my laptop with me and so will be quite limited in mediums to make use of.

Still, I will not let this minor issue interfere with me informing you all how things went.  Either during or after my journey, I will be sure to write posts to inform you of all the many adventures I embarked on while in Israel.

I pray for a safe journey today and for the rest of the week.  This is an adventure I don't think I will ever forget.

A Divine Moment

As a person of faith, I have come to think that few things in the universe (if any at all) are random chance.  So of course given the incredible situation I found myself today, I stand with this idea

As many of you may or may not know, I will be going to Israel in two days from now as of the writing of the blog post.  All my thoughts are focused on this event, which may or may not be so great since I have to work tomorrow.  Though that point has little relevancy here.

What does matter is the unique situation I ended up in.  Today I casually went to get my hair cut and was in for a fated encounter of the most unusual kind.  The individual who happened to be cutting my hair asked me about my week and since Israel was on my mind I talked about that.

In a turn of a events that could only be fate, I discovered that she was Palestinian.  At first, I was on edge.  I was afraid I had offended by some of my statements.  After figuring out that I had not done so, I proceeded to converse.  I was admittedly quite pleased by the enlightening conversation I had with her.

We talked about our beliefs.  The rights the wrongs, and gladly I discovered that like myself, she understood that the whole conflict was just a proxy for even bigger issues in the world at large.  Quite excited for this rare chance at a probably much needed conversation, I left the locale enlightened.

As I go to the Holy Land this week, I feel that I must remember that there is a difference between a terrorist and a person in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Most people regardless of their beliefs just want to live their lives in peace.  While the bad eggs will try and ruin this for everyone else, I feel that Hashem ensured I would have this chance encounter to remind me of Humanity itself before I embarked on this journey.

Soon I will see the land of Israel for myself, and when I do, I will be sure to document my experience for you all.

Trying League Yet Again

MOBAS are an unusual game.  People spends hours day after day getting better at the games but they also must contend with teammates who may or may not also be doing the same thing.  This of course as the games have become famous for at this point, leads to toxic gaming communities.

As a result of this negativity, I refuse to play MOBAS solo.  I have enough stress in my life as it is.  I do not need to add the extra strain of being yelled at and called obscenities by a person I am likely to never meet.  even worse, from behind a computer, people are far more willing to be nasty in general.

Of course, as most of my friends are part of this first group where they play many hours a day to constantly improve, it is quit difficult for me to play with them.  My skill level is significantly lower than theirs to the point where the chance of them losing as a direct result of me being there are much greater.

For those of you who are not familiar with League of Legends, without having to elaborate into how the game works, just know that it is far more significant to have one really bad player on the team than to have one really good player.  A good player can only do so much and usually cannot win a game on their own.  One bad player can almost guarantee the other team will win.  All they have to do is beat up on this one player until they are stronger than their enemy and then win the game.

Even worse, there are actually players that prey on this individual.  There are forums within the community where people discuss ways to raise their own rank.  One of the most common tactics given is that when a game begins, look for the person who has lost the most games recently and pick on that one player.  Causing this player to freak out can at times secure a win.

As I am the weakest on any team I play on with friends, I thus become this person who is singled out.  Any of you who have played League or Dota with me have probably watched as players will go out of their way to kill me.  I have a suspicion that this plays a large role in that.

Since I am constantly picked on in games and the result is that my friends lose, I become reluctant to play the game with them,  If my only alternative is to go in to the incredibly hostile environment of solo queue, it will be quite tough for me to admittedly enjoy this game.

Best Wishes to My Brother

I know I am late as your birthday was yesterday, but I wanted to take some time to wish my Brother Scott a Happy Birthday.

I know we don't talk as much as we used to. But that's inevitable when we live more than 12 hours from each other and both of us have quite busy lives.  Still, I remember that for quite a few years, our relationship was very strained. After seeing you a couple months back, I really want to have a more consistent relationship with you.

I know I have not been the best big brother all the time.  setting a poor example as we became teens.  Throwing temper tantrums over video games, making my problems everyone's problems.  This is hardly how I should have acted.  I understand why for some time, you wanted to have nothing to do with me.

Still as your birthday was yesterday, I was thinking about you.  I would like to have a more brother connection with you as we grow older.  We may be far away, but from what I saw when I was with you in Carbondale, we still are more alike than either of us would like to admit.

I hope you had a fantastic birthday yesterday.  Wishing you only the best.

The importance of taking little breaks from Social Media

I know the title of this seems silly considering that I probably lead you to this post by the very social media I am describing, but hear me out.  While social media is fantastic, and allows people to communicate in ways like never before, it also had led to higher levels of depression in some as well as anxiety.  even worse, there is an ever decreasing amount of real interactions as these are replaced by social media.

There is a large world out there waiting to be explored.  There are friends of yours who would much rather see you in person than get a text from you.  There are further benefits from not depending on social media as well.

Think about this.  Imagine you are having a terrible day.  You spend this terrible day sitting on Facebook or Twitter watching a news feed.  Instead of cheering you up, this is likely to make you feel much worse about yourself as a majority of people post only the best aspects of their life on social media.  Obviously this means that while you are angry and upset, it appears as far as your mind is concerned at that moment that everyone else in the world is having the greatest time ever.  I certainly feel bitter when observe this, and I know I am not alone.

Basically, if you walk away from anything after reading this rant, make sure to go outside, see the world.  Talk to a friend in person.  Human beings were not meant to be trapped in their rooms all day.  This will leads to increased happiness in all likelihood.  Sometimes all it takes is to not bang your head on the wall anymore.  Do something different.