Beer She'va

I am writing on the bus on the way to Beer Sheva, the city where I will be living permanently for the next 10 months. Since I arrived in Israel, I have met the people who will be teaching on my program. They are from all over the United States two are from Canada. We toured the north and center of Israel by bus and stayed in Jerusalem and Tiberius, two beautiful cities. In Jerusalem, we went to a "Shuk" which means outdoor market in Hebrew and toured the old city at night which was absolutely incredible. In Tiberius, we hiked to a view of the Sea of Galilee and afterwards got to go swim in the water.

Fruit juice stand at the Shuk

Israel Teaching Fellows in Beer Sheva

I learned about Rambam, the Jewish philosopher/physician/writer who wrote the talmd from an orthodox rabbi from Berkeley, CA. He gave us a riddle to figure out. The riddle went as such:

A rabbi has 4 people stand in a row and they aren't allowed to turn around. They can see the heads of two people in front of them, so the first guy doesn't see anyone. The second guy sees the first. The third sees the second and the first, and the fourth sees the third and the second. Then the rabbi places 4 hats, 2 white and 2 black, on their heads without them knowing which order they are placed and tells them not to look at the color of their own hat. The order he places the hats on their heads is: White, Black, White, Black. They have no idea it is in this order. The rabbi then says to the group, "There are two white hats and two black hats that I've placed on your heads, only one of you knows the color of the hat on your head. You can look at the color of the hats in front of you only. Once you figure it out, yell out the color." Which of the four guesses the color of his hat?

The answer is the third guy who yells out the color white. Can  you figure out why?

So fast forward, I have moved into my apartment! I went to the market and bought groceries and now am settling into the new space. I live in a suite with two other fellows from the program and we have made our space quite lovely. I love looking out the window and seeing lights for miles. I still can't believe I will be living in the desert. Tomorrow will be the first full day here for the next 10 months.

Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheva

I am excited and nervous but most of all ready to meet the kids who I will teaching. But that will have to wait until October 1st. That's all for now folks. Laila Tov to everyone reading, good night!