Movin' on...

Hey everybody. Sorry I haven't posted in so long but things have been even more hectic than usual.

For various reasons, I will be returning to the States at the end of this week. I know that it may seem as if this is very short notice and even spur of the moment, but to be honest, it's not. Believe me, I've been agonizing about this for weeks, debating the pros and cons, and deciding what is the most necessary thing to do. In the end, it appears that this is the smartest choice.

When I returned to the Holy Land, I knew that my decision would be at least partially dependant on how the most recent zman went. At that time, the only thing that was debatable about working out was the halacha chabura, which, thankfully did end up working out. The problem was with everything else. As soon as that got smoothed out, every other aspect of my day fell apart, in rapid succesion. First was the night seder thing, with my chavrusa and I having to stop learning together for certain reasons. After that, I learned that the Mir was going to be learning a mesechta (tractate) that I had already learned several times, and certainly wasn't interested in learning it again. So, I started looking into other options both within and without the Mir, thinking that at least I still had my morning chavrusa, and that he would come along with me. Until I found out that he didn't want to continue learning with me after the holidays, because we'd already learnt for over a year, and he wanted to try something else out. On top of all that, besides not being able to find any programs that appealed to me, I also realized that everyone in my apartment was leaving to other places, leaving me without anybody else to move in, and without a clue as to where I would stay were I to leave my place as well.

Aside for that, to be completely honest, I am starting to get more and more interested in dating, with every passing day. Someone tried matching me to an american Israeli girl here, but my mom told me that if I want to start dating, I must come home. She said to think about it and make a decision.

So I made one. I think God is giving me a hint, and I'd be a fool not to take it.

The only snag is that I'm not quite sure where I'll be learning in the States. I'm currently working on getting into Ner Israel in Baltimore, but I heard it's difficult to get in there, so I'm praying that all will work out. And, almost everybody that I speak with immediately tries second guessing me. "Are you sure you want to do this?" "I don't think you've spent enough time in Israel. a year and a half isn't enough time..." etc. I'm happy that they're all concerned but I do wish they'd see that I didn't just make a rash decision....oh, well.

Originally posted Tuesday, 17 October 2006