New experiences...

So....
Last week, before shavuos, I went to a wedding in Bnei Brak. There's an israeli/ chassidic family that I go to a lot here in Jerusalem. They're basically my surrogate family in the country, despite the fact that I have relatives living here. In any event, their oldest daughter got married, and the family made the wedding in Bnei Brak. I'd never been to Bnei Brak, and I looked forward to seeing a new place. Plus, I was going to a wedding of people that I'd become very close with, so naturally I was excited.
First of all, Bnei Brak is humid. And I'm not talking about Florida tropical humid. I'm talking stifling, suffocating, damp thickness that makes you need to peel a layer of skin humid. The heaviness of the place hits you as you step off the bus, and continues to weigh on you as you stay outside. Utterly hellish. And it was two blocks from the station to the hall, too.
Still, the wedding absolutely rocked.
A few months ago, I'd suggested to the family that they get Simply Tsfat ( www.simplytsfat.com ) to perform at the weding. A lot of people haven't heard of this trio of Breslov Chassidim from Tzfat, but I've been following them since their first album came out. Let me tell you, these guys are amazing. Aside from being excellent musicians, they also happen to be some of the nicest guys I've met. Anyway, the mother didn't know of them, so I went out and bought their wedding album for them to sample. The next day, I got a call from her, and she told me that her daughter, the kallah, was hooked, and was really interested in having them play at her wedding. Still, they remained wishy washy as the big day approached, as they really didn't know about the band. Nevertheles, the band came, and the really, really did an amazing job.
I scored major points.
Then came shavuos. Shavuos was an amazing experience, unlike any I had in america. I've had really inspiring moments on past shavuos', but still, something about being in the holy land makes it uber special. Again, a great experience, and a first for myself.
Other than that, not much is doing. It's really hot here in Jerusalem, in a scorching, inescapable way. I've taken to drinking a lot of water, a opposed to pepsi, and my apartment, which is in the roof of my building, is absolutely unbearable. We're talking fresh brick oven yeshiva students, all day, every day....
Originally posted Thursday, 8 June 2006