You Know... -- סתם

Hag Sameach (happy holidays) or more specifically happy Pesach (Passover) to everyone! May your ephemeral fast from leavened products feel swift and not burdensome! I spent this year's seder at the Rahamim's in Holon. I came in contact with them through their daughter who is presently a Shlicha at the Jewish Agency in Fairfax, VA and is doing very good work in changing the way people look at Israel! It was a lovely 2 days I spent with them and coming back to Kibbutz I feel renewed. Since the last time I blogged I have been working as usual and working out with the army fitness group as usual. This past Tuesday I went to get my Teudat Ma'avar (or temporary travel document) so that I may go home for a brief respite from Israeli Balagan and some good R&R. The army is giving me trouble. They say that I am not able to go to Sayerot for some "reason" so I am fighting with them now to let me in. The answer is never really "no" in Israel; rather, it is often just, "well...we're going to be stubborn and make your life difficult so you have to try harder." It reminds me of the phrase, "There are no laws, just guidelines." Similar concepts/boundaries. I really have slacked on a couple of things: exercise, Hebrew, and education. Exercise in the sense that despite the fact that I am training with this group twice a week and sometimes running additionally, I feel I could still be in better shape. Then again, it's not like I'm sitting in a cubicle all day typing email or playing solitaire. I'm working hard out in the fields "toiling the land". Hebrew, despite the fact that I speak it during 80-90% of my day, could always use improvement especially since I am going into the army where the Hebrew will be at such a level that fluent Hebrew is not enough; I must also be familiar with slang and the modern, 'hip' Hebrew spoken by 18-year-olds. Education must obviously be delayed until after the army but I still always have the feeling that I should be constantly reading and learning something new. There's so much to learn from so many sources! Unfortunately, time is the factor that gets in the way of accomplishing these 3 things. I'd love to hear from you all (if anyone even reads this blog anymore!). Here's my email: benjacobs1027@comcast.net

Stay in touch and here are 2 links of me playing piano that were just recorded recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSRKGDTz59c&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peeC--W5K7k&feature=channel