The Calorie Episode

Part 1 - Burning Calories
Let me describe for you my two days of ultimate activity in the Carmel (emphasis on "mel" not "car"). We drove an hour to the Carmel, a beautiful region that's green year round (as opposed to most of Israel that turns yellow for a good amount of the year), and stopped at a museum called Ptil Tcheilet. There we learned about the origin of a sacred blue dye, which is likely from a certain species of snail, and is used on some TzitTzit to dye one of the threads. It's a much more common practice in Israel than it is in America to dye one of the threads blue. We then proceeded to snorkle in the Mediterranean looking for that specific species, or in my case, just exploring the deep blue. As you know, swimming takes a lot out of a person, but we didn't stop for the day before hiking for an hour. We hiked Reches Etzba, the Finger Ridge, named for a myth about a mean giant who stuck his finger in the ridge and made a finger-shaped cave when he was stung by an avengeful bee. It's a cute story. We stayed for the night at a vacated Yeshiva high school (everyone's on vacation for holiday now), but before I went to sleep I decided to run a mile or so to get in my cardio for the day. I'm not going to lie, I was proud of my willpower that day. The next day we hiked part of Har HaCarmel (the Carmel Mountain) where, according to the scriptures, the prophet Elijah had a showdown with idol worshippers and emerged the victor (his water-soaked sacrifice was miraculously taken in flame while the idol worshippers' sacrifice would not light no matter how hard they tried). That hike involved bounding over boulders and mini dried waterfalls for four and a half hours and ended in a half hour of climbing straight upward to a beautiful view of Haifa and Lebanon. It was quite the rewarding experience, and reminded me a lot of the five day hike I did last time I was in Israel, from the Kinneret to the Mediterranean.

The next twenty four hours or so were spent mostly relaxing, except for meeting up with friends outside of the Jewish Quarter for a couple of hours. Friday, I made my way to Rechovot, a town 45 minutes from Jerusalem, to spend the first part of the holiday at my teacher's house (who taught me in high school and then moved back to Israel this year, lucky for me) with my high school classmate. Which leads us to...

Part 2 - Consuming Calories
Being at the Maazari's (my teacher's family) for chag was a relief in that I knew the family fairly well, and it was a little bit like a taste of home. Metaphorically and literally. You think that American Jewish mothers are bad until you're in Israel and they actually won't let you stop eating. I've learned a new technique: never clear all of the food off of your plate until they're clearing the table - that way it always looks like you're still working on something. Also, take really small portions at first, that way when they make you take more, you're still safe. And then, when you go to a Sukkot party afterward, move away as quickly as possible from the pastry-filled Sukkah, otherwise you'll find yourself stuck in a frenzy of ruggelach, wafers, and sponge cake (of the varieties chocolate, cinnamon, and candy). I feel full just remembering. And hence the semi-fast I've taken upon myself today. Next time, I'll know to eat very little for a couple of days before the weekend. But that's not to say I didn't enjoy myself. And when everyone around you keeps eating, you don't even feel like a pig! It's fun, you should try it sometime.

So those are my calories adventures for the week, and a preview of my vacation is (hopefully): Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, concert in Beit Shemesh, bike riding and picnic at the Kinneret, and a venture into Tel Aviv (if I can find people to go with me). So it should be fun-filled and exciting, and I can't wait to tell you all about it.

Chag Sameach!