More things to do during chol hamoed

Wow! There is certainly alot happening over chol hamoed:
In Jerusalem

You and your friends are invited to a special Chol Ha'Moed Pesach Rav Kook jazz poetry concert at Rav Kook's house.

Beit HaRav Kook is a very holy place in Yerushlayim. It was here between 1923 to 1935 that Rabbi Avraham Itzchak HaCohen Kook, TZ"L, acted as one the primary catalysts and leaders of the spiritual/national/universal process that is the unfolding of Israel. He is the prophet of our rebirth and his light offers great understanding and guidance as we work to liberate ourselves from all sorts of Egypts and Pharaohs.

HA'OROT: THE LIGHTS OF RAV KOOK is a musical journey integrating Rav Kook's illuminated poetry with some of Israel finest young jazz musicians and the spoken word artistry of Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein. Experience this during Pesach at Rav Kook's actual house is a great way of entering the liberating light of Rav Kook.

HA'OROT is: Rabbi Itzchak-words
Ido Bukelman -electric and acoustic guitars
David Alfandari-saxophones and flute
Ehud Ettun-bass
Chaim Peskoff-drums

Wednesday, March 31, Chol HaMoed Pesach, 8 PM
Beit HaRav Kook, Rechov Rav Kook 9 (beside Bet Ticho)

Tickets-50 NIS, students-30 NIS
For more info and to reserve tickets- Bet HaRav- 02-6251517 / Itzchak - 054 819 2391

How about outside of Jerusalem? Well you can test drive one of the electric cars by Shai Agassi's company, Better Place. Go to their website and check out the visitors center:
http://www.betterplc.co.il/category/visitor_Center

I'll be there!!!!

Debra and Daniella

Pesach Break-Planning for Chol Hamoed

The countdown continues to seder night. We hope that you have been able to take advantage of some of our ideas and also have explored on your own.
Chol Hamoed is also bustling in Jerusalem and in the rest of the country. Advice-always plan to leave early. The entire country is pretty much on vacation so sites get packed and the traffic can be crazy. But Israelis also dont tend to get an early start!

You'll probably hear lots of laughing over Chol Hamoed-check out the Off the Wall Comedy Club:
http://www.israelcomedy.com/eindex.html


Debra and Daniella
here4theyear@gmail.com

Pre-Pesach: Things to do during Chodesh Nissan

Being in Israel for the Shalosh Regalim (the 3 festivals, Sukkot, Pesach and Shavuot) is very exciting-you can feel the holiday spirit and preparation in the air. It can also be anxiety provoking, especially this time of year, when most seminaries and yeshivot close their doors on Rosh Chodesh Nissan until a week after Pesach. If you are one of the lucky students who will be remaining in Israel for Pesach-to experience the "aliya l'regel" during chol hamoed, you are also a bit concerned about what you will be doing for the 2 weeks prior to pesach-when the dorm empties out and there is no real plan in place for you.
Here is a list of some of the volunteer programs that will be happening during chodesh nissan:
1. L'vnot u'Lhibanot
has a fabulous volunteer opportunity for you. They are looking for volunteers to help homebound elderly prepare for Pesach. Contact Matan at 052-429-5379 for details.

2.As part of the special consulting team for Israel's National Emergency Management Authority, Isracare personnel teach Israeli Home Front Command units and rescue teams around the world how to deal with multi-casualty events. They have vast field experience in mass casualty events, both in Israel and abroad.They were also sent by the Israeli foreign ministry to Mumbai, helped out in the aftermath of Katrina disaster, and recently returned to Israel after coordinating search and rescue in Haiti. In short, they are recognized as the best in the world at what they do.

This training is different from a basic first-aid course. It will be geared toward developing essential skills necessary for search and rescue and coping with mass casualty incidents; it will combine:

· Classroom and Hands-on EMS (Emergency Medical Services) instruction
· Deep study of the halachot involved with EMS work
· Field drills, Dynamic simulations, Hiking, and Rappelling.

The participants will learn and challenge themselves through the application of critical-thinking skills to multiple field scenarios. The seminar is designed to teach contingency planning and to develop life-saving and life preservation skills.

If you have not made plans for Bein HaZmanim yet, this program is a special way to contribute to Klal Yisrael. Please see Isracare's website at http://www.isracare.com/home.php and ZAKA's website at http://www.zaka.org.il/index_e.php for more information about the organizations. To register please send an e-mail to info@Isracare.org

3. The organization Ezer Mizion has many volunteer opportunities available during this month-whether it is helping out in a soup kitchen or working with homebound elderly to get ready for Pesach. Please contact Ruchama at 02-537-2437.

4. Isracare in conjunction with Zaka is offering a week long training course. Isracare/Zaka Bein Hazmanim Training Program is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday March 23st through Friday March 26th. The price for the course is $695.00 US.
Please note that they can only run the course if we have enough students (around 45), so please keep in touch with them directly at info@isracare.com
contact us at here4theyear@gmail.com for more details about this program.

We recommend that you let your yeshiva/seminary know that you will be in Israel for Pesach. Some of the yeshivot are organizing special tiyulim and programs for the students who are staying around and also making sure that they have a place to go for meals during Pesach.

Encourage your child to talk with friends and family and yeshivot early on-don't wait for the last minute and then be stuck with no plan!!! There is a lot to do and see and a great time to be in Israel so enjoy!!!!