Holidays and Family

I hope everybody had a fun and easy Passover! Going without bread for 7-8 days is a tough challenge, but we can all manage it! The week before and the week of Passover were vacation at Tel Aviv University. There were no classes, and during the holiday itself the entire campus was closed without entry. It was a busy vacation for me, without a lot of resting. Since then a lot has happened, and I'll try to give an overview to the best of my abilities

We had two weeks of vacation for the Passover break (the last two weeks of April), and several assignments and papers to write during that time. The first week I devoted all my time to getting as much done as possible, since the library was closed the second week. For the festival dinner (Seder) on the first night of Passover I went to my family in Bet Shemesh. It was a very long and festive celebration, going late into the night. I really enjoyed myself and was happy to have celebrated with them.

My 2-meter deep square at Aphek

The week of Passover (but not the religious days) I participated in an excavation at Tel Aphek. This is the same site I worked at last semester on some select Fridays, and they planned a two-week session to make a big push in the excavations. I went from Sunday-Thursday. We were still removing the backfill from the previous excavations in the 70s. At the end of the week we believe we finally hit the bottom in some of the squares, and are close in a few other places. For most of the time it was very hot, but I really enjoyed being out in the field.

Once the Passover vacation was over it was time to get back to classes. The first week was difficult, trying to finish up all the work and get back into the regular routine. A welcome distraction arrived at the end of the week when my parents came to Israel to visit! Immediately after Passover they left for a few days in Rome, then came to visit me. They spent a week in Israel, doing tourist activities that they hadn't done during their other trips. I was with them for a lot of the time, as well. I took them on my famous tour of Akko, as well as went exploring in the Eretz Israel Museum.

My father exploring the Timna exhibit at the Eretz Israel Museum

May 11th and 12th were Remembrance and Independence Day (Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzma'ut) and Israel entered into holiday mode once again. These are not religious holidays but rather municipal ones, so public transportation was available. However most businesses closed early, and special ceremonies were held across the country. My parents and I spent the holiday with the family in Bet Shemesh. Israeli traditions for Independence Day include fireworks, barbecues, and street parties, which we experienced. It was a fun time had by all. My parents left late Saturday night, after experiencing the hottest days so far this year. It reached 40° C (more than 100° F) both Friday and Saturday!

The last week has been incredibly busy for me. I have spent most of my days sitting in the library doing research for my papers. I also gave presentations for some of my classes as well. While it has been very stressful trying to find time available to go to the library, juggling classes and holidays, I am still glad to be in this field, working with material and topics that I enjoy.

Tomorrow our program leaves at the early hour of 7am for an excursion to the famous desert fortress of Masada, guided by one of the masters of the site, Professor Guy Stiebel. Stay tuned for my blog post about this incredible opportunity!

Preparing Tel Aviv for the holidays!