"I think you've learned one thing this semester: the Jews are weird."

--Rabbi Moshe Silberschein April 28, 2009

As I sit in the library, looking out the window, watching the people down below, and hear the horns honking in the streets, it looks like a normal Shabbat in Jerusalem. But inside, my mind is racing--faster than those cars ever really drive. This entire semester I have been constantly doing--whether it's schoolwork, field studies, helping at Beit Jala School with soccer, or exploring the city. I'm leaving in less than two weeks, and I have barely had a moment to reflect. Not to say I haven’t sat and enjoyed the afternoon breeze, or spent time with my Lord, but by now, I would have expected some deep thought to come to mind, some revelation or some all-encompassing theme for my life these past 3 months. I guess in reality, all I really want to know is, how will I look back on my time here? What will I remember most?

What I have found, in spite of this anxious feeling, is that it's always easier looking in from the outside, or rather, looking back--farther back than I can look now, or will be able to in 2 weeks time. Still, tons of people back home will inevitably ask me those ridiculously vague and over-arching statements, which in no way could I answer right then, even if I wanted to: “So…what did you learn?” Right now I am thinking that my answer will probably be “I’m looking forward to finding out soon.” See, I think what I have learned here in Israel will probably show up (like they say about the Social work classes at PBU) when it has to be put into practice. It will show up when I start going back to my Bible classes at PBU and seeing the Bible come alive like never before. It will show up when I hear about the Arab-Israeli conflict on the news and understand and empathize with those living in the West bank that I now know. It’ll show up when I remember that others think differently than me, and I begin to sympathize with people more because of that. One way or another, it’ll show up.

So I don’t know if I want to publicly say (ahem!) that I agree with my professor, R. Moshe about the Jews being weird, but I know that I have learned a lot more than just one thing this semester.