Juxtapositions and Jewish Geography

These pictures were taken from the Haas Promenade, or Tayelet, overlooking a gorgeous view of Jerusalem. Since it provides such a wonderful panoramic overview, it's typically the first stop made by all tour buses that enter the city.

The photo of me was taken by a kind American couple who saw me snapping away at the scenery and offered to take a picture that actually had me in it. Like me, they just moved to Israel last week. I asked them what made them decide to make Aliyah, despite the fact that they sounded about as Deep South as you can get. Silly me. It turns out that they are Christian missionaries who came to Israel to do their own brand of holy work in the Church. As a Cantorial student immersed in all things Jewish, it’s easy for me to forget that Israel is the also the homeland for Christianity and Islam as well. This is especially ironic given that the majority of students in my Ulpan class are actually Arab Israelis trying to learn Hebrew! 

I currently have three hours to kill near the Talpiyot neighborhood of Jerusalem. I just had a fabulous first voice lesson in Israel, and am waiting to have dinner with my friend Mimi (she just made Aliyah in July), followed by a rehearsal with the Jerusalem Gilbert and Sullivan Society. My classmate Shulie (who also happens to be my second cousin by marriage - talk about Jewish geography!) suggested that I use the time to take a walk over to the Tayelet, and I'm so glad I did. It feels strange typing away on my shiny new macbook as I overlook the Old City of Jerusalem, with all its rich history and stories. At least there’s no wireless signal, which means that I’m typing in Word with the intention of posting this entry when I get home later. While part of me wishes that I could check my e-mail, I don’t think I could handle such a complete juxtaposition between the old and the new. Plus there’s the fact that the Jewish community is so strong that we don’t even necessarily need the Internet to be connected to our traditions and our people.

Case in point: I auditioned for the Jerusalem Gilbert and Sullivan Society on Sunday, and was offered the role of Kate in Yeoman of the Guard and the opportunity to learn and cover the lead role of Elsie Maynard. The show was actually cast back in June, way before I got here, so I’m very happy to be a part of the group and to have an outlet outside of the bubble that is the Conservative Yeshiva.

Admittedly, I came to the group by googling “Gilbert and Sullivan” and “Jerusalem,” thus killing my theory that the Jewish people don’t necessarily need the Internet to make connections. But, as it turns out, my connection with the group goes far deeper than my persistent search for performance outlets in Jerusalem. I was schmoozing with the director after my audition, and we discovered – quite by accident – that he spent much of the seventies working as a Youth Director at Temple Israel of Great Neck, where I grew up! He proceeded to pull out a scrapbook of programs from all of the little plays he directed there, which included many, many names that I recognized. It’s a shiddach that’s truly meant to be!

In addition to Jewish Geography, there’s apparently also quite a bit of G&S Geography. As Gayden wisely told us during one of our first Princess Ida rehearsals last year, almost every major city in the world has group has a G&S group, thus creating a fabulous network for music and theater nerds like myself. Indeed, when I mentioned to the music director of the Jerusalem group that I’m active with the Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island back home, he knew full well that they are also doing Yeoman this year. I'm actually psyched that I don’t have to take a year setback on my quest to perform a role in every single one of the G&S operettas! The Jerusalem directors are also very familiar with Gayden’s book, A Most Ingenious Paradox, and are impressed that I've been able to work with him so closely.

While the majority of my fellow cantorial students think I’m a little meshuggah to commit to the show on top of my academic work, it feels great to be connected to so many different communities, both musically and Jewishly. Perhaps that’s why I’ve developed a reputation for finding people I know almost everywhere I go! :)