Etgar 36: Summer 2008

By Adam Nesenoff

I woke up this morning and got dressed in my Shabbat clothes to wear to church! I ate breakfast on New York bagels. We caught the subway into Harlem in order to go to a famous and historic church and experience the spirituality and passion of their services. Once we were seated in the sanctuary, I looked around and found the church to be very exquisite and large. We sat in the balcony. The preacher, Rev. Calvin Butts, was good. He spoke loudly and profoundly. He mixed comedy and politics in his preaching as he encouraged his congregation to not sleep through this election but to make sure they register to vote. The gospel choir was loud and amazing. After we left, Billy told us that it was an experience to be there and that the operatic choir was the Harlem form of gospel music instead of the more jazz/rhythm and blues of New Orleans.

We went back to the hotel and packed our bags on the bus and said good bye to Rachel Ehrlich who left because she lives in New York. We then rode down to Greenwich Village. Billy spoke about the history of the beatniks and folk music scene that thrived in the Village. We all went our own ways for lunch and free time in the Village. Aaron Wasser and I ate at an organic restaurant and then walked around in order to experience the Village and enjoyed ourselves. And that was the end of our fun day. Just kidding! We made one stop at the Magnolia Bakery to have some cupcakes and then, FINALLY….we went to the Bruce Springsteen concert. We drove to Giants Stadium and got there nice and early in order to get dinner prior to the hordes of fans. I got two kosher hot dogs and they were amazing. Even better than the hot dogs was eating them in our seats. Our seats overlooked the entire outdoor stadium. It was still light outside and the weather was perfect.

As soon as Bruce Springsteen came on stage the crowd went crazy. His presence was awesome. Aside from the amazing music, he was a great performer. He sat on the stage to sing and had the crowd push him up. The air was electric and the night was perfect. Much of our group stood and danced for the entire three and a half hours that he played. This was my first rock concert and it was an amazing start to my rock concert career. Aside from the excitement of watching Bruce, we enjoyed watching the staff dance, especially Billy who is a big fan of Springsteen. The concert was such an inspirational and even spiritual experience for everyone. We left the concert and stayed at a nice hotel with amazingly comfortable beds.

Earlier in the day, in the Village, I was standing outside on the streets in the rain. A guy was standing next to me smoking a cigarette and he began to talk to me though I wasn’t looking at or talking to him. He was saying to me how we didn’t know how good we’ve got it. We wake up in the morning healthy and happy and we’ve got it all. When he said it, I thought he was a strange guy in New York City so I walked away. Later that day in the middle of the concert, I was looking around and I agreed with him that I “got it good.” I’m on a great journey and I am healthy.

Even though cameras were not allowed inside Giants Stadium, we were still able to get some pictures with our cell phones:

By Hannah Marcus

Today was a very relaxing day. After a late wake up we made our way to Central Park. The Ingbers and my parents brought us some brunch. We then relaxed at the park and listened to David Ippolito, known as That Guitar Man in Central Park. It was so relaxing and everyone enjoyed it. He plays many classic rock songs. We also walked to Strawberry Fields, a small park dedicated by Yoko Ono after John Lennon was shot and killed.

We then jumped on the subway and made our way to the Lower East Side. Billy gave us a history lesson on the neighborhood and how our ancestors moved to this area and many sold things from carts to make a living. We also learned about tenements and how they lived in the Lower East Side. We also explored Chinatown and Little Italy and ended on Canal Street. We had time to go shopping and bargain with the shop owners.

After a New York pizza dinner, we went to see the new Broadway musical, “In The Heights”. It touched on the subject of gentrification, something we have spoken about many times, and how it affects the residents. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

When we got back to the hotel we discussed the answer to Billy’s question from a few days ago, when we saw “Avenue Q”, which was what does it mean to leave your apartment. We came to the conclusion that it essentially means to leave your safety zone and try new things and that there is much life out there but you have to go out and live it. It does not come to you.

By Arielle Ladin

Today was another great day in the city that never sleeps. I personally love New York City and have been looking forward to this portion of the trip all summer. Our first outing of the day was to Ellis Island. We took the ferryboat from Battery Park and set sail in the footsteps of our ancestors.

Ellis Island was the first stop of many immigrants when they came to America. We learned how the voyage to America took many weeks and that many of the immigrants had their last names changed and had to pass medical exams and wait in long lines for citizenship. We were able to walk all over the Ellis Island Museum and also see the walls of the names of many people who immigrated to America. It was an amazing experience and I even found my great grandfather’s name on the wall.

Our next stop of the day was Wall Street. This is one of the wealthiest intersections in the world. We saw the New York Stock Exchange and spoke about how what happens there ties into the American Dream that our ancestors came to America in search of.

Next, we made our way to Ground Zero. We first stopped at St. Paul’s Chapel. This church is located in front of where the Twin Towers stood. This chapel is now a memorial to the 9/11 tragedy. We had the opportunity to walk around as well as talk outside on the steps about our reactions to the horrific events of 9/11. We were not able to actually see the grounds of where the towers once stood as it is blocked off by construction fences.

We rode the subway to midtown and walked around Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall as well as the NBC Studio store. It was a lot of fun.

Afterwards we came back to the hotel for a two hour rest and to get ready for Shabbat. We walked to Bnai Jeshurun Synagogue. It is a gorgeous temple and I really enjoyed the service. The synagogue was actually featured in the movie, “Keeping The Faith” which we watched on our way into New York.

When services were over we went to dinner at a delicious kosher deli. It was amazing. A perfect day in New York City.