Here’s a recipe for disaster if I’ve ever seen one: take one pretty athletic teenager, and add two solid months of physical inactivity. Divide the hours of sleep he used to get in half, and subtract all the normal foods and comforts he had enjoyed before. Now, multiply that by the fact that he’s been under near constant concentrated mental pressure during the aforementioned time period, and then put him in the oven (a.k.a. the late summer Israeli sun) set at approximately two million degrees for about six hours. Wait patiently, and voila! You’ve got yourself one impossibly sore and woefully out of shape yeshiva guy! Well done!
Our yeshiva’s pre-zman schoolwide tiyul was fantastic. We got a chance to get to know each other far better, to participate in some intensely competitive sports, and to go through some awesome experiences together. However, the tiyul awakened me to some rather unfortunate truths, the sum of which was that I am currently horribly unfit. Sitting in a beis medrash for who knows how many hours a day can do that to you. Alas, this is a situation which I am going to attempt to rectify, when I’m pretty sure the result is going to be the same as whenever I’ve tried to work out in the past: initial optimism quickly followed by unprecedented levels of rationalization and procrastination.
My yeshiva offers chesed opportunities on a fairly steady basis (they put that in the brochures just for all you moms!), and I was fool enough to think I could handle doing one. During my break, on one of the past couple of days, I headed out on a packed bus to go and prepare food packages for local needy families. And, I’m proud to inform you, that after a hearty 15 minutes of working as diligently as I could in the boiling midday sun heaving around enormous sacks of potatoes, I spent the remainder of the afternoon locked away in a bathroom stall, dehydrated and certainly feeling the effects of it. Fun, right?
“Choref zman,†I told myself, “we’re working out, man!†While I’m sure others have actually stuck resolutely to their vows, “we†have yet to begin. Hopefully some of the mental toughness and determination I’ve gained through the study of Torah late into the night will aid me in my efforts. But don’t hold your breath—I’ll let you know when it happens…
While on the topic of trashing one’s body—it’s shocking how many people are addicted to drinking here. Coffee, that is (What? What’d I say…?). But this is one trap I won’t let myself fall into. Look, I’m tired. Dead tired. Nearly constantly. I have an extremely rigorous schedule, and I get less sleep than a first-year law student. Until my body adapts and my Circadian rhythm gets in sync, I’m forced to catch up on sleep on weekends and bear the burden of my oh-so-heavy eyelids. However, there is absolutely no way I’ll allow myself to get hooked on caffeine. I do that, and I know I’ll never truly readjust to the routine. It’s a constant struggle, especially when I occasionally succumb and will have a single coffee one morning. But while I’m much more aware on those rare mornings, I’m conscious of the fact that if I get addicted, the days that I don’t “get my fix†will be much worse than the current worst ones. Plus, it certainly ain’t nutritious, and I’d like to preserve whatever small bit of health I have left.
I feel like I haven’t spoken enough about the older guys here in yeshiva, when they’re such a crucial part of the highly productive and impressive atmosphere. I pretty much try to latch on to the shana bets as much as I can. That’s because, for the most part, they are a stellar group of brilliant and strongly motivated individuals who have accomplished so much in the past 12 months it’s scary. I doubt I’ll ever feel surrounded by so many potential candidates for the upcoming generation’s Jewish leadership positions again. We first years all speak of them in almost reverent tones (not an exaggeration—take my word for it), and we derive inspiration from their intensity and thirst for learning. My afternoon chevrusa, who I learn Gemara bekiyus with, is a perfect example. He’s just the type of guy I’d love to be after a year spent growing here. I can’t imagine that I’d be having nearly as good of a time as I am here if it weren’t for the friendly and distinguished class of shana bet talmidim.
I went over on my allotted phone minutes for the first time. Stupid bein hazmanim. My parents were understanding about it but I’m going to have to monitor how much I yap on the phone from now on…
I also got a haircut, which was a pretty big deal for me. I’m a bit particular about my hair (don’t ask), and seeing one of my pals casually flipping a shaver back and forth between his hands did little to settle my nerves. In the end it wasn’t so bad, and it’s not like that much of my scalp is showing. But still, I’m forced to say I miss Ruben’s…
The weather’s starting to cool down, and the recitation of v’sein tal u’matar has already been successful. It rained once, although I don’t know that I would have classified the 17 water droplets that fell as “rain†by New York standards. Either way, it doesn’t feel like the middle of the summer anymore, so that’s a definite plus.
Anyhow, I hope this was enough random information to share with you folks back in America, and I’ve kind of got to go to night seder now. See, I would stay and chat some more, and then quickly sprint on over to the beis but quite frankly, I’m a little worried the exertion might kill me.
“Talmid X†recently graduated from a high school in the Five Towns/Far Rockaway community and is enrolled in a well-known yeshiva in Israel for the 2010–2011 academic year. Comments and questions for him are welcome at TalmidX@gmail.com.
Add comment
This Week's Issue
Map of Eruv
Reach thousands of readers.
Advertise Weekly in The 5 Towns Jewish Times. Find out how our sales team can help you reach your advertising goals.
Call: (516) 569-0502
Login
Website Counter
Today
9528
Yesterday
16321
We have: 78 guests, 3 members, 38 bots online Today: May 21, 2012
5TJT RSS Feed