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: