Quick note

Not too much substance to this post, just some questions. As I noted in my first post, my intention in starting this blog was to keep in touch with my friends and family around the world during my time in Israel. I don't think that my views on various topics are so profound that it is important for me to put out my opinions for public consumption, so a monologue entirely misses the objective. Obviously, you needn't force yourselves to comment if you don't have much to say about a topic, but I would appreciate some feedback. What would make it easier for you to participate in dialogue? Should I write shorter posts on narrower topics? Would another medium be preferable? Should I be asking specific questions instead of making statements and asking for responses generally? Would other topics be more interesting?

So as not to be entirely preachy and boring, I'll throw in some more details about life here.
I have just been reassigned to the third gemara level, starting tomorrow morning. At this rate, I will be at the highest level offered well before chanukah, although I expect that things will slow down.
The bein hazmanim breaks are of extremely variable length. When I came to visit last summer, a zman was just ending, which meant there would be no classes Sunday and only a half day on Monday. By contrast, after this Elul zman, we have off from Yom Kippur until Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan -- about three weeks. Hopefully, that will be a good time to track down the distant family that I would like to meet.
Shabbat is somewhat confusing, emotionally. As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem noticeably more spiritual than a good shabbat at home, but the crash afterward is much worse. I often get moody and withdrawn in the aftermath of shabbat or yom tov, but twice in a row now, around eleven o'clock motzei shabbat, I have had a sense of isolation, particularly from God, that is almost physically painful and too strong to allow concentration on study. I suppose I should use this for teshuva, but I don't really know how. I suppose two does not quite a pattern make, and I didn't notice it so much the first week here.
This week, shabbat was hosted by the rabbi of the highest gemara shiur, a Brisker who had a fun question and answer session where he seemed to enjoy doing his best to shock any liberal sensibilities in the group. Asserting, for instance, that dina d'malkhutah dina does not apply in Israel, and that we should minimize friendship with girls because they interfere with spiritual growth, and implying that all non-gemara classes should be canceled to make time for more gemara. Even he was stymied, however, when one enterprising bochur asked, "What do we talk to our wives about? Sure, I can see fifteen minutes or so, but then what? We can hardly learn gemara with them!"
We just had our first joint event with Midreshet Rachel; unsurprisingly, it was an engagement party. And there was a mechitza across the entire room all night.

Shalom,
-Ethan