My Shabbat experience was very different than at home. At home we never do anything special and often I'm apart from my family. But this Friday night I not only sat down with yam and her parents but all her grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins. There was a giant home cooked meal made by everyone in her family. They walked into the door with smiles and hugs excited to see the rest of the family. Her whole family welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home. After dinner we went to sleep so we could wake up early the next morning (which we did) and drove to Caesaria. We went to a museum and spent the day together, having a picnic and walking along the shore- it was awesome!
By Zoe Krut
After a lovely and relaxing Shabbat experience at the beach, we entered Tisha Baav . Tisha Baav is one of the saddest holidays in the Jewish calendar where we commemorate and mourn the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. Given how close we were to Jerusalem, we had the experience of going to the Kotel and spending all night exploring our relationship with the holiday and the destruction of the temple. Each fellow was given the opportunity to sit at the wall and observe the reactions and emotions of everyone around them. There were people crying and laying on the floor, and others who showed little connection to the holiday. The same array of different emotions were seen in the fellows themselves.
After the experience at the Kotel, we broke up into two groups where we were able to discuss how we felt and what we knew about the holiday and our connection, or lack thereof, to Tisha Baav. Everyone experienced Tisha Baav in their own way. Some felt more of a connection to the wall then ever before, while others related to the sense of community more then anything; these feelings however, all led to a deep and meaningful experience that allowed us to explore our Jewish identity and how we connect to the Jewish people of the past and their struggles.
Some other highlights from the week!
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| A panel with Israeli Soldiers |
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| Olivia and Talia ready for 'Army training' |
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| Grace and Zoe playing drums on Coexistence Day |
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| fun in Jafa on History Day |
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