One of our group members, along with our staff, created a very meaningful and interactive service for everyone to take part in. One of the best topics we talked about was how Shabbat should be relaxing in however you feel that is.
When we visited the Western Wall, one of our group members put her mother, who is a Rabbi, on speakerphone to discuss the significance of the Western Wall to the Jews. Each member of our group then took time to experience the Western Wall in their own unique way. We said a prayer and left a note in the wall and then took step back to take in the overall significance of the moment.
Walking around the most ancient part of Jerusalem comes with so many feelings.
Looking at that famous and meaningful Jerusalem stone, noticing the variety of people walking the alley ways, and our special group experiencing it all together paints a picture that is so spiritualy meaningful.
As we got closer to the western wall, everyone's heart started beating faster, awaiting. For some of us that moment when we first saw the Western Wall was really unique, for some even life changing.
Overall, my experience at the Western Wall was much more powerful than I had anticipated and I wouldn't change a second of it.
We were lucky enough to have a special guest come talk to us after the tour was completed: our security guard's grandmother, Drora Schlacter. We sat in silence as we listened intently to her survival story of the Holocaust. She told us of how she had traveled to a few different cities and her encounters until she eventually ended up in the United States. The entire experience was extremely moving.
If I had to describe Friday in one word, I would say magical.
We began today by visiting arguably one of the most important sites in the State of Israel, Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Shoshana, an official museum tour guide, who led us on a truly humbling three hour tour of the museum. Following the completion of the tour, we had a group discussion overlooking Jerusalem about each of our personal experiences in this museum. Everyone had a different take away from the experience, but one thing was clear, we must never forget the atrocities that occurred.
Then we all linked arms and walked with our eyes closed to a lookout just above the wall. On the count of three, we all opened our eyes and saw the wall for the first time all together. It was a very powerful moment. We walked down to the wall carrying our little notes or prayers to put in the wall. The boys all went to one side and the girls the other. Many of the guys wore tefillin, most for the first time, as they stood and prayed at the holiest site in Judaism. We took some pictures and discussed this powerful emotional and religious experience as we headed back to the hotel for dinner.
The next stop was one of our favorite parts of the day: the Kotel. With so much historic and religious significance, the Western Wall is known as one of the holiest sites in the world. It was exhilarating to see people of all different religious backgrounds and beliefs worshipping and praying at the same place. Being able to put our hands on the wall and think about all of the people who came there before us was something that was truly indescribable.
If I had to describe Friday in one word, I would say magical.
We started off the day by visiting a school in Pardes Hama. Despite the language barrier, we all made great connections with the Israeli schoolchildren by participating in fun activities like hide and seek and making nutella covered pita.
