We had a super exciting day with a mix of adventure and history.
The hike had some amazing views, but was also very rocky. There was no way we could miss the beautiful wildflowers, impressive cliffs, and adorable turtle that we saw on our hike!
If I had to describe Friday in one word, I would say magical.
At night, we said some prayers and sang as a group to end Shabbat, and then we went to visit Ben Yehuda street, which Shirly described as the "State Street of Jerusalem." This street is lined with many shops and restaurants, and is very lively at night. I had the best falafel of my life at Moshiko, where a lot of the group went to grab dinner. Some people had to wait over a half hour in line for food, but it was definitely worth it. :)
Osnat, our tour guide, took us on our first optional event, which was the Shabbat walk, and talked about the meaning of the Shabbat walk and our views on certain religious topics. It was amazing to see a majority of our mishpacha (family) there even though it was not required to go - #thepassionisreal.
Seriously, these past ten days have flown by. It was an incredible, life changing experience for Bus 818 and we can't wait to see our friends back on campus in the Fall! It's not goodbye, it's see you later, Israel.
Today was our first Shabbat in Israel! Following breakfast, we spent a few hours together as a group reading the Torah portion for the week. It was a great way to kick off Shabbat as a group!
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.
Today was a very enjoyable day up in the north of Israel. It is tough to properly describe how amazing this sight was and how in awe our group was of this view. In all, Birthright has been unbelievably fun so far and my only expectation is that it will only get better!
We had the afternoon to spend time being outside, whether it was doing yoga, playing games in the Sea of Galilee, or getting some sun. It was a great day spent with each other and we really got to know one another better, while having with little to no technology as a distraction.