Remembering Leading to a Celebration

Today, we started the day off in a reflective manner by visiting Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. The tour guide was amazing and not only talked about historical facts but explained how the angle which photos were taken told a unique story as well. Everyone was very moved by the experience and the reflection afterwards was thought-provoking.

We then headed south to the Negev desert. We stopped at Ben Gurion's grave and learned about how he joined a Kibbutz and believed that building up the desert as a place to settle was the best thing for Israel. We took pictures in front of a spectacular view and took a moment to absorb the splendor of the Negev. Next, we drove to become immersed in the Bedouin culture. We slept in tents, spoke to a Bedouin man, ate delicious breads, meats, spreads and drank fresh coffee and tea.

The evening activities began with the Israelis leading the Americans in traditional Israeli army drills. The true challenge came when we had to get into teams and one by one put on an Israeli Soldier uniform as fast as possible. Following the excitement of competition we split into groups and had a talent show singing and dancing to popular Israeli songs.

The last thing of the night was a walk into the desert to see the stars without any other light around. We took time to stare at the stars on our own and then with the melody of a song we joined in a circle to sway and sing together. One girls recalled a family tradition in the reflection, "From the time I was little until now my dad and I would watch meteor showers together. He would wake me up as early as 2:00 in the morning to see if we could see a shooting star. Once we even saw Mars. Tonight was the first time I have seen a shooting star and I wish he could be with me for that."

We spend the rest of the night talking, laughing and singing over a bonfire. Layla Tov!

Photo credit: @sl94