Day Four and Day Five
DAY FOUR:
It was another early morning to get a head start on our busiest day yet. We were leaving the kibbutz and start touring the state of Israel. Our first stop for the day was Tsvat, where we spoke to a man about Kabalah, or Jewish mysticism. He explained that there is a deeper meaning to the words and stories written in the Torah and that each letter, each word goes back thousands of years. These words tell a story about your inner self and how you can get to a stage of complete euphoria through caring about others.
Next, we were able to listen to a pair of local musicians who play instruments that date back to the earliest times recorded in the era. The three instruments resembled a guitar, a piano, and a UFO-shaped steel drum. They played a beautiful set of traditional and modern music. Finally, we reached a candle shop where we saw how to make shabbat, havdallah and artistic candles. They had candles painted like Harry Potter, Jewish Captain America, and Noah's Ark with Pixar movie characters. We had our fist "shopertunity" in the shuk where many of us bought gifts such as necklaces, kippot and t-shirts for family and friends back home.
From Tsvat, we went to Rabin Square, the site of his assassination 20 years ago. The site is found in the middle of Tel Aviv, which felt like a young, liberal, fun city, a bit like Miami. At the assassination site we learned about the politics between Palestine and Israel and the fight for peace in the land of Israel. We also saw Independence Hall, where Israel declared their independence. During our visit to the hall we learned about the turmoil Israel went through following World War II and the war that was about to break out between Israel and the surrounding Arab countries.
The last activity of the day was a comedy show. The Israeli acting troupe put on quite a display of song and dance. Hey, Second City, I think there's some competition out here.
DAY FIVE
After our brief stay in Tel Aviv, we travelled south to Chicago's partner city, Kiryat Gat. There, we were given a totally unique chance to hang out with some local 5th and 6th graders at their school. We got to help them with their English, and they showed us around, played football with us, and showed us some cool dances they were working on. I think we were all pleasantly surprised by how much fun we had with the kids, and they were so excited to meet us. One of us, Monica, now has an instagram fan for life in one of the girls she got to meet. We were then invited to the home of one of our fabulous Israeli tripmates, Sapir. Her mother surprised us all with an incredible lunch, complete with homemade Moroccan donuts called sfinch, which are traditional fare for Hanukkah and Pesach.
We didn't stay long in Kiryat Gat because it was time to visit the capital, Jerusalem. Lilach was especially excited to show us around, as it's also her home town. We spent the early evening in the old city, admiring the long, winding streets. It seems strange and almost impossible that people continue to live in the old city, both because of how ancient it is and how full it is of tourists and shops, and yet, lots of people still live there.
We made our way through the Old City to the Western Wall just as the Muslims of Jerusalem were called for evening prayer. The wall is what is left from the retaining wall of the hill on which the second temple stood, which many Jew's still consider the holiest site in our faith. Standing at the wall, surrounded by other Jews praying and meditating, taking in all the history and spirituality... It was a heavy experience for many of us.
