February 13th - Shabbat in Jerusalem
Making comparisons and anticipating experiences is part of our human nature. It can be hard to go into something new, setting no expectations or goals, but I made an effort to do just that before this trip. I know many other Bus 17ers would agree this experience has influenced us in more ways than we could have imagined when we landed in Tel Aviv eight days ago.
The main reasons for approaching this journey without expectations were to guarantee the experience lives separately from my first trip here, and to hold myself to less unrealistic expectations that previously caused unnecessary stress. It was refreshing to understand how quickly I could obtain a state of calmness and comfort among the 45 other participants I was getting to know at Kibbutz Afik on that first night, our first Shabbat. Living in the moment is easy surrounded by this squad.
It’s also refreshing to have similar conversations with diverse people, namely that they’re gaining a better understanding of balance and making time for yourself, and how incredible it is to grow through these experiences together in a short period of time. I think, and others agree, it’s great this trip hit home on everything it was supposed to be from an educational perspective, but was also transformative to everyone in their own way far beyond how Birthright Israel trips are marketed.
It’s been an honor and pleasure spending time with this goofy, supportive, open, accepting, counting-illiterate squad. Thank you to Shorashim and the Jewish Federation of DC for making this possible and to our staff members Tzach, Nicole and Emily for leading us fearlessly through eretz Yisrael. Special thanks to our guardians Boris and Omri, and to Rami for letting us conduct bus interviews and blast classic rock while cruising the countryside.
Our trip comes to a close with a sunny and peaceful Shabbat in Jerusalem, reaching its zenith with a walk to a nearby park. The scene was an awesome progression from eight days ago – we laughed, played catch, embraced and spent the last afternoon almost frozen in time not as a disparate group of Israelis and Americans, but as a true community.
Our nascent community reflects this week’s Torah portion of Terumah, which talks about contributions from the Jewish people to build a holy place. Bus 17 is the holy place we’ve created together through our contributions to each other and I personally could not be more thankful for what you’ve all contributed to me.
