Celebrating Shabbat
Today we celebrated Shabbat, so our day was a lot slower and calmer than the rest of the trip so far. We got to sleep in, which was great after our long and busy past few days. We also got to eat some amazing food at our hotel. A lot of our day was spent eating meals together as a group and hanging out by the hotel pool. We had a couple of group activities that day as well, which were fun and helped us bond even more.
The first was a deep reflection/spiritual activity, where one of the groups did meditation, while others reflected on their goals in life and their life's overall meaning and purpose. My group mostly discussed happiness, and the importance of selfless acts, as well as how we most likely do not know our life's purpose yet, and that our goals will be forever changing. We then did another activity where we got a list of different aspects of Judaism, and had to choose which we thought were the most important things in making a person Jewish, and which aspects are not required religiously in order for a person to be considered a Jew. This activity was very interesting. A lot of the groups agreed on their placement of the aspects listed, yet there was some disagreement within the groups on a couple of topics, such as whether learning Hebrew, visiting Israel, or knowing all about Jewish history rather than just the Holocaust were significant aspects that make a person Jewish. This activity led to very interesting discussions between our group.
The last group activity we did was in preparation for our visit to Yad Vashem tomorrow. We each chose a picture related to the Holocaust that spoke to us individually from many laid out on the floor, and then explained it's personal significant to the group. This activity was quite important, as it reminded everyone of their personal connections to the Holocaust, so that we could be prepared for our experience tomorrow.
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. :)
After we were done eating, we got to shop, and while walking around, saw some cool street performers who were dancing. We got back to the hotel late, and then prepared to check out tomorrow and leave for Tel Aviv! We are all sad to leave Jerusalem, but we will be back in a few days, and cannot wait to visit the beach in Tel Aviv! Shalom!
Photo Credits: Header Image-@maddibaum, Image 1-@matan3065
