TL-45-80 Update 3
Birthright Day 5, 6, 7, 8
Shabbat in Jerusalem, A Night in The Judean Desert, Masada, and The Dead Sea
In Jerusalem, we came to the halfway point of our trip. We are so lucky to have gotten to spend Shabbat in the city! On Friday, we toured the Tomb of King David, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, and of course, had a meaningful moment learning about and praying at the Kotel, or Western Wall. After that, we got lunch in the bustling “shuk,” or market, of Jerusalem, made even more crowded this time around due to Shushan Purim, an extra day of Purim celebrated in Jerusalem every year.
During lunch, we drew names of all our trip participants from a hat and bought individualized 20-shekel gifts for each of them!
This was a special Shabbat: not only because we were in Jerusalem during Purim, not only because we were sharing the hotel with other Taglit and various groups, but because for some participants on our trip, it was actually the first communal Shabbat experience! We did a “Kabbalat Shabbat,” or welcoming of Shabbat, where we talked about the meaning of having a day of rest in our week, both traditionally and personally, and also sang some traditional songs.
Finally, after Shabbat Dinner, we met for Oneg Shabbat, where we played a few games and exchanged the meaningful 20 shekel gifts we bought at the shuk.
Shabbat morning we slept in late, of course! Then we did a group exercise on Jewish values and identity, and our Israeli peers led a Game Show activity for us where we learned more about the geography and people of Israel.
After Shabbat lunch, we visited Ayelet ___, the founder of Manifestation Mindset and friend of our North American Staff Member, Eddy. She welcomed all thirty-four of us participants and staff into her living room apartment where she told us about her spiritual journey and how she draws from Kabbalah to frame her mindset and manifest her desires. She cautioned us about the 3 “C”s – control, complaining, and comparison, which can infiltrate our thoughts and rob us of joy in the present moment. For dinner, we hit up Ben Yehuda Street with a variety of restaurants that had opened up after Shabbat. We also visited a good friend, Elazar, who opened his beautiful Judaica shop for our perusal. For our evening activity, we talked about our families’ relationships to the Shoah (Holocaust) and prepped for a visit to Yad Vashem in the morning.
The next day was a bit of a heavy but also informative day. We visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum, in the morning and then our tour guides led us through the main exhibit, the Children’s Memorial, and the Valley of Communities. After lunch, we visited Mt. Herzl, a famous Israeli cemetery, where we saw the graves of notaries like Golda Meir and Theodore Herzl, as well as many Israeli soldiers and civilians that lost their lives serving the country or through terrorist attacks.
We then drove south towards the Judean Desert and spent an evening in a Bedouin tent! We sang songs, played games, and roasted marshmallows around a bonfire. We are getting a lot out of our time as a group together.
Today, we woke up at 4 am before dawn to catch the sunrise climbing up Masada! We learned about the community of Jews who actually took their own lives on Masada instead of giving up their faith and surrendering to an invading army. We also celebrated the Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies of some of our participants, who chose their own Hebrew names. After that, we enjoyed floating in the beautiful Dead Sea! We said goodbye to our amazing Israelis and had a heartfelt gratitude circle with them.
The next few nights we will be exploring one of Israel’s most vibrant cities, Tel Aviv! We are so excited for this final (and still packed!) leg of our trip and will keep you updated in the days to come!
