Once we got to jerusalem we went to the Kotel. This was one of my favorite places we visited, and the Jewish connection there is overwhelming and immediate. The history and story behind it is very unique and the experience was one I will never forget. There were hundreds of people here, many dressed as Orthodox Jews, and the men and women pray on different sides. We had to wait for awhile before we were able to go up, touch the wall, pray and put a note into the small cracks that are already filled with tiny folds of white paper. It was a very spiritual place and there was also a Barmitzvah going on the Thursday we were there.
After that we went to the hotel we were staying at and heard about this recent campaign that was started called Nu. They told us about their organization and they make t-shirts with very cool designs on them and print the story of the organizations the picture is representing on the inside. Since they just started only 20 percent goes to the actual charity but they hope to eventually donate 100 percent of proceeds to the specific charity, pretty great idea. They hope to bring these t-shirts to college campuses to spread the word about the different charities and get young people involved with Israel since we are the future.
After this we worked on something called the Green Project. It was working with a community of activists that turned a garbage dump into a green space. It was SO beautiful, and the view was breath taking. We helped improve the terraces and moved rocks to create a path. After this we went to the shuk which is a huge market place, if I could compare it to anything it would be something like canal street. Lots of little shops and a ton of food. We go falafel and walked around, and since it was friday there were SO many people buying groceries for shabbat. I have never seen anything like it, it was hard to even move! Being from NY gave me an advantage because we know how to be pushy! After this prepared for Shabbat and we started off the night lighting candles. They gave us the option of going to a local temple, going to the service in the hotel or staying for an open discussion of Shabbat in the hotel. I went to the temple and it was SO different then what I have experienced at my temple at home. The women sit behind the men to pray and there was a lot of singing and dancing. Those who were part of the congregation were very welcoming and the service lasted about 2 hours. After we had a special shabbat dinner and then had an oneg which is kind of like a Shabbat party. We all bought snacks from the market to eat, played games and sang songs. The next morning there was optional worship for Shabbat and we went to the Kotel again to pray. Then we had a workshop on the weekly parsha and the discussion lead us to the topic of heros because of the story of purim. We talked about some of the biggest heros in jewish history which was very inspiring. My group focused on Hannah Senesh, one of the bravest people I have every learned about. People do such unbelievable things with their lives. After lunch we reseted for Shabbat then had havdallah which is the prayer that is said at the end of shabbat. After we had a free night to get dinner, on Ben Yahuda street. Being in the Old City really allowed us to connect to Judaism and seeing so many Jewish people in one place was refreshing. Everyone we met was so grateful for our help and the people of Israel really love and care about their land.
No comments:
Post a Comment