Shabbat

May 24^th

We spent some time together in the late morning and then had lunch. Afterwards, we hiked to Nahal David, or David’s Cave. It was only 20 minutes from our field school but it was extremely hot so I was happy I brought water. We spent some time walking along a riverbank before finding a pool where we could swim. It was very refreshing and made the last leg of the hike easier. I made it to the caves and spent some time enjoying the view. This cave is where the biblical story between David and Saul. Saul hated David and was trying to kill him, they both ran away from Jerusalem and slept in a cave. Unbeknownst to wither of them, they chose the same cave. David stumbled across Saul and cut a piece of his cloak off and sent it to Saul when they met next. Saul did the same thing to David later on and both agreed to live near each other without too much conflict. It’s amazing that this all took place in the cave I visited.

That night, we had a guest speaker from Sderot, a small town on the border with Gaza. He spoke about the dangers of the area and how frequent missile strikes were. Over the past 8 years, 20,000 missile had been launched at this area of the country. Media does not cover these stories so this man is trying to get the word out. While it is important to take this information with a grain of salt, it is still shocking to hear. I know Israel retaliates towards these attacks and this is generally what we hear about but it is important to hear both sides of the argument. I enjoyed the talk and will do my best to be informed about these issues.

Jerusalem

May 23^rd

We began the day by driving from our field school to Jerusalem. It was about an hour away, which gave me time to talk to soldiers and get to know them better. Just learning about their everyday lives was amazing. It’s hard to put into words how important these connections were to my Israel experience. I am older than every soldier we talked to. This concept is really hard to grasp when you examine what they have done in their lives compared to me. They all seem so mature and ready for the real world but they are all still kids and want to have fun in the same ways as me and my friends.

We arrived on the outskirts of Jerusalem and got out to see a panoramic view of the city. There is a stark difference between the Old City and the newer sections. Every building in the older part is built with Jerusalem stone and it has an ancient aura to it. Whatever your beliefs may be, there is no way to deny that Jerusalem has a rich history. Almost every story from the Torah, Bible, and Qur’an has roots within this region but especially this city. To walk down a street in the possible footsteps of Jesus is an eerily awesome experience.  In contrast, the modern Jerusalem has skyscrapers, busy streets, and chain restaurants galore. Jerusalem is Israel’s capital as well as being the Holy City so there are a variety of activities performed within the city every day. We went on a Friday and were warned that it would be extremely busy as citizens prepared for Shabbat.

As we walked through security to get to the Western Wall, our tour guides made us stand in a line, close our eyes, and connect to the person in front of us. In other words, we made a 40-person long blind conga line into the most holy spot in Jewish culture. We had many comments from onlookers who had some choice words for our group. They included, but were not limited to, “Are you serious? GET OUT OF THE WAY!” and “What are they, blind?”. After walking a short distance, we opened our eyes and saw the wall. I thought I would feel something more when I first laid eyes upon it but to be honest, it looked like any old wall. It wasn’t until we began singing and saying a few prayers that I understood the meaning of this place. Then, our group circled up and began ceremonial Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. I started lifting people on a chair and was having a good time. That was, until, the group leaders said it was my turn in the chair. I don’t mind heights when I am in control of the situation. This was not one of those times. I have never feared falling out of a chair more than that day. When it takes seven or eight people to hoist a plastic lawn chair six feet in the air, you know they have a heavy load. I heard a few complaints the next day of soreness and I believe I was the main culprit. At the wall, Zach and I were wrapped in Tefillin and we prayed for a few minutes at the Wall. It was a great experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

After the Kotel, we went through the Jewish Quarter and walked around for a bit. We had a good time exploring the shops but it was very crowded due to the impending Sabbath so it was a relief to get on the bus. We went directly to the Jerusalem marketplace and had time to shop. If I thought the Jewish Quarter was crowded, it was nothing compared to the market. I grabbed lunch with a few soldiers and had a delicious chicken soup with meat-filled dumplings. It was really special to be able to take time with the soldiers and sit down at a meal.

After the market, we went back to our field school and prepared for Shabbat. We had a very nice ceremony and a delicious dinner. After dinner we spent more time together and played some fun games. We then had free time and I spent the night talking with the soldiers and watching the stars. We were up until about 4am so I was grateful for a late morning the next day.