Shabbat
From Friday night through Saturday, our group enjoyed some well-deserved rest as we spent Shabbat in Ma'ale Hachamishah. The hotel we stayed at is owned by the adjacent kibbutz. Sitting in the lush Judean hills, the location afforded us some truly beautiful views throughout our time there. When we arrived after a full day in Tel Aviv, everyone had a nice long break to take a nap, shower, and prepare for Shabbat. As sunset neared, we met together in the hotel's courtyard to take some pictures together since we were clean and dressed in nice clothes(a rare combination on a birthright trip!). We then observed a Shorashim tradition: the men in our group presented flowers to the women as a way to wish them a shabbat shalom (a peaceful shabbat). Following that ceremony, we had several flowers remaining; one of our the participants suggested that a few men present the extra flowers to the elderly Israeli women who were sitting nearby, watching the sunset. The women were so surprised and happy to receive our small token of goodwill. They asked us about ourselves, about all of the places we had been together so far, and it was clear that this small act made a monumental difference to them. As I was conversing with the woman to whom I presented my flower, I noticed the small numerical tatoo on her arm--she was a survivor of the shoah (Holocaust). Following our flower ceremony, we all went inside the hotel to light candles together, marking for us the formal beginning of shabbat. Then participants were given the opportunity to attend either a songful shabbat prayer service or a discussion of participants' personal shabbat memories/experiences. Both the service and discussion were meaningful ways for our participants to connect with Shabbat. The input of the Israeli participants was especially appreciated in these activities, as they brought with them their melodies, traditions, and unique shabbat memories. Many participants were surprised to learn that in many Israeli cities, nearly every business shuts its doors from Friday to Saturday nights in reverence for traditional Jewish law prohibiting work on Shabbat. After a delicious Shabbat dinner, the group reconvened for a fun activity in which six groups were each assigned a major event in Israeli history, and they had to come up with a brief skit to represent it! Everyone had a lot of fun creating humorous interpretations of important historical events. The next morning we enjoyed a very late wakeup and some cakes and tea. We then participated in an "agree/disagree" program in which participants were presented with controversial topics and had the choice to voice their opinions. For instance, some of the statements we used: "All Jews should immigrate to Israel if they are able"; "Jews in the diaspora should have a say in Israeli politics"; and "Jews should only marry other Jews". We had some terrific discussions, and many people questioned their own positions on these complex issues. After lunch, we studied the Torah portion of the week, participated in an improvisational comedy program led by our Israeli participants, and had a preliminary discussion about our upcoming trip to Yad VaShem--the Israeli Holocaust museum. Many participants shared stories about relatives who were in the Shoah, and everyone had a chance to share the feelings that they experienced most strongly in relation to the Shoah. As Shabbat was ending, we joined in a songful communal Havdalah ceremony, commemorating the separation between the holiness of shabbat and the profanity of the rest of the week. We joined outside in a circle arm and arm as we together said goodbye to Shabbat. After Havdalah we all piled into the bus for dinner in nearby Jerusalem. After that it was straight to bed, as participants needed plenty of sleep for the busy day ahead... Written by Danny Moss
