Shabbat and Beyond!

Leaving our busy lives behind for a while, most of the group enjoyed our first of two beautiful Shabbat days in Jerusalem with late sleep-in and a trip to Gan Sacher, the city's largest park. Frisbee, books, boxing and swings were all on the agenda. In the spirit of the sabbath, we gathered in the hotel earlier in the day for a discussion on Jewish identity - as expected with a diverse group of young Jewish adults, the responses varied greatly. We discussed our personal connections to and emotions about the Holocaust in preparation for our visit to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocuast museum.
We ended the day with havdallah, the ceremony to end Shabbat. Crammed in a close circle in the hotel lobby, we swayed back and forth as we watched the braided candle burn, smelled spices, and tasted the wine as we welcomed the new week. Dinner out on Emek Refaim was great. We enjoyed sushi, hummus, and pizza, and watched the Manchester v. Barcelona game- Zac is still recovering from the match's outcome.
Sunday started off bright and early. Leaving a Jerusalem at 8 AM, we headed to Sataf. Highlights included stunning views of the Jerusalem hills, an introduction into ancient terrace farming (and its use today), and a trip into a cave to see the source of a mountain spring. At the bottom of the hill, bus 150 was waiting to take us to Yad Vashem. An intense three hours were spent exploring the exhibits that traced the stages of the atrocity and hearing the personal accounts of countless survivors. The entire trip was deeply moved by the experience. We were all happy to get on the bus and rest our legs as we traversed the northern half of Israel - sand dunes and lakes flew by our eyes until we arrived at Kibbutz Afik. A delicious dinner, new roommates, and we were off to the Kibbutz clubhouse! Tomorrow, we'll continue our journey in the north with views of the Syrian and Lebanese borders.
Shalom Ema D!