The whole day our group became louder and louder with more laughter and conversations as time flew by. We're off to a great start.
The whole day our group became louder and louder with more laughter and conversations as time flew by. We're off to a great start.
We arrived at Har Bental soon after, and immediately were amazed at the amazing view from the top of the mountain. However, in the true spirit of Birthright, we did not only look at our surroundings but immediately started our hike towards what we learned was one of the most important cities in ancient Israel.
Hearing the Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem, in the same room where David Ben Gurion announced the formation of the Jewish homeland, was very spiritual.
We finished the night with a talent show organized and hosted almost entirely by two motivated trip participants. There were a range of talents, including performance art, lip syncing, dancing, acrobatics, and our tour guide Neta playing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" entirely by bopping his hand on the top of his head.
The night was a blast! We celebrated through the night with dancing and good conversation. Only after being in Israel for a few days, us Americans and Israelis had become great friends. To think that this is only the first third day of the trip!
Well, today we woke up from a somewhat ideal night of sleep. Shabbat allowed us to really sleep in because the day was all about rest and relaxation. Half of us chose to spend this period of chillful vibes by shooting some basketball outside of the kibbutz.
Tzfat, where we could literally see the history and feel the deep cultural roots within the city. We were able to sit in a 400 year old synagogue and recite both L'cha Dodi and the Shema together as a group. We then went to listen to Avraham Lowenthal, an artist that lives in Tzfat who moved from the United States in his 20s to learn more about his Jewish history and the Kabbalah.
Today was a great beginning to a wonderful trip, but the discussion reminded me of how fortunate our country is to not have to continue to actively defend its boarders. More importantly how we as a nation, culture, and religion we can continue to help our brothers and sisters in Israel defend theirs.
After dinner we played a game, wherein some of us earned lasting nicknames: Ju-Ju Beans Jacob, Sam Salmon and Jordan Jalapeno to name a few!
We walked out of the terminal and into the arms of our fellow Israeli participants and staff, who were singing and dancing in celebration of our arrival. Our 41 quickly became 48!