Boker Tov! | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

Boker Tov!

Libby

Boker tov from Tel Aviv! We are having an amazing time here, but first lets talk about Shabbat in Jerusalem. We were given the opportunity to visit Hebrew Union College for Shabbat morning Reform services, which was awesome for me because I plan on going there for Rabbinical School next year! After that, we met as a group to talk about the weekly parsha (Torah portion) and how it connects to our time here in Israel. Then we had lunch and some of us took a tour of the political buildings in Israel like the Knesset (parliament), the Supreme Court, and even the Prime Minister's office. Others in the group took advantage of the pool at our hotel for their Shabbat rest. As a group, we talked about what it means to be a Jew and also prepared to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum here. We finished Shabbat with Havdallah, the ceremony separating Shabbat from the rest of the week, and then we went to Ben Yehuda, a street in Jerusalem, to eat a late dinner and shop.

This morning, we left our hotel bright and early to visit Yad Vashem. We spent about 4 hours in the museum. A guide led us through the exhibits, and a lot of us watched the videos from survivors of the Holocaust. We each reacted to the experience in a different way, but we all thought it was incredibly powerful. I thought the most moving part of the experience was the memorial room, where we said Kaddish (the mourners prayer) for all those who died during this horrible time in our history.

After Yad Vashem, we had a quick lunch in Jerusalem before heading to Tel Aviv! We all rushed to our rooms in the hotel, changed into bathing suits, and went to the beach! We had a great time soaking in the sun (with sunscreen of course), swimming, and even climbing some rocks to take in the Mediterranean views. After we all showered and ate dinner, we had the chance to relax on a street in Tel Aviv. It was great getting to know each other even better, and we're really looking forward to the next section of our trip!

B'Shalom (in peace)

Photo credit: @beatificvisionsmusic (header), @liorked