Celebrating Shabbat in an Israeli Kibbutz

Prior to leaving for Birthright, I was so excited to celebrate Shabbat in Israel -- so I was glad to see Shabbat was our second night on the trip. We gathered outside and chanted Hebrew prayers. It was a beautiful night, and a moving experience for many of us. After the prayers, we had the choice of attending a Shabbat service or discussion. I chose to attend the service. I really enjoyed it because much of the service was in Hebrew, which is different from my typical experience in a Reform synogagoue at home, where prayers are in English. After the service, we all gathered in the Kebutz dining room to eat Shabbat dinner together. I volunteered to recite Hamotzi over the Challah. After both the Challah and wine were blessed -- we ate a delicious meal. It's been awesome living on the Kibbutz for the past three days, it's so unique to Israel and I've heard about Kibbutzim back at home, so I'm glad I got to experience the lifestyle first hand.

Today, was a relaxing day in the Kibbutz because Shabbat is observed until sundown. We had a late wake up, and ate breakfast at 10:30. Afterwards, we played some ice-breaker games. There are 40 Americans, 7 Israelis and 3 staff on our trip so there are many people to get to know! Lunch was served at 12:30 and then most of us went to the pool to cool off. I knew Israel was going to be hot, but it's REALLY hot!! Very different from home in Chicago! We all showered in our rooms and gathered to learn more about our heritage. We broke out into small groups with 5 or 6 Americans and 1 Israeli in each group. The staff guided us on different topics to discuss, like the differences in how holiday's are celebrated and Bat/Bar Mitzvot between the two counties. It was awesome to hear about how traditions differ, but the ideals are still the same. Tomorrow we are going to Jerusalem - I am looking forward to the next week!

- Tracey Smolen