Jerusalem Explored

Wednesday morning and after another delicious Neve Ilan breakfast we got on the bus headed to Jerusalem and had a moving T’filah, service at the Hass Promenade overlooking the old city. Be sure to ask your child to see the picture that they all took and we will also eventually post a group picture from this moment. We also took a few minutes to write our own personal notes to put into the Kotel, Western Wall.

After t’filot we proceeded to the Old City and our guide, Neitsan gave us 1500 years of Jewish history in short spurts so that we could all digest the archeological sites. We viewed the Jewish quarter from the rooftops and then walked towards the Kotel. We wound our way through the small walkways. We split into men and women and approached the Kotel. On the men’s side, Andy S., Jeff S., Ezra M., Mitchell K., Aaron B., and Nelson C., put on Tefillin. After our spiritual journey we had a warm schnitzel lunch and got back on the bus to go to Machane Yehudah, the open-air fresh food market.

We split into group and had assignments to find special treats for our Friday night, Erev Shabbat Oneg celebration. Everyone was successful in finding treats from gummies, cookies, dried fruit and fresh nuts. We can’t wait to sample these in a few days.

After Machane Yehudah we had a special visit at SHEKEL, a community resource for young adults with special needs. We met with Israeli young adults and shared our personal stories. We had more snacks again from Machane Yehudah. Be sure to ask your children what a Krembo is and what it tastes like.

We arrived back at Neve Ilan, had dinner and then began to prepare for our long day tomorrow. We can’t wait to go South and ride a Camel, climb Masada and swim in the Dead Sea.