The Sun'll Come Out, Tomorrow
To be honest, the sun was out today and it will ALSO be out tomorrow.
Our travelers spent a truly beautiful day in Tel Aviv, walking the streets of Old Jaffa and along the beach on the Mediterranean Sea.
They began the day in Kikar Rabin, the place in downtown Tel Aviv where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995. There is a film which describes the events of that evening at the site. Last year, when our group arrived, the film was out of order. In an instant, Dror had the inspired idea to create a dramatic re-enactment of the incident. Though it sounds shocking, it was a fascinating learning experience (and no one was scarred by it). This year, though the film was back in working order, Dror used the dramatic re-enactment method again, giving participants a deeper understand of what happened that night. Retrieved from Rabin's belongings the night he was killed was a bloodstained copy of Shir LaShalom (Song of Peace), the singing of which the otherwise staid Prime Minister had joined just before he was killed. We always make sure the group can hear and read this very special song in Rabin's memory -- http://www.hebrewsongs.com/song-shirlashalom.htm.
The other classic piece of the Tel Aviv experience is a visit to Independence Hall (http://www.eretzmuseum.org.il/main/site/index.php3?page=75. Here participants sit in the very room in which the vote for independence was taken, after watching a film with powerful original footage of that day. The film both tells the story of Tel Aviv, as an essential component of the founding of the State and then takes the viewer on a step by step journey through its establishment. Historical films are a favorite with our travelers and they were filled with questions for the onsite guide.
This would have been a full enough day, but it was capped off with a truly exciting event. Our travelers returned to Jerusalem to the Hebrew University, where they saw an English language production of the musical Annie, put on by the Hillel Theatre Workshop. The performers included an alumnus of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, an exciting connection for those in our group who are Ramah campers themselves.
It was a full and exhausting day -- indeed, I woke Rose Sharon when I called for today's update (sorry, Rose!) and it's good that Shabbat isn't too far off.
It's very hard to believe that the trip is beginning to wind up and there are only four days left. They'll be very busy between now and then, though, starting with another full day tomorrow, under bright blue skies.
Hoping those of you hit with heavy winter weather are safe and warm and looking ahead to the peace of Shabbat.
Rabbi Elyse Winick
