Day 8 -- Shabbat Shalom Take Two

What a whirlwind of a day! With candlelighting time nearly upon us, I'll just share a brief update on today's activities.

Our tefillah (prayer) this morning focused on the idea of memory. That set the tone for our visit to Har Herzl, Israel's national military cemetery. The cemetery sits atop a mountain, as its name suggests and is rich with trees and plantings and Jerusalem stone. We stopped to visit a variety of military figures and told their stories. The personalization of the experience hit everyone hard, especially given that our own soldiers were in uniform. Participants were particularly struck by the ages on the tombstones, so close, if not identical, to their own ages. Michael Levin, a past Ramah camper and participant in United Synagogue's (KOACH's parent organization) Nativ program is buried there and his story was particularly poignant.

At the memorial site to the victims of terror, we learned about two people with connections to our staff who were lost in terror incidents. The magnitude of it all is mind-boggling.

The uppermost part of the mountain is the resting place of the founders and leaders. We visited the graves of Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, defining the meaning of their lives. Our last stop was at the grave of Theodor Herzl, where one participant accurately quoted, "If you will it, it is no dream." So many dreams have been fulfilled these past 10 days, and so many new ones born.

Just as Israel shifts from Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) to Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day), we took our sorrow with us into the joyful preparation for Shabbat, spending time at the Mahaneh Yehudah market, crammed with people and sounds and colors and smells all anticipating Shabbat. It was a sight to behold.

Now we'll welcome Shabbat, enjoying its sweetness, but anticipating the time to say goodbye.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Elyse Winick