Our First Shabbat

Hi parents! My name is Haley Bandier and I'm a junior at James Madison University. It's our third day in Israel and we had our first Shabbat last night. I came onto this trip by myself, but luckily met three other JMU students on the trip. At first I felt extremely shy around all these new people from different places and faces, but now I can't imagine not knowing or meeting these people. We all connect on such an amazing level beyond the fact that we're all Jewish even though we're from different places all across the country. I haven't really experienced a shabbat since my Bat Mitzvah. But this Shabbat has really helped reconnect me with my Jewish faith and show me how important a day of rest is to appreciate the week and look back on everything that has been done. At my school the Jewish population is definitely the minority so I have felt a bit disconnected from being Jewish but I know as soon as I return to school in the fall I will celebrate Shabbat and attend the Hillel events. Our experience has just begun but I have already felt myself changing and I can't wait for the rest of the week. Yesterday we went hiking in the Jilaboon which was so hard but so amazing, here is one of my pictures taken on our hike. Hope you enjoyed the entry :)