Shabbat!

By Allison Braun

After a beautiful, yet short day in Tel Aviv, Bus 517 travelled to the holy city of Jerusalem. We started the day at 8:00 am with a delicious beach front breakfast in Tel Aviv. We then boarded the bus and took a two hour drive southeast to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, we went to the Old City for a quick tour. Here we were able to experience the incredible architecture that makes the old city so unique. After touring the streets we went to the Kotel. Each of us had a unique experience.

After the Kotel, we traveled to our hotel to get ready for Shabbat. Everyone looked nice and we had an intimate Shabbat service. After the service, the Israelis organized some games for us to play. It was a lot of fun and everyone had a good time.

On Shabbat, we slept in until around 10:30 am. We had a very relaxing day at the pool on the rooftop of our hotel. We also took a stroll through the streets of Jerusalem to a park. At the park we broke into small groups and discussed what Jewish identity means to each of us. It was a very interesting discussion. After the park, we went to Ben Yehuda street for dinner and some shopping. It was a great Shabbat and I loved spending it with my new friends.