Shabbat Minucha (rest and relaxation)

Shabbat at Neve Ilan has been wonderful. Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday Night Services) were full of joy and song and were lead by Ezra M followed by Ma'ariv services led by Alan C. We had a wonderful buffet dinner that included delicious food with all the guests who also come for a restful Shabbat experience here. Shabbat breakfast was an amazing array of food which we all enjoyed and we also loved sleeping in an extra hour.

During morning t'filot we had a very participatory experience which continued in the afternoon Mincha service where we celebrated Kailyn S, Ethan R and Dylan R becoming a B'nai Mitzvah. They all had an aliyah to the Torah and shared a few words about why this experience was so meaningful to them. We are very proud of their accomplishment today.

In between services we had a program on the Parshat HaShavuah, the Torah portion of the week, Va'era, (meaning I will see) where we discussed Moses' speech impediment and how it affected or didn't affect his leadership skills. Our participants had much to say on this topic.

We also had an opportunity to visit the pool, take a walk to the look out and just had time to hang out and chill with our new friends. We ended our day with a quick but productive trip to Ben Yehudah, a pedestrian mall in downtown Jerusalem with shops and cafes. It is a popular destination for all birthright trips and young Israelis.

Shavuah Tov, have a good week.