By: Denise Cukierman
When I woke up today I had a smile on my face. Not only was I in Israel but I was in Jerusalem on the best day of the week. Our alarm went off at 7 o'clock am and my 2 roommates and I (who had never spoken a word to each other but became best friends within 3 minutes of meeting each other) started running around to be ready in time. We ate breakfast and headed upstairs to watch a video about a fallen Israeli-American named Micheal Levin. Everyone in the room could hear the occasional sniffling and as the movie progressed almost everyone was in tears.
We all loaded the bus and went to visit Ammunition Hill which is where one of the fiercest battles for Jerusalem was fough during the 6 day war. We had a few minutues to walk around and explore the trenches and armored vehicles from the battle. We also watched a film explaining the significance of this battle and its strategic role of pued to reunite Jerusalem.
When the movie finished we headed to the bus and we were on our way to the Shuk! We arrivied and what I saw amazed me. Our tour guide, Daniel, had warned us about the pre-Shabbat hustle that was going to be going on but never in my life would I have imagned what I saw. People were everywhere and vendors were screaming to inform everyone what they had to offer. There were candy shops, falfel stops, donut stores and the obvious tourist stores. Using the little hebrew I knew, I was able to bargain with the vendors to get the best price possible. We all met up and waited for our bus to arrive.
While we waited we observed Hassidic Jew's pack up mastresses in a U-Haul truck and got in the back with them. We all exploded into laughter it was like watching clowns fit into a clown car! The bus finally arrvied and we went to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat. We had more than enough time to get ready so we all sat outside our rooms and bonded. It was time to load the bus and everyone came into the lobby looking their best in their Shabbat attire.
We headed to the wall for what became a life changing experience. We stoped at a home in the old city where we were welcomed with open arms and Soufganyot! We headed up 5 flights of stairs to see a breathtaking view overlooking Jerusalem! We lit Shabbat candles and ushered in Shabbat.
Friday night at the wall is something I think everyone needs to experience! We split up into our perspective sides, males and females. When we entered the girls side we immediatly formed a circle and started singing shabbat songs and dancing. Within moments we had soilders from the IDF join us! After all the singing and dancing we had an opportunity to pray at the wall for a second time. The sense of unity coming from everyone there was spectacular!
Our time at the wall came to an end and we began our 4 mile walk to the hotel. We sat in the dinning hall, made Kiddush and ate a delicious Shabbat meal. Once dinner was done we headed upstairs to do a Jewish Identity activity. We were given a bunch of jewish values and had to place them in order of importance to us. The rabbi led us into a friendly debate between the groups. Once we finished, everyone quickly headed to their rooms to grab a gift for their mystery Maccabi and we all met up to exchange gifts. The gifts were definitely interesting to say the least! Once everyone got a gift, Daniel told us the plan for tomorrow which included lunch at a families house and a night out on Ben Yehuda Street!
Once the night came to an end, thats when the really party started... Fabrangen with Rabbi! We stayed up all night singing songs and listing to stories. Before I knew it another day was done and it was time for bed.
When I woke up today I had a smile on my face. Not only was I in Israel but I was in Jerusalem on the best day of the week. Our alarm went off at 7 o'clock am and my 2 roommates and I (who had never spoken a word to each other but became best friends within 3 minutes of meeting each other) started running around to be ready in time. We ate breakfast and headed upstairs to watch a video about a fallen Israeli-American named Micheal Levin. Everyone in the room could hear the occasional sniffling and as the movie progressed almost everyone was in tears.
We all loaded the bus and went to visit Ammunition Hill which is where one of the fiercest battles for Jerusalem was fough during the 6 day war. We had a few minutues to walk around and explore the trenches and armored vehicles from the battle. We also watched a film explaining the significance of this battle and its strategic role of pued to reunite Jerusalem.
When the movie finished we headed to the bus and we were on our way to the Shuk! We arrivied and what I saw amazed me. Our tour guide, Daniel, had warned us about the pre-Shabbat hustle that was going to be going on but never in my life would I have imagned what I saw. People were everywhere and vendors were screaming to inform everyone what they had to offer. There were candy shops, falfel stops, donut stores and the obvious tourist stores. Using the little hebrew I knew, I was able to bargain with the vendors to get the best price possible. We all met up and waited for our bus to arrive.
While we waited we observed Hassidic Jew's pack up mastresses in a U-Haul truck and got in the back with them. We all exploded into laughter it was like watching clowns fit into a clown car! The bus finally arrvied and we went to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat. We had more than enough time to get ready so we all sat outside our rooms and bonded. It was time to load the bus and everyone came into the lobby looking their best in their Shabbat attire.
We headed to the wall for what became a life changing experience. We stoped at a home in the old city where we were welcomed with open arms and Soufganyot! We headed up 5 flights of stairs to see a breathtaking view overlooking Jerusalem! We lit Shabbat candles and ushered in Shabbat.
Friday night at the wall is something I think everyone needs to experience! We split up into our perspective sides, males and females. When we entered the girls side we immediatly formed a circle and started singing shabbat songs and dancing. Within moments we had soilders from the IDF join us! After all the singing and dancing we had an opportunity to pray at the wall for a second time. The sense of unity coming from everyone there was spectacular!
Our time at the wall came to an end and we began our 4 mile walk to the hotel. We sat in the dinning hall, made Kiddush and ate a delicious Shabbat meal. Once dinner was done we headed upstairs to do a Jewish Identity activity. We were given a bunch of jewish values and had to place them in order of importance to us. The rabbi led us into a friendly debate between the groups. Once we finished, everyone quickly headed to their rooms to grab a gift for their mystery Maccabi and we all met up to exchange gifts. The gifts were definitely interesting to say the least! Once everyone got a gift, Daniel told us the plan for tomorrow which included lunch at a families house and a night out on Ben Yehuda Street!
Once the night came to an end, thats when the really party started... Fabrangen with Rabbi! We stayed up all night singing songs and listing to stories. Before I knew it another day was done and it was time for bed.
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