By: Daniel Ohana
Shabbat kicked off with a bang - and that bang was Rabbi. We began with candle lighting when the girls ushered in Shabbat folllowed by a lively Friday Knight service where we sang and danced the service away! We stayed in the hotel for the night, and ate the food provided by its staff. The buffet area was packed with foreigners both from different parts of Israel and the world. They had nothing to do with Birthright. But that didn’t stop us from having one of the most lively Shabbat experiences I think that many of us ever had. Rabbi’s Shabbat prayers and songs were the most animated I’d seen, even from him. It was a great time, and as we followed his lead in loud singing, we noticed that the foreigners were taking videos and even clapping along.
Dinner came to an end, so we went to the ballroom for another group activity: Speed Dating, which helped all members of the trip get better acquainted with each other. It was a nice ice breaker. “Farbrengen” came next, which is a sort of traditional get together taking place after Shabbat dinner. A large group of us sat around, juice on the table, a few snacks, more juice, and good conversations. There are no rules for a Farbrengen, only that we talk about life and enjoy each other's company.. singing dancing and have a ball!
Morning came and, since it was still Shabbat, a bus trip wasn’t on the itinerary. Instead, we walked up to Rabbi Akiva’s grave. Ariel, our tour guide, gave a remarkable tour to the group, explaining why Jews call rabbi Akiva one of the greatest Rabbis to have ever lived. With his burial place behind us, and Ariel’s passionate performance, it legitimately brought tears to our eyes.
In the tradition of Shabbat, we proceeded to take a break and relax for a bit. Catching up on sleep was the best part so far, and I was grateful for every minute of it.
Nearing sundown, we have Stump the Rabbi, which gave us a chance to ask the Rabbi anything we wanted. No holds barred. A lot of information was dropped during this. I personally learned a lot, and had many misconceptions about Judaism and the Jewish people cleared up. We segued from that to Havdalah to mark the end of Shabbat.
After some time to get ready , we hit T-Town (aka Downtown Tiberius). The staff let us loose in a specific area for a couple hours. Most of us ate and went to the closest bar, apparently the “best bar” in Tiberius.
Finally, we got home from a long day and an especially long night. And awaited the huge day ahead of us…
Shabbat kicked off with a bang - and that bang was Rabbi. We began with candle lighting when the girls ushered in Shabbat folllowed by a lively Friday Knight service where we sang and danced the service away! We stayed in the hotel for the night, and ate the food provided by its staff. The buffet area was packed with foreigners both from different parts of Israel and the world. They had nothing to do with Birthright. But that didn’t stop us from having one of the most lively Shabbat experiences I think that many of us ever had. Rabbi’s Shabbat prayers and songs were the most animated I’d seen, even from him. It was a great time, and as we followed his lead in loud singing, we noticed that the foreigners were taking videos and even clapping along.
Dinner came to an end, so we went to the ballroom for another group activity: Speed Dating, which helped all members of the trip get better acquainted with each other. It was a nice ice breaker. “Farbrengen” came next, which is a sort of traditional get together taking place after Shabbat dinner. A large group of us sat around, juice on the table, a few snacks, more juice, and good conversations. There are no rules for a Farbrengen, only that we talk about life and enjoy each other's company.. singing dancing and have a ball!
Morning came and, since it was still Shabbat, a bus trip wasn’t on the itinerary. Instead, we walked up to Rabbi Akiva’s grave. Ariel, our tour guide, gave a remarkable tour to the group, explaining why Jews call rabbi Akiva one of the greatest Rabbis to have ever lived. With his burial place behind us, and Ariel’s passionate performance, it legitimately brought tears to our eyes.
In the tradition of Shabbat, we proceeded to take a break and relax for a bit. Catching up on sleep was the best part so far, and I was grateful for every minute of it.
Nearing sundown, we have Stump the Rabbi, which gave us a chance to ask the Rabbi anything we wanted. No holds barred. A lot of information was dropped during this. I personally learned a lot, and had many misconceptions about Judaism and the Jewish people cleared up. We segued from that to Havdalah to mark the end of Shabbat.
After some time to get ready , we hit T-Town (aka Downtown Tiberius). The staff let us loose in a specific area for a couple hours. Most of us ate and went to the closest bar, apparently the “best bar” in Tiberius.
Finally, we got home from a long day and an especially long night. And awaited the huge day ahead of us…
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