Shabbat Shalom, Machaneh Yavneh:
Our Shabbat began with ReleSh in the streets of Jerusalem where we were shushed by the neighbors for having too much ruach. On our way to the Kotel we bumped into actor and fellow Jew Joshua Malina, who a number of us recognized from the television show Scandal. Once we reached the Kotel overlook, we indulged in a camp-style Kabbalat Shabbat and were joined by strangers who sang and danced with us, and in the spirit of Shabbat, a few even took photos and videos of us praying. We then made our way to the ground level Kotel where showed Jerusalem how we mosh.
Saturday morning we split up and embarked to different minyanim where Money found a watermelon that he adopted as his own. On Sunday afternoon after sweating through Ceasarea and Yamin Orde Youth village we swam in a Kibbutz pool before heading over to Dor Habonim beach where we slept on the sand. Waking up the next morning to the sunrise, we we covered in sand, water, and bug bites, but we still had our smiles. On Monday we visited Tzipori (hashtag I am Tzipori) and met Arab and Israeli students from an integrated school. In the evening we dined in a Druze village where Shanie, Giselle, Malkah, and the rest of the vegans were put in a separate room to eat their salads, while the rest of us ate veal. On Tuesday a Jewish Rabbi and Muslim Imam walked into a Mosque and the rest of us did too, as we discussed religious pluralism.
Overlooking the Bahai Gardens in Haifa we bumped into Itzik, before heading back to our hostel for dinner. On Wednesday, we toured the Lebanese border, before rafting on the rapids of the Jordan river, an adventure where Sarah P. got into a aggressive splashing war with some local Israelis. Thursday was Yom Hike as we ascended both Gamla and Nachal Devorah. While other youth groups we ran into told us that the hikes were too difficult for them to complete, our Saddleback skills propelled us to the top. Although Leanna and Sophie got lost on the way to the top the rest of us bathed in a refreshing waterfall surrounded by, ironically, a keshet. We are spending this weekend in the mystical city of Tzvat where we hope to purify our minds and neshamot.
Lots of Love,
Brosenn, Toby, Saul, Leanna, Judy Sarah C and the rest of Na’aleh ’17.
Shoutouts:
Carly Marinstein
Butter
Jeremy Kravitz
Ari and Nava and Shani Winton
Rachel Wechsler
Yael Turk
Nadav Cohen
Adina Smith
Isaiah Rosenn
Alex Bonneau
Jossie Forman
Tali and Nadav Borensztajn.
Andy Pitkoff
Nili Ezekiel
Helen Berman
Adina Levitt
Orlee and Peri Sadinoff
Mollie Schwartz
Will Barry
Maayan Thee
Itzik
Benzi
2kx
Kerem ’11
