Starting the climb with smiles a 4am!
Chase Perez-Blanco's report in Jerusalem on Sunday:
Today, we went to Yad Vashem, which is the Holocaust Memorial Museum. It was sad. We saw the Hall of Names at the end, which shows 600 photos of people who died in the Holocaust. If you looked down in the room, there was a hole with a puddle at the bottom. It was interesting how they put it together. Around the room were books filled with names and information about real people who died in the Holocaust. The children's memorial was filled with candles and a voice saying the names of the children who died. It was sad to witness this. Next, we went to the Kenesset, which is the government parliament building. We took a tour and saw the room where they discuss all the laws. Next, we heard from Joe Perlov, who is the CEO of Israel Experts, our tour group. Joe taught us about the countries and problems with Israel and its surroundings.
Tonight, we went to the David's Citadel Light show in the Old City. It was cool and showed the history of Jerusalem through a projection light show on a big wall of the Citadel. I had a great day!
Alex Bruck's report in Jerusalem on Saturday:
Saturday, we woke up at 8:30, which was very late for us. We had breakfast and then went to a 2 1/2 hour service at the Hebrew Union College, which is where all reform rabbis, cantors, and educators study. The service was very different than our services at Temple Judea, although we used the same book. It made us appreciate the services at Judea! We went to the park and played because it was Shabbat, a day to relax. After that, we went to the Prime Minister's house, where they were having a vigil for Gilad Shalit, who is an IDF soldier who was captured and is being held by Hamas. We signed a petition to get the government to try to get him out. Then, we came back and had our first pasta dinner....yum. Afterwards, we went to Ben Yehuda Street, which is like a mini-Lincoln Road. They have a variety of stores and restaurants to choose from. I bought mom a snow globe. Now we are going to bed....Boker Tov! (Good morning, which Dylan likes to say at night to everyone on the street.)
Ross Gutlohn's report in Jerusalem Friday:
Friday, we first went to Hezekiah's tunnel, which was right outside the Old City, and they used to transport water through the tunnel and it was there for more than 1200 years. We walked through the tunnel, and the water was very cold. It was usually up to your calf. Some parts, you needed to duck, and every five minutes, Alex yelled ouch! It was cool because it was a long tunnel, about 500 meters. Then, we went into the Old City, where we saw the South Wall Excavation, where you could see different parts of the ancient temple remains. I liked writing my letter for the Wall (the Kotel). The Orthodox Jews were davening and praying with their prayer books. The Wall was filled with other people's messages, and I could barely put mine in. We had lunch at Burger Bar, and it wasn't great. Then, we went to the shuk and everyone bought stuff for the snack (seudat shlishit) for Saturday. It was very busy, loud, and had some good food. Then, we came back, went to services at Kol Haneshama. It was a long walk. I was expecting more because we are in Israel, so I thought it would be really special, but it was a lot of singing and very different from what we are used to. After that, we came back and had dinner. Adios Amigos!
Chocolate Rugelach at the shuk
at a vigil in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jeru
salem.
at a vigil in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jeru
salem.
