May 4, 2022
Sam– Yesterday we drove up a mountain to visit the ancient city of Tsfat. Our first stop was to a glassblowing artist at her studio shop. She made a cup out of the broken glass from somebody’s wedding. We then visited ancient synagogues where we got to hold a Sephardic Torah and take pictures. We ended our time in Tsfat with some shopping, a walk down a big outdoor staircase and a drive down the beautiful mountain road. The views were really nice.
Lucas– Did you know that in some areas, the Jordan River is the border between Israel and Jordan. The river is special to Christians and Jews. It looks so small and like a normal river when you are rafting down it — which is really fun, especially when you are in a race against Reb Scott’s group — but when you learn its history, it’s really something amazing.
Sydney– Yom Hazikaron is a very important holiday for Israelis. Tuesday night, we attended a memorial service at Kibbutz Lavi. We gathered in the courtyard — guests and kibbutz members — and stood at attention. A siren went off, and it was so different from the recorded siren we have heard at school. I now understand why. I could feel the siren going through my whole body. It was made me feel really emotional. During the siren, some kids were in the distance playing around on scooters. That really stood out to me. This was such a solemn moment, and we were getting ourselves ready for the next day, but there were still kids in the background. The parents didn’t reprimand them, but rather let them be. I wondered if the adults had the sense that their kids were too young to have to participate in such a serious and heavy thing as remembering the dead. The adults must have felt confident that their kids would understand eventually when the time is right.
View pictures from Day 8 here!