Week 2/Israel

Mt. Scopus. Before our first view of Jerusalem

Wow! What an amazing first week in Israel.  We arrived from Poland at 4am, met our Israeli counselors, loaded the buses, and headed for Jerusalem.  Standing on Mt. Scopus blindfolded, we listened to “Jerusalem of Gold”, heard the translation, then removed the blindfolds and saw the old city of Jerusalem sparkling in the sunrise.

Our first day in Jerusalem

The Kotel letters were moving.  Many ISTers commented on how special it was to stand at Judaism’s holiest site, reading their parents’ messages, overwhelmed by the magic of the moment, beginning to realize the deeper meaning of this journey.

Jerusalem

Our first shabbat in Jerusalem was beautiful and peaceful.  Many of us had never experienced Shabbat in a city where people walk the streets singing songs, publicly celebrating Shabbat.

Alyn Hospital

Three days of hiking and camping in the Negev gave us the opportunity to block out all distractions and to focus on ourselves and the group. We hiked through the landscape that the Jews wondered for forty years.  We worked together to overcome the physical challenges of hiking in the desert heat and we discussed the educational message of  receiving the Torah in the desert.  We prepared meals together, sang songs by our evening camp fires,  and bonded with each other.

The dramatic landscape of the desert inspires deeply introspective thinking. Gazing at the beautifully starry night sky, I often found myself considering my place in the universe. I wondered how I, a young teenage boy, could have any significance in such an enormous place. Yet, paradoxically, the desert had a special way of bringing me closer to my fellow ISTers. Perhaps the bonding we felt was coerced by the general uncleanliness of the party, but perhaps it was part of something more. I’d like to think, that as a shared portrait of human experience against the collosal backdrop of the desert, we all felt that we were on this grand journey together. We all felt that we were a part of the same miraculous creation that functions so seamlessely. In the desert, I found a unique perspective where, although I understood how comparatively miniscule I was with respect to the universe, I also found a feeling of security knowing that I, too, was a part of it all.

-Written by Brad Cohn

We traveled to Saffed for our second Shabbat.  Learning about the mystical nature of this city gave us a greater appreciation for spirituality in Judaism.  We met with several kabbalists and artists who taught us some basic principles of Jewish mysticism, reminding us to look for a deeper meaning in  the world around us.  

Shabbat in Saffed

unshowered, smelly ISTers after 3 days in the Negev

Jerusalem

Glass blower, Sheva Chaya