We spent a beautiful shabbat in Jerusalem. After a meaningful Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel, spent singing and dancing with other random Jews, we went back to the hotel to have dinner and get some well deserved sleep after Masada day. On Shabbat morning, we split up between a Conservative and Orthodox synagogue for services. I went to the Conservative synagogue, and it was so powerful to see Conservative Jews from all around the world gathered in Jerusalem. In the afternoon, we chilled in the hotel, took a graffiti tour in Machane Yehuda, and played frisbee in the park. Havdalah was an amazing way to end a great Shabbat, and we finished the evening in Jerusalem by having DOTS (Dinner on the streets).
Sunday, we woke up bright and early to go to the Israel Museum. We explored the Dead Sea Scrolls and the way that Jerusalem looked in the time of the second temple. This was a super powerful experience for me, because it proved that the same texts that we read today were also read thousands of years ago by other Jews. We then explored the other Ktalim (spoiler alert: the western wall is not the only one still standing), and walked up the same stairs that Jews walked up hundreds of years ago.
On Monday, in an AMHSI first, we got the opportunity to explore the Christian side of Jerusalem. We began on the mount of olives, visiting two different churches. We then walked down and toured the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was so cool to be able to see a different religion's claim to Jerusalem. We then got the chance to explore Machane Yehuda. We finished off the day with watching Israeli election returns.
Tuesday, we visited the Bar Kochba caves. We learned about Rabbi Akiva, Bar Kochba, and the revolts. My group got the amazing and powerful experience of singing songs in the darkness of one of the caves. We then went to an old Roman Amphitheater, where we were treated to an Accafellas performance. After that performance, we discussed the struggle of Jews throughout history. We finished off the day by celebrating Jake Rabinowitz's birthday.
Wednesday, we began by praying on the ruins of a fourth century synagogue. We then walked to Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi's grave, past the town where he had presided over the Sanhedrin. We saw some odd Jewish graves and discussed how Jewish "red lines" were different back then, and what our personal "red lines" were. We then travelled to Tsfat, where we discussed the Shulchan Aruch and Kabbalah. After time to explore, we finished the day on Kibbutz Gazit.
Thursday was a hiking day. We hiked down Har Tabor to Nahal Tabor, where we were given the opportunity to swim. We then hiked back up the hill, accompanied by beautiful green plants and purple flowers. We went to a training kibbutz by the Kinneret to learn about the second aliyah and early kibbutzniks. We then discussed Rachel the Poetess and how we wanted to change the world.
