Sights, Smells and Tastes of Jerusalem on Shabbat -July 20, 2013

Saturday morning, there were two options for progrmmaing: A feminist orthodox synagogue  or a sightseeing tour of Jerusalem with Lior, our tour guide. I chose to do the tour since I've never been to Israel before. Seeing all of these famous buildings that I've seen in countless textbooks in person is so surreal.  Lior pointed out all of the holy places for different religions, it truly is the holiest place on this planet. We had a map that Lior drew on to show us border changes and stuff. He pointed out how close we were to the Rafiah Crossing (where Israel, Egypt, and Gaza meet). He said the only real danger in that spot is being peed on by someone in Gaza, some comic relief. We then walked back to Kiryat Moriah to do a workshop on Language. It was so cool to see how many different words can stem from the same root, definitely something interesting, especially since I want to learn the language. After our free time we walked about an hour to see the alleys of the city. I thought it was so cool how many different layers there were to the city. Just when you thought you were at ground level, there were staircases to go deeper. There is life everywhere. We got to the top layer, and where we were was where all 4 quarters of the city meet. Oh, and us Israel first-timers (Lauren, Josh, Annabelle and I. The others didn't want to hold hands) walked together into the city for the first time. 

It was really special to share that experience with them! We then made our way to the Western Wall, yet another breath-taking experience in one day. The most holy place in the world for Jews. All the Jews in the world were praying towards where I was. Before that, we had havdalah led by yours truly and Eden. We each had our own candles to keep and use to remember all of the amazing times we had. 

Then we walked to the Wall itself. I wrote a note to stick in the wall, I got so close to the wall. It was truly amazing. It was probably the defining moment in my Jewish life. We ran into the Pittsburgh Dillers there to find out we were sharing a bus ride to Ben Yehuda street. Did some bargaining, my grandma would be proud. It was by my favorite day even though it was one of the first. I love this country.

PS- love you mom! Miss you and see you soon. Tell Sara I say have a great time at camp. 

PSS- MISS EVERYONE ELSE!!!