I've always felt a certain connection towards the city, as many who have been there will be able to understand, so I thought it would be fitting to have a Shabbat there to experience one of Judaism's most sacred traditions in its holiest city.
My
brother and I began the trip with one of our closest Garin friends,
Chaim, and our roommate, Avi. After the long bus ride, we finally met
up with another one of our close friends from the Garin, Jochai, and
indulged in a meal from our favorite falafel joint in Israel. After
an evening out on the town, we headed to our temporary home for the
weekend, eager to begin the Shabbat experience we were looking for.
The
usual problem of finding a place to stay for the weekend wasn't an
issue to us, thanks to a hostel called “The Jerusalem House,” a
free place to stay for Jewish travelers. Their generosity is
unbelievable, evident in everything you could ever need for a weekend
out of town being presented to you without even having to ask. One of
their main goals is setting up their guests with a local
English-speaking family for a home cooked Shabbat meal, something
we've missed since living on our own. After a busy afternoon at the
Shuk, we headed off to get ready and begin Shabbat at the Kotel.
A
Shabbat service at the Kotel is unlike anything else I've ever seen.
Jews from all over the world, from ultra-religious to mostly secular,
gather at the Wall in hundreds to conduct a service, each in his own
way. It's always incredible to witness Jewish people from every
portion of the spectrum together, gathered for the same reason. After
doing our own short service, we spent a good while simply watching in
awe.
When
dinner placements rolled around, we ended up going to a family very
closely associated with the hostel we were staying at. The food was
exquisite and the experience memorable. It was amazing to witness a
group of Jews we have never been overly familiar with observe Shabbat
with their rituals and traditions. Having never come from a
particularly religious background, the experience was enlightening
and fascinating to all of us.
Without
delving into politics or generally controversial topics, something
I'll refrain from doing on this blog, it was certainly new for us to
be exposed to and listen to a different side of things at our dinner.
While everyones' views may not have been identical to our own, it's
important to understand that everyone has their own beliefs, their
own narrative on the issues facing our country and facing us as
Jewish people. The whole experience served to show me what a diverse
religion we have, with every family having different customs,
traditions and views. No one group has a more valued say than any
other. This unbelievable mix just contributes to the rich cultures
that make up our melting pot of a religion.
We're now well into our final weekend in Ra'anana and will keep you updated. Until
next time!
-Brett
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