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Shalom Bus 5 Family,
On Tuesday we left Kramim and made our way over to Sde Boker. At Sde Boker we visited the founder of the State of Israel, David Ben Gurion’s, desert home where we learned about Ben Gurion and why he chose such a curious place to live out his life after being prime minister and even be laid to rest.
Down the road we went and hiked a short trail to the spring Ein Ovdat and returned to the air conditioned bus. We finished our drive for the day at Chan Hashayarot, a Bedouin village where we would be spending the night in tents! In Chan Hashayarot we had the chance to learn all about the Bedouin people and experience how they live. Before dinner we had a chance to go Camel riding! The desert night was ideal for Jewish meditation and Rabbi Jeremy led the group in several exercises to help clear our minds and concentrate. It was truly an impactful experience.
Today we started off our day leaving the tents we slept in and headed over to a reenacted structure of an Ethiopian Jewish village where we had the opportunity to come into contact with the marvelous culture of the Jews of Ethiopia.
On our way up to Jerusalem we first stopped at the Mt. Scopus and the beautiful lookout over the Old City of Jerusalem. We saw the Temple Mount and mourned for the loss of the incomplete Jerusalem. We finally made our way to the Kotel, the Western Wall, a first for many of our group. We spent time praying and singing, connecting to the holiest of locations. To finish off the day we had time to walk the streets of the Old City, eat dinner together, and then check in to Bayit Vagan. We will be staying here for the next week.
Tomorrow brings Mt. Hertzel, Yad Vashem, and special end of week learning program.
Best,
Rabbi Mike
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