We had a great 2nd day here in Jerusalem! We started off the day early with a visit to Yad Vashem, the holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem. Many students came away from their visit saying how much the children's memorial within the museum affected them.
After a quick snack of classic Israeli snacks of bamba, bissli, and rugalach, we made our way up to Har Herzl, Israel's national cemetary. Our guide, Zvi, took us to many notable graves including those of Shimon Perez, Hannah Szenes, and Michael Levine (an American-born child who died in the second Lebanon war.) We also visited the Ethiopian memorial that commemorates the Ethiopians that died trying to get to Israel. The family of our guard, Israela, is from Ethiopia and immigrated to Israel a few years before she was born. Zvi translated Israela's story to the students who found it fascinating and meaningful.
When we finished at Har Herzl, we made our way to the Jerusalem shuk (or Machane Yehuda market) for lunch. The shuk was bustling with people preparing for the shabbos and students were surprised by the massive crowds. We got a chance to try all sorts of authentic Jerusalem food including homemade rugalach, fresh dates, and fresh juice.
After we visited the shuk, we made a quick stop at our hotel to prepare for Shabbat! We then got on the bus and drove to a modern orthodox synagogue for services. This synagogue is a progressive synagogue that allows women to lead services alongside men. Students commented on how unique it was to experience a service in all Hebrew.
Once services wrapped up, we walked back to the hotel for Shabbat dinner with Rabbi Marc's parents and grandmother! We enjoyed a delicious meal and ended the night with a talent show. Your students wowed us with some fantastically hilarious musical acts, skits, and dances.
Can't believe that tomorrow is our last full day! We'll check back in tomorrow.
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