We have had a wonderful 2 days in Jerusalem. On Friday morning we began at the Haas Promenade a beautiful overlook of the city of Jerusalem located on the edge of the Talpiyot neighborhood.
After our visit we descended into the old city and visited the Kotel, the Western Wall, the only remaining wall of the Temple complex in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yaffe spoke to the group about the Temple and its holiness and then students then had personal time to pray at the wall and write notes to put in.
Today we had an amazing Shabbat experience as the entire group went to services at a Sephardi shul in the Givat Misua neighborhood near our hotel. The congregation was incredibly welcoming and it gave our students a chance to experience a different style of services than they are typically used to seeing at home. After the service, I was approached by a woman from the congreagtion who wanted to invite our entire group to her home for Kiddush. Not wanting to impose on her with 80 unexpected guests I thanked her and politely declined but she wouldn't take no for an answer and so we relented and all crammed into her home and courtyard. Needless to say I was delighted that her persistence was so great as it was a wonderful experience for all of us. We had Kiddush, cake, cookies, bamba and joined the family in singing and we were even given a beautiful d'var Torah (Torah Lesson) from the family's adult daughter about brotherhood and Lashon Hara (gossip). The whole experience was a wonderful example of worldwide Jewish hospitality and kinship.
Tonight after havdallah we walked on the ramparts of the Old City and then enjoyed some free time and shopping on Ben Yehuda Street.
No comments:
Post a Comment