Time to say goodbye

Our day started out with going to Yad Vashem, which is the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem.  It is an extremely powerful & emotional place for so many who visit.  We have students whose grandparents are survivors, those that lost family members, etc.  It was a time for reflection and remembering those whose lives & souls we lost many years ago.  We need to remember to NEVER FORGET do not stand idly by when someone is treated unfairly, stereotyped because of who they are, being different, etc.  The most powerful moment for many of the students was the Children's Memorial where names were being constantly read along along with the candles visible in this dark room.  Everyone had the opportunity to hear a survivor tell her story at the end of the tour and realize that they are the last generation to a survivor in person.

The mood shifted with us heading Machaneh Yehuda (Jerusalem Market) to experience what the market is like before Shabbat.  People are preparing for the Sabbath by getting goods for the weekend, mass crowds, Israelis selling their goods, tourists everywhere, and this is always a one-of-a-kind moment to experience in Israel. There is truly nothing like Shabbat in Israel

Everyone had the chance to clean up and rest before we all met in the hotel lobby to light candles and take last pictures of the trip.  Even though everyone is simply exhausted from nearly 5 weeks of nonstop touring, learning, experiencing, etc that we all had he energy to be with each other on our Final Shabbat in Israel.  After taking many pictures, we took about a 40-minute walk from the hotel to the Old City to the Western Wall.  Each person had the chance to join a few thousand people near the wall praying, singing, celebrating, crying and there as one big community.  Many had the chance to squeeze their way to the wall moving through throngs of people all here for one reason - to celebrate Shabbat!

After everyone was able to have a bit of personal prayer at the Kotel, we gathered back as one IST Community in the Western Wall plaza.  We joined together in 2 concentric circles and began singing familiar Shabbat songs.  One community, one voice, one IST group.  Amazingly, we had others around us singing and an elderly couple joined in our circle as well as some members of the IDF (Israeli Defence Force) just enjoying Shabbat.  What a wonderful way to end a trip like this.

We will have a restful Shabbat, time to reflect, pack, purge some of old clothes and just enjoy our final hours together in Israel.  We will finish off this trip with Havdalah, final shopping time on Ben Yehuda Street, a Talent Show and then finish off with a closing ceremony together before heading to Ben Gurion Airport.

It has been an honor & pleasure staffing this trip of young adults.  I have seen so much growth, maturity and students discovering more about themselves than I ever imagined.  This is simply a step in their Jewish journey and I am looking forward to seeing where this path takes them and continuing the relationship, guidance and resource for everyone.  IST 2013 was an experience of a lifetime

May we be blessed as we go on our way
May we be guided in peace
May we be blessed with health and joy
May this be our blessing, amen.

May we be sheltered by the wings of peace
May we be kept in safety and in love
May grace and compassion find their way to every soul
May this be our blessing, amen. 
(lyrics by Debbie Friedman)

L'Shana Ha'ba'ah B'Yerushalayim - Next Year in Jerusalem!

- Josh Samet
IST Director

Our IST 2013 Staff 

Tree Planting & the Old City

We started off the day heading to the Old City.  We were to go in Hezekiah's Tunnel in the City of David just outside the old city of Jerusalem.  This is a tunnel dug underneath the City of David in Jerusalem in ancient times and the tunnel was designed  as an aqueduct to bring Jerusalem with water many years ago.  From there, we went to the Bird Observatory where we learned all about the bird migrations and tagging of birds in Israel.  We then all planted a tree as we have done for many years on IST,  We finished off the day in the Old City by spending time in the Jewish Quarter, shopping, Kotel and then the special Kotel tunnels tour.  Tomorrow we will be visiting Yad Vashem, heading the Jerusalem shuk (market) and then our final Shabbat in this incredible country.