Ah....catching up on sleep....after days of go go go, everyone had the chance to rest and sleep in for Shabbat. Many students participated in a yoga/meditation program on Saturday morning to help clean the mind, body & soul. We all took a relaxing day whether it was throwing the frisbee, going to the very rocky beach, time at the pool, basketball or just lounging around. We topped off the night with a havdalah all together as an IST community followed by a rousing gam of IST Trivia split up by our Family Groups! No pictures from this Shabbat and the next few days will be minimal posts since our group is being split into three groups. One group will be hiking from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee, one will be doing Community Service in the north of Israel and one will be doing basic army training (Gadna) and learning all about the Israeli army. Stay tuned...
ISTer Blog Post
"The chance of landscape
switches in a matter of seconds.
This land which does this
Lets people roam free
and when I hear
The praying and the silence
I realize why I'm here
for the history and to create new
history for future generations
I'm one of the few Jews in the world
I feel it when I feel the heat, hear the sounds, see the deserts, smell the different smells of each area, taste the food that we eat, and sense the future of this country as a peaceful place for all religions and people" - Graham Epstein
"Having finished the first half of IST, I can already say that I am having the best summer of my life. Israel has been absolutely incredible and the people here have been even better. I have made so many new friends that I will keep relationships with for year to come. Israel is much different than what I had envisioned it to be. There is so much green here! The other day we went to a nature preserve where we rode bikes and truly saw the beauty of the land. Israel has definitely not disappointed and I cannot wait to see what the second half of the trip has in store"
- Adam Butterman
"Israel, the land of my people, the land of my people's people and hopefully the same saga for generations to come. IST has been extremely educational, I have acquired knowledge about Israel's history, agriculture, foreign affairs and other important aspects of a society in two weeks of just keeping my eyes & ears open and maintaining a sense of curiosity. I never would have thought that I would've made these connections and bonds with my peers. I'm extremely grateful" - Jason Miklin
