info@grossschechter.org +1-216-763-1400
Yesterday we started our day off with tefillah at our Kibbutz, דגניה ב (Degania Bet). This was our first time doing Torah reading in Israel and it was super meaningful especially because I (Micah) got to read Torah. I (Yossi) led שחרית (shacharit) which I found powerful and it was nice to know that we were finally here and settled in.
After breakfast, we headed to Mount Arbel near Tveria. We all gathered at the summit to hear the Yom HaShoah siren. The silence and sorrow we all heard and felt was truly surreal and confirmed our identity as one big, banded-together Jewish community. Following the siren, our tour guide (Hillel) and madrichim (Macabi and Hila) led us in a טףס (ceremony) in which we lit a candle in memorial of the deaths during the holocaust. We listened to them speak and heard the song והיא שעמדה (Vehi Sheamda) from the Haggadah, which is a meaningful song regarding how Hashem saves us from those who rise against us in every generation. This was a very timely message and made us feel confident that עם ישראל ץ will continue to fight, and that we will not only stay alive, but that we will thrive.
After our ceremony, we began our treacherous descent down Mount Arbel. This was exhilarating, exciting and terrifying due to the tight spaces and steep areas. While on a flat part of the mountain, we had a short history lesson by our tour guide about some of the empires that took over Israel over time. After the hike, we drove to the holy city of Tzfat where we had a pizur lunch. Later, we went to a glass blower who gave us an incredible demonstration while incorporating some kabalistic thoughts. We walked through the artist market, and we visited the holy site of Rabbi Yosef Karo’s shul where we learned some inspirational stories about him.
One of the things that was really impacted by the war was the agricultural industry, so we headed to a family farm where we did some volunteering.
After the farm, we went to Tveriah to go on a nice boat ride on the Kinneret to enjoy time together and listen to music. Our madrichim had a great playlist that was a split of Israeli and American favorites. Finally, we split up into small groups and walked around the town to eat our second pizur meal of the day. Overall, we had both a fun and meaningful day.
