Sad and Happy All in a Week!

Shalom Chaverim!

I ended my last post mentioning Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'Atzmaut. Last Sunday (April 18th) was Erev Yom Hazikaron. For those of you who do not know, Yom Hazikaron is the national memorial day for fallen soldiers and for those who were killed in terrorist attacks. As a member of the Vad (committee) I helped plan the TRY ceremony. We all sat together and read several stories of fallen soldiers and meaningful poems. Afterwards we watched the video made by Philadelphia Jewish community in memory of Michael Levin, a lone soldier who had made aliyah to Israel, who was killed during the Second Lebanon War. While the movie was very hard to watch, I strongly recommend everyone seeing it. On Monday we went to the Chava ceremony which was dedicated to past students and staff who were killed in war or by acts of terrorism. Even though I could not understand what they were saying, seeing everyone on the campus gathered together silent and all dressed in white really made me realize the significance of this day and how nearly everyone in Israel has a family member or close friend who has been killed fighting in war or while on duty. Later in the day we went to the Underground Museum in the Russian compound in downtown Jerusalem. While originally built by the Russians, the British turned the compound into a prison for the Jewish underground fighters (also Arabs) during British control. There is a lot more interesting information about the prison which I would also like to study!

Right after Yom Hazikaron, which is basically the saddest day of the year in Israel, Yom Ha'Atmaut (Independence Day) begins. We went as a group to a transition service, which began sad and ended as a celebration. After the service, we walked to Ben Yehuda Street where the party had already begun! On the way everyone was singing and cars were honking. The atmosphere was completely different than the previous day. Ben Yehuda was a lot of fun, and I have some funny memories from that night. On Tuesday we went to a beach in Tel Aviv and had a BBQ, which every Israeli does on this day! The beach was very crowded and everyone was grilling. I don't normally like to hang out at the beach, but I had a good time collecting sea shells and getting an uncomfortable sunburn. I really encourage everyone to try and experience Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'Atzmaut in Israel.

On Wednesday we had a normal day of classes, but then left at 1:30 A.M. for a night tiyul in the Negev near Sde Boker, which is where David Ben Gurion is buried and also where we had gone for Gadna. Although completely exhausting, it was a nice experience. I have never seen a clearer sky filled with so many stars. The purpose of this tiyul was to imagine going from darkness to light, as we and the rest of Israel had done the past few days. We walked for a couple hours and did Shacharit during sunrise. The rest of Thursday was a sorely needed rest day.

This past Shabbat I went with my friend Adiel to her great aunt's in Herzliya. We had a delicious Shabbat dinner with a bunch of her family. Saturday afternoon we went to the Tel Aviv boardwalk and walked around. After a nice lunch and ice cream in Raanana, we went to Kibbutz Shefayim for Havdalah. This kibbutz is highly commercialized and has a nice hotel and water park. At the kibbutz there was training for Israelis who are going to be counselors this summer at Jewish camps.
Sunday morning we left early to catch the Tel Aviv bus back to Jerusalem. This week I am really trying to focus on academics, especially AP classes! I am looking forward to next Shabbat as I am supposed to go to a spa with Bri!

Talk soon! Shavua Tov!

xoxo
Hannah