Israel Pilgrimage,
Group #10

*The pictures below are links; clicking on them will take you to a larger version of that picture.

Sunday, July 23rd:
Group 10 reunited this morning after Free Weekend, rejuvenated and excited to be back together again. After lunch, they went to the Sataf Spring right outside Jerusalem, where they crawled through water caves. This evening they played drama games together.

    

    

Monday, July 24th:
Group 10 spent the day around Jerusalem. They started at Yad L'kashish, a workshop where elderly people come together to make beautiful Judaica items. They then went to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Museum. They had a tour and went to the very moving Children's Memorial. After recalling a period of destruction in Jewish history, the group then did a big mitzvah by planting trees in the Land of Israel. Tonight they returned to their youth hostel and heard a lecture by Neil Lazarus on the Arab/Israeli Conflict.

    

    

    

Tuesday, July 25th:
Group 10 spent the day with Danny Siegel for their Tzedaka Day! In the afternoon they went to Rehovot to do onion picking, which are then used by an organization Table to Table which donates the food to needy people. They then ate lunch together, and drove to the Israeli Dog Center for the Blind, where they learned about training seeing eye dogs, and the tremendous benefits that blind people gain from having a dog.  After dinner they went to the Israel Museum, where they had a formal tour including a model of Jerusalem from the time of the Second Temple.

    

    

    

    

Wednesday, July 26th:
Group 10 had a fabulous day touring the Old City of Jerusalem! They started at the Cardo in the Jewish Quarter and then toured a Herodian Mansion that has been dug up and made into a sort of museum. After lunch they went to the walls surrounding the Temple Mount itself. It was beneath this arch that the marketplace next to the Temple stood where people would be able to buy food and animals during their stay on Pilgrimage Festivals. From there they walked across to the Davidson Center and the Southern Wall excavations. It is at the Southern Wall that you can see the gates to the inner part of the Temple. After a visit to the Kotel, the group went back to their hotel, where they had a discussion with Jules Gutin, the Director of USY, on Jewish identity. Tonight the group is doing some Israeli dance!

    

    

    

    

Thursday, July 27th:
Group 10 had the opportunity today to experience Yemenite culture. They experienced a wedding ceremony, Yemenite dancing, and food. They then went to Neot Kedumim, where they herded sheep and made pita. They then returned to their youth hostel, ate dinner, and did some snack shopping at the local super market.

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

Friday, July 28th:
Group 10 started the day with a splash when they went swimming in the pool in their hotel. They then loaded the bus and drove to Latrun, where they learned about and saw many tanks used in the Israeli army throughout the past 58 years. They ate lunch in Kiryat Gat before driving to Mitzpe Ramon which overlooks the great Machtesh Ramon, which looks much like Arizona's Grand Canyon. The group is spending Shabbat in the South, although it was not originally on the itinerary. They are looking forward to spending some time together in the quiet Negev, singing, davening, and relaxing. Shabbat Shalom!