Dear Parents,
Today was our first full day in Israel, and it was wonderful! We started our day at the Conservative Yeshiva, where we learned with Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Shmuel Lewis about pluralism through the lens of Hillel and Shammai.
Next, we went to the Israel Museum, where we learned about the Second Temple period. We looked at a baseball-diamond-sized model of Jerusalem at that time; interestingly enough, this model used to sit next to the Holyland Hotel, and a few years ago, it was moved to the Israel Museum. (Not a small task...) We then headed into the Shrine of the Book, where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Qumran are kept, and we learned that the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is considered the greatest find in all of Jewish history.
We spent the afternoon in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, starting with a picnic lunch. We took a group picture there and hope to soon have the capability to add pictures to the blog. We started our tour of the Jewish Quarter by going to a rooftop vista at the precise center of the Old City. From there, we were able to see all four quarters--Jewish, Christian, Armenian, and Muslim--and therefore better understand the geography of the area. While in the Jewish Quarter, we went to a cluster called The Four Sephardi Synagogues (even though one was actually Ashkenazi) and saw a number of other sites before heading to the Kotel, where students davened mincha and saw a presentation by Sharsheret HaDorot (Chain of Generations) as an introduction to the Kotel.
Our evening included dinner and a bonding activity led by our Israeli madrichim.
Today was also punctuated by many visits from CJHS alumni!
Tomorrow, we look forward to an early morning walk to daven Shacharit by Robinson's Arch, the area of the Kotel where Conservative and egalitarian minyanim are permitted. We will spend the morning in the City of David, and the afternoon in Ein Kerem, where we will learn about Christianity as part of our study of the three religions of Jerusalem.
For our free evening, we will spend some time at Malcha Mall, which is indoor and secure. secure mall.
We have now activated our blog. You can read this post and all future posts at http://seniorisraelexperience.blogspot.com/. There is a place on the upper righthand side where you can subscribe to the blog and get alerts when we post a new message.
Caroline Musin
Claudia Linda
Ted Schaffner
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We never did get to Malcha Mall when we were there last year. That should be fun! Glad everyone is enjoying themselves.
ReplyDeleteI remember visiting that model way back when, when it was still at the Holyland Hotel. That must have been some project indeed, to move the whole thing; it was huge!
Malcha Mall is fun. Isn't that the one that has a ceiling painted with 50 different caricatures of the Mona Lisa?
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