Sunday, July 1st
The day started with a trip to the Kotel. Before we entered the city we did a living timeline of Jewish history, ranging from the beginning of time to present day. It was a very interactive experience as we used props and various people as certain historic events. This was a very fun way to understand the history behind Jerusalem and how it relates to Jewish history.
Once we entered the city after the brief history lesson, the three bar mitzvahs and one bat mitzvah of the day spoke in front of the entire group explaining why we wanted to have the bar/bat mitzvah and what it meant to us. Here is the story that I told,
“I grew up with a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, religion was never an important part of my life and I often joked I was the least religious person in the world. That started changing for me in college, as I ended up going to a catholic school. While at the school I became more and more interested in my Jewish roots, due in large part to the ignorance of faculty and fellow students towards the Jewish religion. While attending this university i was told by professors that the Holocaust didn’t exist or was “our fault” and called ignorant by fellow students for not knowing important priests or saints. Additionally, being a football player i was required to attend pregame mass and participate in pre and postgame prayers. It was during this time that the catholic school ended up pushing me towards Judaism and away from Catholicism. Hence, when Rabi Zev came to me and asked if I was interested in being Bar Mitzvah’d at the wall this was the first thing that came to mind and I felt like I would finally appreciate and enjoy the process.”
After we shared our stories it was off to the wall where all of us were given time alone. Most of us had something prepared to leave in the wall or ended up writing something while we were there to leave. After this it was time for the continuation of the Bar/Bat mitzvahs ceremonies, don’t worry candy was thrown at the end. After this exciting morning, it was time for lunch.
After lunch we went to a Temple museum. At the museum, Jewish history and traditions were discussed. It was also nice because it was very hands on. We were able to lift one of the trays that Kohanim (Preists) used to use to carry bread, one weighs about 25 pounds, and they used to carry 6 at once. There were horns and harps that we could try, and it all concluded with a movie summing up everything we learned, while continuing to teach us new things.
From here it was off to the zoo, one of the most anticipated activities on the trip from day one, and it did not disappoint. There was a train that took us around the entire zoo, a special Noah’s Ark exhibit that featured specific animals from the Ark, a very hands-on Lema exhibit and tons of other animals for us to see. In addition to how wonderful the zoo was, it empty and we felt like the only people there, not having to fight for a view of the animals with other guests.
It was a very mellow night after a very long and exciting day. The activity for the night was preparation for Yad Vashem, something we knew would be very tough on everyone the next day. In the activity we split up into groups and discussed why we felt it’s a requirement of all birthright trips to visit a Holocaust museum and what the Holocaust means to us, either in personal connections with family members or how we feel it still affects us today. The answers to both questions were very impressive and very diverse, but the conclusion all was the same… It was a defining event in our history and something that will never before forgotten and should continually be remembered.
