Sorry for the delay in writing recently! I haven’t been feeling well, but I am on the mend.
After a lovely and relaxing Shabbat at our hotel, we hit the town in Tel Aviv/Jaffa! We started the day off in the beautiful old port of Jaffa. There, we toured the narrow, stone-laden alleyways decorated with street art from local artists. In Jaffa, the city gives artists studio and shop space in exchange for public art installations.
Afterwards, we walked along the old port - one of the oldest in Israel – which is now a boardwalk on the Mediterranean.
We walked all the way to lunch at Dr. Shakshuka – one of the most famous and touristy restaurants in Israel. We ate delicious shakshuka, salad, hummus, steak and fries at outdoor picnic tables in the shade. We even got to meet Dr. Shakshuka himself!
In the afternoon, we went into Tel Aviv where we toured the Carmel Market and did some shopping.
After returning to the hotel for dinner, we had a session on Israeli history through dance. It was a lot of fun! We did everything to the Hora to Mayim Mayim to a modern dance created by our instructor.
The next day we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial, Museum, and Education Center. We spent a lot of time processing together and giving each space to do so separately. The experience was, for most, very heavy and very intense. I have been to Yad Vashem several times, so I had a different perspective and was able to focus on the uniqueness of the experience with this particular group.
The rest of the day was more relaxing and fun! After Yad Vashem, we had lunch at the Shalva Center, a center that provides social, recreational, and therapeutic services and opportunities for people with special needs of all ages. There, we got to watch a video of a Shalva band performing at this past year’s Eurovision. Afterwards, we went to the Jerusalem Aquarium and had a fun, relaxing time playing with the fishes. Next we visited Ben Yehuda Street and went shopping in groups.
At the end of the day, we discussed our experience of the day and continued to process our experiences at Yad Vashem. I think it was a healing and supportive experience for everyone.
Today, though I stayed behind to recover from my illness, the rest of the group headed southeast to Masada and the Dead Sea. Because it was an extremely hot day, the group took the cable car up to Masada where they learned about the history of the ruin on the mountain. Next, they went down to the Dead Sea where they floated in the salt sea and covered themselves in the nutrient-rich mud. They topped the day off with a camel ride at a Bedouin settlement in the Negev Desert.
After a long, hot day, we all had the chance to relax and go to bed early.
