We started our day in Jerusalem asking ourselves what is the Shoa - the Holocaust, and why is it important for young Jewish Americans to remember it? While discussing our thoughts before our tour of Yad Veshem, one fellow Mayanot’er mentioned a beautiful idea that I would like to share with you. He stated that the Nazis may have taken their shoes, hair, teeth etc… But were they able to take their identities? During the follow-up discussion, another Mayanot’er answered the question that it's both yes and no. Yes, they took our physical bodies but no, they did not capture US, our identity, as we are here today!!! 

 

After a powerful morning we headed off to the SHUK for some fun shopping and food tasting! We each were given a secret buddy to buy a small gift for a game of Giants and Gnomes. Following our wild adventure we headed to our new hotel, the Jerusalem gardens to get ready for Shabbat.

 

We had a pre-Shabbat activity explaining what Shabbat is all about, then candle lighting and Kabbalat Shabbat. After our services led by Rabbi Zev, we enjoyed a wonderful Shabbat dinner. Our night ended with our gift exchange game, lots of love and laughter.