Michigan State Hillel: 937's Shabbat in Jerusalem!

Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem! It was absolutely amazing to have the opportunity to celebrate this time in the Holy City. For those of you who have never traveled to Israel, it is imperative to know that literally every business closes from sundown on Friday night to sundown on Saturday. God intended for the Sabbath to be the day of rest, and we definitely did our very best to uphold that ideal.

To start, the majority of us exhausted students slept in. The hotel pool was opened for the first time this summer, and we took full advantage of it. It was so fun to sun bathe and swim with all of the other Taglit Birthright participants. We really took it upon ourselves to completely relax, since we have been experiencing nothing but jam-packed 10 hour-days. There were other options for relaxation, such as a yoga class. You can imagine our excitement at the fact that the first actual mandatory activity wasn’t until 1 p.m., lunch time! Afterwards we were able to chill out for another hour or so, until our activities really started at 3.

It was at this point that we met together as a bus, and had time to really get to know our soldiers. We broke off into smaller groups, and the Israelis traveled from cluster to cluster asking us questions, answering our inquiries, and sharing our laughs. It was wonderful getting to know them better, even though they had already been such an integral part of the trip for a few days prior. We were able to brake down any barriers that there were and truly understand them as friends. After this we were given the opportunity to join some of our fellow Bus 937-ers on their journey to manhood and womanhood, according to Jewish law. Sarah, Katie, Danielle, Gillian, Ruthie and Max all chose to become b’nai mitzvah in Jerusalem. They recited the prayers and wrote out speeches as to what becoming a b’nai mitzvah meant to them. The ceremony was in a room overlooking the Old City, and it was absolutely beautiful to see. After our peers went through their ceremony we walked to a park about 15 minutes away. It was beautiful outside, as it has been for the majority of our stay here, and we were just allowed to play and goof around with friends old and new. Afterwards we enjoyed dinner and then a lovely Havdallah service on the roof of our hotel. All of the students who were b’nai mitzvahed were showcased in the service overlooking Jerusalem at night.

We were then off to Ben Yehuda street for some Jerusalem nightlife. For the majority of us, this meant buying souvenirs for all of our lovely friends and family. The shops open at night after Shabbat ends, and the streets of Jerusalem are filled with people eating, drinking, and being merry. Being able to take part in Shabbat in Jerusalem was life changing, and though this day wasn’t as activity-driven as most, we were definitely okay with it

-Barrie Seigle