Passover Break

Sunday April 13

My family arrived early Sunday morning from their 3 day visit to England. They surprised me right before lunch by showing up to my campus. Minus my Dad who was giving a lecture in Tel-Aviv. We went out for lunch at a Falafel place close by. We rented an apartment in Jerusalem just down the street from my campus on Hapalmach. It was really nice to see everyone, although they all looked exhausted!  My Dad picked me up at around 8:30 pm. He got a mini tour of the campus and got to see a clean room 7, (not that it is never clean or anything).  We went out for dinner in Emek Refaim at a Yemenite meat restaurant. It was a great first meal after not having full appetizing meals!!  How often do you get to go to an ice cream place after having meat and have a whole parve section in front of you, only in Israel!!!  We went to our apartment afterwards. 

Monday April 14

Our Family picture at the Southern Wall

At our apartment before the celebrations with the view!!

We went to the Kotel on Monday before the Seder.  We also got a tour of the Davidson centre (The southern wall). 

Before the Seder we went to our friend Maya from Toronto's cocktail party in Teddy Kolek park (across from Mamilla mall). After, we walked straight to Beit Shmuel for our Seder. We had around 40 people at our Seder. It started at 9:30 and went until 1 am. They emphasized at the Seder that everyone can add new family traditions to the Seder (different tunes, discussions). I thought that this was a very nice idea to put into the Seder. We walked back to our apartment after the Seder, there were many other families walking at that time from their Seder. 

Talia, Gali, Zev, me and Maya (The Bat Mitzvah girl) at Teddy Kollek park before the Seder 

Ayala, Talia, Yona, Zev, me and Gali at Teddy Kollek park before the Seder

Tuesday April 15

We all woke up pretty late and stayed in our Pajamas until 2:30. Once everybody was ready, we went on the Ramparts walk in the old city. It took awhile to find the entrance to the walk. Even though I had done the walk before, it was really nice I do it with my family!  We then went to the Kotel since we were already there. It was chag so no stores were open. My Dad got packaged meals the day before to have for dinner for that night. He got kugel, and quiche, where else can you have that on Passover!!

Wednesday April 16

We woke up early to go and plant trees with the Grossmans and their extended family in .  We all planted at least one tree. It was really meaningful to plant a tree in a country where so much history occurred. Using Waze, we figured out that the traffic on the way was going I be crazy. It would have taken 3 hours for us to get back to Jerusalem, where it would normally taking 45 minutes. The Grossmand shinshinim from last year, Noa and her family were there. Noas father took us to Beit Shemesh on a tiyul to the Bar Kochba caves. I didn't go in this time around. 

In the Bar Kochba cave

We drove back to Jerusalem a different way then before to avoid traffic. It was a very scenic drive, up and down hills (where is it not scenic in Israel though). We got back to Jerusalem and were supposed to go to the Kotel Tunnels. We were going to be to rushed if we tried to get there, so we ended up going to Ben Yehuda street. We went out for dinner in Ben Yehuda at 'Rimon', with the Grossmans and their cousins from Chicago. It is so easy to keep Passover in Israel, we had what tasted and looked like bread rolls and pasta. Obviously they were made with corn starch, but they definitely tasted like normal bread and pasta. 

At Rimon restaurant

We were halfway to their hotel when my Dad realized that Zev was missing. He ran back to find Zev. He had been in a Kippas store and hadn't told anyone. Luckily, Zev found The Lengas (the Grossmans cousins) who waited with him to find everyone. Of course he didn't know anyone's Israel cell numbers. Zev was lucky that he had found them and a couple minutes later my Dad had gone to bring him back. The adventures of the Bell Family in Jerusalem!!!!!

Thursday April 17

Today was the big day; Ayala's Bat Mitzvah!!  Her Bat Mitzvah was at the conservative synagogue on King Solomon street. Her family led the whole service. She read from the Torah and haftorah and did an amazing job!!  The reception was at the Leonardo. I think they won for the longest Horah!!!  We all had a great time!!  A few people from TRY were there to which was nice. After the delicious lunch in, we went swimming and hung out by the pool for awhile. By the time everyone was out, it was 5:00!!  After swimming we went for ice-cream on Ben Yehuda with all the ׳extended guests׳!!

Friday April 18

While my Mom, Talia and Zev were at Yad Vashem, my Dad, Galit and I went to the Tachaneh. Galit and I walked around, she got a flower baloon, cotton candy and a whole bag of candy. She was so happy. Every Friday there is a market on the tachanah-even during passover!!  That afternoon we were going to Kibbutz Ein Gedi. I went in the Grossmans car because our rental car was so tiny and could barely fit all the duffel bags. Once I got to the Kibbutz with te Grossmans we went right into the pool. The Kibbutz is a stunning botanical garden overlooking the Dead Sea.  For Shabbat Dinner we were in a dining hall with many of the hotel guests. It was a feast and amazing food!!

One of the many options of food at Kinbutz Ein Gedi

Kibbutz Ein Gedi

Galit at the Tachaneh with her flower balloon

Stop for a picnic on the way to Ein Gedi with the Grossmans

Saturday April 19

Zev, me, Gali and Talia at the kibbutz

Yona and Ayala soaking themselves in the waterfall

We all woke up semi-early to go hiking at Nachal David. We ended up going a bit later then planned because of miscommunication. I hiked with the Grossmans. We stopped at every waterfall on the way up, which felt great on a hot day and different from what I did on the hike with my school. We all got soaking wet, we continued to hike and it just took about 10 minutes to dry because it was 35 degrees out!!  We got up to the top and saw my family who had left earlier and were already going down the mountain. We were heading towards the caves at the top. Only Daphna and Yona ended up going to the caves. Once we got back to the entrance, we set up our picnic. Israelis really do have the best picnics out there. 

Galit, Talia, Yona and me at the picnic at the bottom of Nachal David

People even brought mini grills to barbecue burgers.  After eating, we went to the Dead Sea. We got to the mud pit and bathed mud on ourselves.  I've never been in the Dead Sea, the past three times that I've been at the Dead Sea because of my skin.

Me with the mud all over myself at the Dead Sea

My Mom and me in the Dead Sea

 I decided to go in. It stung a bit, but overall I was glad I went in. As we got out of the Dead Sea to go up to the rampart back to the car, the sandstorm started. We were rinsing ourselves off in the shower outside and sand was smacking us.  Watermelons, Chairs, and tents were flying all over the place. It was crazy!  

Talia and Yona in front of the spa. Talia attempted to pass as 16 to get into the spa which didn't workout 

We finally got back to the car and drove back to Kibbutz Ein Gedi. We jumped into the pool at the kibbutz once we got back and then Yona and I went into the spa to go to the Turkish steam room.  We had dinner reservations for 8 with another humongous feast!!  The food was delicious. After the amazing dinner, we went to the lobby area where there was a guitarist playing live. We enjoyed that and then I had to say my goodbyes as my Dad was driving me back at 6:00 the next morning. 

Sunday April 20

My Dad, being the great father that he is, woke up at 5:30 during his vacation to drive me 2.5 hours to Jerusalem. We were going with our school up to Tzfat.  My Dad even stayed with me until the bus arrived and then drove back south as they were going that afternoon to Mitzpr Ramon. 

My Dad and me

Shabbat in Efrat

This week we had Shabbat Kehilla (Shabbat with a community). We went to Efrat for our Shabbat Kehilla. We were matched up with different host families in Efrat and one person from our program. 

I was with Zmira for the Shabbat. We were matched with a family of 7 in Efrat. The Mother was American and the father, Moroccan Israeli. They told us all about how his father came on Aliyah at the age of 10 from Morocco by himself. 

We went to synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat at 1 of 30 synagogues in Efrat. 

We had Shabbat dinner with their family (a full Moroccan meal)!  It was a really nice meal. After dinner we walked to where the Tsofim (scouts) meet. We had oneg Shabbat there. We sang songs and did ice breakers with the tsofim.  

After oneg Shabbat, we walked back to their house and went to sleep. 

We had a very relaxing Saturday; walking, sleeping and eating. Later on, we had a program at the Tsofim clubhouse. They had Seudat shlishit (falafel) ready for us and sloach (slow ruach). We had a speaker named Sharon Katz from Efrat who spoke to us about the history of Efrat. 

Efrat is a 'settlement' past the green line, a few minutes from Jerusalem. A rabbi from New York wanted to start a new community outside of Jerusalem in the mid 1980's. 

We participated in havdalah with the scouts in Efrat. It was a really great experience meeting people our age in scouts. Most of the people in scouts spoke English and had American parents. 

We left for Jerusalem right after Havdalah. 

Tiyul to Tel Aviv (Zionism)

The Underground Museum

Our topic on Thursday, was the British mandate and the establishment of Israel as a state. We started at the Underground Prisoners museum in Jerusalem and we talked about the three different fighter organizations that were established. 

Hapalmach Museum

After going to the Underground museum we went to Tel Aviv, to the Palmach museum. There we heard first hand, Murray Greenfield who was the captain of one of the ships that smuggled Jews from Europe to Palestine. It was an incredibly interesting story from a charismatic speaker. Afterwards, we went into the museum which I thought was very interesting although our translation devices apparently didn't do its justice compared to the Hebrew. 

Independence Hall

Indelendence Hall

Next we went to Independence Hall, the room in which Ben Gurion announced the State of Israel, in the middle of the Independence War. We heard a recording of him officially announcing it, and the orchestra playing Hatikvah. I got chills thinking about the pride that the nation must have felt, especially only a few years after the Holocaust. 

The room in which Ben Gurion declared the State of Israel

Canadian pride

Meir Dizengoff

Namal

That night we had a free night on the Namal. We saw a beautiful sunset there (pictures below)!  Me and my friend Hannah, went to Max Brenners and bought chocolate pizza and chocolates. 

Chocolates that I got from Max Brenners

Sunset by the Namal 

Sunset by the Namal

Galil- North Tiyul

 On Sunday, we all met up again after our Passover break and went to the North to Tzfat. 

Tzfat

In Tzfat we rewinded a bit in our history timeline and talked about the birth of Kabalah. We went to a beautiful Sephardic synagogue in Tzfat (pictures below). We heard mystical stories of such 'coincidences', that have apparently happend in Tzfat. 

Next we went to a small town called Rosh Pina and discussed the arguably failed First Aliyah to Palestine. 

 T

The view from Tzfat

Read on te box, 'sweet souls please dress modestly, respect your own holiness with gratitude in the holy city of Tzvat

Sephardic synagogue in Tzfat

Sephardic synagogue in Tzfat

Sephardic synagogue in Tzfat

Touristy/shopping area of Tzvat

Bracelet that I got from Tzfat

Yom Tov

The next day was the last day of Pesach.  We had a nice Chag together as a group after our week away. We had a lot of free time and reflection periods with our group. 

Tiberias 

Monday night was the last day of Passover. To celebrate the occasion we went on a 'disco boat', on the Kineret!!  It was a lot of fun!  Afterwards, we had a free night in Tiberias.  Although you don't even feel like it is Passover in Israel, we had such a relief when we broke Passover off of pizza and milkshakes. 

Me and Kayla breaking Passover in Tiberias with Pizza and a milkshake

 

Farm cemetery

On Tuesday, we started on Har Chai and spoke about the Second Aliyah, the true pioneers of Israel as a nation. We discussed the idea of dying for your country and how it would probably be better to live for your country and how lucky we are to even have a country to live or to die for.

Memorial site memorial

Kfar Bloom

Me, Ellie, Julia, RJ and Eve at the end of our kayaking route

We had such a great time Tuesday afternoon kayaking through the Jordan River. Throughout our kayak ride we had a riff off and water fights with the other boats. We had water guns with us to help us along the way!!  After kayaking we headed back to Jerusalem on a 3 hour bus ride. 

Har Herzl and The Biblical Zoo

הר הרצל

The week before Passover (and after Poland), we had two Tiyulim. In the morning we went to Har Herzl, where we learned about the 6 types of Zionism and about Herzls part in Zionism. 

Herzl was the 'Father of Zionism'. He outlined his vision for a Jewish state in his book 'Der Judenstaat', (The Jewish State) in 1896. The book describes the practical functions of a secular state, where the state would be westernized and an environment free from anti-Semitism.  Herzl came to terms with Zionism while reporting for his paper in Paris on the Dreyfus Affair, in which Captain Dreyfus was falsely accused of treason. Herzl came to realize the anti semitism, and that the Emancipation of the Jews, far from solving the Jewish problem, only aggravated it by creating severe tensions between the Jews and their neighbors in European society. In Herzl's view, the Jews had to consider themselves to be not only a religious body but also a nation capable of developing its own political institutions in a land of its own.  The first Zionist conference was held in Basle in 1897. 

Herzl died early at the age of 44, in Vienna, where he was buried.  In 1949, Herzl's remains were taken to Jerusalem where they were buried on a hill, which is now named Mount Herzl. Herzl was indirectly responsible for the establishment of the State of Israel and is acknowledged to be the State's founder. 

In 1949 Herzl's remains were taken to Jerusalem where they were buried on a hill, now called Mount Herzl. More than any other thinker and politician, Herzl was indirectly responsible for the emergence of the State of Israel and is acknowledged to be the State's true founder.

First Zionist conference

While we were at Har Herzl, there was a practice going on around Herzl's grave for the Yom Hazikaron ceremony, (remembrance of the Soldiers who have fallen). Thus, we weren't able to get close to Herzl's grave. We also went to the museum where we learned all about Herzl's life through the interactive videos. 

In the afternoon, we went to the Biblical Zoo as a Hebrew class tiyul. Our Hebrew teachers came too. My teacher came with her daughter Affik as well. We had an assignment to do while having some free time around the zoo. We had to pick an animal that we saw and write about its characteristics in Hebrew. We went during everyone else's Passover vacation so there were many camps and families there. 

Chimpanzee 

Giraffes in the zoo

Elephants in the zoo

Later that night we had free time in Emek Refaim and enjoyed some great bagels and ice cream!

 

Poland (April 1-April 6)

View of Warsaw from the plane

We went to bed at 8 pm Monday night, to get up at 1:15 to drive to the airport for Warsaw. We drove to Ben Gurion Airport and got there at 2:30. Once we checked in through security, we took a shuttle to the plane. It felt really weird getting on a plane with everyone during our program. The last time we were in the airport was when we were just meeting each other for the first time. The flight to Poland was 4.5 hours long. I slept the majority of the ride. 

Okopowa Cemetary (the graves pre Holocaust)

Day 1:

We arrived in Poland at 9:30 am, Tuesday morning. When I wasn't sleeping on the plane, I was thinking about what Poland was going to be like. I always imagined it Poland as an old and dreary country because of all the deaths and tragedies that occurred there. 

Okopowa Cemetary

Once we landed in Warsaw we went straight to the Okopowa cemetery. Many of the graves before the Holocaust were fitted to the peoples names and things that they enjoyed or were known for. Before the war they also had whether they were a Cohen or Levi on the stone. The people who were buried in another section in the cemetery that had perished in the Holocaust, weren't buried with much dignity to their names. 

Ghetto Heroes Trail

Me in front of the heroism monument

We sat in front of two monuments. One facing the road, and the other facing the newly built 'Museum of the history of Polish Jews'. The one facing the street is an example of unknowing what is going to happen next, whereas the monument facing the museum is an example of heroism. People who pushed throughout the entire time; carrying strength and hope to the atmosphere. They looked very familiar. We saw the copies of the monuments at Yad Vashem. 

Umschlagplatz

Umschlagplatz was a deportation camp for children and families. The ghetto police put people in the boxcars to take them somewhere else. We learned about Janusz Korczak who ran an orphanage and was killed at Umschlagplayz with his orphaned children. What people went through, throughout the Holocaust is completely unimaginable. We went for mincha at the Nozyk synagogue in Warsaw. It is one of two synogagues out of forty that survived (that the nazis didn't destroy).  It was a beautiful synagogue with vibrant chandeliers and stained glass windows with decorations on the walls. It was an orthodox synagogue. We had the Chief Rabbi of Poland speak to us about how he moved from the US to Poland and his experience with the Jewish community and people figuring out their Jewish heritage in Poland through their customs. The mincha we did at the synagogue brought a lot of ruach to this otherwise 'quiet and lonely' synagogue. We sang and danced. For dinner we walked down the street to a kosher restaurant. Who knew that there would be a Kosher restaurant in Poland, let alone in Warsaw. It was a great three course meal. We checked in at the Hotel and fell asleep right away after a tiring day. 

Day 2:

Tykochin

Magen David on a house in Tykochin

We went to the Tykochin synagogue. Is is now a museum showcasing talitot, Torahtot, and siddurs. We did Shacharit there. We sang and danced to מזמור לדוד after splitting apart for the Amidah. There is no Jewish community in Tykochin anymore. The Synagogue and cemetery are still there and many Magen Davjds are scattered around on buildings around the Shtetl. We walked to a cemetery where many of the Jews were buried. It wasn't kept very well and the stones were very dirty so the letters were unclear. 

Lupochowa Forest

Lupochowa forest

We stood in the Lupochowa forest while our teachers recited a testimony that was read at the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem. There were many people shot in this forest in one day. The people were both young and old. No one should live the misery of seeing anyone being killed or die.  There were many יזכור candles. Many Israeli flags were there too. They didn't get the chance to go to Eretz Israel. All you could hear was the wind blowing and the birds chirping. We stood in front of green gates forming a square. We said mourners Kaddish for all of those who perished. 

Treblinka

There wasn't much left of Treblinka. It was 500 hectares which was heavily interwoven with barbed wire. The nazis destroyed everything there and built a farm thinking that no one would find the site. There is now a memorial where the farm stood before. Hundreds of towns  where the people were from who were transported to Treblinka. People who got to Treblinka were sent either to the left or right. The people sent to the right were "the lucky ones", meaning a labour camp. While the people to the left were sent to the death camp. We had a reeks (closing ceremony) here. We all felt emotionally stressed and were all leaning on each other. We sang many songs of hope including Ani Meamim. 

Day 3:

Yeshivas Chochmei Lublin

Yeshivas Chochmei Lublin

Rabbi Meir Shapira who was the Rabbi of Lublin created the concept of 'Daf Yomi', which is learning one page of Talmud everyday. We carried this on where it all started in Yeshivas Chochmei Lublin. We studied Talmud with a partner on different topics around the topic of Passover. The Yeshiva is now a hotel called 'Hotel Ilan' and their slogan is carry on the tradition. This couldn't be a coincidence because this hotel kept the yeshiva as a museum on the top floor. 

Majdanek

This goes without saying; everything  seems unimaginable, yet it happend. It was real. The remainds of the buildings, survivors from different camps pass on their stories. There was a bunker that I went into filled with thousands of shoes. The tiny shoes that probably belonged to a baby. They were real people that were treated as if they were useless.  We were able to freely walk in and out of Majdanek , they went in and never came made it out. 

Krasnik Synagogue

We got to the Krasnik synagogue and entered a freezing cold room with nothing in it. To my surprise, we walked further into the building singing מה טובו and we saw a beautiful poster mounded onto the wall with the מה טובו prayer on the way to the main sanctuary. In the main sanctuary we saw where the ark would have been in the wall. We formed a circle and our counsellor, Sara shared an essay she wrote with us about her connection to the town of Krasnik. Her grandfather grew up in Krasnik and went to the Krasnik synagogue. It was the only place in the town that her grandfather had fond memories of. We lit 6 candles there and placed them where the ark would have been. We then sang Am Yisrael Chai!!  It made the synagogue come back to life again. 

Lezajsk

We went to the town of Lezajsk which is known for being an important Hassidic centre because of Rabbi Noam Elimalech who was the originator of the concept of Tzaddikism. We seperated into boys and girls. The boys went to the mikvah and we had a 'Seudat Amenim', where we wrote our own prayers and shared them. The concept is to say amen as many times as possible. We all joined up after to go the the Ohel of Tsaddik Elimelech which was located in the cemetery. We then drove to our next hotel. 

Day 4:

Zbylitowska Gora forest

Our tekes

I took part in a tekes (closing ceremony) in Zbylitowska Gora forest. My part was to read the lyrics of 'Sounds of Silence', by Simon & Garfunkel. It was a very meaningful tekes. We lit a candle in the centre of the circle, read poems, songs, we sang Hatikvah and we handed out pictures of kids during the Holocaust to hang on the memorial fence. Many people/groups come here everyday to hang flags and lite יזכור candle to remember the many children who were killed in the forest for no reason at all.  There were Israeli flags hung up everywhere too. My ICC teacher, Betsalel, blew bubbles onto the mass grave memorial site. I thought it was a nice tribute to their ruined childhood. Just as we were walking to the bus on a residential street, I saw kids playing in their backyard on a swing set. The kids whose childhoods were ruined by the Nazis. They probably started their short childhood memories with playing in their backyards with family and friends. 

Krakow

Schindlers factory

We went to the ghetto square in Krakow. We learned about a pharmacist who risked his life to help the Jews in the Krakow ghetto. He snuck in medicine and food to help the Jewish people. There is now a museum where the pharmacy stood. The original buildings are still in existence and show up in 

'Schindlers list'. People like the pharmacist are an example of how people should help others in times of need. 

We then stood outside of 'Schindlers factory', where he saved 2500 Jewish kids. Outside of his factory were pictures of people that he saved. 2500 people doesn't seem like many at all compared to the 6 million people that perished in the Holocaust. In Judaism, 1 life is like saving the whole world. We went to the hotel and got ready for Shabbat. We walked to synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat services. There were over 150 people there-different groups, Holocaust survivors. It was a beautiful synagogue. We sang and danced there too. After Kabbalat Shabbat we walked to a kosher restaurant for Shabbat dinner. The restaurant was in the first Bais Yaakob where women can study Torah and Talmud. 

Day 5:

Krakow

We walked to the Isaac synagogue and there wasn't a minyan (they don't count girls). The boys from our group made a minyan and lead the service. We had a lot of ruach along with the girls school from Kfar Saba. We danced and sang together. Our teacher taught us the Krakow song that we used during the service. After synagogue we went back to the restaurant for lunch. We had a local speaker come to speak to us at lunch about Jewish life in Krakow and her personal story. Her name was Olga. She didn't find out until 7 years ago that her paternal grandmother was Jewish. She explained to us that it is difficult living a completely Jewish life in Krakow.  After, we had a few hours of free time. We had a tour of Kazimierz (a part of Krakow). We walked around Wawel castle where there is a legend about a dragon. We walked on to see the old city which is made up of many Jewish sites. There were restaurants their that you'd think are kosher because of the names (ex. Rubinsteins, Israeli bat). They were definitely not kosher serving pork and meat and milk together, and shrimp  we passed by stores with mezuzah engravings on the sides of the doors. They used to all be Jewish shops. We went to the old city square in Kazimietiz got Havdalah. We had a beautiful and meaningful Havdallah there. Once we finished, other groups joined in singing. 

Day 6:

Auschwitz

In the museum of Auschwitz

Shoes in the museum

Auschwitz was the largest concentration and extermination camp. The camp was located near the town of Oswiecim. We went into the museums that are now in all of the bunkers. There were thousands of hairbrushes, shoe polish, toothbrushes and shoes on display. 

Birkenau

When we got to Birkenau I felt so mad that the grounds of Birkenau were as beautiful as they were. I felt almost guilty. The place deserves to be dreadful and dark, at the same time it should be beautiful to commemorate the people who perished and to prove that Hitlet did not entirely win because the next generation is learning about the Holocaust and making their memories alive. The grass was so green, the flowers were blooming and the smell of ashes and fire were in the air. We saw the remains of 5 gas chambers. 2 million people were innocently gassed in Birkenau. The thought of why must have gone through their minds and the cry of helps. It was a lot to take in for one day. Auschwitz and Birkenau are completely different. Birkenau is extremely large. There are also a lot of remains on the ground. We found toothbrushes and a screwdriver. After, we drove for half an hour to the Krakow airport to catch a flight to Warsaw. From Warsaw we took a flight to Tel Aviv. I was so glad to be back in Israel!!

Shabbat in Netanya

We went to Netanya for Shabbat this weekend. Our shinshin Sapir is from Netanya and her family still lives there. We were paired up with a host family and a roommate from the program. I was paired up with a couple people.  Once we got there, there was no end to the food.  We got to know our host family and learned that he is an ICC teacher at a local school.  We went to the synagogue close by which is modern orthodox. There happens to be a wedding that weekend and we were lucky enough to listen to a beautiful accapela group lead services. We had Shabbat dinner as a group in the community centre and got to know local B'nei Akiva participants our age. We had an oneg Shabbat (singing and dancing) and then went back to our host families houses. 

We had a bit of a sleep in on Saturday morning and then went to synagogue. We again heard the accapella group 'perform' at the synagogue!  Because of the wedding there was an extravagant kiddush at the shul. We went to another family for an even bigger lunch which was delicious. After lunch we went to the beach that Netanya is known for. The water was so nice!!  We had Seudat shlishit (another meal equivalent to dinner) right after going to the beach. We also had slouch (singing slow songs after the meal at the table.). Netanya is such a nice community from the point of view of the people and the city. We went out for pizza with Segev (our host) before getting back on the bus to go to Jerusalem. I had a great weekend!!

Me, Nisa, Segev (our host), Josh and Benny