JNF on tour: Day 4
Each day a member of the current KKL-JNF Education Study Tour to Israel reports on the day’s activities.
Day 4
Moriah College
On Thursday night we alighted like a flock of cranes on Jerusalem – our bellies full from the fields of Israel and also from a fabulous feed of Druze food in Daliyat al-Carmel.
Many of us immediately descended on Machane Yehuda – definitely the place to be on Thursday night in Jerusalem – especially if you were between the ages of 18 -35 and into smoking Nargillah. We weren’t but enjoyed the buzz anyway. Wandering down Jaffa to Ben Yehuda, we enjoyed coffee on the way and that very special atmosphere that Jerusalem has.
After a few hours rest and our usual tiny – haha – Israeli breakfast, we were ready to truly experience the old city.
Our first stop was the lookout on the Mount of Olives where Jerusalem was laid out for us – sparkling and golden under an absolutely azure sky. Omg it was gorgeous – a great appetiser! We then abandoned our bus and proceeded on foot through the Jewish Quarter. Even those of us who had been many times in Israel were visibly moved by being by the Kottel our spiritual hub – and most of us stood or sat quietly by the wall thinking of our history and sending warm thoughts to our loved ones .
Then, It was time for archaeology – connecting the dots between the temple, David’s city and Jerusalem in biblical times. It is difficult to describe the awe experienced when standing on the corner of the western and southern walls of the temple and seeing a small part of the scale of the ancient temple.
It was hard to leave but Shabbat was on the way and who can miss Machane Yehuda in the hour before it closes down. We pushed our way through sampling and tasting and trying to keep the pastries to single digits!
Now at the end of another exhilarating day in the centre of the Jewish world – we are ready to experience Shabbat in Jerusalem.
