These past two days have been very relaxing!! On Friday, we began the day by getting blindfolded and taken to a special spot. We took off the blindfold to a gorgeous view of the whole city of Jerusalem, had a L'chiem and continued to the Pantry Packers. It's a place where they hand package non-perishable food items for those who cannot provide for themselves. It was so much fun, we put on aprons and hair nets and started working together to pack a bunch of boxes. We also have been collecting tzidukah and gave to Pantry Packers, it was over $200!! The whole experience was extremely rewarding. Then, we headed to another shuk, where we were assigned a "secret Moses" and a specific item to buy there. The point of secret moses was to be given a person and to buy them a little gift to give them some happiness on Shabbat. We also had to find a certain item that would be brought to a picnic we were having later the next day. The shuk was extremely crowded and overwhelming but it was a cool experience to be immersed in something that is part of the Iaraeli's everyday life. We got back to the hotel, showered and got ready for Shabbat at the Western Wall. When we got there, it was very crowded with people from everywhere and all walks of life. We separated boys and girls and for a chance to join with other birthright groups to sing and dance in prayer. We then individually got to stand at the wall. For me, it was an extremely special experience. As I placed my hands and head on the wall, I was overwhelmed with emotion and had tons of different thoughts racing in my head. It was such an amazing opportunity that I know I will remember for the rest of my life. We all returned to the hotel where we enjoyed a delicious Shabbat dinner full of song and cheer! After, we went to a room where we then discussed as a group our highlights of the trip thus far and of course, exchanged our Secret Moses gifts.
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> The next day, we got to enjoy the Shabbat spirit and have a much needed late wakeup. At 11, we had a Kiddush and then got into groups. In our small groups, we were given a pile of cards that each had certain values on them. Our task was to pick the top 7 and then top 3 values that we felt were most important to our Jewish identity and to help keep Judaism alive in the future. For certain groups, it was easy to agree, for others it involved more of a heated discussion. Then, we had lunch and got to play a game called "Stump the Rabbi". We got to ask Rabbi Levi any questions we wanted to and for certain questions, he was definitely stumped. After, we got some free time and we took advantage of that and got to take a nap. We then woke up, and gathered where our soldiers had a planned activity for us. We played a game, and for each round there was a challenge that involved us to do things that are part of Israeli culture for teens our age. For example, we got to try foods or learn funny pick up lines. Also, some of us got to put on their uniforms and experience what it's like for them in the IDF. They have to dress in under 7 minutes and then get lined up where they are inspected and disciplined. Next, we headed to a park where we enjoyed our picnic and played some fun games together. We walked back to the hotel where we had a Havdala, a very special experience, and then got ready for a night on Ben Yehuda street. The street was super crowded and bustling, but we got to do some shopping and eating, which of course made everyone happy!