So, here we are. Four days in and it feels like we've seen the entire country already. Today was no less exciting, meaningful, and informative than it's predecessors and was definitely just as fun. Our day began at the Holocaust museum at the Ghetto Fighters kibbutz. The museum itself was very complex and powerful, with six different floors each dedicated to different things. We had around a half hour to look around the museum before we met up on the roof for the two minutes of silence in remembrance of the holocaust. Hearing the sirens ring across the entire country, and seeing all the people just drop what they were doing for those two minutes was quite touching. It was as if the world stood still. Watching that really gave a sense of community and belonging.
After the kibbutz we drove to the old city of Acre. There, after eating a packed lunch (in which I snagged a treasured salami sandwich), we toured the ancient city, focusing mainly on the old citadel which the British converted into a prison. It was in this infamous prison where many Irgun, Haganah, Lechi, and Palmach resistance fighters were executed. However, as we learned, it is most famous for who the Irgun broke out thirty of their key members in a 1947 operation. After a long tour of the jail, we went to the shuk to have twenty minutes to buy various Israeli Judaica, trinkets, and so on. A memorable part of that for me was when I was wandering through a store, and found something I thought looked neat. I proceeded to ask the owner of the shop how much it cost. Unfortunately I subconsciously asked in Spanish instead. Evidently 'cuanto cuesta' was not part of the shopkeeper's vocabulary. For a few seconds he looked at me, and I quickly feigned losing interest in the item and awkwardly walked away.
Next, we headed over to rosh hanikra to explore some seaside grottos. We walked down into the grottos and looked through small openings at the water crashing into the rocks. In the first few areas we got a bit wet. However, that was nothing compared to what was ahead of us. There was one such hole which was quite unlike the others. This was first discovered by me, Tevyn, Tim, Emma, and our guide Yoel.
We were watching the waters lash the rocks through a small opening just like in all the others, when, all of a sudden, for a split second, we heard a deep, menacing growl coming from the waters in front of us. Before we knew it, water and spray exploded out of the opening, drenching, blinding, drenching and disorienting us. By the time everyone else got there, of course they too stood looking at the water through the opening. It wasn't long before the same thing happened again. As everyone else tried to run away, Ezra stood right where he was and bore the full brunt of it.
By this time of course, everyone is laughing and having a great time, especially the teachers, once they got a look at Ezra. This repeated itself a few times until we were told we had to go up to watch a movie. We all walked up wet, but none were as wet as brave Ezra.
During the short movie, Ezra stood at the back, unable to sit because of how drenched he was. As we walked outside, there was a platform on the tops of the cliffs. The formidable waves were also drenching these areas. Naturally, we decided to go to the very edge (where, just for all the worried parents out there to know, there was a large and sturdy fence) to get even more wet. We would watch the huge waves roll in, and just as they hit the cliffs, we would run back as fast as we could, out of the splash zone. Ezra however, had no interest in this. As the rest of us fled, Ezra would dutifully stand there, allowing the waves to soak him to the bone. Unfortunately for Ezra, immediately following the grottos we had a very long bus ride, one that was probably quite uncomfortable for poor Ezra.
- Noah
When we did get to our next resting place, Kibbutz Gonen, we had an evening program to reflect on the trip so far and the whirlwind that it has been. At first there was the complementing game in which we heard of Jack's affection for Emma's nostrils (?), and then the serious conversation: "What did you expect the trip would be like before you left, and how have the experiences reflected those expectations?"
Ezra, the one who was blasted by the Mediterranean all afternoon, put up his hand and said he's amazed every day at how much we can accomplish, how much can be learned, and how much connection he can make to Israel and his Jewish education in such a short time. It seems his experiences have really warmed his heart, and that letting the waves wash over him was a way of cooling down. Or another sappy ending: the trip has filled him with a love of Israel and Judaism as the sea filled his clothes with water.
He is busy blogging now, and I have taken a selection of his photos to post below.
Shabbat Shalom everyone at home :)
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