Wow - what a special feeling to spend Shabbat in Jerusalem. It started off with a walk through the old city to the Aish building where we all brought in Shabbat with candle lighting. From there we headed to the Kotel.
The Kotel is really alive on Shabbat. Hundreds and hundreds of people singing and dancing and praying at this holy site. On a personal level I was amazed that people flock to the Kotel throughout the night. It is so different to the mindset that I have with a start and end time to get to Shule. When you live in this Holy City- time is of no essence at all. Shule’s aren’t needed when you live in this Holy Land. This is the real deal.
It is an unbelievable experience to express your Jewish Identity so openly and freely and with such great pride. After that we headed to a wonderful Shabbat dinner at the Leonardo Hotel. Food was wonderful and the ambience was beautiful. 400 woman in one place. Logistically unbelievable!
On Shabbat morning we had a sleep in. We were treated to brilliant and inspiring shiurim by Adrienne Gold and Nili Couzens. These presenters were awesome and highlighted such important messages . We were met by our Shabbat hosts- the Lissik Family. We enjoyed a scrumptious lunch and got to know our hosts (ex Australian and American).
A real treat later that day was with the Claman Family. We were invited to a Seuda at their home. They have set up a lone soldier centre in their beautiful home. They are amazing and so humble- they have created a home for soldiers who have no family in Israel. We were introduced to lone soldiers and we felt so proud to hear of the amazing job and sacrifice they make in order to protect us .
Havdalah was held on the rooftop of their home accompanied by lone soldier musicians. The location was awesome and we were able to see the base of the dome of the rock all beautifully lit up.
To conclude the evening we headed to the Machane Yehuda Shuk. The vibe was amazing not to mention the food. B Burger Bar was the absolute best.
It is really special to be in Israel and especially in Jerusalem. Everyone identifies differently with this amazing country. For me I have never experienced such Pride to be a Jew. It’s good to be home!
