Hey ya'all!!! I haven't been able to post in a while but I have had an amazing week that I am DYING to blog about!!! I need to start with yom kippur in Jerusalem! Wow I can't even begin to describe what an amazing experience it was. Everyone says that Jerusalem is the place to be for yom kippur and this week I found out why...
My friends and I arrived to Jerusalem the night before Erev Yom Kippur so we got to explore while it was still and up and running!!! We stumbled across Ben Yehuda street on accident and literally almost everyone there was speaking English. The crazy thing about Jerusalem is that almost all gap year students live there and its just as common to hear English compared to Hebrew. It's funny because I am now shocked when I hear English instead of being shocked to hear Hebrew back home....
So the next morning my friends and I woke up at around one in the afternoon with absolutely no food in our stomachs. In Israel, every shabbat and holiday means that everything is closed by around 2:30 in the afternoon. Well Yom Kippur is worse. Everything was already closed by the time we got dressed and we were in a desperate frenzy to find food to eat before the fast. We ended up stocking up on food at a gas station which was literally the only thing open... After that we ate lunch and eventually had a terrific meal before the fast began. I ate so much I literally thought I was going to explode.
On Yom Kippur, the girls and I rocked our orthodox chic clothes to shul! I was suoer excited for this because I don't belong to a temple back home and it was super special to go to shul in Jerusalem. Although the service was veeery long and it was hard for me to follow along due to lack of knowledge, I am happy that I went. After shul and a nap, a bunch of my friends and I made our way to the Kotel for the break fast!!!! After fastinf for the whole day we walked from where I was satying to the Kotel. My friends and I were able to walk in the streets due to the fact that NO cars were around whatsoever. The traffic lights don't even work on Yom Kippur!!!!! We were completely alone in the streets other than the occassional kids playing in the street. I have to say that the reason why I loved this walk so much was that I really felt connected to this holiday and all of its traditions. The fact that literally all of Israel was shut off for this day made me feel so proud that us as Jews really take our religion seriously and that our whole country unites on this day to atone for our sins.
Once we got to the kotel I was the happiest girl on Earth. The place was PACKED. Honestly the whole atmosphere was amazing and we met up with a bunch of other yearcoursers! I made my way to the wall and said a few prayers for my cousin as well as making some resolutions for the new year. Soon after that the shofar was blown and it was time to break the fast. There were tables giving out free food and drinks and there were people singing and dancing everywhere I turned. I literally couldn't think of one place I would have rather been.
Right now I am blogging from my parents' best friend's house I cam to visit his family and its been great!!! His son took me out to a bar and we had a great time :) Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be great! I'm planning on reuniting with some camp people yayayayyay!!!
:)
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