Wrapping Up The Third Program

What a whirlwind program! Now that it's over, here's a past-view of our last week:

Tuesday

Morning Meditation with Rabbi Mottle

Me, Myself, And I with Rabbi Aaron

Tiyul (Trip) to Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Museum and to Har Hertzel, the Israeli Military Cemetery with Rav Binny (a very heavy day we had).

Wednesday

Morning Meditation and The Paradise of Paradox with Rabbi Mottle

Jewish Daily Living with Rav Binny

Lunch, then a tour of the ruins of 2nd Temple period Jerusalem at The Herodian Quarter and The Burnt House in the Old City

More of Me, Myself, and I with Rabbi Aaron

Early evening dinner and the special pre-Tisha B'Av meal consisting of bread, an egg, and ashes.

For our Tisha B'Av program, we had a special evening prayer experience on the Roof, then a reading from the scroll of Eicha (Lamentations), then a short talk by Rabbi Aaron followed by an Old City tour with Rabbi Mottle.

Thursday

Tisha B'Av morning started with a discussion of the lamentational poems that we read on Tisha B'Av as well as some stories that Rabbi Mottle shared. Around 12pm we began our Tisha B'Av movie marathon, featuring movies that deal with the recent difficult topics in Jewish life - the Holocaust and the removal of Jews from Gush Katif. At 8-ish we broke the fast with a lox and bagels meal.

Friday

In the morning Rabbi Mottle gave us a tour of the neighborhood of Nachlaot and the Machane Yehuda Marketplace. We then prepared for Shabbat on our own then gathered at Isralight at 6pm to launch into Shabbat, which was of course a memorable experience. 

Thanks for joining us for this year's programs. Stay in touch and we'll see you next year in Jerusalem!

Yom Sheini

The top-secret Lifta night hike and bonfire happened last night. It was a great bonding experience for the group. This morning we continued with Rabbi Aaron's class There Is None Other Than Hashem, where we continued to explore the concept of Hashem's Oneness. After, Rav Binny taught the agada from the Talmud about Rabbi Yosei meeting Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah The Prophet) in the ruins. Then we had a great healthy Italian-style lunch. 

Our afternoon began with Rebbetzin Emunah Witt sharing wonderful stories and giving us a ton of practical ways of being in the world, like knowing when to let go. The end of the day was Rabbi Mottle teaching Jewtopia, exploring the concept of the Chosen People and the positive impact that Judaism has had on the entire world. 

Yom Rishon

Catching up from late last week, we took a morning trip to the City of David then had a relaxing afternoon before our pre-Shabbat program which led into a very special Shabbat experience here in the Old City. Today we had a interactive class of learning from the Torah portion of Lech Lecha, about Avraham's journey to the Land of Israel, which was simultaneously an inner journey of self-discovery. Then Rav Binny shared some deep insights into the concept of 'prayer' as well as some incredible army stories. 

Lunch was the usual surprise of gourmet healthy dishes from Chef Shmuel, which gave us the energy we needed for our Tower of David tour. We're now settled back into the Beit Midrash where Rabbi Aaron is helping us to understand the idea that There Is None Other Than Hashem.

Off To A Good Start

Yesterday's pleasant Fruit & Cheese shmooze on the roof started off the program which led us into our introduction to logistics and our first class with Rabbi Aaron - What Is Religion, Truth, and Faith? This morning we had the Morning Meditation and The Goal To Be Whole/Unpacking Jewish Baggage with Rabbi Mottle. Then Rabbi Aaron taught The Pangs of Cleansing part 1, then we ate lunch, and right now, The Pangs of Cleansing part 2. Our day will be finished with an Old City Tour with Rabbi Mottle. 

Ending And Beginning Again

Our 2nd program ended well with our final Shabbat. The last week+ has given us time to wind down, recharge, and begin to rev up for our third and final program starting tomorrow evening. We'll give you more information tomorrow.

The Last Couple Of Days

Shalom. We're back after a 2-ish day hiatus. What has happened since we last posted?

Tuesday had: (1) Morning Meditation with Rabbi Mottle. (2) The Paradise of Paradox with Rabbi Mottle. (3) Judaism & Environmentalism with Rabbi David Mason. (4) Strength & Spirituality with Rebbetzin Chana Rachel Frumin. (5) The All-Inclusive Divine Pleasure with Rabbi Aaron.

And lunch, of course.

Yesterday was our full-day tiyul (trip) up north. We started driving east out of Jerusalem toward the Dead Sea, made a left at Jericho, drove up the Jordan Valley, then ascended to the Golan Heights at the southern tip of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). There we spent time at both the Peace Outlook and Har BenTal where Rabbi Mottle taught us about the 6-Day War and the Yom Kippur War as it played out on the Golan Heights. We spent some time in a bunker, ate lunch, and by the time we drove off the Golan towards Tzfat, we had a much better understanding of both the spiritual and strategic importance of the Golan for the Jewish people.

Ascending to Tzfat was so natural. We had 3 good solid hours there. Rabbi Mottle told us some powerful stories and then let us wander on our own. Some of us visited the graves of some of the greatest Kabbalists of all time, some went shopping, visited synagogues, met with friends, and relaxed. At around 5:30ish we jumped back into the van and drove down to Tiveria (Tiberius) for our traditional Isralight dinner at Decks, where had 'Israeli grill' at its finest.

We were back here in the Old City at around 12am, and like any tired group would do, we went to sleep. 

Today we're starting a bit later than usual (some people need to sleep!) with the Burnt House tour, classes in the afternoon, then Songs and Stories with Rabbi Mottle after the fast (today is the 17th of Tammuz, a tragic day for the Jewish people) ends.

Have an easy fast...

Chock Full Of Classes

Today was non-stop. Morning Meditation, 'Dimensions Of Space, Time & Soul' with Rabbi Baruch Z'ev Olenick, 'Jewtopia: Our Gift To The World' with Rabbi Mottle, tasty lunch, 'Jewish Food and Health' with Chef Shmuel, and 'What Do We Mean When We Say G-d' with Rabbi Aaron. Talk about consciousness expansion & elevation! Tonight is our famous super duper secret night hike, marshmallow roast and guitar sing-along. Erev Tov.