Hey!
NATIV decided that we should spend Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzma'ut in Jerusalem. They packed us on a bus to Jerusalem at 7:45 AM in order to get to Har Herzl at 10:00 AM for the program there. There was so much traffic that we had to park far away, so we hiked up the mountain to get to the cemetery. At the cemetery we recieved flowers, candles, water, and various prayer cards. Armed with my own flower, candle and card I decided I would make my way through the crowd to get to the top of the mountain for the program. Seeing thousands of people, hundreds of them soldiers of every division, and every rank was an experience I will not soon forget. I ran into one of my good friends and we listened to the ceremony featuring a wonderful speech by Shimon Perez and the normal Yom Hazikaron prayers led by the head rabbi of Israel. It was a unique experience that I am thrilled I got to be a part of. Following our Har Herzl experience we returned to the hostel to eat lunch. Because March of the Living had booked all of the rooms at the Jerusalem Youth Hostel, we were designated a room in the basement to put all of our stuff, they obviously thought we wouldn't go to sleep and we'd party all night for Yom Ha'atsma'ut.
Following lunch we had a program about Yom Hazikaron featuring our staff and the mother of Michael Levin z''l. Most of you know Michael Levin's story, if you don't I encourage you to look it up, it's inspirational, and the definition of what Israel means to the rest of our world. She spoke of Michael as an ordinary teenager, not the hero that we've come to know and love.
We were free to roam around Israel at 4:00 PM. Many activities followed because us NATIVers had about 4 hours to kill until Yom Ha'atzmaut was set to start. So being the creative young adults we are, we decided to sit in a circle and play some games. We played the hate game, which features one person being chosen, and everyone in the circle saying one thing that they really don't like about that person. This led into the "save game." This game is only slightly less morbid. Each person in the circle chooses a person in the circle that they would save, if one were put in that position. This goes around until there is one person left, this person, yes, you've guessed it, they perish in the situation that they would have been saved from. I was in a situation in one of the latter rounds of the game and I was in the final two, one would live, one would die, it was very tense. This guy, Adam Talmud threatened to not save me, if I didn't update my blog, so I promised to update it, and here it is. Hi Adam! Happy? Great, me too.
After these few hours of harmless fun a couple of friends and I attended a Ma'ariv service at the Tayelet, which overlooks the Old City. This featured dancing, singing, musical instruments, and a vibe that could never be matched. I recall that I mentioned that Simchat Torah dancing was a reason for me to stop clubbing, this only encouraged that thought. The unique mix of cultures, whether it be from different countries, or just different backgrounds, the unique Israeli dance style which includes techno break dancing to "B'shana Haba'a B'Yerushalayim."
After this wonderful service we headed to Ben Yehuda Street which was the center of all things Yom Ha'atzma'ut. Concerts, Breslauers, drunk minors, cotton candy, popcorn, and plenty of food created a unique atmosphere that could not be duplicated. I milled around the Ben Yehuda area and then made my way to a huge Israeli dancing gala at the town hall. This was set to last until 7 AM the next morning, I stayed until 2 AM.
Today we had a nice Yom Ha'atzmaut BBQ, or Mankal, it was good food, and good fun. I'm back in Yerucham, and will update more often.
GO MAVS!!!
-Z