July 11, 2021
By Jake Bardack, Bus 25 Staff
After I read a prior blog post to the participants, they adamantly voiced their disapproval of the term ‘the participants’ and suggested the term ‘my besties’ instead, which is what I will be using throughout this blog post.
Yesterday was Shabbat, which means a more chill day in our otherwise hectic schedule. My besties were able to sleep in and had an optional breakfast in the morning. This was followed by a fun service led by the guitar-playing Rabbi Josh. After this, my besties had lunch and were given a whole day of free time! Many of them joined me at the pool, while others hung out with friends on the grass, visited family, or caught up on some sleep. After free time, I got a whole hour to lead an activity. We did some vocal warmups, some stretching, and some guided meditation. Then, I told them about the week’s Torah portion, Matot-Massei, and we focused on the first part, which talks about the idea of vows. We discussed the differences between vows and promises and when it is okay to break a vow. We applied this theme to our experiences the day before at Yad V’Shem and Har Herzl (we vow to never forget) and debriefed more generally. Then, my besties were given maps and we recapped the trip thus far, plotting the points. We got our laundry back and had a beautiful havdallah service, after which we hopped on the bus for an exciting night out on Ben Yehuda Street, where we ate ice cream, listened to jazz, and bought stuff.
