Hi Everybody,

Well, this is my first blog entry since....ever. Today, Monday the 22nd, was an amazing day spent in Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Additionally I was a Moshe, or Leader, along with Tristan. This was a really great chance to practice my leadership skills even more. However this is not the purpose of this Blog entry. I simply wish to share a belated, yet meaningful experience of my very first day in Israel, in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Some of this may be slightly repetitive because there was already a summary of our first day, but I just wanted to include a more personal perspective on my first experience in Jerusalem. This was my first of many journal writings that I have made into a nightly ritual:

Dear Journal,

Today was one of the most important, incredible, and eye-opening experiences of my life. Jerusalem. That is all I can say. I do not know if I contain the vocabulary to express the plethora of emotions that coursed through my body as I walked through the holiest city, frankly the holiest country, for the first time today.There were so many levels of pure awe.

To start things off, as our first full day in Israel, we ventured over to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. It was one of the saddest and most impactful things I have ever absorbed myself into. That’s the thing though. I allowed myself to fully absorb into this monument of remembrance. I have seen sad things before, but I have never felt as connected as I did with this museum. Maybe it is because I am Jewish. Maybe it is because I am in Jerusalem. And maybe because I allowed myself to try to imagine being one of these victims, not encompassing myself with my comfortable, safe world; but truly trying to challenge myself to take on the pain and terror that these innocent people felt. Quite possibly, all three of those reasons were why this museum was so impactful and so necessary for me to experience, and that is why I cried for these people. This was pure awe of sadness and appreciation.

Later we mosied our way over to the Old City of Jerusalem! It was alright I guess... But seriously. This may have been one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. It was completely compiled of original Jerusalem stones. It was truly ancient and truly surreal. I felt like I was in Disneyland, but the greatest part was that it was not made of plastic and metal, with no mechanical rooms. It was really real. Then, we walked out to a full panoramic view of the Western Wall, Dome of the Rock, and the Valley of Jerusalem. This was probably the fourth or fifth time today that my breath escaped my breath, leaving me with a jaw that I had to remind myself to pick up off the floor.

The girls made our way over to the right side of the wall while the boys traveled to the left. I lay my palms and my forehead on the wall and I prayed. I then looked down at the 2,000 year old stone to find a minute hole with a minute piece of paper shoved into it. Someone was ensuring that their prayer would be heard. I sensed the silent sobs of the woman next to me, not knowing or caring her ethnicity. In Israel, I’ve learned, we all speak the same language.

Even when I thought our infinite day was concluding, there was one more awe-inspiring surprise. We had a Friday night Shabbat service on a rooftop in the Old City at dusk overlooking all of Jerusalem with Israeli soldiers sitting next to us, smiling. It provoked chills, a strange feeling in a hot land that I had grown accustomed to throughout the trip.

Near the end of our homey service, a single, small firework shot into the fading sky. It signified another night of Ramadan. At once, the serenity of our private service was interrupted as everything changed. About five Muslim prayers commenced to be chanted, sending waves of sound throughout the Great City over loud speakers. At the same instant I spotted a revolving group of Orthodox men, hand in hand, praying as one. Their voices peacefully combated the Muslim Call to Worship, while our reform, upbeat songs sang in tune. Although we all had different practices, we all prayed as one. Unified. Coexisting. That is the very nature of Jerusalem, and that, in itself, is pure awe.

Thank you for reading, and I look forward to sharing with you again soon!

Natalie Breuner