Chesed Mission 2013/5773: Day 3

It’s only the second day in Israel and we feel like we’ve been here for weeks! Erev Shabbat added excitement to the air as we began our day with a very special Shabbat Party with our adorable friends at the Emunah Ethiopian Daycare Center. After we were treated to special songs and dance to welcome Shabbat, we had fun outdoors interacting with the children. We blew bubbles and threw around balls with them, which brought smiles to their faces. Although it was hard to say goodbye, we sent our best wishes and left the children with awesome new toys.

Next, we were off to the famous Machane Yehuda to enjoy lunch and buy some Shabbat treats. It was hectic and crazy, but we definitely got the full Israel experience. We headed back to the hotel, prepared for Shabbat and headed to the Kotel for Friday night davening. Looking around and seeing the thousands of people there to welcome Shabbat was breathtaking. We watched the boys from Yeshivot across the old city make their way dancing to the Kotel and Shabbat was literally, “carried on a song.” It was nice to see old faces and reconnect with some of our alumni. As a group we walked back to the Inbal for a nice Shabbat meal together with our friends on the STEM trip, filled with singing and Divrei Torah. We can’t wait for the start of a new great week in the Holy Land!  ~Emma Mael and Lani Prus