#lax2tlv

This is how we JEW it. #LAX2TLV

Day 5 Hangover central!!!! Waking up at 6:30am was not easy but going to the Old City of Jerusalem was sooooo worth the wake! They say Jerusalem is the city that glows of gold. The reasoning behind that statement is that the city is made of the same brick entirely which comes from the mountains and actually reflects heat and absorbs cooler weather. Speaking of weather, it was 77 degrees Fahrenheit all day long and it was splendid. Later we made our way to the Wailing Wall and wrote our prayers down on little pieces of paper. The experience of going to the wall and witnessing so many emotional experiences including my own was remarkable. It’s honestly an experience everyone in the world should try. A lot of people think it’s just a wall, but I guarantee it’s not. When I placed my hand on the wall I felt an overwhelming spiritual feeling rushing through my body. I prayed for my family, my loved ones and for the world’s happiness. I feel like happiness is a priority these days and a great portion of this world is still finding it. Leaving the wall, we went to the hotel to get ready for Shabbat! Woohooooo!!!! When dressing, I wore the most elaborate yet conservative formal outfit that was in my closet. Needless to say, I looked ready for Shabbat! We celebrated at the wall and it was indeed a PARTY!!!!! So many people were celebrating life and the end to a long week. I didn’t document my experience because I wanted to be 100% present in the moment! Imagine this: an authentic golden stone wall, a marble like ground, hundreds of people dancing in large circles and feeling connecting to your heritage completely. It was the perfect night.

Today is the day we all prepped for. The day we all knew would be emotionally and physically draining. We started our morning off with an Arab Israeli rapper who considers himself an ethnic rapper, his name is Sameh aka Saz. Knowing he came from an Arab background, my expectations were not too high as far as open minded mentality. Arab Israelis are completely different than Arab Americans. When meeting him he was definitely a nice man. When watching him perform his song "Girl Next Door," I could tell he genuinely enjoyed performing. His genre would definitely be classified as hip hop and he intertwined English with Arabic which was an interesting mix. Since I am a music major, I have an extensive background on music history and world music, so I definitely had questions! Later during the panel I wanted to know how his ethnic rapping effected his community. Did it help diffuse social tension? Has his music directly effected the impoverished community he grew up in? Throughout history it has been proven that music has it's way of healing a community and translating political messages that society understands. When Saz answered, he didn't address any of my questions and just talked about himself and how he wasn't a sell out. I was disappointed that he wasn't capable of speaking about the affect on the community since he sings and raps about being positive and getting yourself out of the hood. Considering my experience on the Jordan river, I definitely wanted to hear something positive, but I didn't. I'll post a video of one of his performances. Feel free to leave feedback! After we finished the panel we headed straight the the Museum. The architecture of the entire museum was impeccable. They wanted you to feel as if the journey was inescapable by making the museum a maze with no direct exit. Going from room to room we learned a lot about before, right before, during and after the holocaust. The entire experience as a whole was extremely informative and I definitely learned a lot more than I expected. When we learn about the Holocaust in school, we don't necessarily see the sickening graphics and holocaust survivor stories, at least I didn't. Throughout the tour I kept my composure through the happiness of the Jews, the ridiculous propaganda, the ghettos and the stories from the survivors being played from room to room. Where I lost it was when the visuals of physical and personal belongings were displayed with an accompanying story. When my eyes focused in and captured the dirty and burnt shoes from one of the camps, I couldn't help but walk over the glass that displayed them as they were embedded in a display built into the ground. When I walked over the shoes, I felt a spiritual sense of sorrow and gratitude. Those shoes belonged to the soles and souls of many Jews. Tears fled from my big brown eyes and I stayed behind from the group for a bit as I needed a moment to sink this all in. After the museum we continued to an art project creating individual pieces that made up the map of Israel that reflected our experience at the museum. This activity was not mature for the group's age but I think it was a good way to express our thoughts in general. Maybe if we had an Israeli performer of some kind who had us use our creative tools in a different way. Just not with crayons. Headed back to the hotel everyone was extremely excited to enjoy the night exploring downtown Jerusalem! What a fun night!!