Whilst living in Jerusalem I feel I have
learnt a tremendous amount. We have been doing so many different things; I am
finding it hard to take it all in. Everything we are doing has so much meaning
and purpose, being here is one of my biggest life lessons, so far.
Volunteering
First of all we were given an amazing
opportunity to volunteer; all in places where we could see the help we were
giving and the effects/results it had on others. I was volunteering in a place
called ALEH – it is a hospital which cares for disabled people and I feel my time
there was really well spent. I worked with a girl called Talia whilst I was there;
I don't know exactly what disabilities she had but I felt it did not matter.
Spending time with her showed me how to appreciate the little things in life.
Strolling down the street, speaking to another person, and generally being able
to do things myself. To me Talia is very special, I wish to continue writing to
her when I leave Israel. We spent 8 mornings together; I spoke in rubbish
Hebrew whilst she listened and laughed some of the time. The centre organises
activities for all the people left out of society, sometimes just with the staff but a lot
of the time outside organisations would come in to perform including police, orchestras, singers, clowns and loads more. All the people
working at ALEH are amazing people who are very inspiring. I never thought I
would be able to do what I have done and embrace it all so much, it was a very big step
for me and I'm sad to leave Talia and the centre.
ULPAN
We also had ULPAN (Hebrew) classes; which
were very useful in ALEH and also when in shops and getting in taxis – the
teacher tried very hard to teach us some sort of vocabulary, and he succeeded.
Thank you ULPAN teacher, Daniel!
Tours
As you all know back in England, it is very
hot here in Israel; we had some very exciting, insightful tours around the old
city, including talks on the 12 tribes, the City of David, the tower of David
and the general lifestyle around Jerusalem in the Christian and Arab markets.
Although it was hot and we were all schvitzing, falling asleep and the like, I
think we all tried to be engaged as the knowledge being given to us was too
much to miss out on. Our tour guide Nati was excellent – he really knew his
stuff. Learning about the history of the Jewish people made a big difference to me as
I only had a little knowledge beforehand . Personally I would even do all the tours again.
Shabbat
For me Shabbat is something I just knew until now as
Friday night dinner, it is something I have never ‘kept’ before in my life. For
the past two weeks I have tried my best to keep Shabbat and get the most out of
the days. Though I want to continue this, I know that when I go home it will be much
harder and the atmosphere around me will be very different, but I want to try
and continue this.
Learning Talks
We have had a wide variety of talks all
relating to different subjects;
- Life importance and equality
- Israel lifestyle – worldwide knowledge of Israel
- Life stories
- Judaism – why the Jews? Jewish customs/Halacha, women’s roles, growth, why do bad things happen to good people?
We have also visited some very interesting
interactive museums;
Mount Herzl
This is a place where many Prime Ministers
and soldiers are buried, as well as having an amazing museum through which we explored Theodor Herzl’s life. When visiting this place I felt quite
empathetic and emotional towards all the brave people who have fought and died for their
beliefs. They also relate to Herzl in the sense that they were, and still are, continuing his dreams. In my mind Herzl was quite prophetic - he saw there
needed to be a Jewish state and even approximated how long it would take (and he wasn’t
far off- one year)!
Yad Vashem
A museum dedicated to the holocaust –
something I find very difficult to fathom in my mind and deal with. It is hard
to know how to feel, what to think and what to say when you are thinking about or discussing the Holocaust. I just want to cry and feel utterly depressed for all those who
suffered and did not have the chance to tell their tale and to live their lives
like they were supposed to. But ultimately you do feel a sense of achievement
for all those who did survive and also those who helped Jews, that you are standing
here today as a ‘free’ Jew. It ultimately makes you appreciate what you have.
Palmach
The Palmach museum was very interesting, as we have no idea what it's like to be in a war. To not be able to do or go
where you want. Freedom is why we live the lives we live and without that we
could not and would not have the things we do. It made me appreciate the fact
that I live in London where the level of threat is completely different. We do not have to worry about war but maybe
we have to worry about the outside world immediately around us.
Independence hall
A very interesting place, where a lot of
wise people stood and declared the State of Israel. Also without the 33 countries that voted in favour, Israel would
not be here today for us to live and spend time in. It says so much that as as soon as the Jewish state of
Israel was declared, the surrounding countries (Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq,
Saudi Arabia and Jordan ) decided they did not approve and would not be
‘putting up’ with this; thus started the independence war. A state in its infancy, the size of Wales, fighting against five countries simultaneously, yet we survived. It is incredible to be a part of such a miracle.
Finally I just want to say that this trip
is impacting my life in a huge way. I am very happy I came to Israel – it was
my first time visiting, and I love it.
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