Anshai Goes to Israel!

After so much exploring over the past few days we were all able to slow down just in time for our Shabbat in Israel. We gathered in the lobby of the hotel for a few minutes to prepare for Shabbat.  We then lit the channukiah and Shabbat candles, together before departing for our Shabbat services.  Following our Kabbalat Shabbat services, either at the Kotel or at a local shul we all walked back to our hotel seeing thousands of Jewish people from across the world on the streets of Jerusalem. We reconvened in our dining room, singing Shalom Aleichem and all the other parts of the Friday night ritual.  We greeted our two Lone Soldiers and were treated to a wonderful dinner in a room filled with people observing Shabbat, each in their own way yet sharing the experience in an unforgettable way.

In the morning, there were several different experiences you could choose from that met your desired way to celebrate Shabbat. Some of us went to a local shul to enjoy davening among Israelis and others went back to the Kotel. Regardless of how everyone spent their Shabbat morning and afternoon, we all came together again to conclude Shabbat in a song-filled havdallah service in the streets of Jerusalem! During havdallah I kept thinking to myself how unique and amazingly special it was to be able to conclude Shabbat in the middle of a busy street singing and dancing!! Can you imagine doing that in Dallas?

Since it’s our Shabbat entry we wanted to make it a little more special than normal so we asked each child to tell us how they felt being in our homeland. They enjoyed eating Shabbat dinner with two Lone Soldiers, hanging out in their super secret clubhouse (downstairs lounge 🤫), and concluding Shabbat together in a song-filled havdallah service in the streets of Jerusalem.

Favorite Shabbat Memories:

• Jordan - walking around the Kotel on Friday night and seeing all the different types of Jews coming together as one.
• Adena - walking to shul together and passing by so many Jewish people.
• Hailey - Seeing the diversity of life at the Kotel.
• Nadav - Seeing my cousins and seeing a beautiful stained glass window that my entire family always talks about.
• Adam - being together for havdallah.
• Blake - singing Chanukah songs with a large group after havdallah.
• Levi - my first havdallah in Israel!
• Caroline - thinking about my loved ones at the Kotel.

Shavua Tov, Anshai!