Summer 2016

Hi! My name is Neshama Herman and I am from the 5 Towns! Today we started off our day bright and early with 6:30 wake up! Just like any other day it began with davening, chaburah, and breakfast. Then we headed to the blind factory, which is an amazing place that employs blind, deaf or mute individuals to work. Once there, we helped them out by either packaging pony tails, packing boxes, etc. Some people even closed their eyes while working so they could get a taste of what the employees may feel like. After that, we enjoyed our sandwiches, salads, and apples while sitting outside in the beautiful weather! Once lunch ended, we headed to the shuk in Tel Aviv! They had all kinds of stores. They had fruit stores, jewelry stores, and clothing stores! After the shuk we headed to the blind museum! The blind museum was a life changing experience! There we learned to appreciate our eye sight like we’ve never done before! We traveled through pitch black rooms with a blind tour guide leading us. We learnt to use our imagination and every sense besides our eye sight to get around! We were welcomed with delicious dinner at Mevaseret. And we greeted our advisor “Kallah”! And then……..color war breakout! The teams are Yerushalayim = white and blue, Chevron = neon, Tzfat = polka dots, and Tiberia = stripes! Can’t wait to see what’s in store!

Hi my name is Julie Perl from Chicago! Today was our last day of our three day hiking elective. We woke up bright and early in order to start our fun filled day. We had the opportunity to go donkey riding as the last part of our hiking elective. I was so afraid to do it but I am so happy that one of my advisors convinced me to do it. It was such a fun and cool experience! After donkey riding, we played an intense game of capture the flag and then Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum which helped us learn more about each other. After the games, we headed to Petach Tikvah to meet up with all the other GIVE girls at an Israel vs Ukraine baseball game. We had fun cheering and showing off our Israel spirit! It was a great way to end such a fun day! Tonight we finally go back to our base in Mevaseret. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Hi my name is Ahuva Kreuser I’m from Brooklyn New York, yesterday was the first elective day we woke up in mevaseret, ate a delicious breakfast, and headed on an exciting 3 hour journey to tzfat. Once we got there the roads were closed where the buses could fit , so we took all of our luggage and walked through tzfat through the gates of moshiach up all those stairs and we finally made it to a delicious lunch! After lunch they told us our schedule for the next three days, they told us our sleeping assignments and then we had time to settle and rest for an hour. After resting time we had a tu b’shvat seder where we learned about the Shivat haminim thoroughly and made tu b’shmores with crackers and dates. They were amazing!! Following that a woman from tzfat taught us the meaning of hafrashos challah, and then we baked challa in a five hundred year old oven. After that we went back to where we were staying and the girls who were assigned to make dinner cooked dinner. Then we all sat down together ate the spectacular dinner as a GIVE chessed family. For the night activity we went to an echo cave and had a very heart warming kumzitz. Everyone sang with all their kavanah, which is something the Chessed elective family will always remember! Day 2 blog is coming up soon!!! 

Hi my name is Talia Domsky! Today was the first day of our 3 day electives! The options were either hiking, chesed, or learning. I chose hiking and so far it’s been awesome! This morning we drove up north, and to start the day off we went on an awesome water hike which was so refreshing because it was 100 degrees outside!! After the hike we drove for a little longer until we reached our new home for the next 3 days. Giant sleepover party in the tent yay! We got schnitzel for dinner which was so yummy! Then we had a super cool karaoke/dance party! Woo!! And after a full day of sweating we finally enjoyed a nice cold shower. After sharing scar stories and playing “never have I ever” we all got into our “beds” and enjoyed a much needed rest. Can’t wait for the rest of our tiyul!

Today was really a chessed filled day on GIVE! We started the morning off very excited to see each other after a restful and fun off weekend. We were divided into a number of different groups throughout the day. Everyone went to a place called “Habayit Shel Susan.” This place teaches Israeli teens at risk an artistic trade and offers them a therapeutic and worthwhile job to engage in. There we made key chains and got to interact with some of the teens. Over the course of the day some people went to package food, others went to Shekel, a factory that employs adults with special needs. Other groups went to a place called Akim that is a home for people with special needs, others went to actually bake with those people. Some groups also got to go to Mamilla Mall and play a really fun scavenger hunt!! We all came together for a delicious dinner at Mevasseret sponsored by Lander College! We then had time to relax, learn with an advisor, attend a chaburah, or play basketball. Tomorrow we set out to our respective electives!!!

We had an amazingly fun day today on GIVE! First we woke up early and went to Masada. There we learnt about the different stories and historical events that took place there. Even though we took cable cars both ways up and down, we still managed to drink a lot of water (as per our staff’s persistence). We then went to the Dead Sea and had a great time chilling there. Afterwards, we had lunch and went to Ein Gedi. We played in the springs and water pools, and it was an amazing cool-down for all of us!! Finally we set out to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to get picked up for our off Shabbos! We’re all meeting back together on Sunday morning! Wishing everyone a safe and exciting weekend!!! We miss you all already! 

On our last day at Kibbutz Alumim we had a tour of an older memorial kibbutz nearby, and we heard from a resident of the kibbutz about the lifestyle on the kibbutz. The woman shared with us some of her experiences living in a settlement that is so close to Gaza and was recently affected by the war in Israel 2 years ago. We were also introduced to 3 girls around our age who live on the kibbutz. We had time to ask them their thoughts and feelings about their lifestyle. We then went to Sderot and had a delicious lunch outing. After lunch we boarded the busses and headed back to Mevaseret. We then had time to relax and unpack. After dinner we had an awesome night activity that lead into a super fun paint fight!! (Stay tuned for crazy pictures) Later, there was an optional learning session with Rabbi Felberman that some girls really took advantage of. We’re heading to sleep now and can’t wait for a PACKED day tomorrow of Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea!!!

Today we got up early and traveled to Kibbutz Alumim in the south. First we had a delicious lunch on the kibbutz and then we split up and settled into our rooms. Then we got a tour of the kibbutz, watched a video about it, and then we baked for soldiers. We then went to an army base to deliver the baked goods to the soldiers. After dinner we had an incredible panel of lone soldiers who shared their stories and experiences. It was a great day and we can’t wait for day 2 on the kibbutz tomorrow!!!