Our last Shabbat in Israel was amazing . After a packed day of activities, we all quickly showered and got ready as fast as we could. No one wanted to miss this last pre-shabat picture session. Following that, we had a beautiful kabalat shabat outside that really helped us connect to the land. Dinner was full of ruach and good spirit, for we all knew that our last day was nearing and we wanted to engage in the Yachad experience as much as possible. After that, we had a really fun tisch where we played games, had snack, and sang throwback songs, which was the theme of this Shabat. Curfew was 1:30 AM which was amazing because we all hung out and got to just chill together as our last day neared. We won the 1:30 AM curfew in a game of deal or no deal and got to cash it in. The next day, we had a meaningful shacharit followed by kiddish and a learning program. Following that we had lunch that involved cheering, dancing and singing. It was then that we realized that our Yachad spirit will never fade, even after this amazing summer. Then we had our final circle time in which the ruach was through the roof! During menucha, Jake’s chaburah walked to Har Hertzl, which was across the street from our hotel. It was very meaningful to be surrounded by the graves of Israel’s founders while talking about Israel advocacy. After being in Israel this summer, advocacy is definitely a subject that intrigues us all! Then we had a speed dating game where we all got to have quick conversations with all of our friends. Shaloshedous was especially fun because we all got to relax and eat with our friends. After mincha, we went outside to have a slow shirah by the sunset. It got emotional fast and by the end of it, everyone was speaking about the amazing summer we shared together. Havdalah and post Shabbos singing got us all energized and ready for our fun talent show night activity, where everyone was able to showcase their talents. This was definitely a summer that taught us all a lot about ourselves and the world around us. The friendships and memories we all shared will truly never fade away.

 

-Abby Lyons, Emma Mandel, Maddie Twail, Illana Knoll & Hannah Kirsch