Salaam Shalom

Singing the Hatikva in Jerusalem

The past couple of days have been a lot of orientation, signing up for classes and just getting used to life in Beit Ar-El. Yesterday the other 2 sections of year course came to our home in Jerusalem for the opening ceremonies. It was nice, although a little hectic, to get to see all 300 or so people on year course. After eating Falafel for like the 4th time that day (that's all I'm living on) we sat down to listen to speakers which included past year coursers, some current year coursers, and some older woman whose speech quickly became extremely political and just kind of weird. After the speakers were finished there was an Israeli band playing and what was all 300 of us quietly sitting, quickly turned into everyone dancing. We moshed to classic Israeli songs like Salaam Shalom, going crazy, jumping and pushing everyone around, just happy to be in Israel. At the end of the opening ceremonies, we all turned to the Israeli flag for the Hatikva. With my arms around 2 other people that I've never seen before and probably never will again, we all sang the Hatikva. It was during the Hatikva that I realized that it didn't matter if I didn't know these kids next to me, we all had a special connection. A connection to Israel, to our homeland. With the Israeli flag blowing in the night and 300 kids of all different backgrounds signing to one song, I began to realize what it means to be Jewish. Everyone always says that when a Jew goes to Israel, they are "home". I now realize what they mean. I have begun to figure out what being Jewish really means. It doesn't mean that I need to believe in God or not use electricity on Shabbat. It means sharing a connection with all Jews. A connection of Israel. A connection of culture. This weekend is my first Shabbat in Israel and I am looking forward to it. Stay tuned for more updates...