Saturday morning, we attended a Reconstructionist-style service at Kol Haneshama synagogue in Jerusalem. Following lunch and menukhah (rest), the group took an optional trip to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian quarter of the Old City. Next, we visited a park near our hotel for an afternoon of frisbee and fun. At sunset, we enjoyed a rooftop havdalah service at our hotel with some Israeli friends from Camp JRF. We finished the night shopping and exploring at Ben Yehuda Street to experience some of Jerusalem’s unique culture.
On Sunday, we woke up early to visit the settlement of Kfar Adumim and talk to teens about our life in America and theirs in Israel. After our visit, we drove further south to float in the Dead Sea and then hike to a waterfall in Ein Gedi park.
On Monday, we started off our day with a quick drive through Eilat before spending the morning at the beach to cool off in the 110 degree weather. Next, we ate lunch at the Ice Mall, and in the afternoon we went on a bus tour through Timna Park, a former copper mining area. We saw the beautiful landscape there, as well as Solomon’s Pillars, ancient hieroglyphs, a copper mine, and early Israeli copper ovens in the Negev. We finished the day spending time as a group along the docks of Eilat.