Today was incredible. It wasn’t just a day filled with physical fun such as waterskiing or hiking, rather it was a day that was spiritually uplifting. We began our day in Chevron where we visited our Avot at Maarat Hamachpela, and had the chance to say tehillim. While we were there we had the privilege of attending a Bris, it was really a special experience. Following Chevron, Rabbi Weinberg’s cousin, Rabbi Simcha Hochbaum, educated us about Chevron and its beauty. We then proceeded to the Gush where we bare handedly cleared a plot of land for olive trees to be planted. It was amazing to be able to contribute to the land of Israel in this way. Every single person made a difference, and every person cheered on his/her friends. I left that field feeling accomplished that I had contributed to settling the land of Israel. After that, we went to Yeshivat Torat Shraga to hear Rav Schachter speak. We were able to ask him anything we wanted. At the end of the day, we had an amazing dinner in Ramat Rachel. The day as  whole was really amazing, and I am so excited for another action packed day tomorrow on JOLT Israel. 

Adina Pinsker

This morning we woke up bright and early in our yurt at 5:15. We some how managed to get all 45 of us ready using only 5 stalls and 2 sinks. We had a quick shacharit and breakfast before heading to keshet for some rappelling. After a two hour drive we were so happy to get there. Some of us were excited and others were a little nervous but in the end we all repelled 100m down the cliff. Personally I was kinda nervous but with the support and encouragement from my friends and one of a kind advisors I did it. I’m so happy I was able to get my feet over the big rocks and reach the beautiful view. Going down was exhilarating, hanging there in the air hearing my friends cheering me on from down below. Once we reached the bottom we took the opportunity to take a picture with every rock we saw. We then hiked up the cliff. The hike up was hard and tiring but the feeling of accomplishment when we got to the top made it all worth it. We then had another delicious lunch of, guess what…. schnitzel sandwiches!!! After drinking tons of water we headed back to the bus to depart for our free shabbos. The six hour bus ride was a real bonding time for us all. We are looking forward to catching up on sleep this weekend, we will see you when we wake up on Sunday.

Miriam Hoffman

 It just gets better every day here at מחנה הכי אחי. After davening in the morning, everyone was completely energized and ready for a full day of cheering, song and fun. We ate a delicious breakfast, and then went straight to the water hike. We walked through water while splashing water at each other and singing many zam zam cheers. I bonded with Maor throughout our entire time together. However today really brought it home. We were able to spend the whole day together bonding. While walking through the water he didn’t feel comfortable with the slippery rocks so he was holding onto me and I supported him which really helped us create a stronger connection and become closer friends. At the end of the water hike, there was a huge pool of water where we all stopped and had a crazy water fight. Even the rabbis got involved with splashing the zam zam kids and jolters. Everyone was involved and had huge smiles and lots of fun. We were all able to bond through the water fights. Everyone was laughing and having an awesome time together. Afterwards we went to the picnic area and had many different choices of sandwiches. There were even fresh apples for everyone!!! Everyone loved the food, and went to the buses feeling tired and satisfied. Then we came back so that everyone could have time to shower and change into clean, dry clothing in order to get ready for the party cruise. After showering, we got back on the buses and drove to the kineret where we split into one group of boys and one group of girls. We loaded the boat and upon entering the boat there was music playing and a simcha atmosphere. Everyone danced and sang along and had an amazing time!! Then we got off the boat and walked for a few minutes to the restaurant where we had dinner. There was a variety of food none of which was schnitzel!! The highlight was the dessert of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. We then got back onto the busses to come back to hispin for a special optional night activity with the zam zam kids. Although it was optional, the turnout was tremendous. We played gaga and dodgeball, and all the while we had a dance party and listened to some great Israeli music. Everyone was dancing and was clearly enjoying themselves. Even the rabbis got involved and we’re playing along with us. Everyone had so much fun and can’t wait for another amazing day tomorrow iy”h!!

Noam Wainhaus

Another amazing day with מחנה הכי אחי. After davening in the morning, everyone was completely energized and ready for a full day of cheering, singing, and fun. We ate a delicious breakfast, and then went straight to Tel Dan. We spent about an hour playing and splashing around in the super fun (although freezing) water. Even though the language barrier is strong, many Jolt Israelers who can’t speak Hebrew were able to connect to the Zam Zam kids on a powerful level by having water fights and splashing each other. When we were done in the water, we got back on the busses and went to Kfar Blum for rafting down the Jordan River. Before we got on the rafts, we had a delicious lunch of hamburgers and French fries (or chips in Israel). The rafts were split up into groups of 6, which helped initiate friendships in smaller groups. I feel like I was able to become closer with certain Zam Zam kids while in the rafts, trying to figure out how to move our boat. While we all started in the boats, the rafting soon turned to an amazing swimming time. We all jumped out and had so much fun swimming together. While on the way back to the hotel we were all exhausted, but we just had to keep singing all our cheers. After dinner, we had a fabulous talent show with a mix of performances from the Jolt Israelers and Zam Zam kids and madrichim. There were people singing, dancing, and I personally juggled. Since I couldn’t find any balls, I was resourceful and used rocks from the grounds of the hotel. Everyone had so much fun on another amazingly successful day of מחנה הכי אחי.                       

Hannah Merczynksi-hait

Awesome second day with the ZAM ZAM kids!!

It started off with breakfast, which of course had cheering in it (can you call it a day with ZAM ZAM without cheering? I think not.) Afterwards we had a fun round of icebreakers to get to know everyone. First we went around and learned everyone’s name and ice cream flavor. Our group name is glidah (meaning ice cream) so it was necessary that we found out everyone’s favorite flavor. We then continued to play a few other games like “every 30 seconds” and “where the wind blows.”  As well as we TRIED to improve our Hebrew, emphasis on the “tried.” Then it was off to the De Kerina factory where we made chocolate, however most of it ended up on our faces and not our plates. After we cleaned off our faces and got our yummy chocolates, we headed over to a park where we had a delicious lunch of pizza, pasta and salads. In camp Macheneh הכי אחי it’s a nonstop party. So right after lunch we made our way to tie dye where everyone had a great time and bonded over the heat. After this fun activity, we went to Mount Ben Tal. Here, we got to take in the scenic view as well as learn more about this beautiful country. Finally, we made our way back to Chispin where we had an awesome dance party followed by dinner and a movie. These past two days have been some of the best days of my life making connections with the kids and having an overall great time, what more could you ask for?!

Arielle Rohr

Today I had the greatest experience of my life, so great that I couldn’t even keep track of time.  In the morning, Jolt Israel davened, had breakfast, and then prepared for the arrival of Zichron Menachem. When Zichron Menachem arrived we made a tunnel that the kids had to run through to get them pumped for the exciting week ahead. While the buses pulled in, we listened to great music and all just had a great time together. Afterwards we started dancing with the kids and everyone was having a blast, while enjoying some cotton candy. Later in the day, Jolt Israel and Zichron Menachem went jeeping. All the kids were so happy to be with us. It was really so special to see. I became very close with an Israeli boy named Maor. We were dancing and enjoying ourselves, and I even showed him some of my own American dance moves like the whip and dab. Maor and I hung out the whole entire day and had a blast. That was my experience for today can’t wait for the rest of the weeks.

Gabe Greenberg

At 5:30 am, my alarm rang. It was quite an early start to the day, but it was well worth it. We boarded the busses at 7ish and arrived at the hike by 7:45. When we arrived, we had an outdoor breakfast with granola, eggs, and veggies. After breakfast, we got ready to hike Har Arbel. At first, it seemed intimidating to climb such a big and steep mountain. I was nervous that my footing would be off, but I was wrong! It went great! It was awesome to hike with everyone, talk, and just bond. Let’s not forget about that view! We learned about some of the history also, from our tour guide Yoel. After the hike, we headed over to Tzfat. It was my first time there! It was very hot, but don’t worry mom because I drank a lot of water. We went to a park area and heard again from Yoel about the history of the area. Then we had a short free time where we could buy water, smoothies, chips, etc. Then we headed back to the park where we hung out and got filling schnitzel sandwiches. Then we had a longer free time in the Artist Colony. We walked around, looked at jewelry, saw cool glass sculptures. It was really awesome to be able to see this very funky culture; it was a different way of life. Then we headed over to the army training, it was tough but definitely worth it. Before we began, our Commander gave us an introduction that discussed what it means to be part of the IDF and the importance of it. After that we went into the bunkers, it was kind of like Escape the Room. We had to solve puzzles to get out of the bunker. It was really dark, I was holding onto someone’s hand the whole time! But, we all really came together as a team in order to finally solve the puzzle. Then the really intense part started, the training. We had just a small taste of what it’s like to be in the IDF. We did a lot of physical activites that were hard, but taught us to use our strength and never give up. For example, we had to fill sandbags and then transport them to a gurney that we all carried together as one unit. At the end of the hard training, fresh watermelon awaited us. We davened mincha with a beautiful view. Then we headed over to the hotel for a delicious BBQ. Next we had our chaburas. My advisor taught us about the importance of our speech and the effect that each word can have. She even brought in a small shampoo bottle. This might sound weird but it taught us an important lesson; one person squeezed all of the shampoo out and then I had to try and put the shampoo back in the bottle using only a Q-tip! Obviously, this was not possible, it taught us that we must be careful with our words because once we say something, it is not possible to completely take it back.

Wish me luck on my fast tomorrow!

We started off our day with davening and when we finished Rabbi Rosenfled gave us a five minute halacha shiur about the power of saying Amen. Then we went off to breakfast, where I enjoyed cereal :). Today we were offered our first optional chabura with one of our advisors, Jed. He told us a story about the power of every mitzvah, I really liked it and felt very inspired by it. After, we all gathered in the shul and sat in a circle. Rabbi Weinberg and Rabbi Rosenfeld taught us how to interact with Israelis using only hand gestures! A few people role-played and it was very funny. Then the Israelis from Zichron Menachem came, and we all got to know each other before Machaneh Hachi Achi starts (which I am so excited for!)We heard from a psychologist, one of the directors from Zichron Menachem, Rabbi Weinberg, Rabbi Rosefeld about the importance of this camp we will be running and our duty as a counselor for the campers. We split up into groups to learn some new, fun, and crazy Israeli cheers. Then the whole group regathered and we spent 20 minutes standing in a circle dancing and singing with Israeli stuff. It was really cool to learn all the new chants and get so comfortable with all new Israelis that we will be working with soon! Then we headed over to lunch, it was falafels!! It was really good, the best meal yet. After that, we all chilled on the grass. Some people played sports, others just sat and bonded. Then we all walked to a shopping area to get some snacks. Now we are back at Kfar Etzion and getting ready for Shabbos. I hope Shabbos is fun, chill and meaningful. Cant Wait!

Eliana Raskas

Today was our first full day on Jolt Israel, and it was jam-packed! We had a bit of a late start since we were all tired from the flight. For breakfast, we had so many options like cereal, pancakes, French toast, and eggs. After breakfast, we headed to the visitor center of Kfar Etzion (the place we are staying for a few days) where we watched three clips about a group of people that survived the Holocaust and then fled to Israel where they fought passionately for this piece of land in Kfar Etzion. It was inspiring to see how these people were willing to risk everything just to fight for our land; they never gave up hope. Then we headed over to a lookout where we saw where the battles of Kfar Etzion took place. Our Madrich and Rabbi Weinberg, spoke more about the battles and how we can learn from in a practical way. After the this, we hiked Derech Avot where we got to see amazing views. We even got to see an old mikveh from ancient times that is no longer in use. Then we went to the “lone Tree,” which is a 700 year old oak tree that represents the destruction that happened to the Kfar Etzion, yet still the remaining hope to return there. While we all sat under the tree, Rabbi Weinberg spoke about how the tree represents hope, and how we now have the choice to decide what is most important to us and what we want to do in order to make a difference. At this site, we all sat under the shade and enjoyed a nice hot meat lunch. When we finished lunch, we headed over to the bread bakery, Pat Bamelech. When we arrived we watched a quick clip about the connection between bread and the Shlosh Regalim. Then we all learned how to make sour dough pretzels.  Then as they were baking we sat outside and learned about how sourdough is made. Once they were finished baking, we enjoyed the warm and yummy pretzels. Then we all got free time at the Shuk! This is my first time in Israel, so it was super awesome being able to see all the foods I have never seen before and just the culture of the place. I had a great time walking around with friends and just hanging out. Then we headed back to Kfar Etzion to have dinner, daven Maariv, and have our first chaburahs with our Advisors. In the chaburah we learned about the importance of being a leader. Overall, it was great first day for my first time in Israel. Looking forward too many more amazing days!!

Jone Skapino