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Shalom NCSY JOLT Israel Family, It's 1:30 A.M. Israel time and we are exhausted. But I wanted to drop a quick note to tell you about today. From Airport to airport was exceptionally smooth. Everyone was were they needed to be at the right time and in the right place. We landed in our beautiful and majestic homeland and made our way through costumes and then baggage and finally to our bus. We loaded the bus, we found our seat mates, and headed up to Yerushalayim. This evening I wanted to take the kids to see Har Habayis from a lookout point. We drove up to Armon HaNatziv to the Hass Promenade and were enthralled by the most beautiful sights. The glittering lights of Yerushalayim, the cool breezes blowing on us and invigorating our souls and 48 amazing and special Jewish teens getting to know each other and bonding. We had a BBQ waiting for us with honey -Mesquite wings, Chicken cutlets, Hot Dogs and burgers. Of course no Israel BBQ is complete without Israeli Salad and Chumus (I need to teach the kids about the importance of eating more vegetables)!! In any event, after we ate we went closer down towards the view point for Har HaBayis. Rachel Fried one of our amazing advisors walked the kids through the process of tearing Kriah and recited the special Pasuk together with them. We davened Maariv together, went to SuperPharm for the kids to buy their toiletries and we headed to our hotel for the next few days, Ramat Rachel. It is a beautiful hotel on the grounds of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. There is a lot of history in this place and I hope to have the opportunity to go through some of it together with them tomorrow. We have a big day tomorrow with davening beginning at 7:30. If you have any questions or comments you know how to reach me. Every thing is great, the kids are fabulous. Some are a bit anxious but that will subside overtime as they make new friends, get used to our style and when they take a step back and realize that they are truly blessed to be on JOLT Israel! I am looking forward to speaking with you before Shabbos. Have a great night everyone. From the beautiful rolling hills of Jerusalem our holy and undivided capital of the state of Israel. Rabbi Dr. Noam Weinberg |
