Maddy, Samantha and Sasha
Today was an incredible and eventful day. To start off the day, we traveled to the Old City of Jerusalem. We started with an archeological tour of the City of David; this included a water hike. The water hike was through the tunnel that David built to transport water into his city. We walked underground in a narrow tunnel made of stone with water up to our ankles. It was very dark and difficult to see; especially when we turned off our flashlights. After we dried off and had a midday treat. We headed back to the Kotel for the most exciting part of our day; Sasha Golubchik’s Bar Mitzvah!

Maddy M. and Samantha: Sasha’s Bar Mitzvah was very meaningful to us and all of our grade; it brought many of us (including teachers) to tears. Since his Bar Mitzvah was at the holiest place for the Jewish people, this made it even more special.

Sasha G: This is a very special day for me. In my Dvar Torah, I mentioned that this experience manifested many firsts: my first time in Israel, first-generation American, first bar mitzvah in my family, etc. It felt very meaningful for me because I got to set the b’nei mitzvah tradition for my family. Even though my dvar torah spoke about many firsts, this was the beginning of many lasts for our grade, including last bar mitzvah. 

In the afternoon we walked around one of the four quarters in the old city: the Jewish quarter. We had time to grab a bite, bargain, and go shopping for ourselves and our families. Lastly, we had a chance to go back to the Kotel one last time to put in our final notes, say a prayer, and take photos.

We loved Jerusalem, and can’t wait to continue exploring this magnificent country!