05/01/2025
Dear Bus IE-51-22,
You landed and arrived at the hotel at 02:00 - almost straight into meeting your wonderful Israeli friends and the beauty of the Kotel & Shabbat in Jerusalem.
You brought with you the calming nostalgia of common geography, accents, culture (even if I sometimes deny that part of myself) some of the best in-tune questions I’ve had from a BRI group as well as deep, authentic empathy both for eachother’s experiences and for the pain that we’re going through here in Israel. Maybe more importantly though; you came together with your Israeli peers for some crucial
Jewish Joy✨✡️
We lit Chanukah candles almost every night - expelling the darkness with light, a beautiful celebration of Jewish resilience in our Ancient Homeland. We lit Shabbat candles twice, we experienced the beauty of the desert, floated in the Dead Sea, put notes in the Kotel. We explored Jaffa and Tel Aviv and certainly got to know the Eilat promenade.
Huge huge thanks to & whose logistical, emotional, educational and laughing support was invaluable at every moment. I’m so lucky to work with excellent Jews such as yourselves. An enormous thanks to the fab head of programming at a pre-state organisation that showed me this ancient land when I was 16 and now I get to do the same. To the best project in the space of Jewish programming in Israel.
It was my honour, my privilege, my pleasure to show you around the land where our ancestors came from. Thanks to all of you for being you, thanks for your questions and amazing attitudes. Thanks for coming and being with us in our pain; thanks for being vulnerable about yours.
Let no one shake the foundations of your Jewish identities - no matter what part of the journey you’re on.
✡️ Enough NO matter what
🕎 Worthy of all of our ancient heritage ALL of it now go seek for yourselves
My heart, home and fridge will always be open to you - I’ll be here waiting..
All my ❤️
I am and I am blessed by G-d our Maker to have the best job in the world, where I get to walk with you hand in hand in the land where your souls were born.
