A Very Meaningful Experience by Danielle Aviles

Today was a roller coaster of emotions. We had a quick breakfast and headed to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. Rabbi Stern led our tour and told us about his personal experiences. It was amazing to learn from him and learn more about him. Rabbi made Yad Vashem a really meaningful experience. After, we went to a shopping area to get lunch. We chose from a variety of options for our meal. We finished lunch and then drove into the middle of the desert to meet some IDF soldiers. They took us on a 2 hour hike helping us to navigate while speaking to us about their experiences as soldiers. On the hike we practiced some IDF training techniques (sprints and push-ups) and played fun Israeli games. After we walked to a dinner under the stars and had a nice Shabbat service. Amanda played beautiful music on a guitar as we all sang along. Our evening ended as we hung out around the bonfire before checking into our hostel. We had such a fun time.