Friday night began with all of walking down to Yemin Moshe, near the windmill and overlooking the old city and it was very fitting because this is where we davened on our first Shabbat in Israel so it was nice to come full circle. Tiffilot themselves where very nice with Yossi and Elkana leading but at the same time I was shedding some tears knowing that this coming week I will not be able to daven overlooking the old city of Jerusalem and tiffilot will not be as lively and spiritual. We then walked back to Beit Nativ for a not so delicious diner, but I know it will be much better next week. Finally to conclude the evening we held our last tisch which included some delicious Marzipan and lots of singing which last for about two hours.
Shabbat morning, I went to the Ashkenazic shul in Yemin Moshe and as always it was quick but nice and I've enjoyed going here due to the overlook of the old city as well for the services and the amazing Kiddush that they always have. At the end of shul they announced that Nativ was leaving and that we will be missed which was very nice of them to do and shows that we really do have some impact on those who we meet. When we got back to Beit Nativ, I read and took a nap before another not so great lunch and afterwards we had a final kibbutz program with Yossi where he asked as questions from, what is your favorite movie to what will you miss most about Israel. It was a thought provoking program and made lots of people, me included, cry by the end. The rest of the afternoon I played a final round of the amazing game Rhymation and then just read and relaxed. We then did Mincha which was fine and then Yossi had a final talk with us. He talked about what he believed in (he promised to do so last week on kibbutz), which was the sense of community. He discussed his grandparents and there community and then went on about how Nativ is like a community but we will be leaving and we will need to find that community next year on our college campuses. As well he talked about how life back home did not stop and how we will need to fit back into that community. By the end of his talk I was crying once again thinking about going home and all the changes. We then went upstairs for Seudah Shlishit which was ok and then we sang some slow songs to wind down Shabbat and once we started with " אם אשכחך ירושלים" I was a mess once again, but I'm glad that throughout all these tears this past weekend I have had so many friends to comfort me and to cry on. After a nice Ma'ariv (which I lead) and a great Havdalah, I went with Ari, Ben and Eric to Tito Bravo for dinner (got great Mac and Chesse) and then Ari and I walked down to Emek Refaim to meet up with Josh, Kay and Becca to walk around the area for a bit to take pictures. By that time it was around midnight so we walked back to Beit Nativ and I just hung out with all of my friends and enjoying my last night in Jerusalem and Israel.
Sunday has been and continues to be a very emotional day as it is the last day of Nativ and I will write all about that when I get home.
B'ahava,
Ayelet
