Day 20 - Shabbas Day (Netzach)

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling partially rejuvenated after attending Bnei Akiva's Shabbat Irgun the night before. I was staying with my friend Maytal, from the school I was at prior to IST, in Beit Shemesh. Her mother woke us up so that we could make our way to shul in time for Mussaf. My friend and I, both as exhausted as each other listened in a half asleep state to the beautiful singing of the chazzan. At the end of the service we walked slowly home to help Maytal's mother get lunch ready. I sat down to eat with Maytal and her family. This may sound like a small affair but as Maytal is one of 9 kids, the lunch was filled with lots of family jokes, meaningful conversations and good food. And after 3 weeks of IST food, it is safe to say I was more then excited to dig in to a home cooked meal. After a delicious lunch, Maytal and I went upstairs to catch up on some much needed sleep, and we ended up sleeping for the rest of the afternoon. We were woken up just in time for havdallah so that we could farewell the Shabbat just in time to save all of our snapchat streaks. Saying goodbye to Maytal was really sad as we were not sure if we would get a chance to each other again before I leave Israel. So after a solemn departure, my sister and her husband came to pick me up so that we could meet with the rest of the family for a nice dinner in Jerusalem. Whilst waiting for everyone to turn up, I got the chance to experience the Jerusalem Shuk in an entirely new light. All the shops were closed and the pubs were yet to be opened, it was so weird to see the Shuk as I had never seen it this way before. Getting the message that everyone had arrived we finally made our way to the restaurant. We were seated in the nicest restaurant I had ever been to. Pita Mix, obviously being a close second. The dinner was scrumptious and delicious and I definitely felt sufficiently filled by the time we ordered dessert. After a long day and a very relaxing Shabbas, I was very happy to be on the way home and was looking forward to lying in my bed and anticipating the early morning I had tomorrow.

Ellie