Day 12 - Lehava - Jaime
As our second week of IST comes to an end, it’s difficult to comprehend that one third of this once in a life time opportunity has already passed.
We ended our Friday afternoon in Kfar Kedem after an intense donkey riding experience where we went back to the time of Mishna and learnt about the authentic practises of the time. Our Kaballat Shabbat awaited as we headed back to our Kibbutz called Ein Zivan.
To me, Shabbat is a realm of its own, giving both the time to share an endless bond with family and embrace the presence of my friends. And that is what IST Shabbat embodies, it is the ideal Shabbat I strive to experience every week.
Upon departing Australia, I had this clear stereotype locked into my mind that IST would be an emotional journey that would shift my life into an environment that would allow me to be filled with religious beliefs and G-d filled thoughts. Instead I have been given a taste into the perfect world that focuses its morals around being present. By being present, you are able to fulfil your soul with only the finest things in life while still connecting your soul to the outside world, giving you both a modern mindset and a religious outlook on life.
Kabbalat Shabbat has always been my favourite part of Shabbat, singing the tunes our ansestors once wrote while congregating at shule to uphold traditions. All of Lehava gathered together to bring in Shabbat through the mitzvah of candle lighting and Lecha Dodi. Creating the perfect interlude into our first ever Kibbutz dinner. After mountains of endless chicken and handfuls of cookies, my favourite part of the night approached, the tisch. While sitting in a dark space accompanied by the voice of my peers, I couldn’t help but to feel happy; happy to harmonise with the teachers that have so quickly become my friends and happy to embrace the Shabbat spirit I have only just began to grasp hold of. There’s something about being in a room sharing a moment of connection with all the people you’ve grown up with knowing that the feeling of connection is mutual and remembered. I sat in that room, reminiscing about all the lost voices in the Holocaust, feeling privileged that I live in this modern day and age where practising Judaism is not challenged by society. Although being surrounded by enemy territory is the utmost frighting scene, somehow, every fear was lost in translation and instead turned into a secure feeling. And I hope this feeling will be here to stay as I spend the next four weeks of IST attempting to fufill my soul.
