December 11, 2013
Instead of opting for the mainstream, free weekend route of sleeping all day and night. Dean and I decided to ask our counterpoint madrich David Wolfowicz if we could spend the free weekend with him. He then told us he would be at his Yeshiva in Modi'in at that time. Dean and I were more than happy to experience two days in the life of a Yeshiva student.
On Friday we were dropped off at Binyanei Hauma (opposite the Jerusalem Central Bus Station) at 8:30am where we were met by David and finally began our much-anticipated adventure. We caught a light rail to Yaffo Street where we indulged in some Belgian waffles at Cafe Rimon for our second breakfast. I was so full I could barely move. David wanted to take us on a mini tour of Jerusalem before heading to his Yeshiva so after breakfast we made our way to the shuk (outdoor market). I have never seen such small pathways so packed before and when David told us that this was a relatively calm Friday at the shuk, I couldn't begin to imagine what a busy Friday would be like.
David then took us to Mea Shearim, where we witnessed the Friday afternoon rush around this extremely religious area. After our short tour, we were finally heading to our home for the weekend - Yeshiva Shalavim.
David gave us a little tour around the Yeshiva - he showed us the basketball courts, the high school, and introduced us to some of his friends. Then as we were getting ready for the holy shabbas, the first shabbas bell sounded and a sense of excitement spread through the Yeshiva. Shabbas finally came in and we made our way to the shule for a beautiful kabbalat shabbat service. This Yeshiva is famous for producing fine singers so you can imagine what a Friday night shule service would be like. Even some of the Maccabeats went to this Yeshiva!
We made our way to David's good friend Yonatan Seev for dinner. We had a scrumptious meal followed by some singing and a heated game of scattergories. After a long evening, Dean and I decided to head off to bed looking forward to spending the following shabbas day in the Yeshiva.