December 5, 2014
After a week up north, the IST group travelled back down towards the golden, old city of Jerusalem. We were all eager to come back to familiar surroundings and were looking forward to a day enriched with exciting, world-class speakers who challenged us to come to a conclusion based on the evidence that was presented.
We arrived at a beautiful building in the heart of the old city. Its prime location shared its historical and breath taking views of the golden dome, the Kotel and the rest of the city. The seminar was designed to stimulate our minds and enhance our Jewish learning experience.
The opening speaker of the three was Rabbi Ken Spiro. He spoke about the seven cases that have proven the miracle of the Jewish peoples existence. Combining original sources from the Torah as well as using historical sources, we were all captivated and submerged in the way he highlighted how logic and reason would have suggested a particular fate for the Jewish nation. Rabbi Spiro demonstrated that the Jewish people have completely defied all rational principles and are truly a living miracle.
Dr. Gerald Schroeder came down to deliver the second lecture. By using principles of physics and the writings of the Rambam, he proved that the union between the Torah’s narrative of creation and the scientific principles of the big band theory miraculously assimilated into one. He had a highly complex and intellectual but completely mind blowing paradigm that effortlessly merged science and Torah, two fields that are often at odds with one another, but here, he succeeded at presenting them as one in the same.
The third and final speaker was Rabbi Kahana. He demonstrated the depth of the Torah’s make up in its inclusion of highly specific and accurate phrases pertaining to topics and concepts within the Torah that relate to life as we know it. Based on Kabalistic principle that everything exists in the Torah, Rabbi Kahana continued to define and prove this theory. The results had our jaws as low as the ground as we walked out in absolute awe of what we had just been shown.
As soon as the seminar came to an end, we made our way up to the iconic rooftop of the Aish building where we had a group photo in front of one of the best views in all of Israel. Once again, we had the amazing opportunity of going down to the watch the picturesque sunset over the Kotel before we headed off to a delicious dinner at the Burgers Bar by Ben Yehuda Street. The night was coming to an end and we were given the chance to support the Band Tour at one of their final concerts. We walked the streets of Jerusalem, dancing and singing along the way before we finally reached the venue. It was exciting to see all of our friends who were travelling on a different journey as well as past generations of Moriah alumni, with whom we share an important common chapter in our respective lives, forever connected by our school and community, even when thousands of miles away from Sydney Australia.