Day 12 - Lehava - Yoni

With our first IST Shabbas in Israel speedily approaching we began our day with excitement and enthusiasm despite the exhausting day we had on Thursday.

We had heard a lot about the donkey riding in Kfar Kedem from the other side and the years above us and this only made us more eager to take in every moment of the day. After breakfast and tefillah everyone rushed onto the busses buzzing with anticipation . The bus ride was short but Dean managed to get the whole bus singing with him, as always.

We arrived to Kfar Kedem to be met by the smell of manure overwhelming our senses, but no one was bothered as we were so focused on mounting the donkeys. It was explained to us that the activities in the little makeshift village were created to replicate that of the times of the Mishnah and to teach us how they lived by experiencing it - the best form of education. We split up into our busses and got dressed in the attire of the Mishnaic period. We then went on to feed and milk goats where we were able to taste freshly made goats cheese.

We proceeded to the donkey riding part. Where each group chose their preferred donkey and named them. As we rode the donkey on the dirt path we quickly realised how much they eat, ripping into every plant they could find.

As we got to the end we said our farewells to our new found friends and headed for a delicious meal of pita, dips, salads and meats. At the end of our meal we each received our very own donkey riding license.

We then headed to Rami Levi to pick up some snacks for our trip. As shabbas was coming in soon we headed to the hotel where we had a Pre-Shabbas soccer match between the busses.

Shabbas was brought in with excitement as we danced and sang in Kabbalat Shabbat. The buzzing environment continued into dinner. Our phenomenal day and Friday night couldn’t have ended any better than with the empowering tisch we had, where we heard some inspirational words and sang together as lehava for the first time of many.

Yoni Goldberg