Day 8 - Netzach - Jesse & Tal

Today Jesse woke up at 6am to go for a run with other boys and girls in Netzach. The group ran around and through seemingly endless amounts of crop fields and fruit trees that sat in the valley between the Golan Heights and Ayelet Hashachar, where Netzach is staying. Although difficult to keep up with the pack, Jesse had an active fulfilling morning.

After breakfast and tefillah, the boys and girls separated onto different buses. Following a steep climb into the mountains the boys arrived In Sefat. At the second highest point in Sefat, Natan presented an optical illusion that showed different images within it depending on your perspective. Natan then told the boys the story of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai which highlights how perspective can change someone’s spirituality. He then led the boys into a cave which led to a large dark underground dome which had amazing acoustics. There, they all sang ‘Achenu’ and a portion of ‘Hallelujah’ A lot of the boys felt differently about this experience; some said it was calming and comforting, while some said it was spiritual and they felt they could sing openly because it was dark and no eyes were on them.

After the cave the boys went to visit an artist named Avraham Levinthal who spoke to them about Kabbalah the spiritual side of Judaism. Avraham showed them his art and how it represents the importance of the pattern of the shofar blows, how Kabbalah enhances their spirituality and can teach them to not only “take” but also “give” in their lives. Overall the experience was great and Jesse learnt a lot about his Hebrew name ישראל (Israel) and what it means to him and how it relates to his soul.

Later in the day the whole of Netzach met up at the Sea of Galilee for a cruise party along the coastline. Netzach danced and sang together on the roof of the boat to create an unforgettable fun experience.

You may ask why Tal and Jesse wrote today’s blog in the third person. Well we wanted to share the experience and all our learning with everyone at home. Todays main message was about seeing other perspectives, and only when we open our minds, our eyes and our souls to other perspectives do we get to see the whole picture.

Jesse Fleiser & Tal Moses