Today, fortunately commenced with a late wake up at 8am. This certainly set the mood for another incredible day spent in Israel.
We all went down to breakfast at the Ruth Daniel and were delighted to see a variety of delicious options for breakfast yet again - waffles, shakshuka, salads and an array of cereals.
Following breakfast, we had an inspiring Tefillah session where we were able to write a note between ourselves and G-d containing a personal message of gratitude. Sometimes, when we pray we say the words but don’t holistically comprehend the meaning of the words. Through writing our own authentic notes, we communicated our gratitude to Hashem in a genuine and individualised way.
Afterwards, we walked along the streets of Jaffa where the diverse nature of Israel was displayed. There were people in taxis, on scooters, families out for breakfast, people on their way to work and Israeli shopowners with high energy. It truly wove together the spirit and diversity of Israelis, creating an amazing atmosphere. Upon reaching Jaffa, our tour guide, Natan, explained that Jaffa holds immense significance as the story of Jonah and the Whale occurred in Jaffa. He then explained that, if he were to write an itinerary, he would start the trip in Jaffa as the port is the gate to Zion - the symbol of a dream of aspirational people who dreamed of coming to Zion. Starting a trip off in Jaffa would reinforce the integral importance of having Israel as our Jewish homeland, a place where every Jew has a right to live, a place that we have fought to own for thousands of years. After all, there is no such thing as a Jewish refugee! We then walked down the the port, and, of course, took some scenic photos.
Our next stop was at the Blind and Deaf Museum in Holon. Half of Netzach went to the Blind Museum and the other half went to the Deaf Museum. I personally had the amazing experience to visit the Deaf Museum as I had already done the Blind Museum when I was younger. We met our guide, who was deaf herself, and we all put on special headphones to block out all noise. The museum was split into 5 different stations, with each room being centred around a different form of visual communication. The first station was based around hand movements where we were placed around a circular structure which lit up at certain points. We practiced mirroring the guide’s hand movements, creating shapes like circles, hearts, rectangles and butterflies which were reflected on the lit up structure. The second room was focused on face movements. We all placed our faces in a rectangular frame and had to react to a certain image. For example, we were shown a picture of a food and had to use our facial expressions to show whether we liked or disliked the food. The third station was based around body language where we were shown a word or a picture and we had to act out what it was, like charades. This enabled everyone to think about how deaf people have to carefully think about their reactions to certain events in order to communicate their feelings. During the fourth station, we were given pictures of animals and had to match the name of the animal to the image of the sign. For example, two fingers together resembled a rabbit. In the fifth and final room, we were given images of famous Israeli figures, like Gal Gadot, David Ben Gurion and Moshe Dayan. Additionally, we learned some basic Israeli Sign Language, such as how to sign hello, thank you, no and excellent.
To conclude this unbelievable experience, we were fortunate enough to ask questions of our tour guide. We were led into a room with an interpreter who translated our questions from English into International Sign Language (ISL) and then translated the tour guide’s answer from ISL to English again. It was truly amazing to see such a niche and difficult skill be put to use right in front of our eyes. As a group we asked a variety of questions to our guide and we found out she was born deaf but only realised herself that she was deaf when she was 4 years old and had also taught deaf people in the army.
The opportunity of being able to embrace every opportunity and put myself into someone else’s shoes at the Deaf Museum enabled me to strengthen my sense of gratitude towards the things I take for granted in my everyday life - like hearing and speaking. These new experiences allow myself to be educated on the struggles certain groups face in order for us to build our sense of acceptance and sympathy. We need to acknowledge the struggles the deaf community face with integrating into hearing communities and still being able to complete school, socialise and be educated. I was also reminded of the power of speech and how our words hold the utmost significance in regards to how we treat others. Most of the time, we don’t think before we speak, however, deaf individuals are more inclined to do so as they have to think before they translate their thoughts into actions. We need to think about how our speech affects the people around us in order to be better, kinder people. The idea surrounding the power of speech can be connected back to the Torah where Miriam has tzara’at (leprosy) as a punishment for speaking badly about her brother, Moshe, reinforcing the moral of being cautious with our words. I was struck by the thought that no English was used at all in the museum, yet we were able to understand each other perfectly, highlighting the power of human interaction.
Following a delicious lunch of schnitzel sandwiches, we caught the bus to Shuk HaCarmel and played a great game of hot seat! Arriving at the Shuk was an amazing feeling. We were invigorated by the atmosphere of the hustle and commotion. There were tense negotiations and bargains happening between the Moriah students and the shop owners resulting in some amazing deals ranging from jewellery to clothing. Once again, the students of Moriah College boosted the Israeli economy while we all stocked up on some much needed snacks for tomorrow, as Lehava told us the food in Sde Boker was less than optimal.
We then caught the bus back to the hotel, got ready for dinner and walked down to Dr Shakshuka for a delicious meal of meatballs, shawarma, shakshuka (of course), salads and cous cous.
Overall, today was an inspiring and exciting day filled with a great energy in every activity we did. Whether it was walking the streets of Jaffa, experiencing what it is like to be deaf or bargaining with Israeli shopkeepers in Tel Aviv, today was another experience on IST which I will never forget. So far, IST has been the most incredible experience where I have fostered new friendships, learned many new things, exposed myself to the rawness and richness of Israeli culture and experienced the diversity of Israel. I cannot wait for what the next 3 weeks have to offer!
Eliana Binetter