Goot Voch

Our weekend bagan at 8am on friday morning where everyone dragged their tired bodies to the kibbutz shule. Following prayers we all ate at the cheder ochel and the group enjoyed the fresh friday morning bread topped with vegemite - despite trying our very best it has not become a favourite among the israelis. 

We would spend the weekend in Shlomi, on the mediteranean coast but firstly we made a short stop over in the historical Zichron Yaakov. Here, we were very priveledged to receive a personal tour of Zichron by two residents, who made Aliyah with Bambi and her family. I think i can speak on behalf of the rest the students in saying that we learnt a lot about the amazinf history of Zichron Yaakov and its significance in the establishment of Israel. Though we were only there for a short time the incredible shule, friday afternoon atmoshphere and mouth watering shewarma will not be forgotton.

Upon arriving at shlomi many of us were refreshed after a nice shloof on the bus and were looking forward to what would be a great shabbat with the group, just as it had been three weeks earlier. Friday night service, lead by none other than Yaniv and Leron, was another highlight of shabbat as the scopus students created an atmosphere unlike no other. That night we played different games as a group and we were visited by the 'friendly' neighbourhood stray cat. We did not know if it was male or female but Ben thought a suitable name for it would be 'Carrot Cake'.

On shabbat we all rested well after another incredible week on kibbutz. In the afternoon we visited 'café dilemma', where we discussed some very controversial topics that the israeli goverment were faced with in the past few years. This activity gave all of us much to think about in relation to how israel is portrayed in the media as well as the importance of maintaining israel's jewish identity. We all got a lot out of what was another great program ran by Tamar and Peleg.

After, we were given a few hours for some more rest and relaxation which were mainly spent on the basketball court, where we took on a group from south america in an intense half court thriller. The Aussies claimed a convinsing win. No surprise Peleg held top score, rebounds and three points.

We concluded shabbat with seuda shlishit and then made havdala outside which was very spiritually uplifting and a great group bonding experience.

Saturday ended with a performance night featuring stand up comedy, all six verses of the australian anthem, kibbutz parody songs, lip syncing, skits and solo performances. This was truly a night to remember, filled with much laughter, especially when our madrichim put on a special show for us.

I can honestly say that this amazing program never fails to surprise me and it has produced another memorable group shabbat. I can only imagine what will be in store for us in the coming weeks.

Look forward to writing again,

Adam.