Well, here we are, after two weeks of nonstop activities and a rollercoaster of emotions we’ve made it to the finish line. Yesterday we visited the Old City, on the way there we noticed the entire city of Jerusalem was completely shut down, shops were closed, no public transport, barely anyone out on the sidewalks, because of Shabbat. We visited The Kotel and celebrated our Shabbat morning with some Torah study on the egalitarian side of the wall, and of course, concluded our Shabbat with a visit to Peppi’s beautiful home. Tonight we head back home. Not only do we bring home souvenirs and fun memories for family members, but we also bring new philosophies to live by, and new understandings of life and destruction that will change the way we see the world. After spending a week dwelling in the tragic past of Nazi Germany in Poland, we came to Israel to celebrate life and the success of the Jewish people. And celebrate we did! As I sit in the customs and border control baggage claim at JFK airport, I look back at the last two weeks and remember the lessons I learned, the friends I made, the new understandings I developed, and of course how cool airplanes are… and I smile. All of us are apart of an elite group of Jewish people that have paid homage and respect to those who were murdered in the Holocaust at Auschwitz, Birkenau, Treblinka, Majdanek, and more. But we’re also apart of the group of Jewish people that walked out of those camps, alive and well. Living and breathing. Thriving. So thank you to Becca, Trinity, David, Peppi, Lizz, Ofek, Rafa, Eva, Summer, and George for showing us a new meaning to life over the past two weeks. A trip we’ll truly never forget.
Life is Beautiful.
Life is Fragile.
Live well and smile.
⁃Drew Lawrence
