Monday July 6th

Monday July 6th

Today is our 3rd full day in Israel and marks the 3rd field we have trained at. Like every day, we wake up really early and have breakfast. We are quickly rushed onto a bus, this time with the fencing team. We are on our way to Yahud. Most of us are trying to wake up when we arrive at the field. To our surprise we got the chance to watch the women’s open and youth soccer teams training on the field turf pitch. The field is surrounded by a very strong and heavy metal fence. There is also a mini field that is separated from the main field by a long net that just misses hitting the ground. The only other thing at this facility is a somewhat decomposing basketball court. The court is worn with years of use. The facility is small and hot. The air only circulates when you turn on the 8 large fans located on the walls. The court has a large somewhat lifted square on the key which looks like it was replaced years ago which contributed to the unusable nature of the court. To add insult to injury, there are spots of bird poop on 3 or 4 different spots on the court.

Since there was only one gym and two teams who needed to use it, we asked a man working at the facility where the futsal court was. Before I say anything, I am sure you all know what I am going to say. He told us that we are to play on the mini field. Again, for the 3rd day we are scheduled to play on a field that is not conducive to futsal.

So we worked it out with the fencing coach that we would split the gym. We took the first 45 minutes in the gym and then ran some drills and fitness on the field turf. We dealt with it but we were not happy.

After training we jumped back on the bus and headed to the hotel for lunch. At 12:00pm we loaded the busses again and headed to the other side of Jerusalem. Our first stop was Mt. Hertzel Military Cemetery. This is a large cemetery that houses every member of the military who has died along with politicians and some other very important people. We stopped to see Yitzak Rabin and Golda Miear. This cemetery is not like anything I have ever seen in the US. It is built almost as a living art form. Trees, plants, flowers and shrubs are everywhere. Almost every grave is designed to look like a bed. Not just a head stone, every grave stone bed is raised out of the ground about 1 foot. Inside the beds are living shrubs that are watered and manicured daily. Since the cemetery is on a hill, there are many different levels. Each level is designed a little different but on every level you will find generals buried next to privets and so on.
Now to make the day even more downtrodden, our next stop is Yad Vashem which is the holocaust memorial museum.

We walk into the entrance of the center which is a beautiful Israeli stone building that is constructed with glass so the entire building is bright and open. There is no artwork or signs in this building; it’s just somber and clean. We pick up our headphones so the guide can talk to us through the museum. Our first stop is the children’s memorial. We walked down a stone path into a dark room. We were greeted by large pictures of 10 to 12 children. As we continue walking we hear a voice that says a child’s name, their age and where they were from. As we entered the next room all we can see are candles. The room only contains 3 candles but the dark room is covered floor to ceiling with mirrors so it looks like millions of flames all over the room. It was told to me last time I was in Israel that if you played the tape of all the children’s names constantly for 24 hours a day 7 days a week, it would take over 3 weeks to listen to them all.
Our tour continued into the museum. It is so overwhelming that I could not do it justice talking about it. If you have never been you must see it at some point in your life and if you have been you know what I mean.

To lighten the mood of the day, we are scheduled to go to the Hebrew University to have a Bnai Mitzvah and a dinner party. But on the way we stop at the West Bank to see the security fence and talk about why it’s there and the problems with it.

Now we head to Hebrew University. It’s a very nice spot on top a hill overlooking the city. We are led into the amphitheater which is huge and made from Israeli stone. A large stage sits in front with the back of the stage overlooking the beautiful hills and valleys of the area. As we sit there singing with the rabbi and the 900 some athletes, the sun sets and the full moon rises. The lights of the theater illuminate the crowd as we join together singing “love your neighbor as you love yourself, that’s what the torah says.”

Then it was time…the Rabbi calls us up by teams to say the blessings over the torah. He calls up all teams A-F but leaves us off. We get excited because we will start the next one. He calls for the second and starts with G-S. Again we are mad but a few of us go up anyways. As we are up on stage, I told the Rabbi that he forgot to call the Futsal team up to the stage. He looks at me like I’m speaking Chinese. So he hands me the microphone and invited the entire Futsal team to join us on stage. I would like to add that every member on the Futsal team came to the stage, said he blessing over the torah and received a Bnai Mitzvah. Congratulations everyone.

After the 3rd group got up to say the blessings we all stood up, sang some more and then headed up the steps to have dinner.

Once again we had an American meal in Israel with the entire delegation. At least this time it wasn’t hotdogs and hamburgers. There was a band that played typical American Bnai Mitzvah music. People were picking up others in chairs, dancing and singing the hora.

We finished the party at 11:00pm and headed back to the hotel. Today was a very emotional day for everyone involved. But as always, we are looking forward to tomorrow.