Written by Jen Bernstein
It is our second day in Israel and the St. Louis contingent is having a wonderful time. We started our day by going to the Bara Herb factory, where we learned the process of making herbal medicines. Many of us did some damage in their gift shop as well. We moved on to a presentation by an Ethiopian immigrant who has a museum in a suitcase. He talked about his family‘s journey to Israel Israel via Sudan. Unfortunately his father died on the way, which is not unusual for the Ethiopian Jews who made the treacherous journey to Israel.
We then made our way to Tel Aviv, checked into the hotel and went to the momentum opening plenary. We were treated to a wonderful presentation by Richie Koval, I just got off the phone new paradigms we must live by during this trip. Number one is that knowledge is power. We should not be afraid of learning new things. Number two is that Judaism is not all or nothing. The third is that she’s always wise who learns from everybody, and the fourth is that words matter. We then enjoyed a delicious Israeli dinner danced our butts off and took a picture while sweating. But that’s OK because we all look fabulous! The night will end with a mile long walk along the Tel Aviv promenade. This experience has so far been amazing for everyone!