By Scott Levine

Thankfully, we were able to catch-up on some much-needed sleep this morning!   We started our day with a picnic brunch of local Israeli food prepared by an incredible chef.  Interestingly, her storytelling was equal to her cooking.  We enjoyed our meal overlooking the Old City, listening to her wonderful stories, and relaxing.

From there, we traveled to the Old City, stopping frequently for Dovev, our guide, to teach us the significance of the many things we saw along the way.   We entered the Old City and were struck by the normalcy of the day.   It was Shabbat, so things were quiet.  Families were moving about, people were engaged in prayer, and we made our way to the Western Wall.  Each of us took in the experience in our own way.  One that we’ll never forget.

After dinner, the steets of Jerusalem were alive with people.  Hard to describe the scene accurately.  People were eating, shopping and enjoying the beautiful night following Shabbat. The highlight of the night came as a surprise.  It was time to start shopping.  On our way, a group of young Yeshiva men started dancing and singing.  Then, another group of men, waving Israeli flags, joined.  The square was alive with pride as hundreds of people were celebrating.

After leaving our mark on the local merchants, we headed back to our hotel for the night.