By Ilana Cohen, NFTY in Israel Participant, Bus 3
Windows drawn, Bus 3 made its way into Jerusalem. As the bus approached the Holy City we tied blindfolds around our eyes. For many of us on the bus, it was our first time in Jerusalem. We held hands with each other, our eyes covered as we walked together off the bus. Each of us had a picture in our mind of what our first view of the city would be. We made our way towards our first look of the city. On the count of three, we removed our blindfolds and gasped at what we saw. A city on a hill that gleamed in the sunlight, which most of us had been longing to visit for years. It was a surreal experience to finally see it in front of us.
The next day we had a similar experience of awe as we walked up to the Kotel. As I walked in view of the Wall I was overwhelmed as I realized how many Jews from all over the world since the Wall was built had come here to pray. I felt connected to the community that was so diverse, with women with prayer books bowing at the Wall to girls in t-shirts crying as they slipped a note between stones in the Wall. Notes spilled from every possible surface, and women crowded around the wall to pray. We were all there for the same reason, and I had never been to a place that was so special to so many people, especially to me.
That night we shared our thoughts on seeing the Kotel. Many in my group said they could feel the sense of community or a connection to Judaism. All around Jerusalem, from the Kotel to the shuk, our group could feel the sense of community and Judaism that surrounds it. Throughout my first week in Israel and my day and a half in Jerusalem, I have experienced the Jewish community in Israel and found a community within my NFTY group. Just as I wrote on my note that I put in the Wall, I hope this will be the first of many chances I have to experience Israel and feel at home with the Jewish community.
