Day 27 - Lehava - Savanna Horwitz & Dean Cohen
Our day started quite literally bright and early when alarm bells started ringing at 1:30 in the morning. Everyone rushed out of their rooms to see the chaos but eventually an hour later the mystery ringing stopped and we all went back to sleep peacefully…or so we thought. Merely 4 hours later more alarms started ringing; not the ideal start of our day but nevertheless we woke up again at 7:30 in high spirits, prepared for the jam packed day ahead of us.
After a delicious brekkie filled with bourekas, salads and an endless supply of coffee which people seemed to certainly enjoy, we returned our keys and said goodbye to our beautiful kibbutz we had the privilege of in staying in for the last 3 days, ready for the hour bus ride towards Han Dhar Hagar, the museum commemorating the war of independence. We were split up into 3 groups and sent to different rooms where we learnt compelling true stories about different soldiers, medics and officers during the war of independence. Three stations awaited us downstairs in which each group took turns using the interactive aspect of the activity that tested our decoding skills, decision making abilities and most importantly, team work qualities. At lunch we were all struck with surprise when the lunch was schnitzel…again.
After heading back on the buses and getting our 70 shekels for washing ready, we learnt there was a change in schedule. We weren’t going to Har Herzl due to the soccer game’s interference with Y2i day so it was postponed to later notice, giving everyone time to debate who would win the World Cup final. Argentina or France? Mbappe or Messi? We all rooted for our favourite different teams which truly tested the strength of our friendship.
Upon arrival at Bayit Vegan, we received wristbands and our Y2i t-shirts and headed inside. We finally reunited with Netzach after a ‘gruelling’ week without them and all headed outside to meet and socialise with the other schools and organisations on Israel programs from NSW.
It was absolutely crazy to see over 500 year 10 and 11 students, all Jewish, all from Australia and all together in the Holy Land, which we were promised so long ago. Both of us had previously attended a different school to Moriah; Dean moved to Moriah in year 8 whilst Savanna has only witnessed the tip of the Moriah iceberg. We were both ecstatic to see our old friends and it felt like we hadn’t seen them in forever.
Yet the greetings were cut short when all the schools and groups got split up into 2 groups. We headed into different halls and listened to 2 motivational guest speakers . The first speaker, Charlotte Korchak, educated us about the importance of knowing evidence in regards to Israel’s history. The next speaker, Noam Gershuni, spoke to us about his diverse and inspirational story - his journey to the Olympics as an Israeli Paralympian, who’s plane was shot down when he was in the army, which resulted in his legs impairment. This true story really helped us realise the dedication and immense love many Israelis have for the safety and development of the Jewish homeland and it’s peoples, something which all of us admire in our brave IDF soldiers. Noam spoke with a smile on his face and an optimistic tone, teaching us to be grateful for what we have and to live the most of every moment. Hearing this speech after going through the Han Dhar Hagar created a visual timeline of the history of our soldiers and how they still stand with pride throughout the years following the war of independence.
After the talks it was time for the ‘main event’. The World Cup final was shown both outside and in a hall upstairs. Everyone rushed to the cotton candy and popcorn lines and then sprinted to watch the soccer which quickly got swarmed with soccer fans from across Australia. Big debates and arguments were flowing around on who would win. Will Messi leave his final World Cup with a win or will France take the win? The game started off strong and then Argentina were up 2-0. At half time we all had some delicious shwarmas and chips for dinner. A few minutes towards the end of full time, France’s star player Kylian Mbappe makes a massive comeback bringing it to 2-2 after scoring 2 goals within 2 minutes. Extra time starts and after a very close game everyone thought Argentina had won it when they scored the first goal in extra time but then France comes back once again and scores making it 3-3 and onto penalties. You could feel the tension in the air, everyone on edge and everyone’s eyes glued to the screen. The vibes were immaculate. The clear favorite to win was Argentina; even if you weren’t near the screens you could definitely tell if they had scored a penalty or not by the insanely loud cheers from all the fans. Argentina were ahead in penalties after some excellent goal keeping to keep France out. They had 1 more until they could win. Everyone went silent, everyone was shaking, everyone was nervous and then BOOM! Argentina scored, Argentina had just won the 2022 World Cup. Messi had just won his last ever World Cup and everyone was going mad. We were all huddling up, cheering and running around like crazy.
After the excitement cooled down, we were all able to collectively find similar meaning and connection when we lit the first night of Chanukah candles, lead by Davi’s majestic singing. This introduced the Chanukah celebration and commemorated the freedom of the Jewish people during the Maccabean revolt whilst at the same time we enjoyed some heavenly jam donuts, a staple classic of Hanukkah. We all danced along to recognisable Chanukah music together.
After saying our painstaking goodbyes to both our old and new friends we had made, we headed to our new accommodation, Nes Harim, where bus 2 had stayed prior. Let’s just say it wasn’t as nice as the Ramada. Everyone showered and got ready to bed but not before everyone’s shower leaked and almost flooded the rooms, yet that couldn’t stop the excitement that was in the atmosphere throughout the campsite.
Looking back Y2i day not only allowed us to socialise with our old friends from schools we went to, but it also allowed us to visualise and appreciate the vastly different approaches to Jewish life from all over a numerous amount of schools and backgrounds, all having their own customs and traditions that help them stay connected with their Jewish culture. We got to share our experiences as students who integrated into a Jewish school and our experiences with strengthening our Jewish identity, in which we learnt that many individuals share the same feelings as we did.
Savanna Horwitz & Dean Cohen
