Now here's a blog post from CRUSY President Hannah Borow about the trip:
Shabbat is one of my favorite times, it is a time to relax and unwind from a very stressful, unnamedbusy week. To me, someone who is shomer Shabbat, I treasure the time when I can disconnect from the world of social media and relax for once. Shabbat in Israel is even more special to me. To see so many people stop and enjoy Shabbat is inspiring. For the icnext Shabbat I stayed at Maayan Ganiel’s house, with my host Hadar Matzliach. We were joined by others from our icnext group, which made the time even more special. From the moment I walked into Maayan’s house I felt comfortable. I was welcomed with a smile and a hug from her wonderful mother, followed by scattered hellos from her five younger brothers. All the girls staying there, including Hadar, Maayan, Rebecca Shankman, and me, went upstairs to get ready for Shabbat. Once we were all ready we walked to Maayan’s friend’s house. As we walked it seemed like Maayan knew everyone in the kibbutz. Everyone said hi and good shabbos, even if they didn’t know each other.
After the visit we went back to Maayan’s house and had Shabbat dinner. At the dinner table I couldn’t stop thinking “wow I wouldn’t mind a dinner like this every night”. I felt so at home even though I was in a new house that I have never been before. After a huge dinner with many courses we went to the roof and sat and ate junk food for hours, just talking about life. When we finally went to bed, we all slept for more than 10 hours, a much needed break from this hectic sleep schedule. We woke up around noon and went downstairs to eat wonderful Israeli pastries. We just hung out for most of the morning, then went to a beautiful natural spring. Nothing like this exists in Cleveland. It looks like those pools at fancy resorts that they try and make look natural, but this one really was natural! We walked there and felt so free, nothing like that would ever happen in America. Walking on the street I looked up and realized just how beautiful this land is. If you have never been here you cannot even imagine how beautiful this it is – it’s breathtaking. this was the way the entire Shabbat went – relaxing time talking with friends and eating wonderful food. As we left the spring and walked back into the house with Maayan I felt like I should move here. I looked around at her beautiful family and thought to myself this is what I want in my life. This Shabbat was eye opening for me. I saw how Israelis who are shomer Shabbat and Israelis who are not can share a Shabbat together. I experienced how welcoming Israeli families are. And I most importantly met a family that not only welcomed me into their home, but have made me think very seriously about the possibilities involved in making aliyah.
