My free weekend- to start off my weekend, I took a cab with my friend and her grandmother and I got to see how the Israeli community of Givat Shaul prepared for Shabbat. As I was walking around on Friday afternoon, I smelled Shabbat food being made by all the families in the neighborhood. To see a whole community partaking in Shabbat was amazing.

The rest was sleeping and eating.

I went to my cousins in Jerusalem. I slept there, I had air conditioning in my room and a bed. I ate dinner at their house and then at the ou center with euro ice. Next day I slept in and then ate. Then my friends picked me up and we hung out. It was fun. Motzei Shabbat I went to Ben yehuda, it was fun. I saw my advisors and friends on Ben yehuda. I missed my fellow ICErs. The end. – Shternie

I spent my free Shabbat weekend with cousins who live in Raanana. I got to test out my Hebrew skills with my cousins who mostly speak Hebrew and learned that I knew a lot more than I thought I did. On Friday I got to have a very relaxing day and sleep in for a change. I went to shul on Friday night and attended one of my cousins friends bar mitzvah. On Saturday I did more sleeping, tried new Israeli foods, and played card games with my cousins. Although I am missing my ICE family it’s been a great weekend!

This past Shabbat was our free Shabbat and I stayed with a new found friend named Aaron Akiva in Neve Daniel. On Friday night we ate dinner then slept on the porch looking out at the valley below. The next day on Saturday we went to morning davening then went to lunch which was delicious just as every meal was. then on Saturday night we went into Jerusalem to hang out with friends and get food from Ben yehuda street. Then we took a taxi home which was really expensive but it was better than waiting a long time for the bus then we woke up the next morning and went to the meet up point to regroup with the entire group and start the day.

On my free weekend I stayed at my cousins, the Bartas. Shabbat was very lovely and relaxing. On Saturday night I met up with other ICE’rs on Ben Yehuda. Being seperated from my family aka ICE’rs was very hard. It’s crazy to think how much I’m going to miss them once the program is over.

Peace and love.

On my free shabbat I went to my cousin Benyamin’s house in Sanhedria. I got a great nights sleep of 7 hours. First I had to stay in a friend’s house but went to my cousin’s house on Friday morning. I went to ben Yehuda street and had some pizza and relaxed a bit. By the time I came back it was time for shabbat and I went to 3 shuls, one for mincha, one for kabbalat shabbat, and one for maariv. Every single shul we visited was chassidic and I’ve never wanted to pet a streimel more in my life. Other than that my shabbat was somewhat uneventful yet I was asked if I knew French at some point sooooooo yea.

-Yonaton

This shabbos was really fun. I reconnected with a friend who came to Cincinnati for 5 years, and who I haven’t really gotten to talk to for 3. His family is really nice, and made me feel at home. I caught up on sleep, getting 10 plus hours each night. All in all, it was a great experience to be able to spend a shabbos in Israel with friends and a wonderful family.

– Joseph Maltinsky

This Shabbat I went to Mitzpei Yericho to stay with a rabbi that I had met at the yeshiva/seminary fair at Yom NCSY. After sleeping until almost noon on Friday, I took a bus into Jerusalem and went to the shuk for the first time which was quite an experience. The pre-Shabbat rush provided a unique experience which was one of my highlights of the weekend. On Shabbat morning, we went to shul which was very quick compared to most shuls in America. After having lunch at my host’s home, I slept for the majority of the afternoon. The view from Mitzpei Yericho at sunset overlooking the city of Jericho, the Dead Sea, and Jordan was beautiful and I’m really glad I was able to spend my free Shabbat here!

When I walked through the door of my cousins’ house I could already feel the Israeli excitement. The whole Shabbat I was with my family in Efrat I spoke in Hebrew, played games and even learned new hand shakes.  I had a lot of fun with my family and ate very Israeli foods.

I spent my free Shabbat in Hadera with my great- aunt and uncle. The second I left the train station in Tel- Aviv I started missing my ICE family and didn’t know if I’d make it through Shabbat without our familiar Friday night dancing and motzei Shabbat ebbing. Luckily, my free weekend was very relaxing and fun, starting with spending Thursday night with a close friend from GIVE. Over Shabbat, I enjoyed great meals and a lot of time to sleep, read, and of course daven. This Shabbat was the first ever that I motivated myself to daven 3 times throughout the day, and I owe this to my amazing directors and advisors on ICE. Can’t wait to reunite with all my friends tomorrow 🙂

-Orly Krupp