It was a hot, but restful Shabbat here in Tverya, which was the perfect way to catch up on lost sleep from our flight. We held our own Kabbalat Shabbat service on Friday night, and then enjoyed a Shabbat meal at our hotel.

After a much-appreciated late morning start and Shabbat lunch, we spent the afternoon keeping cool in the water after a trek to the nearby Gai Beach Hotel, with waterslides, a wave pool, and beachfront access directly into the Sea of Galilee.

We headed back to our hotel for more swimming (yes, more swimming!), followed by reflection with our madricha Liel, who engaged us in conversation about our Jewish identity (do we feel like Jewish Americans or American Jews? or both? or neither?) and asked us to consider how we react to the terms “good Jew” and “bad Jew.”

After three stars appeared in the night sky over the Kinneret, we joined together in a Havdalah ceremony, raising our voices in hope that the sweetness of our first Shabbat in Israel will carry us forward in our exciting week ahead here.

It was then off to the Yigal Allon Promenade in Downtown  Tverya for dinner and shopping in the open-air market, including the purchase of some arguably fashionable pants, cold treats, and even a successful attempt at bargaining b’Ivrit.

Stay tuned for great adventures tomorrow, and Shavua Tov!