Shnat Netzer - Update 5

Dear parents, shnattim and snifim shalom rav!

Everything is so peaceful and quiet- there is hardly anything to tell.

As you all know, this is now Sukkot, and all the shnattim have 9 days off to travel, explore, relax and get to know Israel better. Everybody are having their own adventures in the North, South and Centre of Israel.

Since they are all over, we barely see any of them in Beit- Shmuel, and aside from checking in or finding out how is the best way to get to Massada at 05:00 in the morning to catch the sunrise, we have the quietest days in our offices.

This is a great time to be in Israel and lots of events are taking place- from the Jerusalem Walk that took place yesterday, to different festivals all over the country, to the many many visitors who are making their pilgrimage to Jerusalem- so much to see and do.

We wish you a lovely Chag Sukkot and hope you enjoy the same peaceful atmosphere we have here.

Chag Same'ach,

The Netzer staff

PS- Please find attached the monthly newsletter from the European Region.

Sarah Grabiner- Machon

Helllllooooooo parents, families, friends...

I wanted to write you a song to explain what we have been up to, but it didn't quite seem to do justice to the exciting, exploring, empowering, enthralling times we have been having so I have included some footnotes/commentaries on the lyrics so you get the full picture:

(to the tune of "Hit Me Baby One More Time")

1. As Machoniks we were given the challenge of finding our own accommodation for the 9 days of Chofesh (i.e. we were kicked out of Kiryat). Because they love us very much, Netzer did provide us rooms in the hostel at Beit Shmu which was lovely of them and gave us a place to sleep/dump stuff while we were away.

2. These are some other Machoniks Chofesh escapades, apart from what I did which I will talk about later - hiking a portion of the Shvil Yisrael trail in the North, cycling round the Kinneret, chilling in Jerusalem, seeing friends in Ra'nana.

3. If I was given 1 line to sum up Shnat so far that would be it - amazing, and always rising - every day is better and better, every experience better than the last.

4. I had a quite strange experience where I received an email from a person who had met my parents in London after I left and got chatting with them about me being here, and ended up inviting me to their house in Jerusalem for lunch on the first day of Succot - they were very lovely and it was a lovely way to spend the chag!

5. "aruchot" means "meals" - as we currently reside at Kiryat Moriah, any food that doesn't taste of sewage is a welcome change!

6. "Book's Shrine" = The Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept, but I just needed to make it fit the lyrics. We also saw a breath-taking model of Jerusalem during the 2nd Temple Period, really fascinating and beautifully constructed.

7. Some of us are in Akko at the moment to generally see the city and also the Akko Fringe Festival of street performances and international shows and theatre. We are then going to Haifa to see the Bahai Gardens and some other stuff.

8. This evening we were caught in what can only be described as a torrential downpour - I have never seen quite this much rain in such a short space of time - it felt very biblical-flood-ish.

Lots of Love to all at home, Sarah Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Alex Goldhill- Etgar

Succot Report

As you are hopefully aware, this week was Succot, and as such all of Shnat had Chofesh throughout this period. Now some of you may think that would make my job easier, as I have longer to think about what I am going to write, however, it’s not as simple as that. You see, most of the Etgarniks have gone away for Chofesh, leaving me here with a few stragglers, and as such it has been hard for me to keep track of everyone, so you will have to put up with my second hand knowledge of events. But firstly, I can tell you what as been going on in the flat.

For the past 6 days everyone who has been in the flat has been able to enjoy the luxury of late nights and long lye-ins. Meals are prepared by anyone who can be bothered to cook, and breakfasts are optional at best, although on one night (when there were more people in the flat) we all went out for dinner to the Japanese restaurant Japanica, which was good fun and very tasty. After the hard work of Etgar this is a very welcome reprieve. Of course we haven’t all been lying around all day, and we have all been able to find things to do with our time off. I myself have begun cooking, something that I am usually too tired (or lazy) to do under normal circumstances, and if reports are anything to go by I am a fairly decent cook when it comes to making biscuits. Last night those who still remained in the flat (Josh, Sammy, myself and Jonathon Stimmler who was visiting) watched all 6 Star Wars movies in one go.

But enough of the dull flat, I am sure most of you want to know what your children have been getting up to across Israel. Now I cannot tell you about all of the things that are happening, because I don’t know what everyone is up to (I have problems keeping up with current events). Some of the things I do know, however, I will tell you. A couple of days into Chofesh some of the Etgarniks took a trip down to Ein Gedi and Masada. From what I know they were able to camp out there and they were the first ones up to Masada. Groups of Etgarniks also went up to Haifa and Akko, but from what I hear the youth hostels leave much to be desired. Other Etgarniks are travelling across Israel doing things they planned out in advance (and causing me to kick myself for not thinking ahead) such as Hannah Luder, who is currently staying in Tel Aviv.

Once again I apologise that I haven’t been able to give you a more in depth description of events, and I know that the Madrichim are going to be crossed with me for this, but I am sure your children will be able to give you a more in depth account of their personal experiences. I hope that I have been able to provide an informative report of this weeks events and that you are reassured that your children are enjoying themselves.

Click here to read last week's update