Shabbat at Shlomi- Afula

On Friday we woke up early and went straight on a hike to continue and reinforce the relationships we created with our fellow volunteers. All the volunteers hiked up together and we were able to socialize with everyone. When we got to the top of the mountain along the gorgeous view, each of the volunteers divided up into their homes for a separate team building activity. After a quick lunch the buses took us back to Shlomi to relax and get ready for shabbat.

Shabbat began with a perfect start. Michael presented gifts to all the Coordinators to demonstrate his appreciation for all their hard work and commitment to KH. After a special Kabbalat Shabbat full of ruach and beautiful tunes, we ate dinner and then divided up into our separate homes to continue building a strong connection with our fellow volunteers. We got to know each other on a different and deeper level. The topic was why we came to Afula and what our biggest fears were. Everyone spoke. Everyone contributed and expressed their feelings and it brought us closer as a group.

The following morning we davened Shacharit and ate lunch. Throughout the day everyone was socializing, building connections with other people and asking questions about any concerns or fears they were having. Later on, Michael met up with each group separately to speak about KH's future and our five circles of responsibilities. We discussed as a group the importance of staying connected to KH even after the summer ends and how to maintain our five different realms of responsibilities in order.

Following that, the volunteers had different opportunities to attend different sessions, such as Q & A, KH Israel and a shiur that was given by Ami. Each session was informative about different aspects of KH and it's future plans.

Finally, we ended the greatest shabbat with a beautiful and inspirational kumzitz with the 120 volunteers, 20 coordinators and the head staff members of the homes.

After Shabbat, we cleaned up and each group separated onto their buses to go to their homes. We got pumped up on the way to Afula, the excitement was in the air and everyone's nerves were high. We are all now unpacked in our homes, settled in and super excited to meet our new family tomorrow morning!!

-Tamar Tangir