After 5 days in “Boston”, the Israeli group have finally made it to… Boston! They started the day with a private tour of the Massachusetts State House led by State Representative Adrian Madaro, who taught the group how the American government system works, what his role is, as well as answered many intelligent questions coming from our teens.

Walking through the New England Holocaust Memorial on Union Street, the teens made their way for a a quick visit at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, for some noshing and shopping. From there, the group hopped the bus to Brookline, to visit Temple Sinai, one of this year’s HiBuR partnering synagogues. The teens met with Rabbi Andy Vogel, had an interesting conversation about the history of the temple, and were sent on a Jewish  scavenger hunt around Brookline.

Their last stop for the day was the Boston famous Duck Tour. After almost missing the bus (or boat) with heavy traffic in the Boston area, they teamed up with several of the American teens, and the group was able to board the amphibian vehicle and embark on this memorable tour.

On Friday the teens will meet with Rabbi Josh Breindel of Congregation Beth El, visit with Hillel and the Museum of MIT, and celebrate Shabbat at Kerem Shalom in Concord.

Massachusetts State House was incredible!! Adrian was so nice and showed us around and this is definitely one of my favorite places we visited! Duck tour was really awesome and we got to see how beautiful Boston is! This day was awesome and I had so much fun!
– Noa K

 

Today was so fun. We have been to the state house and we got a really amazing treatment and we saw things that regularly people couldn’t go and see it. For example we got out to the balcony and it was so cool. Then we went to the synagogue called Sinai it was so beautiful. Actually original it was a church and then they renovated it to synagogue.

– Ester S

 

I enjoyed the State House today especially I liked that it was a one-time opportunity
– Maya A

The duck tour was really fun! I liked when the bus got into the water and became a ship. Thank you very much today was so fun!!

– Goni A

I really enjoyed today when we went to the duck tours it was unique and very nice. Boston is very beautiful…..

– Elad A

The visit in the Massachusetts State House was very interesting and I loved the design there.
– Danielle S

Today was and still is awesome, I enjoyed the tour at the Massachusetts State House and the duck boat tour. I’m going to have a nice tasty dinner with Drew and his parents and I’m looking forward to it.

– Yarin H

Today was really fun, we met Adrian at the Massachusetts State House and he was very friendly and interesting. Quincy market was nice but we didn’t have enough time to do anything there. I really liked the tour, Boston is beautiful

– Noam S

 

Had a great time at the State House… The treasure hunt was short and quincy market was very fun. Had a blast with Yarin today.

– Nadav C

In the Duck tour at first we drove in Boston and then we sailed on the boat. It was unusual!
– Mika G

 

Today was a great day. We went to the State House and to a duck tour which was really fun  and we learned alot about the governments in USA and how they work.

– Guy S

If you are 15, it doesn’t get much less exciting than going to school on a Tuesday morning. But if you are 15 in a foreign country, or hosting a friend from across the ocean, going to school together is a very much the opposite. Luckily for our teens, this is exactly what they got to experience Tuesday morning, as our Israeli teens accompanied their American hosts to their respected schools. Among many other new things, some of them got to experience shop class for the first time.

While the Americans stayed for the second half of the day, the Israelis were picked up and brought to one of the most beautiful, serene, and poetic places in our region – Walden Pond. The Israelis practiced a silence contemplative walk along the pond (after being kindly kicked out of the visitor center for being too loud), all the way to the site of Thoreau’s cabin. At the cabin site, led by a Whitney Retalic of the Walden Woods Project, the teens discussed some of Thoreau’s teachings, and how they relate to the holiday of Sukkot, and to their lives as Jewish teens.

From the pond, the group divided into two – one group headed to Congregation Beth Elohim in Acton, and the second to Congregation B’nai Torah in Sudbury – two of the seven synagogues making up this year’s HiBuR. At the synagogues, the teens participated in their individual educational programs, interacted with the native students, as well as engaged in conversation with the local clergy.

As if this is not enough for a Tuesday, the Israelis reunited with their American hosts, and all together, along with a dozen pizza trays (courtesy of the amazing David Strauss), boarded the bus and headed to TD Garden to catch a Celtics game! Even though our local team did not end up winning, that did not seem to dim the wonderful experience our group had at the game, including making no less than three appearances on the jumbo screen!

On Wednesday, our Israeli teens visited the JCC in Newton, where they received the honor of having a private tour led by the CEO, Mark Sokol. Following the tour, the group continued to Mayyim Hayyim, one of the landmarks and prides of Jewish life in the Boston area, where they learned about this unique and pluralistic mikveh, and even participated in simulated tvila.(immersion).

As the teens were feeding their bodies with some American falafel, their souls were fed with a delightful conversation with Rabbi Lisa Eiduson of B’nai Torah and Cantor Lorel Zar-Kessler of Beth El. Together, they discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the Judaism they got to explore over the past week, as well as what they are familiar with from home.

To end the day, our Israeli group joined Congregation Or Atid’s educational program, played and sang with the young students, and had a lovely musical and spiritual experience with the congregation’s new rabbi, Louis Polisson.

On Thursday, the teens will explore Boston and visit another one of our partner synagogues, Temple Sinai of Brookline.

I was in American school today. Their school is very cool. And the American school is so different from the Israeli school. Today we went to a basketball game. Even though we lost it was awesome.

– Mika G

Well the basketball game was pretty nice I’d say because I’ve never been in one before so a NBA game as my first one is pretty special. Overall I enjoyed

– Yarin H

The arena is so big and everything is so awesome! I’m having so much fun! Thank you so much Shoni and David this is an unforgettable experience!!

– Noa K

This game is such a special experience for me thanks a lot Shoni and David!

– Maya A

Today was a very good day, I really liked Alex’s school. We saw very nice views in the lake, and I really enjoyed in the NBA game!!!!!!!

– Elad A

I started my day at Lincoln Sudbury high school, and it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. It was really big and different from Israel in many ways, so it was interesting to see the differences, but still how much fun can you have at school?
Next, we went to Walden Pond and had a quiet hike, which means we didn’t talk for a while so we can enjoy nature, and I really liked it.
Then we went to Hebrew school at B’nai Torah , and we read the prayers with the 3rd and 4th graders.
Lastly we went to a pre-NBA Basketball game. Even though I’m usually not a big fan of basketball, I really enjoyed the vibes there and yelling with everyone things that I didn’t even understand.

– Hila A