Dear NCSY TJJ Lion Pride,

Hello from the HOLY LAND!!!!!

We had an incredible start to TJJ this morning! We left our hotel in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Bayit VeGan and proceed straight to Emek Tzurim, an archeological dig from the Second Temple era. We had the chance to roll up our sleeves and sift through dirt and clay searching for ancient artifacts! Some of the big finds included metal shards, pottery, and even some tiles out of a mosaic floor! We also had a chance to hear from some of the staff at Emek Tzurim who taught about the significance of various digs and discoveries around the state of Israel, especially in Jerusalem.

After taking a break and enjoying some lunch we made our way to Ir David, the City of David. Here in the City of David we had the opportunity to rediscover biblical Jerusalem. We explored the biblical excavations in order to learn about the geography of the original Jerusalem and why King David chose this area as his capital. We capped off our visit to Ir David with a trek through Hezekiah’s Aqueduct! Splashing our way through the aqueduct was the perfect was to cool off on a hot day.

Our eventful first day came to a close with a delicious Barbeque with our family from Bus 1.

Now that our first day is in the books, we are looking forward to a good night’s sleep and another fabulous day tomorrow as we travel north to Chispin!

Best,
Rabbi Chaim

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