By: Max Gilbert
When my
sheirut pulled up to the ivy-covered courtyard on David Yellin Street, I let
out a huge sigh of relief at the incredibly satisfying feeling of coming home.
After six long months, a 135 page thesis, graduating college, and two
exhausting days of travel, I had finally arrived. Here, in the holiest city in
the holiest land in the world, was the place I wanted to be most: Mayanot.
Unlike my previous trips to Israel,
this journey lacked the typical anxiety of a new beginning. Although I knew that I could not predict
where this next year would take me, I had no doubts that, at Mayanot, the
future would be bright. Having attended the yeshiva for a 5-week summer program
the year before, as well as spending a brief 2 and a half weeks here this
winter, I had none of the "first day of school" worries. Immediately
upon unloading my bags, I was greeted with warm welcomes from both new and old
faces, and I felt an intense gratitude for the unbelievable opportunity to be at
such a special place.
The first full day of the summer
program was a Thursday, and so I didn't have to wait long to experience the
uniqueness of Shabbat in Jerusalem. Since the yeshiva takes care of all the
preparations for Shabbat, it is customary for the bochrim to hit the streets
and spread the excitement of the approaching holy day. Whether in the shuk or
at the kotel, Mayanot guys bring their tefillin and shabbat candles to help
other Jews connect to this special time. This week, I had the privilege of
going with one of the shluchim to Hevron to help soldiers at army bases wrap
tefillin. During the winter program I had the opportunity do this and had an
amazing time, and the shliach (who goes every week) promised that we would go
again my first Shabbat back in Israel. Schlepping from base to base in the heat
was exhausting, but the joy of bringing hard working soldiers rugelach and cold
soda while helping them to do a mitzvah made it worth the effort.
When we got back to the Jerusalem,
the city was pulsing with the energy of last-minute Shabbat preparations. The
stores in the shuk were closing down, the last busses and trains were packed
full of people trying to get where they needed to be before sunset, kids were
playing in the street in their Shabbat clothes, and men with wet towels and
beards coming home from the mikve filled the streets. After getting ready myself, I joined the
Mayanot group as we proceeded to the kotel for Friday night davening. The
weather was beautiful, and thousands of Jews from all walks of life and levels
of affiliation filled the kotel plaza.
Three
years earlier, at this same spot on a Friday night on my Mayanot Birthright
trip, the power of this place convinced me to learn more about my ancestral
faith and heritage. Now, having spent three years doing that, I was back as a
full-time yeshiva student. For a brief moment I felt a strong sense of clarity
that everything that had happened over the past few years was destined to bring
me to this place, and I was fully determined to make the most of my time here.
The singing, dancing, feasting, and
camaraderie of Shabbat at Mayanot filled me with the energy and inspiration to
fully devote myself to the first full week of learning. Learning in yeshiva for
short periods during college breaks cannot compare to learning after
graduating. During my last stays at Mayanot there were always school-related
concerns in the back of my mind distracting me from fully concentrating on
learning Torah. Now I have nothing to worry about or be preoccupied with other
than totally immersing myself in the material and working to become the best
Jew that I can be. With Hashem's help and the guidance from the incredible
Rabbis here at Mayanot, I trust that this next year will be the most rewarding
of my life and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.