Dear Diary,

Today, I went with all the Bar Mitzva boys of Ben Yakir Youth Village on a special day in Jerusalem.

I had lots of fun.

The part I liked the most was the visit to the Western Wall. That is where we started our day.
We prayed, and had an aliyah.

My father joined us for the whole day. It made me very happy. He met all my friends.
He said that he had a great time.

Yuval, my carpentering teacher, came along as well. I love him very much.

I did an aliyah at the Western Wall. I already did one in Ben Yakir on the date of my own Bar Mitzva, but this time, all of us, made aliyah together.

The Rabbi of the Western Wall came to talk to us. He blessed us in rhymes,
It was exciting, moving and happy at the same time.

Many people from Ben Yakir staff came with us - Yossi Krothammer, the village director, the boarding school director, the educational center director, teachers, counselors and national service volunteers.
It was a great honor for us that they joined; it made us realize how important we are.

We left the Western Wall and began our tour of the old city. We visited the Ruin synagogue that has opened just yesterday. We learned about its history.

It was one of the most beautiful synagogues I have ever seen - magnificent and special, a huge and impressive hall.

Afterwards we visited the burnt house. We watched a audiovisual film telling us the story of the great Cohen, the rebels that his weapons and more. We saw the burning of all the houses and the Temple.

We proceeded on our tour, walking along the tower of David and Mammilla Blvd. I loved the special sculptures we saw there.

Then they took us to lunch in a restaurant. It was delicious and fun. It felt good to sit together with everyone, eat and enjoy ourselves.

Our day ended in a special ceremony of the Ministry of Education in Mount Scopus. It was very happy; they had a lot of dances and shows for us. The ceremony included Bar Mitzvah kids from different youth villages. 

I can't wait for the next events….

Uriel Elbaz