One of the most meaningful tiyulim I’ve been on was the first time that we went to Jerusalem, on September 4th and 5th. It was my first time ever seeing Jerusalem in person, and my first view of the city from afar took my breath away. Our teachers and madrichim blindfolded us and took us for a short walk, until we were standing by a ledge, and when we took our blindfolds off, we could see the entirety of Jerusalem. I didn’t think that it would have the same effect on me that it did. I’ve always wanted to go to Israel, and to Jerusalem, but never was able to. Now that I have finally seen the beautiful city in person, I’m even more in love with it. Just looking at it almost brought me to tears. My entire life, I’d been looking forward to this moment, and it had finally arrived. The next day, we spent the day in different parts of Jerusalem. We began our Jerusalem journey in Ir David and walked through the water tunnels. The water tunnels were built by Hezekiah. It’s crazy to think that the stories and people I’ve been learning about since I was young are finally coming to life. My feet went numb, but it was so much fun. We sang High School Musical, NSYNC, One Direction, and tons of other songs, and just had such a fun time. We learned about how the tunnels were built, and how they saved the people of Israel. It was a real party. We then went to the Kotel, which was a more serious experience. It was a really powerful experience for me, and I wasn’t sure how I would initially react. I’d never been, and always wanted to go. Like my first time seeing Jerusalem the previous day, I was speechless. I almost started crying. It was so powerful for me, and I honestly don’t know why. I had been told about this wall and the power of this wall my entire life, and being there made all the history I’d heard about come together. It was a truly magical moment, and one that will never escape my memory. This entire two-day experience of my first day in Jerusalem was honestly life changing. I had been looking forward to this day my entire life, and it had finally crept up on me. These two days are permanently ingrained into my mind, and I will never forget the amazing experience I had.