For our Shabbat in Israel we had the pleasure of spending 2 days with teen Israelis from Beit Shean, and our group of 34 suddenly grew to 52! During that time we had many activities together that gave us opportunities to meet and connect. As I walked around on Shabbat I heard so many people from our combined group speaking in languages that were not familiar to them- Israelis were speaking English and Americans were speaking Hebrew. You could see how easy it was to meet new people and how everyone felt welcomed with open arms. On Shabbat afternoon we did an activity called “restaurant day” – our groups mixed Israelis and Americans. The trick however was with every food that was served there was a question that went along with it about our lives. These questions ranged from asking about our families and what we enjoyed to what we thought about Israel advocacy. Connecting on this level created a sense of community and I believe that we have made lifelong friendships. I can’t wait until they visit us in Cleveland later this year.