Days 6-7 (6.17-18.2022): Silent Disco Montage By Aaron Zarbavel

The night started off with our group (a total of 64 Americans and Israelis) walking to a large open plaza in the city of Jerusalem. Shabbat had just ended and we were doing havdalah in a circle together, with Rabbi Scott leading. After a very meaningful havdalah, we were greeted by a group of 3 people in orange and yellow outfits, who had a bunch of neon green LED headphones which were handed out to each of us. This was our silent disco night, lead by an Israeli group called Guru Zuzu! To begin, the host had us do lots of warm up dances with the music blasting in our ears. We definitely knew that we looked like absolute crazy people because we’re dancing on the streets of Jerusalem, with neon headphones on while no outside music is playing. We walked around the alleyways and streets of the shuks and restaurants, dancing around with strangers as they were given extra headphones so they could hop in and join us in dancing. Lots of people filmed us in excitement as they watched us dance and very quietly heard our music. We also sang along, so that helped. Our group leader was guiding us through specific dance moves and it felt like we were putting on a show. I felt like I could be myself and dance how ever I wanted to, with no judgement because, we were just HAVING FUN! The mission of Guru Zuzu is to spread joy, positivity and good vibes everywhere! When a bunch of kids from Israel and America are dancing through the streets of Jerusalem and enjoying themselves, I know it gets everyone around smiling and it spreads positivity. Our guide was even involving bystanders to join us and to spread even more positivity through the city. I loved the vibes the Guru Zuzu brought to our group and really enjoyed the connection our group displayed with each other through the silent disco. I felt that after this activity at 8:30 at night, our group was much closer and got to know each other on a more personal level. Overall, amazing experience filled with good vibes, positivity and most importantly, a great way for 64 people to enjoying being with each other.
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