As the rest of the hostel slept in peace, counting their sheep and catching their Z’s, me and my room were awake bright and early, dressing ourselves slowly with our eyes still shut.
Amnon had already warned us what was in store for that morning days prior, but it didn’t stop any of the complaints.
Nobody was happy to put on their long pants, button up their shirts, pack their bags, only to check the weather and see 95 degrees.
Surely nobody was happy to hear that the walk to the Old City would take 45 minutes at least.
Definitely nobody was happy when as we left the hostel and felt the sun glaring her beams into our eyes.
And absolutely NO ONE was happy to hear Assaf start lecturing us about a monastery 5 minutes into the journey.
I got right about there before my friend Zack looked at what I was writing and told me I was wrong, and that he actually liked the walk. It wasn’t just him either; lots of people actually enjoyed our journey to the Kotel.
This comment made me revisit Shabbat a little bit. I thought again on what we did, the people I saw, the conversations I had, and the laughter I shared.
I realized I didn’t really hate it as much as I thought.
That realization is so important to recognize. I think that as secular (non-religious) Jews, we often think that the customs and traditions of religious Jews to be weird and annoying, or something that we wouldn’t enjoy.
But when we put away our phones together, dress in uncomfortable clothing together, and trek the sweltering heat together, we end up bonding together, talking with our Israeli friends. We maybe even enjoy keeping shabbat.
So, to conclude, this shabbat walk taught me a lesson in perspective. It reminded me to not always think of the negatives in a situation, and taught me that even if things seem different and bad, they might have some hidden gems.