Tuesday was a big day in Israel!

By Sammy Reed-Schwartz

Sammy Reed-Schwartz is 9 years old and visiting Israel for the first time with his family.  His mother, Rabbi Esther Reed, is the Senior Associate Director of Rutgers Hillel.  Follow Sammy’s first visit to Israel on his blog at http://sammyinisrael.blogspot.com/.

I haven’t written in a long time. Friday I went to the waffle factory. I had a huge waffle with lots of toppings. It was about the size of my head.

Sammy Israel 1

Isaac and Jonah also had a waffle to share:

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The waffles were so big that we could barely finish them.

Then we went to the Jerusalem Science Museum. They had a rolling ball sculpture with water that was really cool.

Sammy Israel 3

Here is a picture of the inside of the museum:

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On Shabbat we went to someone’s house for dinner. The next day we went to a shul that had some kids to play with and we had guests for lunch. In the afternoon we played at a playground.

Sunday we went back to camp. Camp is really fun. Here are some pictures of me at camp:

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My counselor who is picking me up in this picture is named Sammy, like my name.

Here are two pictures of my brother Isaac on a slip and slide:

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Sammy Israel 10

Tuesday was a big day because Jonah lost a tooth (and other reasons my mommy will write about below).

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I am having a great time in Israel. Everything in Israel is SSSOOOOOO Hebrew. Bye bye!

 

**Sammy’s mommy is writing about Tuesday night:

I was at the Hartman Institute and Mordy was home with the boys when we heard the siren that rockets were coming to Jerusalem. It was the only time that we had a siren in Jerusalem during our trip thus far. I went to the shelter at Hartman. Meanwhile, at home, Mordy tried to wake the boys (Isaac and Jonah got out of bed and went straight into our beds and fell right back asleep). Sammy woke up and stayed with Mordy for about 15 minutes until I came home. Mordy heard the thud like a thunderclap of the missile falling. It apparently fell in an empty area.
As I wrote the words above a moment ago, we heard the second siren of our time here in Israel. Instead of 10pm, as it was Tuesday night, this time it was 6pm, as we were getting ready for dinner. We sat in a safe place in our apartment and we heard the thunderclap again. We’re not sure if it was iron dome or a missile falling.

Anyway, we are safe and the boys are not afraid. Since Mordy and I are calm, they are calm, too. We take precautions to remain safe, and the boys know that.

 

Sammy and his brothers Isaac and Jonah enjoying the beach in Netanya, Israel

Sammy and his brothers Isaac and Jonah enjoying the beach in Netanya, Israel


Rutgers Hillel is proud to support our friends and family in Israel.

The Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement is driven by a core belief that a positive connection to Israel is essential for a strong, healthy Jewish identity. Through the Rutgers Hillel Center for Israel Engagement students develop strong connections to our homeland and the experience to be Jewish leaders.