Sunday, Feb. 14
Brennan called us today to describe a very emotional day beginning at the Kotel, moving on to Yad Vashem and then to Har Herzl Cemetary.
For the past week, we have had regular contact with Brennan, via email, text or phone calls. He has described his attachment to the country, his appreciation of how all Jews are connected through this land, he has told of the bond formed within the group of students and staff, his regret that Israel did not exist when his (maternal) grandparents were born in the height of the holocaust and lost their entire families, and of the unexpected (to him) emotions that have overcome him at different times thus far. Thirteen years of Jewish day school, learning about Israel, studying the history, the language, the tradition, the religion: he is academically prepared and at 16, obviously emotionally mature enough to absorb and appreciate the value and importance of this trip. Technology has definitely changed the world: television and wifi on Kibbutzim, regular updates from across the planet and an email from Josh Cooper (our friend and head of Canadian JNF), with a picture of him and Brennan, who he bumped into on the street in Jerusalem. His first question to Brennan: “Do your parents know you are here?!”
We feel like it’s been a long nine days, he feels like he’s hardly had enough. We are so thankful to be able to give our son this opportunity.
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