It was an emotional day for our Mission participants today. We spent much of our morning at Kishorit, which is a community of adults with special needs. It is an incredible place, unlike any we have ever seen. Young people enter Kishorit and are engaged in meaningful work, socialization and a wide variety of activities. Each receives care and services that continue throughout the course of their lives. Kishorit has businesses on their campus, including making wine, raising pedigreed dogs, creating handmade toys and many more. One of the Kishorit members spoke to us, a young man who grew up in New Jersey. He has been at Kishorit for just over three years and he shared with us the joy of having Kishorit as home, the friends he had and the many ways in which he felt a part of this special community. We toured a workshop area and had a fabulous lunch that was both cooked and served by Kishorit members. We all walked away moved and inspired, thinking about ways in which we could help.

We also experienced some strong emotions as we discussed the events of some of Israel's wars and visited both the Lebanon and Syrian borders. It is eye-opening to recognize how close all of these borders are, what a vulnerable position Israel occupies and how vital it is for Israel to defend itself. On the Golan Heights, we visited a memorial to some who had lost their lives in the Yom Kippur war and stood in silence as we listened to an audio account. Some of our folks had tears streaming down their faces as they listened and they looked around at this beautiful trees which were planted in that spot, each in memory of a soldier who gave up their life in that conflict.

The morning included a visit to the ancient boat, a fishing boat that was discovered, excavated and preserved. It gives a real sense of what life was like once and is an amazing artifact of life more than 2000 years ago. There were many tour groups there, including one from Japan. Their guide, also Japanese, was demonstrating how to put on a tallit and tefillin. We could not understand the words but we watched in fascination as we saw him demonstrate it all perfectly. Fred Schrier, who has quite a dry sense of humor and keep us all laughing fairly often, suggested we ask them if they were from "Beth Yokahama!"