by Eitan Warburg ('19) and Noam Mayerfeld ('19) On a typical morning at Makor Chaim, the entire school wakes up at the crack of 7 in order to tackle the Gemara with the ferocity of a lion (יתגבר כארי לעמוד בבוקר לעבודת בוראו שיהא הוא מעורר השחר). On Fridays, after an all-night Mishmar, we, the MC11, woke up ready to greet the Shabbat. After a packed first half-week in the Yeshiva, we left Makor Chaim looking forward to a great Shabbat in Yerushalayim. We started off in Alon Shvut, at Machon Tzomet, an institute that combines technology with halacha. We learned about countless devices they've created to provide religious solutions for security, army, and medical issues that arise on Shabbat. From there we continued on to The Lone Oak Tree where Harav Yehudah Taragin told over the inspiring story of the tree. It was the only sign of hope for the tens of evacuees from Gush Etzion after the War of Independence in 1948. Continuing up to Yerushalayim we stopped at a ma'ayan called Ein Yael in the Judean foothills for a nice dip in the cool mountain water. For Shabbat, we slept at Yeshivat Hakotel, overlooking Har HaBayit and, of course, the Kotel HaMaaravi. We had a truly uplifting Friday night davening at the Kotel with dancing and singing. Over the course of Shabbat, we experienced the atmosphere of the old city- davening at the Kotel, the Churva and the Ramban's Shul. Closing the Shabbat with a Melave Malkah in Katamon, we made our way back to the Rova HaYehudi. The next morning, on Asrah B'Tevet, we really captured the essence of the fast, by davening at the Kotel, and touring the Old City, the site of the siege and many more important events in the history of our people. On Tuesday, we left the Yeshiva again for a tiyul. We visited the memorial of the Lamed Hay, the 35 soldiers sent to relieve the forces at Gush Etzion who had mercy on an Arab woman and were ambushed and murdered because of it. Following in their footsteps by hiking on Shvil Yisrael (The Israel Trail), we enjoyed nature and connected a little bit more with OUR country. After our hike and Mincha, we witnessed a beautiful sunset in the fields and then finally enjoyed a real Israeli experience, the shawarma. Looking forward, we are preparing for our in-Shabbat at Makor Chaim, joined by the parents of the entire 10th grade!! And that is just in the near future. We have a whole three more weeks to gain all that we can from this tremendous experience. Shabbat Shalom!!