Day 8 - Banquet

What a fabulous closing banquet for our incredible trip with JWRP!! The Director of JWRP in Israel started by remembering the Pittsburgh tragedy, those people murdered, and their families. It was a somber moment that connected us to Jews around the world.

We were treated to a wonderful video encompassing the entire trip with our thoughts highlighted throughout the video.

We heard from a number of speakers:

• Cindy Zeitelman, Co-founder and President of Jewish Women's Renaissance Project. She told us that JWRP started with eight women and is now 13,000 women strong. One of the best quotes of the evening was.. "if you inspire a woman..you inspire a family, community and have the ability to change the world.

• Isaac Herzog, the new Director of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) spoke about our Jewish heartbeat that beats together.

• Dr. Zohar Raviv reminded us about not sightseeing, but "inside seeing," the ability to recognize that Israel must be understood and we need time in which to do that when we are here in this magical place.

• Adrienne Gold said, "take what you've learned and take a stronger you back home and light up the world. A mother's job is not to turn a rose into a lily. Our job is to be a woman who takes all kinds of flowers and turns them into a beautiful bouquet. We are a ribbon connecting ourselves and our families and our communities to one another. The world between real and ideal is a long journey, be willing to go on the journey."

We had a beautiful dinner and we danced with our sisters, 600 strong.

Thank you is not nearly enough to our very special donors who made this amazing trip possible.