Overload, part 2: Spiritual Weekend Away
i'm back.
so the next week, in the first weekend of April, the same bunch of students and young adults, about 40 (pretty even with guys and girls) of us, went on a Spititual Weekend Away, oragnised by Chabad youth, to a quaint little seaside town of Queenscliff, about an hour and a half drive from Melbourne. i went in a friend's car, along with two other people. it was during the uni break, and we left on a hot Friday afternoon, and came back on a rainy Sunday. the place we stayed at was a nice little hostel right on the beach. the moment after i dropped my stuff on my bed, i went for a swim. the town is at the opening of the heads to Port Philip Bay, where Melbourne is situated at the top of. that part of the beach was right in front of the heads, so you get the large ocean waves coming in ever few minutes. and you caould see all the ships coming into and out of the bay, going to and from Melbourne, including the two Spirit of Tasmania ships that go to and from Tasmania. it was really cool. so on Friday night we had a Shabbat service, followed by a great dinner with lots of singing. on the Saturday morning, i opted not to go to the Shabbat service, but decided to go for a little walk along the beach and into the township. i came back in time for lunch, and then we sang some more songs and nigunim (wordless songs). then all of us went to a meditation session on the beach where we just reflected on our lives, and where we're going with them. some of us sat on the sand, others stood in the water with the waves crashing on our feet. this was followed by some inspiring words from the Rabbi, Yehuda. it was quite emotional for some, myself inculded. at around sunset, we headed back for Mincha (the final prayers of the day), including Havdalah (the conclusion of the Sabbath). one of the guys brought his guitar and was playing a tune during Havdalah and broke two strings. lol. my cousin did that the year before, on the same song.
after dinner, we had a scribe come and explained to us how Torahs are written, as well as Mezuzot and Tefilin. he brought a few quills, some ink and some scraps of parchment, and we were able to write our own things in the same sort of style that the Torah is written. i wrote the words Shalom (peace) and Yakov (my name in Hebrew). anyone who's spoken to me on MSN recently will see my name in Hebrew as my pic. i think i did a pretty good job for my first time. after that, we all of us had a drum circle. a guy came with heaps of drums and other percussion instruments and we were split into 4 groups and each given a different tune to play, and when they were all played at once, it sounded so awesome. i was withg the other people on the bongos. the room was totally rockin. then we were able to pick whatever we wanted, so i kept my bongo, but also got the didgeridoo. most people were quite impressed cos they never knew i could play the didge. we went on till about 1am. after that, i was hanging around the meal room with a few friends talking about random stuff, till about 4am, and then i went to the beach with some others, where it was pitch-black, with the only light coming from a nearby lighthouse and our moblie phones. one of the guys fell asleep on the beach, and i was about to fall asleep, so i went back to the cabin cos i was freezing cold and all the sand was starting to annoy me, and left the other few people there. i went to sleep at around 6am, and work up about 3 hours later. after a hot shower, i was able to stumble into the meal room and have breakfast. the guys i left at the beach stayed awake the whole night and were there chatting. by this stage i was developing a cold, and when i turned on the TV, i was informed that the Pope had passed away, which was kinda sad, cos i thought he was a good guy. then i packed up my stuff and decided who's van i was gonna get a ride home with. i got home some time in the late afternoon and went to sleep. it was so good to finally sleep in my own bed. i hate sleeping in a sleeping blanket, cos you get so distgustingly sweaty and it doesnt get absorbed by anything.
still to come: Pesach, AUJS stuff and some excting news, so don't move from your seat.
so the next week, in the first weekend of April, the same bunch of students and young adults, about 40 (pretty even with guys and girls) of us, went on a Spititual Weekend Away, oragnised by Chabad youth, to a quaint little seaside town of Queenscliff, about an hour and a half drive from Melbourne. i went in a friend's car, along with two other people. it was during the uni break, and we left on a hot Friday afternoon, and came back on a rainy Sunday. the place we stayed at was a nice little hostel right on the beach. the moment after i dropped my stuff on my bed, i went for a swim. the town is at the opening of the heads to Port Philip Bay, where Melbourne is situated at the top of. that part of the beach was right in front of the heads, so you get the large ocean waves coming in ever few minutes. and you caould see all the ships coming into and out of the bay, going to and from Melbourne, including the two Spirit of Tasmania ships that go to and from Tasmania. it was really cool. so on Friday night we had a Shabbat service, followed by a great dinner with lots of singing. on the Saturday morning, i opted not to go to the Shabbat service, but decided to go for a little walk along the beach and into the township. i came back in time for lunch, and then we sang some more songs and nigunim (wordless songs). then all of us went to a meditation session on the beach where we just reflected on our lives, and where we're going with them. some of us sat on the sand, others stood in the water with the waves crashing on our feet. this was followed by some inspiring words from the Rabbi, Yehuda. it was quite emotional for some, myself inculded. at around sunset, we headed back for Mincha (the final prayers of the day), including Havdalah (the conclusion of the Sabbath). one of the guys brought his guitar and was playing a tune during Havdalah and broke two strings. lol. my cousin did that the year before, on the same song.
after dinner, we had a scribe come and explained to us how Torahs are written, as well as Mezuzot and Tefilin. he brought a few quills, some ink and some scraps of parchment, and we were able to write our own things in the same sort of style that the Torah is written. i wrote the words Shalom (peace) and Yakov (my name in Hebrew). anyone who's spoken to me on MSN recently will see my name in Hebrew as my pic. i think i did a pretty good job for my first time. after that, we all of us had a drum circle. a guy came with heaps of drums and other percussion instruments and we were split into 4 groups and each given a different tune to play, and when they were all played at once, it sounded so awesome. i was withg the other people on the bongos. the room was totally rockin. then we were able to pick whatever we wanted, so i kept my bongo, but also got the didgeridoo. most people were quite impressed cos they never knew i could play the didge. we went on till about 1am. after that, i was hanging around the meal room with a few friends talking about random stuff, till about 4am, and then i went to the beach with some others, where it was pitch-black, with the only light coming from a nearby lighthouse and our moblie phones. one of the guys fell asleep on the beach, and i was about to fall asleep, so i went back to the cabin cos i was freezing cold and all the sand was starting to annoy me, and left the other few people there. i went to sleep at around 6am, and work up about 3 hours later. after a hot shower, i was able to stumble into the meal room and have breakfast. the guys i left at the beach stayed awake the whole night and were there chatting. by this stage i was developing a cold, and when i turned on the TV, i was informed that the Pope had passed away, which was kinda sad, cos i thought he was a good guy. then i packed up my stuff and decided who's van i was gonna get a ride home with. i got home some time in the late afternoon and went to sleep. it was so good to finally sleep in my own bed. i hate sleeping in a sleeping blanket, cos you get so distgustingly sweaty and it doesnt get absorbed by anything.
still to come: Pesach, AUJS stuff and some excting news, so don't move from your seat.