CAARI arrived back from Community Service, had lunch at the hotel and off to Rosh Hayin, a city just outside Tel Aviv.
In spite, of the dark skies, heavy rains and cold temperatures (a real Israel winter day), we received a warm welcome by Yiska and the volunteers at the Yemenite Heritage Center. This museum is dedicated to preserving the Yemenite heritage. with documents, photos, ancient manuscripts, household utensils, traditional dress and artistic artifacts.
Yiska gave us a wonderful and description explanation of the Yemenite people, including their customs and traditions. This was brought to live when with the sound of drums and the voices of Yemenite women, dressed in traditional customs, dancing along side, CAARI’s Bart and Paula, dressed as a bride and groom. CAARI joined them in dance and song as so did our driver, Zaharia, who knew all the steps and could even balance a the basket on his head while dancing.
After the Heritage Center visit, we drove to the local synagogue where we were we had another treat – a ‘heder’ class! These young boys and their teacher were amazing! We learned about their studies and listened to the as they chanted in unison and alone. It was truly a festive and beautiful afternoon – heartwarming!