Finishing up

As MBI was coming close to the end, the chanichim had one more morning excursion on Thursday. First they went to Yafo (Jaffa) and walked around shuk hapishpushim (the market of knick knacks). Here they got to haggle with locals and buy lats minute souvenirs.

After the shuk, they went to an amazing museum call Machon Ayalon, which used to be an underground ammunition factory before the independence war. The Hagganah (defense force)convinced a group of people who wanted to build a kibbutz to building an ammunition factory. They dug out an enormous underground hole in just weeks, while the British thought they were building a kibbutz. 40 people would go underground daily to make bullets. The kibbutz took in laundry as its source of income, and the access to the ammunition factory was under a washing machine that slides to the side to reveal a ladder. All 40 of the original workers were trained to climb down the ladder in record time. They made 250,000 bullets without a single mishap, and bullets were the one thing the Israelis did not run out of during their war for independence. Visitors walk down the ladder and view the machinery while listening to the story.

Thursday afternoon they began the sikkum (conclusion). The last few days were a mixture of reflections and introspections of their experience of being on MBI. They also had discussions about what they were taking home with them from the experience as well as about the movement and how they want be involved in the ken and their machaneh. They also had more fun and serious peer led peulot by kvutzah.

Along with these activities they also had a regular Shabbat schedule including kabbalat shabbat, rikud, musicale and of course a final mesiba (party).