Shabbat

May 24^th

We spent some time together in the late morning and then had lunch. Afterwards, we hiked to Nahal David, or David’s Cave. It was only 20 minutes from our field school but it was extremely hot so I was happy I brought water. We spent some time walking along a riverbank before finding a pool where we could swim. It was very refreshing and made the last leg of the hike easier. I made it to the caves and spent some time enjoying the view. This cave is where the biblical story between David and Saul. Saul hated David and was trying to kill him, they both ran away from Jerusalem and slept in a cave. Unbeknownst to wither of them, they chose the same cave. David stumbled across Saul and cut a piece of his cloak off and sent it to Saul when they met next. Saul did the same thing to David later on and both agreed to live near each other without too much conflict. It’s amazing that this all took place in the cave I visited.

That night, we had a guest speaker from Sderot, a small town on the border with Gaza. He spoke about the dangers of the area and how frequent missile strikes were. Over the past 8 years, 20,000 missile had been launched at this area of the country. Media does not cover these stories so this man is trying to get the word out. While it is important to take this information with a grain of salt, it is still shocking to hear. I know Israel retaliates towards these attacks and this is generally what we hear about but it is important to hear both sides of the argument. I enjoyed the talk and will do my best to be informed about these issues.

Jerusalem

May 23^rd

We began the day by driving from our field school to Jerusalem. It was about an hour away, which gave me time to talk to soldiers and get to know them better. Just learning about their everyday lives was amazing. It’s hard to put into words how important these connections were to my Israel experience. I am older than every soldier we talked to. This concept is really hard to grasp when you examine what they have done in their lives compared to me. They all seem so mature and ready for the real world but they are all still kids and want to have fun in the same ways as me and my friends.

We arrived on the outskirts of Jerusalem and got out to see a panoramic view of the city. There is a stark difference between the Old City and the newer sections. Every building in the older part is built with Jerusalem stone and it has an ancient aura to it. Whatever your beliefs may be, there is no way to deny that Jerusalem has a rich history. Almost every story from the Torah, Bible, and Qur’an has roots within this region but especially this city. To walk down a street in the possible footsteps of Jesus is an eerily awesome experience.  In contrast, the modern Jerusalem has skyscrapers, busy streets, and chain restaurants galore. Jerusalem is Israel’s capital as well as being the Holy City so there are a variety of activities performed within the city every day. We went on a Friday and were warned that it would be extremely busy as citizens prepared for Shabbat.

As we walked through security to get to the Western Wall, our tour guides made us stand in a line, close our eyes, and connect to the person in front of us. In other words, we made a 40-person long blind conga line into the most holy spot in Jewish culture. We had many comments from onlookers who had some choice words for our group. They included, but were not limited to, “Are you serious? GET OUT OF THE WAY!” and “What are they, blind?”. After walking a short distance, we opened our eyes and saw the wall. I thought I would feel something more when I first laid eyes upon it but to be honest, it looked like any old wall. It wasn’t until we began singing and saying a few prayers that I understood the meaning of this place. Then, our group circled up and began ceremonial Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. I started lifting people on a chair and was having a good time. That was, until, the group leaders said it was my turn in the chair. I don’t mind heights when I am in control of the situation. This was not one of those times. I have never feared falling out of a chair more than that day. When it takes seven or eight people to hoist a plastic lawn chair six feet in the air, you know they have a heavy load. I heard a few complaints the next day of soreness and I believe I was the main culprit. At the wall, Zach and I were wrapped in Tefillin and we prayed for a few minutes at the Wall. It was a great experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

After the Kotel, we went through the Jewish Quarter and walked around for a bit. We had a good time exploring the shops but it was very crowded due to the impending Sabbath so it was a relief to get on the bus. We went directly to the Jerusalem marketplace and had time to shop. If I thought the Jewish Quarter was crowded, it was nothing compared to the market. I grabbed lunch with a few soldiers and had a delicious chicken soup with meat-filled dumplings. It was really special to be able to take time with the soldiers and sit down at a meal.

After the market, we went back to our field school and prepared for Shabbat. We had a very nice ceremony and a delicious dinner. After dinner we spent more time together and played some fun games. We then had free time and I spent the night talking with the soldiers and watching the stars. We were up until about 4am so I was grateful for a late morning the next day.

Tel Aviv

May 22nd

We started the morning by driving to the middle of Tel Aviv to meet our new travel companions. The Birthright program really wants us to understand Israeli culture and life so every group gets 5-10 Israeli soldiers. Our group got seven soldiers and we broke into groups to talk and connect with the soldiers. It was amazing to sit with them and talk about the differences in our lifestyles. After high school, I went straight into college and after college, I may have a month to travel before I start my full-time job. Women soldiers serve for two years, men for three. After their service is fulfilled, they all spend some time travelling. Some hike within Israel, a lot go to South America, and some do Euro trips. Some take the SAT’s and come to school in America while others stay in Israel for school. Their careers don’t start until their late twenties. More than half of all soldiers live at home while serving. The others live on base for 10-14 days at a time and travel home on their weekends off. Since they are only paid about $125 a month, parents support the soldiers until they finish their service. It was amazing to talk with them and realize that every single one of these soldiers is younger than me. The diversity of the soldiers was surprising too. While they were all Israeli, they had very different ancestral origins; Poland, Russia, Argentina, Spain, Germany, and many more. In America, every person looks different but I thought that Israelis would have more similarities than differences. The Diaspora caused the diversification of the Jewish population and it was visible with our soldiers. I got a picture pf all of the soldiers and you will see for yourself when I upload them.

After our meet-and-greet, we learned about the square we were standing in. It was called Rabin Square after Yitzhak Rabin, a Prime Minister of Israel who was assassinated. Rabin wanted to give up some of Israel’s land to create a peace with their Arab neighbors. There was obviously some disagreement and Rabin was shot three times. There is a beautiful memorial in the exact spot he was assassinated and we had a discussion about if assassinations are ever justifiable.

After lunch we went to Independence Hall. We first learned about the history of Tel Aviv. Sixty-six families came together and raised enough money to put in the foundation for the city. Before breaking ground, the area was simply sand dunes in the desert. Tel Aviv’s planners wanted it to be a modern city, “The New York of Israel”, so they installed tap water instead of wells and had extremely wide streets. Each family had their own plot of land to build on so each house in the original Tel Aviv looks different and unique. We spent time in one of the founder’s houses that was converted into an art museum. When Israel was rectifying a constitution and becoming an official state, Jerusalem was under siege so Tel Aviv was chosen for the announcement location. This art museum was chosen as the meeting house and David Ben Gurion broadcasted Israel’s independence on May 14^th, 1948. We sat in the room where the announcement took place and heard all about this day. It was beautiful and really meaningful for me.

After Independence Hall we had free time on the beaches of Tel Aviv. We swam for an hour and really got to know the soldiers. We then dried off and drove to our new hotel about an hour south of Jerusalem. We were supposed to stay closer to the Holy City but because of the pope’s upcoming visit, we had to stay farther away. We are right on the Dead Sea and it is gorgeous! A little muggy at night but if you find a breeze it feels great. Zach and I roomed with a soldier named Matan and Josh was with another soldier named Dani. We had so many great conversations with these guys about life in the army, what the current conflicts mean to them, and what they think Israel’s future looks like. The nights with the soldiers is my favorite part so far.

Hiking and Rafting

May 21^st

 

We began the day hiking through Nahal Zavitan, a beautiful nature reserve in the Golan Heights. First, we visited Pan’s temple. Pan was a god that was brought to Israel by the Romans. They carved a huge temple into the rock for him and we walked through the ruins and remains. We then went on a two-hour hike to see a waterfall. We first passed an ancient flour mill. The rivers used to flow with more force but with consumption over time, the mill wheels went dry. As we were walking I had great conversations with our tour guide, Shiran, about the differences between Israel and America. From dating cultures to hostile negotiation tactics; we covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

After Pan’s temple, we went to the Gadot lookout. This is a mountain-top army base at the very top of Israel. From the lookout you can see the Syrian and Lebanese border. It was amazing to look at another country’s cities right across the border, especially in countries with such conflict amongst them. The peacefulness of our day was disrupted with the arrival of a UN peacekeeping unit. It turns out that the president of Fiji was visiting the Gadot memorial at the same time we were. He is not allowed in Syria and he came to Israel to thank the Fijian peacekeepers stationed in Syria. They met the president just over the border and we got a short glimpse of this interaction. It made a very enjoyable ending to the morning.

In the afternoon, we drove to the eastern border of Israel to go river rafting on the Jordan River! We had four people in our raft as we launched off and started floating. The rapids had much to live up to. Class I is a huge overstatement; think more on the level of a babbling brook. We coasted down the river for a few hours, bumping off rocks, logs, and the walls, splashing other rafts and pulling people into the water. It was very relaxing except for the bugs.

That night, we went out in Tel Aviv and experienced the Wednesday night party scene. It was less than stupendous. There was one bar that was very popular but it was a private party and we were turned away. We found another bar farther down the boardwalk that seemed great. We went in and ordered a drink. Any time you ordered a rail drink like vodka and sprite; the bartenders gave us grey goose and charged us $10 a drink. That killed the mood a bit and we decided just to smoke hookah instead. We just chatted and sat around until heading back to the hotel. The only misfortune of the night was that the hookah coal spilled on my foot and I got a small burn. I guess I can’t travel without bringing home a battle wound or two.

The North

May 20th

The day began with a delicious, fresh breakfast of hummus, veggies, eggs, and toast. The food here is simple but it fills you in a way that is somehow different way. After breakfast, we hopped on the bus for 45 minutes and drove to Merion. This mountain is one of the taller peaks in the country. We began on the trail which was marked by a specific symbol painted on rocks. If you don’t see the trail markers, you are in trouble. We found molted snakeskin and our guide warned us not to lift any rocks. She said the snake was non-poisonous but I think that was just to calm the fears. The trail we were on stretches from the northern to southern border and is very famous in Israel especially for newly released soldiers. After their mandatory military service, many soldiers walk the entire trail. They carry only what can fit in a backpack, buy food at grocery stores, and dig holes and store food along the path. They sleep under the stars and spend two or three months in nature hiking throughout their country. We met a group of six hikers who were very close to finishing their journey. It was fascinating to speak with them and hear about their trip. We finished the hike and got back on the bus for our afternoon trip.

We spent the afternoon in Tzfat (tiss-VAHT). This city is amazing for so many different reasons. First, it is one of the spiritual centers of Israel. The originator of Kabbalah lived in Tsfat and spread his message around the world. He passed away many years ago but he is still celebrated. On his birthday, over 300,000 people come to Tsfat and light bonfires and party all night. Second, Tsfat is an artistic mecca and everyone from jewelers, painters, woodworkers, and glass workers. The amount of beautiful art was astounding. Lastly, because of the spirituality and artistic essence, the whole city gives off a chill vibe. I didn’t worry about safety at all and I saw kids moving freely throughout the city. We walked around town and had schwarma for lunch. Schwarma is pretty much a chicken wrap filled with fresh veggies and it is delicious. After lunch we went through the town synagogue, learned about the town’s history, and met with a local artist who told us all about his journey. He lived in Michigan before finding out about Jewish meditation and Kabbalah. He had an amazing story and I really liked hearing about his experiences.