Israel in a Nutshell

Believe it or not, I was actually extremely apprehensive about signing up for Taglit:Birthright Israel. Despite the fact that I was being offered a completely free ten day trip to Israel and had been told by several of my friends that their lives were forever altered by going on Birthright, I still didn't know how I felt about about the whole concept. I think I even remember my friend Josh telling me he actually got to sit down with God over a glass of Manischewitz. Now, I am not a religious person (nor do I like Manischewitz), but really, who would pass up the opportunity to shoot the shit with God? Still, I was extremely apprehensive. Not only did the idea of traveling around Israel on a bus with 40 other 20-something Jewish-Americans make me slightly uneasy, but I was expecting to have certain ideas about Judaism, God, unleavened bread, and making Aliah (moving to Israel) shoved down my throat the entire time. I could not grasp the concept that I would actually be offered an agenda-free free trip to Israel just because I was Jewish. I mean, I had barely spoken a word of Hebrew since my Bat Mitzvah (which I only agreed to because I thought I deserved a kick-ass party after the 7 years I suffered through in Hebrew school) and I love Christmas. Still, they were offering me the free trip. So I signed up.

The plan was for Dave and I to go on Birthright, then stay an extra ten days in Israel to explore the country on our own and visit Dave's family before we continued on for our summer of travel.

Sitting here writing this now, after three truly life changing weeks, it is hard to imagine that I hesitated for even a second to take this opportunity. This experience has already exceeded every expectation I could have possibly imagined. Whether I sat Down with God or not, that's between him and me, but I can tell you that I have been shaken to my core in the most unexpected way. Oh, and I still don't like Manischewitz.

I will give much of the credit of my experience to the my group of peers (including the 8 Israeli soldiers who traveled along with us). However, it was our tour guide, Chagai (yes, "Chagai the guide") that truly made the trip for me. The best way for me to describe this man, is that he is the best teacher I have ever had. In the ten days we were with Chagai he taught us everything from history to politics to geology to just some great lessons about life. Each evening he would fill us in on our next 24 hours: where we would be going, what we would be doing, what time we needed to wake up, what we needed to wear, what we needed to bring, what we would be eating and when, and then he would sit down and join us for a beer. Over ten days the man spent hours upon hours talking to us and spitting information at us and not once was I not excited to listen.

Chagai the Guide

Being in Israel has truly changed my life. It has changed the way I see myself and the context in which I fit into every aspect of my life. It is a very strange feeling to be in a place I have never been, on the other side of the world, and feel oddly at home. As I mentioned earlier, for many years now I have not felt very connected to Judaism. In fact, at times I have even denied my association with it altogether. However, being in Israel has reminded me that Judaism in not just about religion. It's about tradition, values, and a shared history of fighting for what you believe in and the freedom to be able to express those beliefs. I have never been more proud to be part of something in my life.

Okay, onto the fun part. What did we actually do with our time in the Promised Land? I'll tell you. Well, first I have to tell you how we got there (barely).

One part of my trip to Israel I was extremely excited about was flying on the infamous El Al Airlines. Everyone had told me how incredible they are and what an experience it is to fly with them. So you can imagine how surprised Dave and I were when we arrived at JFK airport to find out that we were not, in fact, flying on a cushy direct flight to Israel on El Al, but were, in fact, flying on Aerosvit (Ukrainian Airlines) and connecting through Kiev. For those of you who are planning a trip to Kiev, I hear the Aerosvit flights are extremely cheap. However, in any other case I would highly suggest avoiding this airline, at all costs. The plane looked like it was bought from Pan Am in 1972, there was no soap, no movie (as they couldn't get the VCR, or maybe it was a Betamax, to work), the pillows were the size of gauze pads, the whole plane smelled like an armpit, the bathroom was held together by security tape, and the flight attendants were abusive (I literally had a bruise on my hip from one of them shaking me awake to eat my shitty 3 am breakfast that consisted of an egg log with a side of fried fish). All in all, it was a good experience. Kiev seemed to be a nice place, or at least the airport was decent. And finally, we were off to the motherland...

Lovely Aersosvit Flight

Tea Party in the Kiev Airport

We arrived late in Israel and thus had to skip the hike that was scheduled for that evening. Instead, we hopped straight on our trusty bus (which would become our home for much of the ten-day trip), was introduced to Chagai, and headed north to the Sea of Galilee (The Kinneret). The Kinneret is the main source of fresh water to all of Israel and is one of the most beautiful bodies of water I have ever seen. We didn't get to swim in the Kinneret on Taglit, but Dave and I finally made our way back there two days ago and it was incredible. The water felt like it was drawn for a bath just for me. It was clear and crisp, but warm at the same time. Amazing...

(Picture to right: Looking out over the Kinneret)

While we were on Taglit we spent our time up north in the Golan Heights, a beautiful mountain range that sits on the border between Israel and Syria, just Northeast of The Sea of Galilee. This land has been a large factor in the dispute of the possible peace agreement between Israel and Syria. One of the major concerns being that the Golan Heights are in very close proximity to The Sea of Galilee, and giving this territory back to Syria may compromise Israel's control over it's main fresh water source.

The highlight of being in the Golan heights (while on Taglit) was sitting at the top of Mt. Bental which overlooks the entirety of the region, as well as over the border into Syria. Chagai pulled out a huge map and told us the history of the Golan Heights, including the story of the 6 day war. It is a rare experience to learn about the history of such a place while actually standing on its soil. It was unforgettable.

History Lesson Overlooking the Syrian Boarder

Barbed Wire with Flowers on Mt. Bental

The next day we headed to Svat, the home of Kabala! Apparently Madonna is buying a house there. No joke. We also swung by a little town called Roshpina so Chagai could take us to the best falafel joint in Israel (this was not scheduled on the trip, of course). Now, not only did I eat falafel for the majority of my meals and snacks in Israel, but I grew up in New York which offers some pretty decent falafel, if you ask me. So I was slightly skeptical when Chagai said this place was the best. However, I have to hand my hat to Chagai, because this was truly the best falafel I have ever tasted.

That evening we headed to Tel Aviv. We spent a few hours on the beautiful beach there before heading out for a free night on the town. Dave and I met up with his cousins for some coffee before meeting up with a new friend Dave had made while standing in line at the falafel place (typical Dave). Yayir was a 26-year-old Israeli who happened to be one of the most hooked up guys in Tel Aviv. So while the rest of our group headed to the strip of touristy bars further inland, Dave and I, along with two of my favorite girls on our trip, joined Yayir and his friends for an incredible night at a bumping club right on the water. This ended up being one of my favorite nights in Israel. (Picture to left: Man Making Laffa Bread in S'vat)


(Picture to left: Night Out in Tel Aviv) The next morning, hangover in tow, we were introduced to the 8 Israeli soldiers who would be joining us for the next 6 days of our trip. Four guys and four girls all 22 going on 30. They were typical 20-something-year-olds in most ways, but with a certain strength and maturity that only comes with experiencing things that most of us cannot understand. It was through them, through my Israeli peers that I learned some of the biggest lessons of this trip. To clarify, they were not there for our protection (we had two armed guards at all times), they were there to experience Israel right along with us; to learn from us, and for us to learn from them. And that we did.

We spent our first day with the soldiers in Beit Gubrin were we climbed down into caves to do some archaeological digging. I found a piece of pottery dating back to the time of Moses...or something like that...I don't know...it was old. Really, really old. That evening we headed to Jerusalem where we would spend the next few days, including Shabbat. I fell in love with Jerusalem immediately. It has the energy of a modern city, but holds enough history that you actually feel like you're stepping back in time. (Picture to left: Finding Moses' Tea Pot!)

Our few days in Jerusalem were extremely powerful and moving. They included a trip to the Western Wall (an unspeakably powerful experience for me), shopping for shabbat food at the local shuk (market), and Yad Vashem (the Halocaust museum...again, no words). It was in these few days that I truly felt my connection to Israel, its history, and its people. (Pictures to the left, above: View Over the Old City of Jerusalem, below: Women Praying at the Wailing Wall)

From Jerusalem we headed south to Arad where we would spend a VERY short night before my favorite day of the trip. We woke up that morning at 3:30am to hike up to the top of Masada and watch the sun rise over the Dead Sea. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. It takes a lot to silence 40 people in their 20s, but there we were standing at the top of this mountain, absolutely speechless. I am pretty sure we all stood there in awe for at least 20 minutes before Chagai finally broke the silence to begin telling us the powerful history behind Masada. I wish I had time to tell you about it here, but I don't. I will, however offer this: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/Masada1.html

The Climb to Masada

Sunrise Over the Dead Sea

Bird Watching Sunrise

The Snake Path

After winding down the Snake Path, a famously steep and winding trail down the side of Masada, we headed off to hike amongst the natural springs and waterfalls of Nachel David, a nearby nature preserve. Later in the afternoon, after much anticipation, it was finally time to float in the healing salty waters of the Dead Sea. Well, we actually floated in one of the evaporating pools of the Dead Sea as most of the actual sea has already evaporated away, sure to reasons I will not discuss now as not to ruin the nice story of peacful floating I am about to tell. So, Dave and I (along with a few others from our group) covered ourselves in theraputic mud and headed into the Dead Sea to float. Floating in the dead is a very strange but fantastic experience. It kind of feels like swimming in an extra boyant sea of natural bath oil (or lubricant, to put it mildly). It is one of the most calming feelings I have ever experienced, and I am not easily calmed. Just floating there, feeling weightless...it was incredible. I imagined that the feeling was not dissimilar to being on the moon, but I kept that to myself. The water is so dense with salt that it doesn't even splash or ripple with the wind. Well, it splashed just enough to get a little of that salt into my eye. Let me tell you, that ripped me out of Nirvana pretty quickly. All I can say is that exfoliation is not meant for eyeballs. I can also, say, however, that my skin has never been softer.

Dave Getting Frisky in Mud

Floating in the Dead Sea

After washing the salt off of us (and out of my eye), we hopped back on the bus and headed south into the desert where we would spend the night at a Bedion (Bed-oo-in) Camp. The night kicked off with a lecture from a Bedion Tribe member who told us the history of the Bedions, and how a woman's worth in measured in camels. It was fascinating. After the lesson, we had the most incredible meal of stuffed chicken, rice, vegetables, hummus, and laffa bread...all eaten with our hands while sitting on mats. We spent most of the night by a camp fire drinking beers under the stars, before we passed out in the tent that offered shelter to all 40 of us for the night. By this point we were all pretty well bonded, so it was very fun to pile in together.

Bedion Tent

We woke up early the next morning to go on a disappointing camel trek which was not worth the lack of sleep. When I was told "camel trek", I imagined being draped in exotic linens, sitting bareback on the hump of a fiesty camel and galloping across the desert in a sandstorm while seeing mirages of water due to my extreme thirst. Instead, I found myself (Nalgene in tow), plunking along on a half-dead and very grumpy camel who was tied to a string of ten other equally unhappy camels. We were all led down a very unexciting little trail which I think lasted about 7 and a half minutes. This really was not what I had in mind. However, the beautiful hike we took that afternoon Ein Avdat made up for the grumpy camels and more.

Camel Ride (This looked cooler than it was..)

Jumping for Joy in Ein Avdat

That evening we headed back to Tel Aviv for the last two days of our trip where we visited the Tel Aviv Museum (the place where Ben Gurion announced the declaration of Israel as an independent Jewish State), Mount Herzel, and a very cool flea market where I bought a pair of vintage Levi's. They rock.

Restaurant in Tel Aviv Flea Market

Those were the basic highlights of Taglit. We did an unbelievable amount in such a short time. I learned so much, met some amazing people, ate like a queen, and saw a beautiful country from top to bottom. There is just no way to do it justice.

After the trip, Dave and I headed up to Jerusalem to spend time with my dear family friend Naomi and Dave's sister, Becky. We spent some more time in the old city where we saw the church of the Holy Sepulchre (Jesus' burial sight) and explored the underground caves below the city. We spent two days after that back up in the Golan heights where we went on perhaps the most beautiful hike I have ever done. Now we are with Dave's cousins in G'vet Hayim on their kibbutz. The kibbutz is amazingly beautiful. It's basically a small self-contained city which includes about 1000 acres of beautiful farmland, hundreds of houses, a school, a grocery store, and even a fantastic high-end boutique. I have never been anywhere like this place. We spent today (our last day) on the beach with Dave's cousins. The beaches here are amazing...silky sand, clear and VERY warm water. The only drawback is that the water is infested with jellyfish...one of which got Dave pretty badly yesterday. I offered to pee on his wound, as I heard that's what you are supposed to do, but Dave declined. Dave's family has been amazingly hospitable. They have made me feel right at home. There was even chocolate on our pillows when we arrived...no joke. They really are some of the warmest people I have ever met.

We leave in the morning for Greece. I am extremely excited for the next portion of our adventure, but also extremely sad to be leaving this amazing place. I will absolutely be back.