So I know that I haven't put together a final blog yet but I have been incredibly busy between catching up on school and BBYO and all other things I haven't had a moment to breathe. Anyways, I have a few exciting things to share.
First, while I was on the trip, I was in contact with a reporter for the NJ Jewish News and she published a story on my trip and this blog. You can take a look at the article online by Clicking Here.
Also, I have put together a concluding video of the trip which includes pictures, videos and music from the trip along with voiceovers of me reading excerpts from the blog. I strongly suggest, even if you don't want to read the whole blog, to watch this video.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Final Day
We had to wake up very early this morning to make our ride to Masada. Masada is a rock plateau on the east edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. The site is filled with ancient palaces and fortifications. After the First Jewish-Roman War a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels, who preferred death to surrender. You can learn more about Masada at http://mosaic.lk.net/g-masada.html. Anyways, the plateau is about 1,300 feet high, however, since its neighbors, the beaches of the Dead Sea, are the lowest dry point on the globe, it should make sense that the top of Masada is only 400 feet above Sea Level. So now to the hike. On the way up, we took the easy way through a path that is basically straight up from the bottom to the top (the Roman Ramp) and took not even 15 minutes to hike. Everyone was fine for the hike and we stayed hydrated so we were all fine. Once at the top, we walked around as our tour guide explained the significance of many of the difference spots throughout the ruins. This place was built around 30 BCE so for a 2,000+ year old building, we definitely know a lot about it. One of the more interesting spots to me was the synagogue that was erected and is now part of the ruins of Masada along with a mikvah. It was cool to see how far back in history the Jewish tradition goes. When our archaeological expedition ended, it was time for our descend down. To go down we took the snake path which is a windy path made up of over 700 ancient rock steps in total. Not to sound supper macho or anything, but it was relatively easy. This summer I went to China and hiked 6 miles of the most remote and crumbling part of the Great Wall (see my China blog at www.coryinchina.com). In comparison, Masada was a walk in the park. Well, after about a half-hour hike we reached the bottom.
As most people know, a trip to Masada is not complete if it is not followed by a swim (or float I should say) in the Dead Sea. On the boardwalk by the sea, we had our last Israeli lunch of the trip; Schwarma traditionally. It was delicious and I was prepared for the Dead Sea. The Sea is actually a salt lake bordering Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east. Its surface is 1,385 ft below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is one of the world's saltiest bodies of water which makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. We went in and, because of this intense salinity, we were able to float. It was a weird but very cool feeling. Even weirder was that when you picked up the earth beneath you (if you even could because it was so hard to get under the water with it pushing you up) it was not sand as I expected. The sea floor here was made up of salt crystals the size of golf balls and smaller. It was very different then the New Jersey beaches I'm used to. As I went in the water, the water would push my body up. It was one of the most relaxing things ever. I was just floating and enjoying, soaking up the sun. I was warned that it would hurt any open cuts or other body openings, but it really didn't. It was pleasant. When I got, however, the story is a bit different. My eyes were burning a bit and my skin was gross with a layer of Dead Sea oils on it. Nothing a little shower couldn't fix though. We had a chance to get back to the hotel after before our closing program.
The closing program was done at the Kotel. We all gathered at the holiest site in the Jewish belief to end the most emotionally draining and amazing two weeks of most of our lives. Sherrie, the lady in charge of the whole trip, spoke to us. She did such an amazing job putting our delegation together. The tireless hours Sherrie spent educating the staff and working with the tour guides and, of course, the time she spent sharing her experiences with us paid off. Sherrie is an incredible person who was an essential part to the impact of the past two weeks that just ended. Additionally, Trudy, the survivor that traveled with us, is such an inspiration. She adopted 101 new grandchildren in the past two weeks and we all have a mutual love that is indescribable. Trudy persevered not only through the atrocities of the Holocaust, but, she was stronger then some of us walked through the sweltering streets of Israel this past week like she was a teenager. Of course, I cannot mention how amazing everyone was without bringing up my bus captains. I was on the red bus and was fortunate enough to spend the past two weeks with Ellen Goldstein and Rabbi David Kessel. These two remarkable and incredibly educated individuals were always there for us. They helped unify us as a group and make this experience easier for us all. Now, back to the closing ceremony. We had a little closing discussion (which I will recap in my final blog). What I would like to talk about now, however, is our experience at the Kotel. The massive beautiful wall in front of me has seen so much history, it has so much prayer. It is such a magnificent and spiritual place. Amongst the prayers I made I asked god something important to me. I asked that I am able to return back to this wall, in the State of Israel, as a healthy man. As a group of boys and I finished we got together in a circle and did, what I would call, a communal prayer through song. We sang a ningun (a melody). While there were no words and no meaning, our song meant a lot. People praying came to us and told us how beautiful it was to see such young people so proud to be where we were doing what we were doing. We continued singing other songs together and then something amazing happened. A man came up to us and said how beautiful it was and told us to come to a car. Unbeknownst to us, in this car was one of the head rabbis of Israel. This frail old man was sitting in the passengers seat with security and an entourage in the back seat. He was obviously an influential and learned man. We were told to go to his window and one by one he put his hand upon the head of the ten boys who were singing and said a prayer for us. To be honest, I don't know who this guy was and I don't know what he said but I felt something as he blessed my soul. It was a sign from god that I belonged here, standing in front of the Western Wall singing and praying. It was a sign of the importance of the two week journey that I just completed. It was a sign from god that I was doing what I was supposed to. Now it's time to fly home. I will be doing a final wrap up blog still but I hope that you have enjoyed reading this and traveling alongside with me.
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010
A Mega Day
This March is the polar opposite to the one in Poland. While the March of the Living in Auschwitz-Birkenau has been around for 22 years, the March to the Kotel is a relatively new idea being only a few years old. Anyways, the March today was a joyful, happy, and high-energy walk from Kikal Safa (a square in the middle of Jerusalem) to the Kotel (the Western Wall of the Second Temple). There were thousands of people, most of whom had marched with in Poland. Before the March started, there was a huge concert in this square with all of us singing and dancing. Like my typical self, I needed to be in the center of the action, so me and a few other of the BBYO kids pushed our way to the stage where there was a whole bunch of kids really into the festivities from Argentina, Australia, and all of over the United States. We were throwing water on each other, waving Israeli flags, and just enjoying the afternoon. To be honest, I don't know what the performances were, but they were really cool. The performers did traditional Israeli dances for us and there were a few people who sang as well. One of the acts was the Israeli Defense Force doing an impressive dance routine. The real show, however, was on the ground. It wasn't necessarily the performances, but it was our pride of being able to watch them, together, as Jews, in our homeland. It was an incredible experience. We were chanting "Yisrael" and singing songs that, somehow, we all knew. Despite if we could even say hello to each other because of the multitude nationalities represented, we could do so much more by screaming the words to "Am Yisrael Chai". The Jewish people, no matter what corner of the world we are from, have a unique bond, unlike any other, that was palpable at this event. The March began with the singing of Hatikvah, Israel's National Anthem. We Marched together, making new friends from all over the world (shout out to Montreal, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati). We sang and chanted as we marched and just had so much pride and excitement. With the Israeli heat, we were all getting tired, but at the half way mark a large white van contained volenteers who handed out refreshing cold water. Nonetheless, I think the best thing that I saw was the ending point. We ended our March in Jerusalem at the Western Wall. It was a breathtaking site; thousands of teens rejoicing amongst other Jews at the holiest place for our religion. I approached the wall and made my own personal prayer to Hashem. It was a very intense moment. As I finished my prayers, a group of people were circling up and singing and dancing by the wall together in a lively group. This was such a joyous experience and was only a prelude to the Mega Event. We had a break at the hotel and then made our way to the most exciting part of the March of the Living.
All that I can say is that we had a rave tonight. The event was at an Army Base named Latrun. As we arrived they had an outdoor catered dinner that was absolutely delicious. It was crazy, there were thousands of people there eating dinner with us. The place felt like the most incredible concert ever, and it was. It was the Jewish Woodstock of the 2010. We all ate and really enjoyed ourselves and then made walked over to the actual location for the Mega Event. The event took place on a huge stage that was part of a massive outdoor amphitheater. There were thousands of people, thousands of Jewish people, congregated in this arena for the most epic concert ever. Like earlier in the day, I once again needed to be in the center of th actions so myself and a group of my friends pushed our ways to the front gate surrounding the stage and stayed there for the remainder of the show. I have no clue who the performers were, but they were good and it was a lot of fun. The show started with a big song and dance routine that livened up the crowd. The two main singers had really good voices and there was a huge crew of awesome dancers in the background. They sang songs in both Hebrew and English and I actually knew just about all of them. One of the most impactful songs was dedicated to Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was abducted in June 2006 by Palestinian terrorists in a cross-border raid. He is alive today and is held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas. The song was the Beatles' Imagine. Everyone stopped their jumping and chanting and just put their arms around the person next to them. Stranger or friend, everyone swayed with their neighbor in love and in honor of Gilad. Additionally, in between songs, the video screens would show videos with clips from our experiences in Poland last week. The March of the Living staff had been following us at times and BBYO had a lot of appearances in the videos. Our survivor, Trudy, and one of the participants, Zach, had full interviews played on the big screen. Anyways, from the somber to the celebration. They played American songs like "Tik Tok" by Kesha, Michael Jackson's "Heal the World" and then Israeli songs like "Am Yisrael Chai" (a song that we have been singing very frequently on our journey), and many others. We were all jumping and screaming, people were crowd surfing, and good old moshing and parting. Other performances included fire twirling and there were fireworks going off all night. The excitement was outstanding. We made new friends and I will definitely say there was love in the air, especially with American girls and IDF soldiers, if you know what I mean. This Mega Event was the most amazing way to end the March of the Living. Tomorrow is our last day and we are scheduled to climb Masada and bathe in the dead sea before flying back home. It is really sad because I feel as if I could stay in Israel forever. But I guess all good things must come to an end. There will still be one or two more blogs so keep checking back on this site. I thank the loyal followers who have helped this site get so many hits during this journey.
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Monday, April 19, 2010
Celebration and Mourning
As we finished our time at Yad Likashashe, it was just about 11 o'clock. We all stood in the street and, similar to last night, a siren sounded throughout the streets. The country stopped. I could feel the pain that people were feeling. The siren was so much more then just a siren, however. It was unity. It was pride. It was sadness. It was celebration. It was Israel. Again, the country halted. Stores stopped, traffic stopped, life stopped for two minutes. While I do not even know anyone who died in combat for the Israeli Defense Force, I felt like everyone was my brother and sister and I felt the sorrow.
With a heavy heart and an opened mind we changed from this minutes of mournful silence into a breading ground of life. We were at the Israel Bird Observatory. I am not really a bird person, but it was interesting to see the beautiful ecosystem. The Bird Observatory is like the central park of Israel. We learned a bit about the environment and had a chance to sit and observe the nature around us. Then we continued our theme of life and vitality by conducting a mitzvah. We all planted trees at the observatory. Trees symbolize life and to plant them on Yom Ha Zikarone, a day that we think of such awful, it is a good irony to experience and symbolizes the fruitfulness and prosperity of the Jewish people forever. When our trees were planted and watered, we all watched a movie on Israel's wildlife and then walked through the park to have lunch. Lunch was pizza, which really wasn't that good, but the beauty and serenity of the park made everything wonderful.
When our lunch break came to an end we made our way to Mahaneh Yehuda market. This market housed a multitude of stores selling everything from fruits and vegetables to sweets and even Judaica items. The market was so crowded and busy with people all over. It was very stimulating. The smells and sounds of the market were also so pleasant. My nose (along with very good suggestions) brought me to the end of the market where I made my only purchase there. The store was actually a bakery named Marzipan. I took one bit of a chocolate ruggelah and was in heaven. It was fresh out of the oven and melted in my mouth. The dough was gooey and the chocolate was incredible. It was by far the best thing I have had in Israel hands down. I ate about a half dozen before finishing our walk through the market. From this lively exciting market, we went to what is disputibly the most somber site we have and will visit in Israel.
The bus brought us to the Yad Vashem entrance to the Mount Hertzl military cemetery. Mount Hertzl could be called the Arlington Nation Cemetery of Israel. However, being that it is in Israel the stories hit home a lot more. The cemetery was not commissioned to be established until 1949 so most of the people buried there are very close to most people's hearts. As we walked up the path to the cemetery, we walked up a symbolic path that showed the history of the state of Israel and the struggles that have been felt since the Holocaust until today. We entered the cemetery and because of the significance of today, there were thousands of people there. The morning ceremonies had come to a close and families were all over paying respects to their sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. It was an incredibly sad place to be. The first few graves we saw were those of important figures and leaders of the Israeli government. All of these graves were positioned in a courtyard surrounding Israeli flags, with an eternal light in the center and a tree of life next to it. In addition, there were tons of Israeli flags around the area showing the pride in the state that we have seen everywhere in the country. Among the people lied to rest in this area is Yitzhak Rabin. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, the first native born Prime Minister, until his assassination in 1995. He also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. Another Prime Minister buried there is Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel, and Israel's first and the world's third female to hold such an office. As we walked further into this massive grave site, we came upon the grave of Hannah Szenes. Szenes was a Hungarian Jew who parachuted into Yugoslavia during the Second World War in order to help save the Jews of Hungary who were about to be deported to the German death camp at Auschwitz. Hannah was eventually executed by a firing squad and is considered a heroine of the country. After this was the saddest part of our time at the cemetery. We walked around the graves of soldiers. Random, unknown, young soldiers who lost their lives in combat. Amongst these soldiers also layed Michael Levin, of Pennsylvania, and Jonathon Netanyahu. The graves were all the same. They were layed out with a square of Jerusalem line stone boxing out the grave with a blanket of green shrubbery and then a tombstone, like a pillow, that holds the inscription. The graves are all supposed to look like a bed so the soldiers rest comfortably. I glanced over all of the tombs. They were all covered with flowers and candles and wreaths and rocks and flags (see the photo above) to show the love and appreciation for these soldiers and their heroism. The ages of all of the soldiers was inscribed on the stones. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that most of these said 19, 20, 21; my age. These soldiers, only a few years older then me, lost their lives in required service. Living in America, it is looked at very differently for people when they join the army. Here it is not a decision. Kids, after they graduate high school, must put their lives on hold for 2-4 years or more to join the army. Daily they are hoping not to end up in the cemetery in front of me. I really felt the sadness felt in these kids, loosing their friends. Felt in these adults, loosing their sons or daughters. Felt in the country, loosing their soldier. It's a tough life to know that every citizen must put their life on the line to live in Israel. It may sound selfish, but I could never do it. God bless all of these soldiers and all of the soldiers fighting right this moment to maintain a Jewish homeland in Israel.
We made a little pit stop at the hotel and then flipped the switch. From death to life it was an immediate change in the country from mourning to celebration. As Yom Ha Zikarone ends, Yom Ha Atzmaut begins. Yom Ha Atzmaut is Isreali Independence Day, and, since Israel is such a young country, the day really means a lot to everyone there. We were fortunate enough to be in the center of the action. Ben Yahuda street is like the Broadway of Jerusalem. They closed the area to traffic and there was just partying and mayhem everywhere we walked. The streets had shops and vendors everywhere. Now here was where the fun was, everyone on the streets had silly string and shaving cream and there was pandemonium going on, well actually we sort of started it all but it was a party. In the main intersection there were hundreds of people standing and, while spraying our cans of silly string, sang and danced and chanted. There were a lot of other March of the Living people from Australia, South Africa, Los Angeles, Florida, New York, and more as well as thousands of Israelis. We all gathered together, arms around each other, and jumped singing "David Melech", "Hava Nagila", "Am Yisrael Chai", and more. It a remarkable and joyous time to be with Jews from all over the globe who have congregated in the homeland to celebrate the country. We met wonderful people and I had the best time of my life. Running through the streets singing and screaming, it felt like I was truly in my homeland and I belonged. The thousands of people mobbed the streets in celebration with us shopping and dancing and singing and just absorbing the atmosphere around them. This showed the outstanding solidity and pride of the Jewish people. There was so much Ruach (or spirit) in the air that it was beyond contagious. The celebration was phenomenal. Toward the end of the square there was a huge concert. I did not go but others in our group went there together and said it was a phenomenal amount of fun. Tonight was definitely the best night yet and we still have the March of the Living main event tomorrow.
Today was deffinately an interesting day that I will never forget. From the liveliness of the active elderly, the trees we planted, the bustling market, and of course the celebration and joy on Ben Yahudah Street; to the mourning and solidarity of the two minutes of silence and the Mount Hertzl Cemetary; today was a very mixed day. The balance is hard to understand but here is my thought. Life continues. Our people were enslaved during Pharo's times, persecuted during the crusades, massacred during the Inquisition, annihilated during the Holocaust, and are still murdered in Middle Eastern conflicts today. Nonetheless, we survive. We never forget and we always have the memory of our prosecution, but we move on. We celebrate. With an extra empty chair at the table, we still must continue for the good of the Jewish people to help grow our nation. It was a balancing act all day, but, even with awful sorrow, we must stay strong and celebrate the fact that we are alive and Israel is ours.
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Sunday, April 18, 2010
New Adventures in the Old City
We entered the city through the Jaffa Gate. As we walked through the gate and into the heart of the Jewish Quarter, we were able to see the diversity of the Old City. We wandered through the Muslim Quarter, the Cristian Quarter, and then the Armenian Quarter before getting to the Jewish area. It was very interesting to see the multitude of religions and ethnicities that dwell in this holy area. We continued to walk through to the Jewish Quarter and got to an area of the ruins from the original Old City. Since the Old City dates back over 3000 years, it has been renovated and repaved. Nonetheless, we went down a set of stairs to a recovered area of streets that dates back hundreds of years. There was an artist rendering in this area of what it used to look like. The streets were very wide with columns lining them where shops would be. It was cool to see what the Israeli streets genuinely looked like back in the old days. Well from old to new, we walked a little bit more and had time to eat and shop in the stores that are in the Market today. The stores spanned from stupid chachkies (I totally spelled that wrong, but little gifts and things), to shirts, to artwork and even some beautiful jewelry. The Israeli handicrafts really are gorgeous so we all spent a lot of money during our free time even with many more Israeli "shopportunities" to come. As we finished up in the Old City we traveled back to our hotel to prepare for the Yom Ha Zikarone ceremony.
Yom Ha Zikarone is Isreali memorial day, similar to our Veterans Days. Given that all Israeli Citizens are required to give military service, almost everyone in the country has lost a friend or close family member in combat. The service we attended was at a community center in the outskirts of Jerusalem. It was run by BBYO's sister organization, Tzameret. It was a cool experience because I am friends with a few of them from summer programs. So we got to the community center and they set up a program for us to meet some of the Israeli teens and learn a bit about Yom Ha Zikarone and just life in Israel. It was really a good mix of cultures to get to meet each other and learn about their lifestyle. At around ten to eight we all gathered outside with more than 100 other people from the community to join us at the ceremony. At 8:00pm, to start off the observance of Yom Ha Zikarone, a loud siren sounded all across the country. Everyone was stopped for a minute of silence. We could even see a busy highway in the background and all of the cars stopped in the middle of the road. It was a very moving moment. The passion for their country and their soldiers is so apparent in this country. The service that followed was very difficult to follow because it was completely in hebrew. Nonetheless, while I couldn't understand a word that was said, the language and the tone of the evening was incredible. Well there was one thing, at least, that we were all able to follow along with. The ceremony closed with the Israeli National Anthem, Hatikvah. We all joined together and declared our pride and support in song. The evening was a beautiful and very unique experience that few get to have. Tomorrow we have a few more plans of commemorating the day and then will spend the night at Ben Yahuda Street for Yom Ha Atzmaut.
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Saturday, April 17, 2010
A Very Relaxing Israeli Sabbath
Today was one of the most amazing Shabbats ever. After sleeping late and relaxing we had another nice service right on the beach of the Sea of Galille by our hotel that I helped lead. It was a great start to a very fun day. At the conclusion of our service, each bus broke into our groups to talk about our experiences so far in Israel. It was a cool thing to see that everyone is having similar feelings about the beauty and comfort of this country.
We all ate lunch and then it was relaxation all afternoon. I put on some sunscreen and we all were laying on the beach soaking up the gorgeous Israeli sun. It was a warm blanket that made us feel comfortable in our country. Really, everything about this place is more beautiful then one can imagine. This free time also allowed us to grow closer as friends with these people who we have, for the most part, only known for a week. After a rest in the sun, Steven, one of the staff, led a guided thinking/meditation session. It was based on footsteps and where our feet have been these past weeks, whose feet were those places before us, and how we will share these steps when our feet are back in the US. It made me think and wonder what I really will do. It helped me relate back to the importance of the places I have been and where I will be in the coming days. We all changed into nice outfits and had dinner before an incredible evening.
We all got in our bus and made our way to Tiberias to go on a disco cruise. Well the name is quite deceiving because it was not disco music but it was so much fun. So the boat took us around the Kenneret under the beautiful mid-east stars and moon. The city of Tiberias is right on the water and was all lit up. The lights of the city were stunning. We danced the night away on the boat. As the ride came to an end, we walked down the streets of Tiberias a bit and arrived at the Promenade of Tiberias, basically a boardwalk lined with kiosks of stores and food stands. I got this great frozen yogurt that was make your own flavor. I put in bananas and strawberries and chocolate and cookies and I don't even know what else. It was absolutely delicious though. As we got to he shore, there was a circle of guys and girls with guitars and drums singing Hebrew songs. Our whole group joined in and had such a great time. We sang Salaam as loud as we could and were dancing in the middle of the circle. We made a fool out of ourselves but the awesome feelings inside while signing a Jewish song on the boardwalk in Israel made up for it all. After a little more strolling we had to meet up with the bus and had to go back to the hotel. Tomorrow we will be moving to a new hotel as we are driving to Jerusalem. I think that tomorrow will be a very powerful day with the Old City and the Kotel along with a program with BBYO's sister movement in Israel, Tzameret.
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Shabbat Shalom!
The days in Israel are very long and exhausting but so invigorating. Our first stop on day two was Tzfat, the Spiritual (Kaballistic) and Artistic center of Israel. It was absolutely stunning. Almost all of the buildings were made of outstanding and beautiful Jerusalem limestone. The street were lined with Isreali flags and all of the fences had metal work of Magen Davids. The Jewish pride and shear love for Israel was contagious as it is all over this phenomenal country. We explored the street and saw the genuine beauty of this area. Being that it is Friday, everyone was preparing for Shabbat. The smells tasted so sweet and the excitement for the holiday was running through the streets. I loved it.
As we walked deeper into the town, we came upon a beautiful synagogue, The Ashkenazi Ari Synagogue. This temple was names after Rabbi Yizhak Luria Ashkenazi, the founder of Lurianic Kabbalah. Additionally, this synagogue is where Rabbi Luria (or Ari) used to go in the 16th century on Friday night to welcome the Sabbath and where the Kabbalat Shabbat service was originated. It could be said that it is because of this place that my favorite Jewish song (Boi Kallah, a modern song version of the last line of L'cha Dodi that welcomes the Sabbath Bride) is in existence. Tzfat, like Jerusalem, Chebron, and Tiberias, is one of the four holy cities of Israel and I was standing in what is possibly the oldest synagogues in Israel. This 440 year old shul houses a beautiful hand painted wood carved arc. It was such a stunning sight that made me proud to be Jewish in the Jewish homeland.
After the synagogue, we walked down the street for a "shoppertunity" (by the way, that's my favorite word). We went into a candle store that sells gorgeous handmade Israeli Beeswax Candles. Down the alley a bit was a whole strip of stores and galleries that we walked through. I made some very nice purchases but since some people will probably read this who I got gifts for I'm not going to talk about what I got. Anyways though, since Tzfat is the artistic center of Israel the artists all congregate in this area and make beautiful artwork sold in the galleries lining the streets.
After our shopping time we went to an absolutely amazing location, Kibbutz Misgav Am. Misgav Am is located 2,750 feet above sea level and has an outstanding view of the entire surrounding area, including Lebanon. This Kibbutz is basically on he border of Israel, in fact as I walked through the Kibbutz my phone sent me an automated message that said welcome to Lebanon. As we walked in I got real sense of the community and trust for each other in this place. We got to a shack that was selling ice cream. I went to purchase an ice cream bar, but here was the interesting part. There was no one working in the shack. It was just a freezer and an opened register. I took my own ice cream, I took my own change. I felt comfortable and welcomed. We all sat on this patio and had a man speak to us. He was amazing and very inspirational. I did not catch his name but I will tell you everything I remember. This man grew up in Cincinnati and as he grew up, he knew that Israel was where he belonged. After he graduated college, he made Alliya and has lived in Israel ever since. In Israel he was a soldier for about 20 years and he fought in six wars. Here is when this area really got really interesting. Not only was it Lebanon across the border, but it was Hezbalah. I was looking at where Hezbalah, an organization that want Israel destroyed, lives. I heard their prayer, I felt the pain of those who live in this Kibbutz. They live there heroically keeping this land Israel's land so that it is not taken by Hezbalah. The man told us how the Kibbutz works very well together. He explained that they have their farmers, their workers, their soldiers, and more. Hezbalah came to this village twice in recent years to attack. Both times, no one returned to Lebanaon and the Hezbalah learned and never sent a third crew. The most important thing this man talked to us about other then the strength of this Kibbutz, is the importance of us as Jews to be connected to the homeland. He said that we needed to talk to our government and speak to our local representatives about the importance of Israel and how we need to stand up against Lebanon and the other nations that have hopes to destroy Israel. He then really inspired our group. He told us that while the United States is where we live, it is not our home. Right now I was standing in my home. Israel is the home that god gave to the Jewish people and it is where we belong. He welcomed us home. I was really moved. I don't know if my life will ever put me in a position where I will live in Israel, but I definitely will always be a Zionist and will always have a love and connection to this outstanding country.
We all were inspired and had a huge passion for the land we were in. After stopping for a quick lunch, it was time for fun. It was time to go rafting on Jordan River. We were at the most incredible locations in all of Israel and now we were having the best time ever while there. Our group broke into boats and we were off. I was paddling and we were just having so much fun. Splashing each other and bumping into each other's boats. Just floating down the river, it was such a fun time.
Now it was time for Shabbat. I took a shower, cleaned myself off, and we all met. Our hotel is right on the Sea of Galille so we have a beach behind it. We all met in the courtyard to take some pictures of us decked out in our nicest clothes and then we headed out onto the beach. It was an amazing Shabbat. All of us were sitting on the beach in Israel right on the Sea of Galille. I don't know if I will ever get another opportunity in my life to do this with 100 of my friends. This was one of the best Shabbat services I have ever experienced. The delicious dinner after it made Shabbat even better. This experience was absolutely phenomenal. I am loving Israel and don't want to leave! Shabbat Shalom!
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