Blogs

Yesterday after dinner, we had our group activity for the day. Our initial assignment was to choose things from a group of 20 that our group believed were most important for maintaining a Jewish identity. Some of these things included: having Jewish friends, marrying someone Jewish, calling yourself a Jew, remembering the Holocaust, studying the Torah, and visiting Israel.

As we descend from the magnificant Golan Heights toward Tel-Aviv on this sunny Thursday afternoon, I reflect on our morning. We awoke this morning at an hour unspeakable to college students (7am) to eat our last breakfast at the Afiq Kibbutz. With our newly acquired Israeli coffee brewing skills now mastered, we managed to finish packing and board the bus heading to Mt. Arbel.

On Wednesday we went ricer rafting on the Jordan river. We were split up into groups of 6-8 people and, as you know, 8 college students in a raft can get a little crazy, with some minor injuries (an oar to the face.) Everybody had a great time - we were warned before there may be 6 inches drops, we were a little freaked out.

We started our trip touring around the Northern part of Israel and the Golan Heights. The scenery of Israel is one that contradicts the imagination of the average American when they think of this Middle Eastern nation. What comes to mind is an arid region with little floral life across the landscape, but when one arrives and explores this mystic land, they find the complete opposite. From hiking around , to the rides across the highways lining Israel, you find an explosion of trees, tall grasses, fields of agricultural produce, and even gorgeous flowers.

Dear diary!

Everyone who goes on Birthright (Taglit) has a day like today -- well, almost. Thanks to Shlomi (one of our awesome Israelis), instead of seeing the sunrise at the top of Masada, we saw it at the base. We were supposed to all be on the bus, ready to go to hike up Masada, at 4:45am…but Shlomi was nowhere to be found! After waiting for 30 minutes, we were about to send someone to look for him when he showed up. To Shlomi’s surprise, he didn’t get yelled at or punished. Off we sped to Masada, hoping to still see the sunrise at the top.

Wednesday was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We started off the morning with an absolutely breathtaking hike called the Gilabon hike, The hike was near what used to be Syria, and covered in trees that were planted by Eli Cohen who was an Israeli spy. The hike was amazing and we saw the waterfall that is fed by the melted snow on Mt. Hermon. The hike was really long (about 7 miles) but totally worth it. It was also very hot. Afterwards we got to see the worlds carziest flafel maker, and they played music for us in the mall, and we danced before we went to see the olive press.

After our prayer overlooking the city, we arrived at Kibbutz Almog located in the middle of the desert, right outside of Jerusalem. The group continued to bond through introductory games and random roommates. With enthusiasm, the group headed off on a hike through Sataf. Following the hike, we explored a quiant neighborhood in Jerusalem and had free time for dinner of our choice. Upon returning to the kibbutz, there was a gathering at the main house for the Birthright groups staying there, it allowed for bonding and a night of dancing to a mix of Israeli and American music.