SH-23-115's blog

In the morning, we all arose naturally and peacefully from our slumber in the Bedouin tent to the sound of at an alarm clock at 4:30 AM. We stumbled onto the bus and set off into the darkness towards the historical mount Masada. We eagerly climbed the Roman ramp up to to the peak, full of excitement as we raced against the sun. We reached the beautiful summit just in time to watch the spectacular view as the pitch black sky gave way to the colors of dawn. It was magnificent to watch, and also a great photo op.

We started with a hike in the surprisingly vegetated Tzin desert along the beautiful Hawarim stream. We all enjoyed the chance to relax and get some great photos amidst the beautiful scenery. Afterwards, we went to an Israeli farm, where we saw how Israelis are able to grow vegetables in the desert (and fulfill Ben Gurion's dream!). After enjoying a delicious lunch at the farm, they showed us around. It was nothing like any farm that we Americans are used to. Most of the vegetables were grown in greenhouses with intricate irrigation systems.

On Day 7 (Monday), we enjoyed breakfast at the Grand Beach Hotel before setting off. We started off our day at Yitzhak Rabin Square, the largest open city square in Tel Aviv and where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was tragically assassinated in 1995. Yossi (our Shorashim leader) led us around the square and recalled details of the infamous assassination. After this introduction, we broke into groups (one for each Israeli soldier participant) and interviewed locals around the square about their recollection of the event.

On Saturday morning, we observed Shabbat by having a day of (mostly) rest. We slept in until 10:30, which was very refreshing. We met to eat coffee and cake (although tea was present also) and then we held a group discussion for Shabbat. We read this week's torah portion (Parashat Hashavua) and discussed its meaning to us. We got some more rest and had lunch at the kibbutz.

Breakfast bright and early in the dairy hut on the kibbutz. Then onto the bus for the winding bus ride up to Jilaboon in the Golan. We hiked through slippery terrain to view majestic landscapes and beautiful waterfalls. The lush terrain was a stark contrast to the dryer regions of Israel that we had been to in the preceding days. During the hike some stopped to buy snacks from the Druze, a small religious group in Israel that sells a pita-type snack. On the trail we ran into many other birthright groups. After the hike we headed off to a mall for an early lunch.

After another early rise and breakfast at the hotel, we hopped on the bus for the short trip over to Yad Vashem, Israel's famous holocaust memorial and museum, where we spent the entire morning. First, we heard holocaust survivor Leesha Rose tell the inspiring story of her life during the Holocaust and her fight against the Nazi's in her years in the Resistance. After this, we took a guided tour of the entire Yad Vashem museum.

We all awoke bright and early for breakfast at the hotel. Then we boarded the bus, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to go on a little jaunt to see archaeological ruins. This place was on Mount Sataf, a short but refreshing hike that although downhill, consisted of many scenic views. Afterwords, we proceeded to visit a famous windmill, which unfortunately only worked for the first week of its exsistence. We then went on to eat Israeli cuisine (and McDonalds) in the district known as Emek Refaim.

Our Israeli adventure is off to a wonderful start! After convening at JFK, we embarked on a 10 hour flight to Zurich.  We spent our hour-long layover enjoying our complimentary Swiss Air chocolates and meeting our groupmates before we completed our travel (and caught up on some sleep) along the 4 hour flight to Tel-Aviv.