Fun | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

Today was a day of connecting. Whether it was connecting with yourself in a yoga session or finally feeling connected to Judaism by taking that next step as a Bar Mitzvah. And why not? We spent the first few days getting to know each other: Shorashim, building the roots that are connected to the growing tree that is this new Shorashim family. This trip can only get better and deeper in the land that connects all of us to our Jewish roots.

We spent the morning of our third day in the city of Tzfat, a mystical area known for the study of Kabballah. We explored the blue-painted alleys and a synagogue while learning about the history that surrounds this city and its people. We perused Tzfat’s many art galleries and shops and even spent time discussing Kabballah and Jewish mysticism with a local artist. It was beautiful and a really wonderful way to begin our third day.

Today we woke up in Jerusalem and drove to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. The museum was beautiful and so was the view from the museum grounds.

Walking through the museum and listening to the guide was a somewhat surreal and intense experience. The museum was a huge pyramid-like structure filled with what seemed like endless exhibits portraying the vile and evil acts of the Nazis towards the Jews.

Tel Aviv seemed to be a mix of a seaside city, a European city, and something more practical. Even though all of the groups were separate, there was an overarching sense of unity between the different birthright groups, which made all of us feel at home.

There are certain things in life that when you finally reach the pot at the end of the rainbow, you know the journey was worth it, and this was one of those things. Words just can't truly describe the waterfall and my attemps to describe it will not do it justice, but I felt so lucky watching my new and old friends dive in to refresh in one of nature's amazing gifts. It was honestly a perfect afternoon. 

We went to a candle museum and Oh My Goodness I took so many pictures and now I want to learn to make candles. :) The rafting trip we took in the afternoon was super fun! We floated down the perfect-temperature river in the perfect-temperature shade, looking at pretty birds and trying not to run into the plants on either bank. After that, we went to an olive oil factory!

The hike had some amazing views, but was also very rocky. There was no way we could miss the beautiful wildflowers, impressive cliffs, and adorable turtle that we saw on our hike!

All together this experience has been incredibly rewarding whether we are traveling to Tel Aviv by bus or hiking our way down to a natural spring. My only wish is for the days to go by slower! We cant wait to see whats in store for tomorrow!