Our Israeli peers awaited, with song, balloons, and fanfare; they joined our ranks, and in a sweaty circle, arm-in-arm, we kicked off our trip in an Achim circle.
Our Israeli peers awaited, with song, balloons, and fanfare; they joined our ranks, and in a sweaty circle, arm-in-arm, we kicked off our trip in an Achim circle.
In the afternoon, we explored Tzfat, one of the four holy cities in Israel. In the "old city," which is made entirely of stone, we saw art galleries, jewelry shops and ancient synagogues. One famous Kabbalistic artist, Avraham Lowenthal, held a discussion for us in his studio about art and spirituality
"After our discussion, we went to Tel Aviv's largest and busiest Shuk, Shuk haCarmel, where we got to explore different vendors selling goods from dried fruits, exotic spices, clothing, and footwear."
"I cannot speak for all the members on our trip because seeing the Western Wall is a different experience for everybody, but leaving a note and standing face-to-face with one of the holiest landmarks of Judaism was remarkable."
After lunch and the Kiddush prayers, Yossi led a small group around our kibbutz to show us the community, and to tell us about the history and evolution of the kibbutz in Israel.
"We went to Mount Bental, where we could see the Israel/Syria border. We learned the history and recent hardships of that area while getting to interact with UN soldiers from Ireland, Switzerland, and Australia."
Our lesson continued on our hike through Nahal Jilabun. The hike was beautiful but more strenuous than I expected.
We've been in Israel for 24 hours now and I feel as though I have new lifetime friends and I've learned more in this period of time than any other day of my life.
Once we landed and made our way through customs, we were loudly greeted by our singing-balloon wielding Israeli counterparts.
We were warmly greeted by our Israeli participants and staff at Ben Gurion airport this afternoon, and participated in an exciting Shorashim tradition, the Achim song.