First Day in Israel! | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

First Day in Israel!

By Rachel Towbin

Our first official day in Israel was so exciting!

We got an early start, and headed out around the Golan Heights, near the Sea of Galilee. We stopped before our hike to have an opening ceremony, where we said the shehecheyanu and discussed a little bit about the history of Israel, and how to approach the discussion of the country's current situation.

We boarded the bus again and headed to the Zavitan, where we hiked alongside a river through lush foliage, and visited the very historic ruins of one of the first temples of Judaea. We learned about the history of the land from its beginning, thanks to our lovely guide Shany. We sat among the remains of the temple as we learned its story, which was very powerful. After that, we continued our hike, did some guided meditation with David, and went for a swim in a pool at the end of the stream!

We got lunch afterwards at a little shopping mall. It was hard trying to order food in Hebrew! Some of us went on a short shopping trip. After we got back to our kibbutz and had dinner, we did some group activities to get to know each other more.

I really like everyone on the trip and I am excited for what is to come!