Dear Shmuel- A Preview of This Summer's Hottest Israel Blog!

Dear Readers-

Our deepest apologies for failing to enter the blogosphere while careening up and down the State of Israel. We took thopusands of photographs and dozens of videos and plan to use our trip's blog as a way to relive our journey once we are home and suffering from the Post-Israel Blues. These are snippets of live notes and recollections drawn from Shmuel, our belove group journal. We hope you enjoy this "taim'a" and tune in for future installments. Spoiler alert: it. was. AMAZING.

Love, Shorashim 527, June 29 - July 7 2010
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6/28/20

Dear Shmuel -

Here are the top 5 things that happened on our first day on Birthright:

5) The temperature - inside the airport and out - was 100 degrees Farenheit
4) Boarding passes were harder to obtain than a seat on the plane
3) Our flight got cancelled after waiting in the airport for 5 hours first
2) We had to go stay in a hotel in Queens instead of a hotel in Israel - with no luggage.
1) We didn’t get to Israel!

On the plus side, I think we all got an initial bonding experience we never expected.

6/29/10 and 6/30/10

Dear Shmuel -

After another long day at the airport, we finally got on our plane to Israel! When we arrived in the airport we were greeted by our Israeli soldiers. I think everyone appreciated getting to Israel even more so after having one day cut out of our trip, And with that said, we got straight to work and headed to Jerusalem. We went to the look out on lunch and got our first real experience socializing with the Israeli soldiers. We continued to Jerusalem in which we went to the Old City, the Jewish Quarter, and the Western Wall.

Met Snooki in the airport (exciting for the girls)

7/1/10

Packed and ready to go, we drove north and started our day at Yad Va Sham. A majority of us had visited a Holocaust museum in the past, but being able to see it from a different perspecitive - from an Israeli perspective - was moving for us all.

Nature Walk
Kibbutz
Iraeli’s started teaching us Hebrew words..
Sing alongs started on the bus

7/2
We learned our phrase of the trip in Hebrew “That’s what she said” - Ze Ma Sh-e AMRA
Shabbat night.
We learned that Israel phrases and American phrases do not always translate.
We had our first night out together. We all hung out at the bar at the kibbutz. The biggest game of “Never Have I Ever existed”
Bonding was clearly a strong point to this crew.

7/3
Day at the lake at the kibbutz
Huge mud fight insuded between Sam, Mel, Julia, Or Jeff, Elie, and Dori - although the girls came out with many battle wounds, we clearly won the war.
Went out in Tiberus to an American bar in which we ran into all American on Birthright. It was fun to dance the night away with people on the same journey as us!

7/4
Happy 4th of July!
Went to Tsvat - Holy City and city of the artists!
Got to go to old synogogues, shop a little, [tbc]

Dear Shmuel,

It’s closing in on 11pm at the base o’ Masada hotel, on what may be a Tuesday. Onlyt nopw has the thick lowland heat lifted and the breezes are coming in over the maze of little canyons under this terrace looking out at what is left of the Dead Sea. Like the fortress we are visiting at sunrise, tomorrow is our trip’s Last Stand, our last full day. Every birthright trip, you might say, sets out under the presumption of a Masada-esque “mutual suicide pact.” A somewhat random group of people get on the bus, get into each other’s pores and each other’s memories, and then scatter to the hills not long after finally turning into Something.

Of course, this has been discusses by people like us on trips like this hundreds of times already, but if Israel has anything to teach us it is that history, at least in this land, works as an endless cycle, a repeated pattern, a loop of feedback, so that novelty of feeling and novelty of purpose are never the objective. Rather, it is for us who have a stake here to share in the constant renewal and deconsecrating of meaning, hopefully avoding as much bloodshed in the process as is possible.

So it’s not so bad that I am writing these trite almost-end-of-trip ruminations because, as has been said likewise by so many others before me: “Because it was My Trip.”

Dear Shmuel--

Throughout this trip we have been continually challenged with lack of sleep, crazy schedules and learning to develop friendships while with each other each and every moment of the day. This morning, at roughly 4:20 am, we embarked on our final hike in Israel… the one we have been waiting for the whole trip. MASADA. We walked up this massive incline, each of us panting like we had never exercised before. Our fearless leader--- Ariel then said “Are we ready to start our hike?” HA. Start? I was under the impression we were half way through. For the next hour or so we climbed more stairs than the Sears tower and dripped with sweat. We finally made it to the top as a team. We accomplished our mission and were glad to see each of our trip-mates faces at the top. I must admit that Masada was one of the most physically and mentally challenging obstacles that I have faced in my 23 years. With people around me and a large pile of sharp rocks below me, I made it to the top, just in time to see the sun rise over the mountains. Incredible. This will truly be a morning to remember.

-Jacki Bober

This trip has been one of the most fun, exhausting, and educational experiences of my life. I have learned so much about my roots, the people of Israel and especially myself. I’ve pushed myself from the depths of the Negev to the top of Masada and have even camped in a Bedowin tent! I feel so lucky that birthright gave me this amazing gift. I am forever grateful!

-Jackie Miller ```

My Birthright trip has been emotionally and physically life-changing. I have challenged myself to hike mountains I never even dreamed of climbing! Where else can you ride a camel, sleep in a Bedowin tent, and swim in the Dead Sea all on the same day? I also learned so much about the people of Israel and about their respect for their county. This trip has made me want to continue on the Jewish religion and teach my children about it as well. I am so amazed at the dedication Israelis have for their country and I am proud to be a Jew. I thank Birthright from the bottom of my heart for giving me this opportunity.

-Jennifer Omansky

Dear Shmuel,

I want to tell you about one of the most beautiful things I’ve experienced in the State of Israel. I’m not talking about the forests and deserts, or the ancient cities, or the beautiful people. I am talking about the drink that Israel calls the “ice coffee.” This isn’t a cup of coffee with ice floating in it. It is basically a coffee frappucino delivered with the natural genius of the Jewish state. When you get off the bus for that lunch stop in the middle of a long day and see that big churning vat of “ice coffee” ready and waiting for you up ahead, that is something truly good, like the sweet spring water at the end of a desert hike. Like I said, imagine a frappucino where the ice is finer but crunchier, the smoothness is smoothier, and the taste is, like, freakin awesome. And you don’t even need to wait for someone to make it for you, worrying the whole time that it will turn out too runny or just not right. No sir- the only thing your roadside barista needs to worry about is if he or she knows how to pull a lever. And I promise you, for about 10-15 shekels, they know alright. They know. Definitely one of the top reasons to come to Israel. Especially the Aroma variety.