Our Journey Begins | Shorashim - Israel with Israelis

Our Journey Begins

Manny and Jared

After a lovely welcome at Newark Airport, we got oriented and made it through security (minus a few tubes of sunscreen that were over 3.0 oz). The 11 hour flight gave us time to go from acquaintances to friends.

The schedule did not allow for any time to rest. Upon landing at 6:45 am local time, we headed east for our welcome reception overlooking the Judaean hills, where we said the 'shehecheyanu' prayer and toasted to the journey ahead. Afterwards, we descended down the hill into an ancient stalactite cavern.

Despite everyone's exhaustion, the trip pushed forward. We went to an Israeli shopping mall to enjoy lunch in the food court! Some enjoyed their first falafel, while others gravitated to the known comfort of McDonald's.

After lunch, we ascended to Beit Guvrin to explore and learn about an ancient archeological site. We dug up ancient pottery, and learnt more about the history of the society of the Maccabees and some of the cultures that predated them.

After getting properly dirty, we are now on the bus on the way to our hotel! I think I can speak for everyone; showering and a clean bed will provide us rejuvenation desperately needed for our trip to Masada tomorrow!

More pictures and blog posts to follow!