Day Ten: Next Year in Jerusalem!

Our final day of our trip was a free day, with our participants going in different directions throughout the day. One group got an early start and headed south for a tour of Masada and some time at the Dead Sea in the morning and early afternoon. The group got a glimpse of the reddish hills at the top of the Negev and learned about the great desert palace and fortress that was Masada. At the Dead Sea, the group floated in the salty and mineral laden waters, then enjoyed the therapeutic powers of the black Dead Sea mud.

Group pic at the top

Friendly birds atop Masada

Other members of the group spent the morning at the Israel Museum. The museum is currently featuring an exhibition on the architectural works of Herod the Great, including the top of an enormous column from a structure built opposite the Temple on the Temple Mount itself, and Herod's own tomb, recently excavated from Herodium, just south of Jerusalem in the Judean hills. Also on display were the museum's permanent exhibits of judaica and other artifacts illustrating Jewish lifestyle in various countries throughout the world, a series of reconstructed synagogue interiors, and the Dead Sea scrolls, displayed at the famous "Shrine of the Book."

The grounds of the Israel Museum 

The smell of fresh honeysuckle fills the air on the museum grounds

Shrine of the Book, containing sections of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Some of our participants also had a chance to head back to Ben Yehuda Street as well as Meah She'arim, a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Moshiko Falafel and Shwarma, on Ben Yehuda Street

The last shwarma! For now...

 Everyone was back in Jerusalem to enjoy the buzz and excitement of Yom Yerushalyim--the anniversary of the Day that portions of Jerusalem, including the Old City, was liberated from Arab hands at the end of the Six Day War. Live music was set up in different locations throughout the city and many roads were closed to allow for additional pedestrian traffic into the Old City. Throughout the day, throngs of people made their way into the Old City, finally converging upon the Kotel. The entire Jewish Quarter was alive with activity, with vendors selling toys, cotton candy, popcorn, and more to the multitudes passing through the streets. The final stop for the masses was the Kotel, with many thousands filling up the plaza that lays in front of the Kotel, with a steady stream of thousands more making their way towards the Kotel from the gates of the Old City. Scores of young students poured into the Old City marching with their schools and youth groups, singing songs in praise of Jerusalem and beseeching G-d to rebuild the Temple as they came. It was an exhilarating expression of "Am Yisrael Chai"--The Jewish nation lives!

Some of the Yom Yerushalayim activity in the Jewish quarter of the Old City

A crowd of thousands fills the Kotel plaza on Yom Yerushalayim

With our final moments in Jerusalem bearing witness to the eternal Jewish spirit and its dedication to its homeland and its holy capital, we return home with the words of the psalmist engraved on our hearts--"If I forget thee O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its cunning"

L'Shana haba'ah b'Yerushalayim habenuyah! Next year in the rebuilt Jerusalem!

Day Nine Supplement: Yom Yerushalayim Begins

Tonight begins Yom Yerushalayim--"Jerusalem Day"--the day that commemorates the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem from Arab hands in 1967. As a result of Israel's victory in the Six Day War, Jews could pray at the Kotel for the first time in eighteen years. Every year on Yom Yerushalayim the plaza in front of the kotel comes alive with singing and dancing, Israeli flags being waved by the jubilant celebrants. Though most of the festivities take place tomorrow, as I was heading to the Kotel tonight to daven Maariv, a group of about a hundred students from Yeshivat Sha'alvim, a yeshiva for post high school Americans, entered the Kotel plaza singing joyously as they came. Below are a couple of short clips I took--the first of the students and their teachers descending towards the Kotel, the second of the group dancing right in front of the Kotel.

The words they are singing are, "Yibaneh haMikdash ir Tzion timalei. V'sham nashir shir chadash uvirnana na'aleh--May He rebuild the Temple and complete the city of Zion. And there we shall sing a new song and ascend in praise." More than just a ditty, this song is a prayer, beseeching G-d to provide us with a rebuilt Jerusalem, with the holy Temple sitting atop the mountain that rises above the Kotel. 

Day Nine: Along the Coast

Today we headed down the Mediterranean coast, winding our way down from the north, back to Jerusalem. We began at Rosh Hanikra, a beautiful series of grottos inside the limestone rock that touches the Mediterranean in the far north of the country. This phenomenon is a result of a tectonic shift that brought the hills down directly into the water, with no beach separating them from the shore. 

View of the Mediterranean coast from above Rosh Hanikra

Inside the grottos...

The limestone cliffs descending directly into the water

We then continued southward towards Zichron Yaakov, an early settlement established at the end of the 19th century and the home of the Carmel Winery, the largest winery in Israel. At the winery, we learned a bit about the process of wine making, as well as some of the history of the winery, having been established by the philanthropy of Baron Edmund de Rothschild. Baron Rothschild sent machinery, grape vines, French wine makers, in addition to bankrolling many other aspects of the winery, including the bribe money necessary for the Ottoman Turks to allow the Jews to open their own winery.

In addition to a tour of the winery, we were also treated to a deluxe wine tasting, complete with fresh bread, dips, cheeses, olives, and vegetables. We learned some tips to appreciating wine and sampled some of the finest wines that Carmel produces.

At our delicious wine tasting

Group picture outside the wine shop

From Zichron Yaakov, we drove along the coast to Caesarea. On the way into the ancient city of Caesarea we passed through the modern one, which is the only private city in all of Israel and home to its only 18-hole golf course. Among the wealthy and high-profile residents, Binyamin Netanyahu maintains a residence in Caesarea, in addition to his private home in the Rechavia section of Jerusalem and the state-owned prime minister's residence where he now resides. 

Our tour of Caesarea began with Crusader fortress built in the 11th century. The fortress is surrounded by a wide moat facing the land, giving the Christian occupants the security needed to control the port. What was most fascinating about the port was that it was built without the use of cement; the stones simply rest on top of one another, rising into arches at the ceiling. The beach stones that were used to build the fortress were once covered by plaster, but have been left bare following their excavation and efforts are now being made to treat the brittle stones in a manner that will keep them from eroding.

Walking towards the coast, we passed the remains of what was once a pagan temple. Caesarea, though built by Herod, a Jewish king, was built to strengthen political ties with the Romans and served as the Roman capital city within the colony of Judaea. Caesarea was complete with all forms of entertainment, including a hippodrome for chariot racing and an amphitheater for gladiator battles and other "sports." All around the port are modern souvenir shops, art galleries, and restaurants, tying together the old and the new. We entered a multimedia center where kiosks are set up that allow you to "interview" various ancient personalities--such as King Herod, Pontius Pilate, and Rabbi Akiva--that are projected onto a screen. We also watched a short film outlining the history of Caesarea, from its first being built by Herod to the present, changing hands from Jews to pagans to Moslems to Christians a number of times over in between. We ended our tour right near the coast for a view of the sparkling Mediterranean and the remains of what was once a magnificent port.

Inside the Crusader fortress

The ruins of the ancient port

Group picture in front of the Mediterranean

We arrived back in Jerusalem and proceeded directly to the Anna Ticho House for our farewell dinner. This house was previously owned by Dr. Albert and Anna Ticho. The house sits on large and beautiful grounds, all of which were bequeathed by Anna to the city of Jerusalem before her death. The house now serves as a museum for Anna's beautiful watercolor paintings and charcoal drawings, and also houses a popular cafe and restaurant: "Little Jerusalem." We enjoyed a wonderful dinner together of fresh salads, bread, pastas, fish, as well as an array of incredible cakes for dessert. Rabbi Bienenfeld made a final "l'chaim," encouraging the group to take with them the memories of how if felt to truly be at home. 

This was our last day traveling as one whole group, but tomorrow we'll try to provide you with a sampling of how our participants spent their final day in the Holy Land.

Day Eight: The Beauty of the Galilee

The view from the the hotel's dining hall

Our first stop today was the Hula nature reserve. The nature reserve includes the valley surrounding Lake Hula, a lake which originally covered a much larger area than it does. The JNF drained off a large portion of the lake in the 1950’s in an effort to rid the area of malaria infestation and create additional farmland. Unfortunately, the resultant damage outweighed the good in this effort. Much of the rich eco-system around the lake was destroyed, the farmland produced has been beset by difficulties, and the natural filtration system that the lake provided for the water that ultimately ran down into the Sea of Galilee was destroyed. That notwithstanding, the lake and the surrounding valley is a beautiful area even in its present state, and serves as an ideal stopover for birds migrating south in the winter and then returning north in the summer. As a result, the Hula valley plays host to millions of birds each year. Most of the birds have since moved on at this point of the year, but we did get to see some, as well as some other fish, animals, and insects living in and around the water. To give visitors who can’t see the birds live a taste of the excitement, the nature reserve offers a 3-D interactive movie documenting the path of the array of birds that come through Hula each year. The movie is complete with tilting and vibrating seats, spraying water, and jets of air for a truly interactive experience, mimicking the feel of being right next to the birds as they make the journey to Hula, beyond, and back.

At Lake Hula

Sky-high eucalyptus trees at the Hula nature reserve

From Hula, we continued north to the very top of the country, stopping at a lookout right at the Lebanese border. Down below was the beautiful city of Metulah, which sits right at the fence between Israel and Lebanon. From Metulah, one can see lush green farmland cascading down the valley. The whole area is kept fertile by the three headwaters which ultimately feed Lake Hula, and then the Sea of Galilee: the Chatzpani, Banias, and Dan rivers. 

Metulla

"Kenyon Nechemia--The Nechemia Mall" at Kiryat Shemoneh, in the Galilee

We stopped for lunch just south at the Nechemia Mall in Kiryat Shmoneh before continuing on to the Tel Dan nature reserve. This reserve offers a variety of trails that snake around the Dan River. We opted for the one that leads to Tel Dan itself, the ancient ruin of the biblical city of Dan. The trail itself was beautiful, with the Dan River peeking through parts of the trail every now and again, and bamboo and wild flowers growing along the path. What has been excavated at this site is an incredible fortress that once stood at the walls of the ancient city. The fortress was uncovered in excellent condition and with very little restoration stands today just as it did thousands of years ago. Just beyond the fortress is the gate of an even older city, the Canaanite city of Laish. The gate is believed to be about 4,000 years old, making the arch at the top of the gate the oldest known arch to have ever been discovered. 

The raging Dan River

The fortress at Tel Dan

The newly excavated gate from the ancient Canaanite city of Laish

We wound back to the beginning of the trail and met up with our jeeps and drivers who would be taking us through the Golan Heights. The jeeps climbed up into the mountains along rocky, narrow trails that ordinary cars can’t travel on. Aside from the spectacular view, we got a close look at the seemingly impenetrable fortresses that Syria had built into the hills and had used to defend the area during the Six Day War. Being there in person only strengthened the impression that Israel’s overtaking the Heights should have been absolutely impossible. 

Gera, one of our jeep drivers, with the Dan River in the background

Jeeping in the Golan Heights

We headed back to Tzefat with enough time for some more browsing in the local art galleries and to take in the air and vistas of this breathtaking city.

Day Seven: The Road Up North

Today began our trip to the northern part of Israel. It began with a drive into the West Bank, driving east from Jerusalem and then straight up along the Jordan River valley. Our first stop was Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, a religious kibbutz which, as we learned, is one of the few remaining "pure" kibbutzim, meaning that it has not been privatized. In this old-school model, laundry is still done communally, members of the kibbutz receive an allowance according to their specific needs, and the kibbutzniks all eat three meals a day in a communal dining hall. Sde Eliyahu was the frontrunner in organic crop production in Israel, paving the way for the reduction of chemical pesticides and fertilizers that is now starting to become more common. The kibbutz has developed methods of encouraging predatory birds to make the kibbutz their home, as a natural means of eliminating detrimental rodents. We were surprised to see the huge amount of weeds growing up around many of the crops, but our guide explained that while it may not look pretty, the weeds can actually be beneficial. The weeds host insects that prey upon others which would otherwise destroy the crops and also help shield the soil from excessive evaporation. 

Between the dining room and the synagogue, at the center of Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu

What really put the kibbutz on the map was the development of "Bio-Bee" a kibbutz-owned company developed by kibbutz members which cultivates bumblebees as a means of effective crop pollination, and also raises insects which feed on other crop destroying insects. Farms that have used the bumblebees have reported 25% increases in food production and those that have utilized Bio-Bee's insects have managed to cut chemical pesticides by up to 80%. Aside from all the good that Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu has done across the globe, the kibbutz also boasts its own enormous fields of wheat, grapes, tomatoes, dates, olives, and many more fruits and vegetables. It was an awesome sight to see the crops of this kibbutz--as well as those of many others on our way up--flourishing in an area that otherwise looks totally barren.

We finished our tour of Sde Eliyahu with lunch in the main dining hall, along with the rest of the kibbutzniks. It was a delicious meal of chicken, beef goulash, shnitzel, rice, potatoes, couscous, soup, and assorted salads. The kibbutzniks must work awful hard if they're able to eat like this on a daily basis!

Some of the "hired help" at the kibbutz

A glimpse of the majestic date groves at Sde Eliyahu

A hive swarming with bumblebees, just as it would be shipped to another farm or kibbutz in need

From Sde Eliyahu, we began our drive further north towards Tzefat. The drive up was absolutely mesmerizing. Every few feet we encountered more of the astonishing beauty of the Land of Israel. The dates and grapes we had seen further south now changed to bananas, mangos, and prickly-pears. The limestone that we'd seen all over Israel until now suddenly gave way to black volcanic rock (Iddo explained that this area of Israel sits on a fault, the black rock originally begin deposited here by lava that ran from Mount Chermon, high up north). We drove along Lake Kinneret--the Sea of Galilee--with its sparkling blue waters. After the heavy rainfall Israel enjoyed this past winter, it was a pleasure to see the Kinneret's water level so high. After much driving and climbing up into the mountains of northern Israel, we finally entered into Tzefat. 

We got off the bus and immediately began our tour of Tzefat's renowned art galleries. After a couple of initial visits, we made our way to the studio of Sheva Chaya, an American-born artist specializing in watercolor painting and glassblowing. Sheva Chaya treated us to a glassblowing demonstration and described some of the kabbalistic concepts she infuses into her work. We continued on towards the major strip of art galleries in the city for some browsing and shopping, enjoying the varied styles and methods of the artists whose work hung in the spaces all around us. We took a brief pause to enter into the synagogue of Rabbi Yosef Karo, 16th century legalist and mystic, best known for his authorship of the Shulchan Aruch, a series of texts utilized until today as a practical code of Jewish law.

After checking into the Ruth Rimonim Hotel--a beautiful hotel that artfully matches the charm of the rest of the city--we met for a delicious buffet dinner in the hotel's dining room. 

With our bellies full and feet weary...time to get some sleep!

At the first of many art galleries in Tzefat

At Sheva Chaya's gallery and studio

Sheva Chaya at work

At the synagogue of Rav Yosef Karo

The view from a street in Tzefat

The view from an observation deck above one of the art galleries

(Same vantage point as picture above)

Day Six: Shabbos In Jerusalem

Naturally, this day's report will be picture free, but we'll try to describe the scene and experience of our Shabbos in Jerusalem as best we can.

On Friday evening, we headed to the Kotel for Kabbalat Shabbat. It was a powerful experience. The Kotel was an absolute mob scene, with Jewish men and women of all stripes converging on this holy site to welcome Shabbos with song and prayer. The men davened with the yeshiva students who danced down from Yeshivat Hakotel, an Israeli/American yeshiva that overlooks the kotel plaza. The students sing most of the services for a beautiful, melodious service. On the women's side, the group davened along with a group of American seminary girls who were there for their post-high school year in Israel and were visiting Jerusalem for Shabbos. The ladies were swept away by the sweet, heartfelt singing. We wound our way back to the hotel, first through the Arab shuk, then through the Mamilla mall, and finally down King David Street. The long walk back provided an excellent recap of much of what we had seen over the previous few days.

We had a private room for dinner at the hotel and enjoyed a lovely Shabbat meal together. After some singing and the recitation of Kiddush we sat and dined together, and shared our favorite highlights of the past week with one another. As you might expect, there was plenty to say and plenty to reflect on with a smile.

On Shabbat morning, many of us davened at the Great Synagogue. Services are led by the resident cantor, who has a powerful, operatic voice, and he is joined on the bima by a choir that surrounds him. Above the ark and throughout the sanctuary are exquisite, vividly colored stained glass windows that provide a majestic backdrop to this incredible prayer experience.

Following services, we parted ways for a while but met back in a private room at the hotel for a beautiful Shalosh Seudos sponsored by...us! We had all bought some bread, olives, dips, pastries, and other goodies at Machane Yehuda (the Jewish marketplace) the day before to be able to share with one another at Shalosh Seudos. As we ate, Rabbi Bienenfeld led a class on, "The Land of our Forefathers," discussing the interwoven relationship between the matriarchs and patriarchs, the Land of Israel, and G-d. After the class we davened maariv at a shul around the corner, then headed back to the hotel where we met up with a group of American middle school students visiting Israel and heard havdalah.

It was a very special Shabbos, one we'll remember fondly for the rest of our lives.

Day Five: Tel Aviv

Today, Erev Shabbat, we headed to Tel Aviv. We began our tour outside the city, at the Ayalon Bullet Factory. This was a clandestine, underground bullet factory, hidden by a bakery that operated above it, which produced 2.5 million bullets for the Israeli forces during the War for Independence. All sorts of preparations needed to be made in order to keep the factory a secret, even from fellow Jews. As the factory workers were supposed to have been out in the fields, special UV lamps were brought into the factory to provide the necessary "tanning," so that their pale skin would not be an immediate give away. The factory has since been turned into a museum, with manikins placed at the various machines to simulate the scene that once took place here.

The stairway leading to the bullet factory, hidden by a bakery oven placed on a track

A manikin simulates the scene of the factory's operation

On our way into Tel Aviv, we stopped at a falafel stand. The jovial proprietor provided us with an array of salads and explained the four different flavors of falafel that he offers in his shop--all of which were delicious!

Crispy on the outside, fresh and green on the inside!

 In Tel Aviv, we visited Independence Hall on Rothschild Boulevard, the main drag in the city. The hall was originally the home of Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv and once of its founding settlers. Dizengoff bequeathed his home to the city of Tel Aviv, to be turned into an art museum for the public. The site was chosen to declare independence, not for historical purposes, but because the main room is partially underground, its narrow windows running along the very top of the walls, near the ceiling. With the fear that the ceremony might very well be under attack by Arabs, the room was chosen because of the difficulty in throwing a grenades inside.

After hearing the presentation, the recording of Ben Gurion's declaration was played, followed by the singing of Hatikva by all who were present at the time. Hearing the recording in the very room in which Israel's independence was actually declared gave us goosebumps.

Independence Hall, with Herzl's picture above the dais, as it was when independence was originally declared

Our final stop was the Nachalat Binyamin market. This is a special crafts market that is only open on Fridays in Tel Aviv. Artists set up their own booths and sell their wares as visitors wind their way through the beautiful, open air market. Plenty of jewelry, judaica, artwork, and other crafts were all on display. We enjoyed our time shopping there and were filled with pride over the sight of so many Jewish artists creating such beautiful pieces for sale.

Our next entry, for Shabbat, will obviously have no pictures, but we hope to provide everyone with a meaningful and vivid description of our activities. Shabbat Shalom!

Day Four: Memory and Renewal

Day four was a day full of mixed emotions--tragedy and pride, sorrow and joy, death and life.

We had some extra time in the morning before out planned itinerary really got under way, and used it to go see the beautiful Chagall windows in the shul at Hadassah hospital. Hadassah hospital in of itself is an amazing facility. As we pulled up, Iddo noted that all that we see above ground is also available below ground. In the event of a terrorist attack, the entire hospital can be relocated to the safety of an underground shelter. As we walked through the hospital, we were taken aback by all the shops, kiosks, and restaurants--essentially a shopping mall within the hospital. Iddo's comment was that such a happy environment is an ideal atmosphere for recovery. The Chagall windows were breathtaking--we've all seen facsimiles in a variety of different media, but there's no comparison to seeing them in person, with the sunlight of Jerusalem filtering through the vividly colored stained glass. Each of the twelve windows is dedicated to a different tribe of Israel, and each is replete with symbolism and imagery depicting the nature and personality of each tribe. Sorry--photography was not permitted!

We then headed to Yad Vashem--the holocaust museum. Stopping at the visitor's center, Iddo guided us through a model of the museum's campus. The main building of the museum is a long, triangular tunnel, built into the heart of the mountain on which the museum stands, and extending beyond the mountain on either end. This represents a knife that has been stabbed through the very flesh of Jerusalem itself. The museum contains an enormous amount of material and artifacts relating to the years of the Holocaust, with screens throughout showing interviews with survivors. At the very end of the main building is the Hall of Names--a circular room whose walls are full of binders containing information about victims of the Holocaust. Most of the shelves are already full--with information about four million victims having been collected thus far.

We also visited the Children's Memorial. The purpose of this memorial is to give visitors a sense of the magnitude of the loss of one and a half million Jewish children. The memorial is completely dark, lightened only by the presence of one small flame which is then reflected by mirrors placed throughout the hall, giving the impression of one and a half million flames which were snuffed out by the Nazis. 

One end of the main building, jutting out from the "flesh" of Jerusalem

A monument marking the Garden of the Righteous Gentiles

Our next stop was Har Hertzl--the national military cemetery that is also the burial site of Theodor Hetzl, Yitzchak Rabin, and other Israeli dignitaries. We heard about the ceremonies that take place on Yom Hazikaron (Israel Remembrance Day) and Yom Haatzmaut at Har Herzl. We visited Herzl's grave and spoke about the need to react to the tragedy of the Holocaust by building a better home for the Jewish people. We sang Hatikva together, and recited a Kel Malei Rachamim for the fallen soldiers of the IDF. As we left, a school group arrived, with young Jewish children streaming towards Herzl's grave to pay their respects. It was a beautiful site of rebirth following the destruction we had seen that morning.

At the entrance to Har Herzl

Jewish children at Herzl's grave

From Har Herzl, we continued to our last stop--Machane Yehuda, the Jewish marketplace. It was bustling with activity as people were beginning to shop for Shabbos. We visited the Marzipan bakery, renowned for the best chocolate rugelach on earth, then continued to wind our way through the market. The sights and sounds of the marketplace are captivating--fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables, restaurants, fresh baked bread and pita, huge heaps of pickles and olives. We all picked up some goodies for our Shalosh Seuodos at the hotel tomorrow and thoroughly enjoyed this only-in-Israel experience.

Buying chocolate rugelach at the Marzipan Bakery

Getting some fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice

The hustle and bustle of Machane Yehuda