June 5 - Megan S., Emma S., Kailey W.

Greetings from Tiberias! Today we traveled to the city of Tzfat to learn about Jewish Mysticism, also known as Kabballah. We meet with artist Avraham who orginally is from Detroit but moved to Tzfat 20 years ago to pursue Kabballah. He showed us his artwork and how it symbolizes many aspects of Kabballah. Afterwards, we had a short shopportunity to purchase some of his work, which many of us did! Next, we walked through the ancient city where we could see a picturesque view of the mountains.

We had another mini shopportunity at the Tzfat Candle Shop on our way to an educational hostel. The Candle Shop had candles ranging from traditional shabbat candles to elaborate and colorful ones to minions and ducks and penguins.

At the educational Hostel, which was called Ascent, we had a workshop about Gilad Shalit and a healthy debate on Jewish/Israeli Oneness and responsibility, as well as learned about the many books in Judiasm that deal with Mysticism.

Afterwards, we walked through the city again to get lunch on our own, where we ate things like delicious falafel, kosher pizza, and gelato. We walked from lunch to the art district where we had another shopportunity to walk around and check out the interesting and beautiful art. They had a variety of art such as sculptures, paintings, jewlery, and menorahs.

From there, we traveled an hour back to our five-star hotel to observe Shabbat and enjoy a delicious meal that was not repetitive of anything we have eaten the past three nights. After dinner, some of us designed a group t-shirt and then we all hung out on the patio and relaxed for the night. 

Shabbat Shalom from all of us here!

Megan, Kailey, and Emma S

 

June 4 - Harris K., Zoe H., Hayden Y.

Today we adventured North to the highlands of the Golan Heights. With our adventure sandals strapped on our feet and our water bottles filled to the brim, we started our day with a nature walk in lush woodlands. There were 18th century ruins of Ottoman flower mills and a gorgeous gorge with rushing white water. At the end of our hike, we saw a picturesque 25 foot water fall with cascading rapids that continued for a while. 

Har Bental was our next stop which is located approximately 3500 feet above sea level. On top of the the mountain was a former bunker of the IDF. What was once a vital vantage point for battle is now an observation point controlled by the UN. With preserved trenches and derelict turrets at our sides, Irad gave an extensive speech on history of the region. Syria was practically in throwing distance of us, but we promise that we were (and are) all safe. The view was breathtaking and then we made our way to cool off in the Jordan River with our rafts. 

After lunch in Katzrin, the unofficial capital of the Golan Heights, we continued our journey on the beautiful country road that weaved down the slopes. Once we arrived at our destination, we frantically picked our groups for our excursion down the class four rapids. Only kidding, Irad said class four would not be legit. Though our journey did not include any waterfalls, we still enjoyed the time fooling around, splashing each other and getting stuck on the banks. Corey was the real hero of the group, abandning his raft to save a raft of 6 floating distressed damsels. We then returned to the hotel to freshen up.

After having dinner and getting clean we went out for a night on the town to see the character of the city. We went to the boardwalk next to the Sea of Galilee to get some food. Some people had more fun than others and even had pizza. Pizza was an interesting time. We then walked back up to the hotel to get ready for tommorows adventure. (Hayden is tired.) We are excited to venture around Tzfat, the birthplace of Kabbalah, and learn about Madonna's favorite religion. 

Hope you appreciated all awesome alliterations.

Sababa

Harris, Zoe, Hayden (and a little bit of Ben and Andy) (and Mikey)

June 3 - Emma M., Sharon G., Lehava Z.

Waking up on Wednesday morning brought an interesting combination of hungover headaches in the fanciest hotel yet and a short ride to Rabin Square in the city of Tel Aviv. We arrived in a similar area to that of the previous nights adventures, with many of us comparing Tel Aviv life to that of New York City. Irad led us to down to Rabin Square to see the spot of israel's first prime minister  Yitzhak Rabin's assassination. On an unassuming street, Irad began to tell the story of his death. We learned that he was shot three times in the back by assassin Yigal Amir on November 4, 1995. on the side of the square is the memorial, a beautiful representation of rocks that are located in the spot he passed.

After having a few minutes to rest & caffeine up, we then traveled to independence hall to learn about  the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. A woman described the formation of Tel Aviv and how the declaration of the state of Israel "went down". She played the recording of the declaration of the state by Ben Gurion, speaking a passionate address to the new Israeli's. Another room of independence hall contained a video with music of upmost inspiration about the history of Dizingoff's house, the first mayor of Tel Aviv.

We were all very ready for lunch & a shopportunity by the time we were done with this tour. We went to Shuk HaCarmel, a more relaxed version of Machane Yehuda for haggling fun and lunch. After a couple of hours we walked towards the beach with full stomachs and significantly lighter
pockets.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at a beautiful beach in Tel Aviv called Jerusalem Beach. We swam with the jelly fish and then chilled on the beach, taking in the warm sun rays and getting awesome tan lines. Next we drove 2 hours to the Galilee, stopping to snack on yummy Bamba. Along the way we enjoyed the amazing views.

Most of us look forward to getting some sleep tonight, and those who don't will suffer. The North remembers all too well.

~ Emma, Sharon, and Lehava

June 2 - Amanda S., Rebecca S., Simone E.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to wake up at 7am to Cat Stevens' voice playing over and over again in a Bedouin tent, birthright is the trip for you. This morning we packed up early and departed from the Taglit Bedouin Camp and made our way to The Negev for a desert hike. Throughout the adventure we encountered adorable yet feisty ibexes making their way up the mountains, while taking more pictures than anyone would realistically need. Towards the end, our tour leader Irad led us in a desert group meditation. Everyone spread out throughout the desert - some were on mountain tops, some layed within the rocks, some were flat on the sand, maybe even on an ant hill - and sat in serene silence for six minutes. These six minutes felt like hours and created a strong sense of connection to our biblical roots along with a feeling of unity within our Tribe.

Piling out of the bus, we made our way to David Ben Gurion's grave, which overlooked much of the Negev we had just explored. After Irad broke down every tedious detail of Ben Gurion's life, we opened our eyes to the nutritious nature of Ibex poop, which Israeli soldiers are trained to eat in dire desert situations. Following the viewing of the tomb and the overlook of the Negev, we continued along the path to the bus when Irad stumbled upon what was described to be Ibex POOP. Two members of Bus 74 volunteered as tributes to courageously taste test the poop. The crowd went wild as they lowered the poop pellets into their mouths and discovered the pellets were reimiscent of cereal. Turns out Irad is quite the comical mastermind! Ha!

After some members ate "poop," they decided we should have real, fresh food from The Salad Trail, a sustainable farm community in the western region of the Negev. At this farm, we fulfilled our childhood dreams of being Bugs Bunny by picking carrots straight from the ground and eating them. We were also taught about the cultivation process of various fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, cucumbers, and strawberries. It was LEGIT. Early Israeli settlers came to this region of the desert and communicated by carrier pigeon to convey when they were in danger. By the end of the tour, a handful of adventurers from Bus 74 were chosen to temporarily house and release these majestic creatures. Though ordinary pigeons can be found in abundance on the streets of Manhattan, these were far more than our inferior American pigeons due to the ingrained ability to always find home.

Shortly after this spiritual experience, it was time to say farewell to the Israeli soldiers who had become such an integral part of Bus 74. The entire group joined hands in a circular formation and proceeded to "cinnamon roll," the most efficient method of group hugging. Rachel then led us in the intitiation ritual of officially becoming "Achim" (brothers/family) with one another, an eternal bond to never be broken. There were some tears shed, and some hearts broken, but it was not so much a goodbye as a sea jew later.

Later that night, Bus 74 took to the streets of Tel Aviv for dancing and heavy camaraderie. No alcohol was consumed in the formation of said friendships.

In the immortal words of Tani, "Wooooooooowwwwww"

Writing from the bar, your friendly, neighborhood, non-contagious,

SARs

June 1 - Erica K., Haley N., Adam O.

Masada - an ancient mountain fortress that not many get to climb in their teenage years, and most often not even their lives. As we trekked across the desert like Moses himself we could see Masada in the distance. The clearest sky you've ever seen, the driest weather you've ever felt, and probably the most complaining you've ever heard. SO how did we get here? WELL, it all started at 4 A.M.

We woke up at around 3 A.M. angrily dragging our luggage to the kitchen. We had coffee and cake, and at around 5 A.M., we're gonna repeat that FIVE A.M., we boarded the bus and headed toward the mountain fortress. When we finally arrived, the desert view was a literal picture perfect moment, with the Dead Sea and the horizon of Jordan in the background. After an exhausting hike up the mountain, we learned about the history, headed back down the mountain, and ate breakfast. After breakfast, it was time to travel to Ein Gedi.

We hiked through Ein Gedi, a beautiful Israeli Nature Preserve. It was a tiring walk, but more than worth it when we reached the waterfall at the end of the path, Nahal Arguot. Everyone was happy to soak themselves in the water to cool ourselves, and I think it was a moment when every single one of us got closer from a crazy water fight. Even though we weren't ready to leave, we had to go to the Dead Sea. After covering outselves in mud and taking a million pictures, our group walked slowly into the sea, covered in warm salt water. Our group floated and swam until we unfortunately had to leave, but riding on camel back was certainly an incrdible activity to follow.

After that, we learned about being Bedouin and slept in a Bedouin Tent.  We had a busy and incredible day but we had to move on to the next day.

Shoutout to the 'rents.

Love the currently preferred and missed children,
Erica, Haley, and Adam

May 31 - Doriel, Eli W-B, Jeff

On Sunday morning we went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, which is the largest one in the world.  We were led through the museum by a tour guide and were able to go to the main museum and the children's memorial.  The beginning of the museum focused on how things were before the Holocaust and the rest of the museum was in chronological order until the Holocaust ended.  It was an extremely emotional experience and each of us was particularly moved by certain aspects of it.  The end of the museum was a cicurlar, multi-level room with binders of survivors' stories, and in the middle are pictures of Holocaust victims.  After the museum and the children's memorial, we had a group discussion about our reflections of the museum and our personal experiences with antisemitism.  

After Yad Vashem, we ate lunch at a strip mall (mostly falafel and shwarma) and then went to Har Herzl, which is the IDF memorial site.  One of the most emotional times of this trip was hearing our Israelis' personal connections to people who were killed at war.  One particularly moving moment was when Tani, one of the Israelis who joined the trip, tearfully spoke about one of his friends who was killed.

We then spent some time at Ben Yehuda Street where we went shopping for food, souvenirs, and questionable cane/swords.  After, we drove to the Negev and stayed at the Kramim Kibbutz and had dinner and played fun icebreaker games.  We also celebrated Dana's birthday and participated in games led by our Israelis.  The first was a blindfolded taste test with Israeli foods and the next was a game where we had to dress up in the soldier uniforms after which we went to sleep in preperation for an early hike up mount Masada. We are now signing off from Avia, our Tel Aviv hotel.  Sababa! 

Doriel, Jeff, Eli. 

May 30 - Benjie S., Matt G., Davin A., Ben R.

This morning we woke  up early, had breakfast, and went to visit a Shabbat service at Kol HaRina Synagogue, after which we returned to the hotel and had a leisurely walk through Jerusalem. Because today was Shabbat, the streets were almost completely empty and we could walk on the rails of the train as none of the trains were operating. Our walk ended up at the Israel Museum where we took a wonderful group picture at the famous Ahavah statue (included) and then were allowed to wander and see the many exhibits. There were many statues and beautiful art from many different artists from different nationalities and periods in artistic history, but the most interesting was the exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Aleppo Codex, which is considered to be the most accurate version of the Bible and is over 1200 years old. After the museum we walked back to the hotel, had a leisurely lunch and some down time to socialize. Before dinner we had a group gathering where we shared personal stories about the Holocaust in preparation of Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Musem, tomorrow. After dinner we had a speaker come to talk to us about Middle East Geopolitics, giving a surprisingly unbiased view, followed by a healthy discussion and then some much-needed sleep.

Go Blackhawks!

Benjie Matt Davin and Ben