IsrAleyna: Adventures in the Holy Land

This Monday, we began a 4 day hike across Israel; from the Mediterranean Sea to the Kineret (or Sea of Galilee). On the first day, we gathered for a ceremony at the shores of the Mediterranean and discussed the beginning of our last journey as a group. We then began an approximately 8 hour hike and arrived to our first campsite at 6:30pm. On the second day, I decided to wake up an hour early at 5am for an optional sunrise hike to start an almost 13 hour day of hiking. The third day was shorter in miles but still consisted of about 8 hours of sunlight and exertion. The last day we again began bright an early for another 6 hours from Tzefat all the way to the Kineret. We got to the Kineret around 12pm and had several hours to swim, eat, relax, and enjoy the lack of hiking boots on our feet. Even though these four days (50 miles!!!) were so long and so tiring, the singing, laughing, deep conversations, occasional opportunity to swim, and promise of soup at the end of the day kept me going...

 I cannot believe how long it has been since Poland, and even more how close I am getting to the end of my time in Israel. Since Poland, we've had a much more normal schedule around campus and around Israel with some of our highlights being Tel Aviv, Har Hertzel, and Mitzpe Ramon. We have hiked, rafted, cooked, explored, and truly had several amazing weeks together learning in Israel. I was also lucky enough to have my family come visit over Passover break where EVERYTHING was gluten free and I got to experience different sides of Israel - my favorite being Moshav Kanaf in the Golan. This week is Israel's "National Week" including Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, and Yom Haatzmaut which I am super excited to experience. The next few weeks will probably be full of AP tests, but I am so glad that I get to have them here and finish off with an awesome Yam l' Yam experience!

As we work through our Israel Studies curriculum - Biblical times to present - we took a week out of the semester to study Jewish life in Poland, but specifically the Shoah. We traveled all around Poland on a round-the-clock schedule starting our mornings at 6am and sometimes not getting back to the hotel until 10pm. We visited Warsaw, Bialystock, Lublin, Zamosc, and Krakow as well countless museusms, camps, and memorials throughout the country. Something that I wrote about in my reflection paper about the trip is that being in Poland was a lot like what it felt to be a Jew. The days were long, the weather cold, and many of the places we visited evoked deep and heartbreaking emotions. It was truly horrific. But, in the evenings, when we got back together as a group or when we had free time to explore, it was some of the most fun I've had since I left. This duality of sorrow and camaraderie felt a lot like a metaphor for the Jewish experience. I can't even fit all of the places ...

 I’m Mother Gothel from Rapunzel (plus my roommate Neta’s bday!!!)

Because we're learning about Kabbalah (the idea of spirituality in Judaism) and Chasidim (a branch of religious Judaism), we spent last weekend in Tzefat! We made Challah, talked about meditation, went swimming in a (not so) hot spring, and had Shabbat dinner with host families. My celiac buddy, Ava, and I were hosted by a huge Orthodox family which was a very cool experience. Since then, we've has many days of class preparing for Purim and Poland, but it's crazy to think we're almost halfway through the program. This weekend we were supposed to go to Ein Gedi, but the trip was canceled because of flooding🙁. It's a little disappointing, but I think it will be good to have a weekend of rest; although, I am reading Torah and preforming a Dvar skit with my friends, so who knows how much rest we'll really get. Also, earlier this week, we began learning about the Zionist movements of the 19th and 20th centuries which was very interesting, and after a day of learning...

 Last week on Wednesday, our group began a long trip to several sites in the South of Israel. We hiked over 7 hours the first day, going 12 miles and gaining 1800 feet in elevation. Although a bit uncleanly, the Bedouin tents we spent the night in provided a delicious meal and authentic experience complete with camel riding the following morning. Afterwards, we visited several other viewpoints and enjoyed a very sandy couple of hours at the sand dunes ending the day in Eilat. Finally, on Thursday night, we arrived at Kibbutz K'tora. I had never been to a Kibbutz before, and it was amazing to experience such an idyllic community. Friday was the best day by far - hiking, snorkeling, napping on the beach, and then celebrating Shabbat at the Kibbutz's Masorti synagogue. We even got the chance to attend a Bar-mitzvah with the community on Shabbat morning! This has been my favorite trip so far, but unfortunately ended with a rude awakening of school on Sunday morning😞