We were led as a group blindfolded from the bus to this amazing first view of Jerusalem - I am so grateful for that moment
Such a busy day! We were up bright and early to go on the Hatzbani river hike. (Fun fact: The Hatzbani River eventually merges with the Dan and Banias Rivers to form the Jordan River). We were told that it is one of the Jewish commandments to walk the land of Israel - so that is what we did! Every four steps is considered a "mitzvah" or completion of good deed. We navigated through patches of shin height stream and rocks through the hike, which was so refreshing! Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not an outdoor enthusiast at the least, but I really enjoyed myself. The path was marked with three colored stripes on the rocks: Orange, blue and white which represent the desert, the Sea of Galilee, and snow. Another fun fact is that the order of the colors tells you what direction you are walking in: Orange first like below, means you are heading north and white first means you are heading south. How cool! After the hike I ate shawarma - which is lamb meat carved off of those giant rotating sticks in fresh pita with hummus, pickles, veggies (soo delicious!). Next stop was the Golan Heights Winery for a tasting of three Israeli wines. Please see photo of me below posing next to the most outrageously large bottle of wine I've seen in my life. Last stop was Bento Heights, which is a dormant volcano where we were able to see across the cease fire line into Syria (Fun fact: there is no boarder between Israel and Syria because they have not been able to come to terms on a peace treaty, therefore, the distinguishing separation is called the cease fire line). Our tour guide provided us with a basic timeline overview of how Jews were forced to migrate out of their homes to various countries for refuge and eventually began to migrate back. Of course, it is a much more complicated story than one can tell in 20 minutes - I'd love to hear more.
Later that evening was the beginning of Shabbat, where we listened to the Rabbi sing and say prayer to begin our day of rest into the next day. We have arrived in Israel! Currently writing live (but feeling dead tired) in a hotel bed in Tiberias. After the 10 hour flight to Tel Aviv, we drove about two hours north to our destination here in northern Israel.
One thing I've kept thinking about since landing was that we were told "Welcome home!" multiple times upon arrival, despite the majority of us never stepping foot in Israel before or have any current family there. It sounds so cheesy but my heart seriously melted every time I heard that. Even while waiting at our gate at JFK, complete strangers were approaching to engage in conversation, showing their excitement for us embarking on this trip and wishing us well. All of this makes me feel like being Jewish makes you a part of something bigger -- I look forward to finding out what that is over the next nine days! |
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