Our Journey Ends (But We Hope it Inspires a Life Long Love of Israel)!

With the snow in Jerusalem, it was questionable as to whether we would be able to travel there on Saturday from Tel Aviv to spend our final day and evening in what many believe to be the holiest city in the world. We took it a bit easy on Saturday morning in Tel Aviv at the hotel and got everything packed and ready to go for the long day and night ahead. We understood from our bus driver that the roads to Jerusalem were back open, and though there was snow on the ground it is was very cold, it was sunny and clear in Jerusalem. So, we loaded all of our bags and boarded the bus for what turned out to be a fantastic day in Jerusalem. Because it was Shabbat, the only places we were unable to explore were those related to the shops and restaurants and usual goings-on in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. But we did spend the entire day in the Old City exploring the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of the Muslim and Christian Quarters of the Old City -- that is only 1 square kilometer in area, but filled with people of every religion, nationality, ethnic group and race. I never tire of seeing Jerusalem, and it is also such an exciting thing to share it with our students -- those who have visited before and those who are there for the first time. There is something about Jerusalem that is so compelling that it always feels to me as if it is the first time I am there. Past, present and future come together somehow in those ancient walls, and though there is always a certain tension in Jerusalem, there is no city in my mind that is more beautiful or interesting.



We began our day at a fabulous point on Mount Scopus overlooking the entire city of Jerusalem. Our guide, Noam, pointed out all of the important sites and we learned all about the way in which the city developed from ancient times to today. The hills were covered with light snow and there was an almost mystical look to the entire area in front of us. Jessica, Tom and Nina even acted out the Biblical story about the very first documented purchase of the land by David. We walked through the Old City itself, entering the Christian Quarter to discuss the importance of Jerusalem to Christians of all types and made a fabulous visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was said to have ascended and resurrected following his crucifixion by the Romans. Just before we were ready to leave, we heard singing and smelled incense and realized that we were in the middle of the French Catholic mass celebration with tens of priests participating. It was quite extraordinary! We then stopped at a 200 year-old hummus factory which is said to have the best hummus in all of Jerusalem! We saw the way hummus was ground and prepared the traditional way between two stones made of volcanic rock...and sampled some of the different types of hummus made there. Lunch was at a fantastic little hummus place in the Old City (yes, we ate a lot of hummus!), and then we proceeded to a viewpoint where we could overlook the portion of the Western Wall of the city of Jerusalem - the closest remaining city wall to the Temple that was built by King Solomon. The sun was beginning to set over the city, and we made our way down to the Wall (or "Kotel") just as the sky was turning red and then dark. What an incredible way to conclude a meaningful and exciting adventure!



Heidi and I truly enjoyed traveling with the Grade 10 students, who never complained the entire time we were there,even through some very challenging weather and changes in plans. They were flexible, respectful, polite and interested. It was a pleasure to have Debby Posin with us as well. As a active participant in some of the Boston-Haifa projects in Haifa over the past few years, it was wonderful to share not only Haifa, but the rest of the State of Israel with Debby and we thank her. We often say that the worst part of Israel is leaving Israel...and I could not concur more heartily. But we will all carry the photos and memories that will last a lifetime, and hopefully, we will all return many more times to Israel in the years ahead. In the meantime, it is good to be home.



~Rabbi Lisa Eiduson

Learning About Challenges in Israel

 

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Today we learned the struggles of both setting up the Jewish state and being blind. Although they are unrelated, we explored both of these challenges in the beautiful city of Tel Aviv. At Independence Hall, we learned about the ingenious David Ben Gurion, who set up Israel as a Jewish state in 1948. In this historic building, we watched a background video on the difficult situation that the Jews faced in establishing their own state as well as the wars that followed this proclamation. After the film, we sat in the single, bunker-style room, made to seat 250 people, but was packed with more than 400 people when independence was declared. We then ventured to the downtown market called the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv. The vendors lined both sides of the alley for a whole mile. These shops were filled with clothes, food and jewelry of all sorts. Of course we as teens thoroughly explored the entire market scouring for the best things to get. It was a great experience and a way to understand one example of the diverse economy. 

Next we took the bus over to Dialogue in the Dark, a museum for understanding blindness. I thought this was the coolest thing. We were taken into the first small room to adjust to the seemingly endless darkness. The museum was set up as an adventure led by our tour guide who himself has been blind for the past 10 years. The whole idea of the tour was to experience loss of sight and to use our senses of smell, touch and hearing to communicate and navigate through the space. My favorite part was a music room where we all lay down on the floor and silently listened to music. It was extremely relaxing to be able to let go of thoughts, and instead focus on guiding everyone else. Near the end we were able to buy drinks in a completely dark cafeteria and learned a little about the personal life of our guide. Afterwards we went and ate Shawarma in Jaffa. We then headed back to the hotel where some of us went to the gym during our free time there. At 8:00 p.m. we all met in the lobby to light candles and celebrate a small Shabbat service. Our last sit down dinner was at a small place down the street where we all shared dishes from a prix fixe menu. After dinner we headed back to the hotel for 12:00 a.m. curfew and all stayed together to reflect on the trip and share personal experiences we shared on the trip.

~Noah Decter

Mt. Masada and Tel Aviv

Today (Thursday), we woke up bright and early at 4:30 a.m. after an amazing stay at Kfar Hanokdim, a (somewhat) traditional Bedouin hospitality. After waking up, we quickly packed our bags, ate a small snack of biscuits and the most delicious tea I ever had, and rushed to the bus. After the10 minute drive we arrived at Mt Masada in the middle of the Judaen desert. After packing a few bottles of water and a couple extra layers, we set off on the path to the top created during the Roman siege. Once we arrived at the top, and entered through the gate, the entire mountain appeared before us! We looked around where the Jewish community had made its home on the top of the mountain as they tried to hide from the Roman army. We could see the semi destroyed wall which had protected both the Romans and the Jews inside for so long. Inside the wall one can see a mix of both Roman and Jewish influences, from the mikvah and synagogue of the Jews, to roman flooring and plaster.

 A watch tower in the middle provided a great view of the mountain top and surrounding camps and landscape. After learning about the siege and what happened once the Jews inside realized that the wall would be breached, we took the cable car down the other side of the mountain. In the cable car we got a beautiful view of not only the Dead Sea, but also the place that it has receded from over time. Once at the bottom of the mountain we set out for Jerusalem... but due to a horrible snow storm( a few centimeters,) we headed to Tel Aviv instead. We arrived for lunch at an Arab restaurant outside Jerusalem in a village called Abu Ghosh and ate delicious traditional Middle Eastern food. Once back on the bus we set out to our final stop of the day. Once we arrived at the Artplus Hotel in Tel Aviv, which has a very modern design and furnishing along with beautiful hand painted/crafted artwork that adorned the walls, we unpacked,settled in and relaxed until dinner. After a few hours of resting, we set out for dinner to Cafe Piazza, an Italian restaurant whose motto is " Made in Italy, served in Israel." There we enjoyed a meal of pizza and salads. After this meal we headed out for coffee and ice cream at Leggenda. After our dessert we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed some much needed rest.

-Thomas McMahon

Negev Desert and Bedouin Tents

Wednesday: We slept in this remote, but nice, place on Tuesday night in the desert near Ovdat and woke up to breakfast outside our doors at 8:00 a.m.. By 9:30 a.m., we were all ready to get on the bus and travel to the city of Be'er Sheva where we would go biking in the Negev Desert! For biking we were split into teams and had to try to find different sheets of paper around the area with numbers on them (there were maps to show where they were). While biking, we saw some really amazing desert views. After we finished, we ate a picnic lunch and then walked towards DavidBen Gurion's grave, which was nearby. After that, we headed back onto the bus until we stopped about half way to where we were staying with the Bedouins that evening. We met an Israeli "lone soldier", an IDF soldier who comes from another country. He told us both his story and answered questions about the IDF and lone soldiers. We then did some fun army-like activities such as learning the hand motions for how IDF soldiers communicate on a mission (ex. Two hands in forward motions means two lines) and put on some camouflage face paint. Next, we went back onto the bus and drove to the Bedouin tents near Mitspe Ramon. The first thing we did once we got there was go on a camel ride which was very fun and we had great views. We then went into one of the Bedouin tents and was told by a Bedouin man about some of their customs. We then just hung out until our dinner in a large public-type dining room where we sat on the ground around a table (there were a lot of small tables it wasn't one big one). After a very good meal there, we again hung around for a little while until we went to a camp fire for a dessert of banana stuffed with chocolate chips. It was a great day!

-Jake Meisel

Goodbye Haifa, We are on to New Adventures!

 

 

 

Today (Tuesday) the Bostonians and Israelis had to say goodbye. It was sad to leave all of our new and close friends but we know we have made some bonds that will last a lifetime. While staying with the Israeli kids and their families we made some wonderful memories we will never forget. After leaving Haifa we went to the Israeli Museum at the Yitshak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv. Not only was the museum very cool it was also educational. We all learned about Israel and its history regarding Yitshak Rabin. After about driving for an hour and a half we arrived at a beautiful farm that stretched out in all directions as far as we could see. At first we thought the donkey racing was a joke the adults were trying to pull on us but it was no joke. We arrived to see little carts with donkeys attached and reigns for us to steer. We raced for about 15 minutes and came in second during a very tight race (lost to Rabbi Lisa and Heidi) and came out to a gorgeous opening of land surrounded by trees, flowers, and mountains. We parked our carts and sat down to make lunch. We made pitas over a fire and topped then with traditional Israeli sandwich toppings. For example labneh with zatar, freshly picked tomatoes, honey, garlic, olives, artichoke, chocolate spread and much more. We raced our donkeys back (second again) and came to find that we were setting up to play a game of paintball against full grown men who had already been in the army and were pro paintballers. At first all the girls were very hesitant to participate and then eventually gave in and got ready to play. After all geared up in padding and camouflage and ready to run around the panic started to kick in. The game started and naturally all the girls ran to hide behind the closest thing which in this case was right next to the flag. Not smart on our part. We hid for about 15 minutes before the paint started flying. All at once we all got hit with the painful colorful bullets. Once we left the farm we drove to a little farm in the middle of the desert and settled in our little cabins after eating dinner. The day was full of new experiences and fun surprises. If I had a chance I would do it all again. 

~Nina Coleman

Checking out Zichron-Ya'akov

Today we visited our partner elementary school in Haifa called the Alon school and spent time with the students in grade 5 and their teachers. Later we visited the beautiful town of Zichron-Ya'akov and saw a very old Roman theatre, as well as a beautiful garden called the Generous Garden.  Generous Garden is the grave site for Baron Rothschild and his wife. We learned the history of how Rothschild helped to establish the Jewish community in the area and donated a lot of money to help Jews living here. Next, we visited an after-school program for people aged 6 to 35.  The program is for people with medium to low retardation and autism. We danced and played drums in an outdoor park with the kids which was amazing. The kids were very eager to get to know us and to have us spend time with them. Even though the Americans don't speak much Hebrew, everyone was still able to interact with the kids. They were able to instantly become comfortable with us and bring us to dance with them. It was great to see that speaking different languages does not mean people cannot be friends! We had our final dinner with our Israeli friends at a Druze restaurant in the center of Haifa.

-Rebecca Teslyar

Hiking the Mount Meron Area

Happy Sunday! Today we went hiking on Mount Meron, the second highest mountain in Israel. Unfortunately we couldn't escape the snow, but we did enjoy some beautiful views.

 

After we finished our hike, we headed further up the mountain into the ancient holy city of Tsefat (Safed). The history and the architecture of the city was spectacular. The buildings and roads were made out of stone and many of the buildings had been there for a long time. We visited a synagogue where a great miracle had taken place.  A long time ago there were people were praying inside this very synagogue when a man wanted to harm them.  The man threw a missile at the synagogue. Incredibly, at the moment the missile hit the synagogue, everyone was bowing down for the Barchu so no one was hurt!  During our visit today we saw the spot where the missile punctured the synagogue wall.

- Jessica Ayer

Shabbat in Haifa

We all had a restful and wonderful Shabbat in Haifa, relaxing and traveling with host families in and around Haifa and the north. Beginning today, we will have a student blogger each day to accompany the photos who will write from his or her perspective about what we have seen and done the previous day.
~ Rabbi Lisa Eiduson


Happy Valentine's Day!  Today we had the opportunity to spend the day with our host families, and travel around Haifa. I went to Akko, a city on the sea where Napoleon came many years ago. Jessica (Ayer) and I went together with both of our host families to tour Akko and its ancient crusader sites and shop around the fantastic Arab shuk (marketplace). After Akko, we went together to a Druze Village and visited with one of the friends of my host family who live in the village. We had a great time learning about the special role that the Druze have played in Israel for many centuries. Finally, we spent some time with some of Noa's (Israeli student host) cousins. Today was so fun for everyone in the Boston-Haifa Grade 10 delegation, and a nice opportunity to spend time with our host families. We all met for dinner at Noga's home where we ate and had fun. They have a beautiful view from their porch of the whole city of Haifa and the Bay below it. Tomorrow we travel with the Israelis to the North to a special city called Safed.
~Eva Willard-Bauer​

Touring and Learning About Haifa

Our day began with our partners at the Alliance School.  When you entered the room it was impossible to distinguish the Americans from the Israelis.   We worked in groups and explored together our views of Israel.  
 
The remainder of the morning and early afternoon was spent learning about and touring Haifa.  We learned about the history and made stops along the way in between jolts of thunder, lightning and hail storms.  Even so, we know the weather is much better here than back at home!

Highlights included:  Stella Maris (the Carmelite Catholic Church and Monastery at the top of the Carmel Mountain), Elijah's Cave, the German Colony of Haifa and View of Baha'i Garden.

Despite the soaking cold rain there was nothing but warmth with this special group.

Beginning tomorrow, you will hear from each of our students who will be blogging on a daily basis for you!

Heidi Baker

Greetings from Haifa!

I'm happy to report that we are all here with all baggage.... which is a great thing. We arrived on time to the airport in Tel Aviv and were met by a Puzzle Israel representative named Tamar. She took us to our touring bus, helped us load the bags, introduced us to our driver Tzachi, and we got on the road to go to Haifa.  Because we arrived at the afternoon rush hour, it took us about 2 hours to get to Haifa. But no worries, Tamar brought plenty of special Israeli snacks for us including dates, halvah, fresh fruit and even pastry.  Most people fell asleep on the bus except for Jessica and Eva who sang most of the way from Tel Aviv to Haifa!

We arrived at the Alliance School, and were welcomed by our friends who were waiting outside for us despite the rain. It is great to be here! Immediately, everyone began hugging, catching up, laughing, giggling and having a great time. They had a nice spread for us when we arrived which inlcuded fruits and veggies, Israeli snack foods, bourekas (delicious puff pastry/filo dough filled with cheese or potatoes and baked!), juices, cakes,and more.

After spending some time together and noshing, the Israeli students treated us to a fabulous "welcome ceremony" as only creative Israeli high school students can do! They led us in a really fun, online, custom-made trivia game, they showed us videos that they had put together with pictures of our New York and Boston experiences, they had a beautiful Hebrew poem for us to look at together, and a very, very clever interpretive video to go with it, and they sang for us. We even had a special welcome and introduction from participants from the 2013-2014 school year who were part of this exchange....  it was great to see so many of them there to welcome our new group to Israel!  Everyone is tired but happy.  Parents came to pick up students and their luggage. Our Haifa partners gave each student a welcome gift of goodies.
 

Tomorrow, we meet at the Alliance School for a couple of hours of planning and activities and then, together with our Haifa partners, we will visit some of the wonderful sites in and around Haifa. After, we will rest for a bit and get ready for Shabbat!

Hope all is well back home.  Our timing for this trip is great.  We are not sad we are missing another blizzard!  We wish you all the best from Haifa as you weather another storm.

Best,

Rabbi Lisa Eiduson

We are very excited to be on our way!

Rabbi Eiduson, Heidi Baker and Deborah Posin are accompanying our Grade 10 teens to Israel.  Follow them as they travel around the Land of Milk & Honey!

Waiting at JFK...we are ready to take off!