Category Archive: 2022 Trip Blog

  1. Our Second Shabbat

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    FRIDAY:

    Our Friday began on a heavy note as we visited Yad VaShem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial. No matter how many times one hears the information contained in those walls in school, from family, or in other ways, nothing could prepare us for the emotional experience that this museum provides. The only words that can sum up the experience are “never again”. After a short processing period outside the museum, overlooking Jerusalem, we bussed over to Machane Yehuda for a lunch in the Shuk. The place was so crowded given that Shabbat was descending upon us soon, which also meant that we had to get back to the hotel to prepare for the weekend. Our Shabbat started at the Kotel with a camp service and a wonderful story from Rabbi Isaac, before going to the “Shabbat of a Lifetime”. Our group split up into four in order to visit four Jerusalem families for Shabbat dinner. We spent the night praying, singing, eating, and learning about others in the Jewish community while getting to know each of our hosts very different stories. A much needed rest began a little later than intended leading us into our Saturday!

    SATURDAY:

    Just like camp, we kept our Saturday simple and restful. Our late breakfast lead into a short service all together along with a quick program which challenged the teens to chose and explain some easy and more difficult opinions on varying topics. After an easy lunch at the hotel, a few of us went over to a local park while others chose to hang by the hotel pool and take in the beautiful Jerusalem weather. We eventually joined back together for shabbat dancing, a lot of singing, and a classic Havdallah service. Our night ended on Ben Yehuda street as we were given a couple hours to explore and get a late dinner. We are all looking forward to a hot and interesting week coming up in the desert.

    Until tomorrow,

    Havaya Israel 2022

  2. The Heroes and Survivors

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    Today’s adventure began with a hotel breakfast like usual and a bus ride up to Mount Herzl where we learned about many different Israeli political/military heroes and their story’s. After that we went to the Shalva Center which is dedicated to providing care for people all across Israel, and the world, with disabilities. We enjoyed a delicious pasta lunch there and met the three Israeli teens that will be joining us for the remainder of the trip; Liel, Yael, and Amit. The group did some icebreakers with them, and played around on the playground before getting on the bus once again. We then moved over to a Holocaust survivor’s house named Rena where she told us the story of her miraculous survival during the war starting at the age of 3.5 years old. After an incredible talk from Rena, and a bunch of questions from the group, we went back to the hotel to enjoy the swimming pool a little more before dinner. To end our night, and prepare for tomorrow at Yad Vashem, we all met and discussed what it feels like to be a Jewish person in America compared to Israel today.

    Until tomorrow,
    Havaya Israel 2022

  3. Going Beyond the Wall

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    Today was a day full of listening and learning from people living in the West Bank. We started off the day driving from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and were privileged to have a West Bank-local as our tour guide for the day, adding nuance and perspective to our bus rides and walks. Once we arrived in Bethlehem, we toured the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and gained a better understanding of the religious importance of this land to Christianity. Walking around the streets surrounding this holy site, we saw a wide array of street vendors selling drinks, produce, clothes, and toys. After taking in our first morning adventure, we traveled to Al-Aida refugee camp and met with Palestinian teenagers and enjoyed learning traditional dances. The power of arts in the community we were in was made abundantly clear through the graffiti and phrases on the border wall. After a busy morning we enjoyed a hummus and falafel lunch at the Banksy & Palestinian art-filled Walled Off Hotel. We finished off the day with a presentation from Friends of Roots, an organization dedicated to bringing all peoples living in the West Bank together to talk and humanize each other in order to make an impact on the polarization existing in the status quo. We had a yummy dinner and quick group debrief and are excited for another day of experiences!

    Until tomorrow,
    Havaya Israel 2022

  4. Can. You. Dig. It?!

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    The group’s first full day in Jerusalem started early with everyone finally packing up their laundry to get sent off for the day and a yummy breakfast at the hotel. We then spent our first afternoon here heading out of Jerusalem to go dig at Beit Guvrin, a World Heritage Site which has thousands of underground dwellings left behind from the Greek rule around 2200 years ago! We spent the morning digging out a new excavation site looking for chicken bones, pottery, metals, and other important “treasures”. After sifting through the rest of our dirt piles, most of the group went over to a cave which has yet to be worked on to crawl around and explore what the system has looked like for the past 2200 years since it was buried. A sandwich lunch in the shade next to the visitors’ center later, and we were back on the bus to our hotel so an afternoon siesta. Lucky for us, the pool was open and we got a chance to beat the heat in the cool water! We gathered back together a few hours later to walk over to the Mamilla Mall in Jerusalem for dinner and a little shopping followed by a walk back down to the Kotel Tunnels. Exploring this ancient sunset had a different feeling than the previous day when we had been here in the blaring heat. The group will meet back here again one more time on Shabbat for a third, distinct experience at the wall. Everyone is exhausted from a long day full of walking so we are headed to bed finally. Tomorrow we will dive deeper into the other religious groups of the city!

    Until tomorrow,

    Havaya Israel 2022

  5. Adventures in the Old City

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    We began the morning driving from Kinneret to Jerusalem. On the way, we stopped for some delicious refreshments. During our bus ride, our amazing tour guide, Barack, taught us a lot about Orthodox Judaism and we all learned more about their culture. Once we arrived at the Old City, we took in the beautiful view from Mount Scopus and went to the Jewish Quarter. We continued to explore and ate bagels followed by some ice cream! We then walked to the Kotel. There, we connected to our roots and put meaningful notes between the stones of the Western Wall. We then walked back up to the bus and took a short drive to our new Hotel – Hotel Caesar. After settling in, we ate a scrumptious dinner and hung out with friends until getting a good night’s sleep for our exciting day Tomorrow!

    Until tomorrow,
    Havaya Israel 2022

  6. Sleepy Shabbat on the Sea

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    Today has officially brought to an end our first week on the ground in Israel! We started the day as late as we could with a group breakfast at Ohalo which was accompanied by a quick food nap before we headed into the Beit Tefilah for a classic Saturday morning camp service. Singing together brought us right back to what it felt like to sit next the each other at camp on Shabbat mornings. Some of us stuck around for a conversation about the parshat for the week and how it all tied into what we had been learning about Israel throughout our travels so far. A wonderful lunch, and a little more singing, lead us into some afternoon free time before we all headed into the local neighborhood to visit one of the teens’, Tom’s, family! Her parents and 3 younger siblings welcomed us into their home for snacks and a quick explanation about how their family ended up in the area. Some weightlifting, ping pong, and Shesh Besh later, we headed back down the hill for dinner at Ohalo. Everyone gathered afterwards for a sunset Havdallah service seaside and plenty of loud singing after. Now, we are headed to bed and packing up as we prepare to move down to Jerusalem for the following week!

    Until tomorrow,
    Havaya Israel 2022

  7. Tzfat and more…

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    The trip to our new destination began with a hike down Mount Arbel overlooking the Sea of Galilee and of course, drinking a lot of water. Our day kept rolling as we moved over to the Holy city of Tzfat to get lunch and search around for some new jewelry. Barak also took us through a traditional synagogue in the town in order to show us the difference between Ashkenazi and Sephardic temples. Our final activity before settling in for shabbat was to visit the Aquakef water park. Right on the edge of the Sea of Galilee, it had a Jungle Joe and some trampolines as well as a lot of other obstacles for us to tire ourselves out on. Checking into Ohalo was our next step in getting ready for Shabbat as we unpacked and showered and met for a traditional, camp, Kabbalah Shabbat. Our singing continued into prayers before dinner and some more songs after. Finally, we put on our dancing shoes to ring in our first shabbat the only way we would want to- with Ba Kalil. Tomorrow is our much needed day of rest, and then we can hit the ground running for week 2 here in Israel.

    Until Tomorrow,
    Havaya Israel 2022

  8. A Day of Many Perspectives

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    Immediately after breakfast, we hopped on a bus to Nazareth, the birth town of Jesus. We had a grand introduction by the Arab scout movement, complete with a marching band, bagpipes, and traditional dances. Over the next 5 hours, we had a great time with Arab Israeli teens dancing, team building, and forging cross-cultural connections. After that we motored over to the Alma Porject in Tefen, a military education and research center that shared the Israel’s historic perspective of the conflicts on Israel’s northern border. Finally we debriefed on the bus back and headed to RASHBY’s cave and were invited to the a Druze household for a magical and chaotic dinner. The walk back up the Peki’in stairs were a good indicator of our full stomachs, and a warmup for the first big hike of the trip tomorrow. We are now packing up our bags to make our first move of the trip over to Kibbutz Ohalo.

    Until tomorrow,
    Havaya Israel 2022

  9. Water, Water, and more Water

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    We started the day off early waking up at 6:30 AM! After a breakfast filled with shakshuka and pancakes we made our way to the Majrase Nature Reserve for a beautiful water hike. Our hike was filled with many pictures (which we will post when the camera is not water logged) and lots of splashing. As the gang boarded the bus, Barak began an intro into the conflict at the northern border of Israel. By the end of the lesson, we had reached our second destination, Har Ben Tal, where we go an impromptu chance to chat with Israeli teens and other tours from South Africa. The mountain overviews three different countries; Lebanon, Syria, and Israel as well as the tallest peak in Israel, Har Hermon. Whilst our stomachs were grumbling for the pizza lunch that lay ahead, Barak gave a more in depth look on the conflict in Syria and the different factions struggling for power just across the border. We then loaded back onto the bus to go raft down the river Jordan, right after we devoured our delicious pizzas. Rafting was hectic, but in the end, everybody had a blast floating and playing around. After a day full of fun we sat down at our hostel for dinner and some games. Day 3 was electric and we can’t wait for what day 4 has in store!

    Until tomorrow,
    Havaya Israel 2022

  10. Don’t be Hated, Be Hydrated.

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    After a much needed night of rest, we woke up refreshed and ready for our first full day in Israel. We grabbed breakfast, and a bunch of water, at the hostel before setting off to the Grottos of Rosh HaNikra. We admired the view of the Mediterranean Sea and took cable cars down to the Grottos to explore further. The group walked through the natural and man-made caves, as well as getting to see the border between Israel and Lebanon. After the fun journey down by the water, everyone got back on the bus to head to the mixed city of Akko. Mixed cities such as Akko are much more diverse than other communities across the country and have people of all religions living next to each other peacefully. Our lovely guide Barak taught us all about the Crusades as we stood in the ruins of the Roman Fortress. Along with some more water-drinking, we walked around the Shuk in Akko where most of us sat at an all-you-can-eat hummus restaurant or visited “The Best Falafel in the World” (according to our lovely guide). Post lunch, we all hopped back on the bus to go a little further north to swim in the Mediterranean Sea! It was a beautiful and refreshing experience, with clear, warm waters and an ice cream shop near by. Exhausted, our incredible driver, Hamza, drove back for dinner at the Hostel. We hydrated some more and played bonding games from camp before settling down for an early night.

    Until tomorrow,
    Havaya Israel 2022