Jerusalem, if I forget you,
fire not gonna come from me tongue.
Jerusalem, if I forget you,
let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do.
-Matisyahu
Jerusalem is one of my favorite cities in the world and I am so excited to be here for Shabbat! Above is one of my favorite quotes- it's actually taken from a psalm and Matisyahu popularized it. Below you will find 3 student updates of the trip, as well as a special post from 2 of our visiting soldiers. One of the greatest parts of the trip is that we get 8 soldiers from the Israeli Air Force to spend 5 days with us and teach us about what they do and all about Israel and we get to teach them all about what we do in America. What better way to learn about Israel than from the people who live here, right? They've only been with us for a day, and already we've had some great conversations.
Anyway, shabbat shalom! Talk to you soon!
Maxine
Shalom!
Since the minute we all started learning about our Jewish heritage back in Hebrew school, it has been our dream to visit the Promised Land, the land of our forefathers promised to our nation by Adonai. Thanks to the Taglit-birthright: israel program those of us on this trip have been given that opportunity, and its more than we ever imagined. I won’t spend time reviewing what we’ve done so far on this trip, in such a short amount of time it feels like so much. Instead I would like to make sure that my parents (and probably a few others) are at ease, and are not needlessly worrying for our safety. To do this, I would like to explain about the staff guiding us. We have three men that are in charge of taking us around the Land of Milk and Honey, and their names are Benny, Elad, and Yoni. Benny is our driver, and while he doesn’t talk much, I have witnessed him do things while driving a bus that I thought were impossible, and now that he has performed these manuevers, I would like you all to feel as at ease as I am about us riding on the bus. Elad is our protection. All touring programs hire former Israeli soldiers to protect the groups, and not only is Elad a former soldier, but also a first class medic who served as such in the IDF. Finally, Yoni is our tour guide, the one who has already imparted us with so much knowledge in just a few days about the formation, destruction, and reconstruction of our land, and our resliliency as a people. To make you a little more familiar with him, he was born and raised in Queens (that should make you feel better, Dad), graduated from Queens College with a degree in International Relations, has an MA in Israeli Politcal Science, and served as a soldier in the IDF when he intially made Aliyah. These three men, along with Maxine and Dana (who are our staff from Virginia Tech and Richmond) have made this an amazing trip that has given all of us much more insight into the history of our people, and our relationship to all of it.
David Ramras
Virginia Tech ‘11
So I was sitting on the rather long bus ride towards Jerusalem this afternoon, vaguely dozing off, when our tour guide, Yoni, grabs the mic and tells us to look out to the left. Apparently we were closer to Jerusalem than I thought, because right out my window was a fantastic view of the whole city – and let me tell you, that is quite a sight.
While it is fortunate that I was awake enough to hear Yoni’s alert, I wish I had been more tired – the schedule today was originally to wake up around three (!) and go to Masada in time to see the sunrise. This plan fell through due to rain and general haziness, which was rather a bummer, but I imagine I got more out of the overall experience of Masada (which is an amazing place, by the way, with a lot of dramatic stories behind it) than I would have if I had been too exhausted to pay attention to the history.
We then went to the Dead Sea, and, uh, I mean, I knew it was really salty, but nobody told me that the beach was made of salt! I mean it: there’s no sand. While this makes it extraordinarily painful to walk on, and I saw some people end up with lacerated feet, it is also really cool.
The rest of the evening was fairly low key: some downtime and then dinner at the hotel we’re staying at and then a couple hours of tourism on Beh Yehuda street. Now we’re back at the hotel and despite having woken up at seven rather than three, it is nearing my bedtime. So I leave with regards from Jerusalem and a nod to how amazing it is that I’m in Israel at all.
Alexander Corwin
Virginia Tech, ‘11
I admitted early on the trip that I originally didn’t come to Israel to deepen any relations with what I call home with my own eyes, and to hear the tales of all the things that occurred. Last night was spent at a Bedouin tent in the Negev desert and the night out in the quiet and cold desert brought out something that I didn’t expect in such a seemingly barren section. We did an activity where everyone on the bus spred out in the dark and for me, sitting on a cold stone pathway, gripping a small weathered rock, I felt oddly at peace, and realized I wasn’t alone in this land, even if everyone in my group suddenly vanished. The feeling suffused my spirit, my mind reveling in the concept of sitting on the same stones as some distant ancestor, feeling connected through the barricades of time by a single thread. We were Jews, are Jews, always Jews. Israel is where we belong, and I felt like the land itself wanted us there, constantly calling out to us with its welcoming winds. Despite its sometimes harsh terrain, I felt no fear, for it is as if the very spirit of the land is walking with me.
Jessica Harowitz
VCU, ‘10
We knew all of the places that we have been today and we heard all of the stories that we heard today, but every time it is a more special experience for us. This is our first time in Taglit-Brithright and it feels really good to know that the Jews from all over the world really appreciate the country, the histroy of Israel, and the religion, and it doesn’t matter that they live far away from here. Today we were in the Dead Sea, and even though it was so cold, we had a great time. Even when we climbed Masada, that we had climbed before, it did not feel the same because the atmosphere felt so good. Every place that we have visited with the Taglit program looks so different than before because we are with these other Jews who are visiting Israel for the first time. We think that it is very important to continue with this program because it changes the way that they think about our country.
Thank you for an excellent trip we appreciate it so much.
Bat-hen Zohar and Aviran Haham, Israeli Air Force
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