Day 1:
At long last, we have arrived in Israel after months of anticipation and excitement. When we all gathered in New York you could feel the enthusiasm in the air. Finally, our Birthright experience was beginning, and we could not will the plane to arrive in Tel Aviv any faster. Despite our obvious exhaustion after having travelled overnight, the sights and sounds that greeted us in Israel were electrifying. It seemed surreal that we were standing in the place of our history, the home of our people. From Tel Aviv, we boarded our new mobile “home” for the next ten days and journeyed north to our first stop, the Ohalo Kibbutz on the southern coast of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). On our bus, we met Mike, our Israeli educator or rather, our walking encyclopedia on all things Israel who brought us all eight belated Hanukkah presents to help us on our journey through the Holy Land. We were all on the edge of our seats waiting to see what was in store for us tomorrow, but now was time for sleep!
Day 2:
And now the adventure begins! Today we drove an hour north through the town of Tiberius to the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. The Sea is beautiful and the beach looked stunning (too bad it’s too cold for a beach day). Once we reached our destination, we boarded jeeps and took an off-road tour of the Golan Heights. As we made our way down the bumpy, sliding, muddy roads, the breathtaking sites of the Six Day War were all around us. Syrian bunkers from the front and second lines of defense stand eerily abandoned amongst deserted land mines (no worries, guys, we were safely secure behind the wired fence!) to remind us the extent to which our people have defended this land to preserve it for us and our future. Our next stop was a short fifteen minute drive northeast to the Syrian border. We looked out from the hills and could see Syria on the horizon!
After returning to the Kibbutz, sundown was approaching and it was time to celebrate Shabbos! We are all having an amazing time and it seems impossible that we have only just begun! I for one cannot wait until tomorrow!
With love from Israel,
Randi Lieberman
(p.s. Hi and big hugs to Mom, Dad, Pamela, Eric and Greg!)
At long last, we have arrived in Israel after months of anticipation and excitement. When we all gathered in New York you could feel the enthusiasm in the air. Finally, our Birthright experience was beginning, and we could not will the plane to arrive in Tel Aviv any faster. Despite our obvious exhaustion after having travelled overnight, the sights and sounds that greeted us in Israel were electrifying. It seemed surreal that we were standing in the place of our history, the home of our people. From Tel Aviv, we boarded our new mobile “home” for the next ten days and journeyed north to our first stop, the Ohalo Kibbutz on the southern coast of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). On our bus, we met Mike, our Israeli educator or rather, our walking encyclopedia on all things Israel who brought us all eight belated Hanukkah presents to help us on our journey through the Holy Land. We were all on the edge of our seats waiting to see what was in store for us tomorrow, but now was time for sleep!
Day 2:
And now the adventure begins! Today we drove an hour north through the town of Tiberius to the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. The Sea is beautiful and the beach looked stunning (too bad it’s too cold for a beach day). Once we reached our destination, we boarded jeeps and took an off-road tour of the Golan Heights. As we made our way down the bumpy, sliding, muddy roads, the breathtaking sites of the Six Day War were all around us. Syrian bunkers from the front and second lines of defense stand eerily abandoned amongst deserted land mines (no worries, guys, we were safely secure behind the wired fence!) to remind us the extent to which our people have defended this land to preserve it for us and our future. Our next stop was a short fifteen minute drive northeast to the Syrian border. We looked out from the hills and could see Syria on the horizon!
After returning to the Kibbutz, sundown was approaching and it was time to celebrate Shabbos! We are all having an amazing time and it seems impossible that we have only just begun! I for one cannot wait until tomorrow!
With love from Israel,
Randi Lieberman
(p.s. Hi and big hugs to Mom, Dad, Pamela, Eric and Greg!)
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