Birthright-Mayanot, Bus 93 - The Rohr Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life at Binghamton University

Day 4 in photos

Thursday, May 30, 2013 - 6:55 PM

Days 3 & 4: Nature and Kabbalah

Thursday, May 30, 2013 - 6:50 PM

It's day four of our trip in Israel and the growth among the group is clear. We visited Tzfat on Wednesday, where we learned about Kabbalah and its role in Judiasm; I never knew how incredibly in-line my own beliefs were with Jewish mysticism.

Tzfat felt like a city untouched by the modern world, covered in rows of shops and shuls preserved and loved for their beauty. The most beneficial part of the day, in my opinion, was our visit to Avraham's art gallery. Originating from Detroit, Michigan, he experienced a life-changing moment and moved to Israel over seventeen years ago! I really enjoyed learning about his personal journey through Judaism because we are all on experiencing journeys of our own.

I find a strong correlation between our visit to Tzfat and our hike from today. As we all hiked through the Snir Nature Reserve, we followed each other through the stream, around rocks, over tree roots and up bedrock. With the changing terrain, I related this to our journeys through our beliefs and Judaism. We are much more connected to nature than we believe and because of this, it's easy to see how each of our hikes, whether easy or difficult, completely parallels that of our personal journeys.

Nature has incredible power and as we learned, Kabbalah discusses the power of spirituality. For me, I find peace and serenity in nature, which I completely relate to the ideas presented in Kabbalah.

As a last note, I'm really happy with where we are as a group--after meeting our Israeli soldiers, rafting in the Jordan River, and singing Israeli songs, it's evident that our group's bonds are growing stronger every day.

Day 3 in (some) photos

Wednesday, May 29, 2013 - 5:28 PM

Full repot and more photos of today's activities and destinations to come tomorrow, but for now, here are some photos:

Day 2: The Holyland: Home to some of the world's most captivating landscapes

Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 6:10 PM

We started our day by driving to the Golan heights were we went on an incredible Gilaboun hike. The trees full of color, the landscape mountainous and beautiful, met by two incredible waterfalls allowed for the most aesthetically pleasing hike I have ever taken.

As an avid hiker and nature lover, I have witnessed many beautiful sights, but this hike comes out on top. The awe-inspiring journey up the mountain was an experience I will never forget. The hike itself was challenging, especially toward the end, but exceptionally rewarding at the same time. One of the most interesting parts of the hike was seeing the Israeli soldiers making their journey through the beautiful scenery with guns on their backs.

This contrast in beauty and defense got me thinking about one of the many purposes of birthright: we are in Israel to understand the struggles of our people while simultaneously recognizing the beauty of overcoming said struggles—metaphorically and literally. This country exudes such beauty and prestige despite all that it endures.

I found the hike very rewarding because of how I related its beauty to Israel as a unit. After the hike, we ate lunch in a mall that felt un-American, which is something I really appreciated. Few signs had English translating the Hebrew and Arabic and almost all of the food was Israeli. I enjoyed my first Israeli falafel, alongside many of my friends, yet the process of getting the falafel was a journey in and of itself. The man serving the falafel screamed out phrases in English to grab our attention—it worked. Half of the fun of lunch was ordering a falafel and experiencing the enthusiasm of the man serving the food. This moment allowed me to feel completely immersed in Israeli culture!

After lunch, we traveled further North to Mt. Bental where, at the very top, we had the most incredible panoramic view of Israel’s neighbors. Syria, Mt. Carmel, and the Golan Heights were all visible from the top of the mountain, which lies approximately 1700 meters above sea level. It was truly a breath- taking sight. Additionally, we were allowed to go down through the bunkers that housed many Israeli soldiers at one time, which gave us insight into the realities of war.

Overall, I really enjoyed all of the activities today, but my favorite part of the day was the hike. Seeing the natural, pristine beauty of the North of Israel was an experience I would not trade for anything. Nature is one of few things in this world that makes me feel spiritually and physically connected to the world around me and what better place to connect than in the Holyland!

Day 1: Live from Tiberias

Monday, May 27, 2013 - 7:26 PM

Finally, we are settled into our hotel in Tiberias, in the North of Israel, and have become well acquainted with our trip staff. After four hours of anticipating boarding at JFK, a 12-hour flight, and a nearly 2-hour bus ride to the hotel, we must rest up for our big day tomorrow!

Breakfast begins at 7am, wake-up call is at 7:30am, and we have an orientation at 8:30am where we will then leave the hotel for a day of hiking and a night out. I think I speak on behalf of my entire bus when I say that I cannot wait to explore Israel! Already, ice has been broken and we have all become more acquainted with one another.

After speaking with a few other trip members, there seems to be a consensus: we are all extremely excited to see all that Israel has to offer us! From what I have seen thus far, we are a bright, optimistic, and outgoing group with full intentions of making this trip the best it can possibly be!

Stay tuned for lots of photos and updates to come tomorrow!

Update from JFK

Monday, May 27, 2013 - 1:35 AM

Hi everybody,

Just a quick update from JFK. We just finished our orientation here where we got a chance to meet each other and hear some last minute pointers, rules and tips for our trip. The excitement is building up....

Also, we were just notified that our flight is delayed by 45 minutes, not sure yet if this will affect our arrival time, but as of now, due to a delayed arrival of the aircraft (from Israel???) we will be departing 45 minutes later.

Below are some pictures of several participants, eagerly awaiting boarding of flight 012 to Tel Aviv!

Bon voyage Mayanot 93!

Pre-Trip: Anxiousness and Nervousness amid Excitement and Anticipation

Thursday, May 23, 2013 - 8:47 AM

Everyone who has experienced birthright attests to the incredible experiences had by all—the sights, the fun, the atmosphere all make for an amazing trip. Yet, before the trip begins, many of us are faced with anxiousness and nervousness for what is ahead of us. Traci Rubin.jpeg Birthright will be the most magical ten days of our lives and we will come together as one entity, I am sure of it!

In a few days, we will head to our respective airports for our departure to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel-Aviv. I am very much looking forward to meeting the rest of the group because I anticipate making new friends whom I will share a wonderful series of memories with. However, with all of these expectations, I find myself getting nervous simply because this experience can be extremely eye opening, which can be life changing. After speaking with many of my friends who have been on Birthright, they have all spoken very highly of every moment spent with the group as well as the growth they had on a personal level.

The personal growth is what I look forward to most. As an incoming college senior, I have a core group of friends while constantly expanding that group, welcoming others in. I know that I will have another core friend group post-Birthright, but I am positive that the growth I will experience as an individual will be just as exciting as making new friends will. As many other Jewish youths attending Birthright trips, I will be extending my trip in Israel to take in fully all it has to offer. Whether you plan on extending or not, you will have the time of your life, but I definitely recommend considering an extension—all of my friends who extended in the past have.

My thoughts behind extending my trip were influenced by my friends’ encouragement, met with my own desires to explore the land of our people. As we all prepare to leave the United States in the hopes of learning more about our culture, religion, as well as ourselves, I have incredible hopes and expectations for our entire group! I do not doubt for a moment that we will have an amazing experience together as one cohesive unit. I look forward to meeting everyone!