Mayanot 291

 Now that I have been home for a few days I was able to take some time to reflect on my trip to Israel. I think I can speak on behalf of our entire group when I say that this was an incredible, life changing experience. While the days were long and the sleep was short, we managed to make every moment count. Mayanot 291 was the most energetic group of people I have ever spent time with. Whether we were hiking a mountain in the blazing sun or just sitting in a circle listening to our tour guide Tzvi, it was always a good laugh. We had the privilege of traveling basically the entire country in just a short 10 day period. We saw everything from the Golan heights to the Negev desert and all that lies in between. We have thousands of pictures to share but they will never replicate the moments we shared together. The trip wouldn’t have been the same without our amazing staff Tzvi, Shiri, Omer, Suzanne, and of course Rabbi Levi. They were engaged with the group the entire time and made the trip so enjoyable for everyone. The friends we made will last a lifetime. Not only did we get to meet new people, whether they are miles away or as close as our own campuses, but we made connections with our Israeli soldiers as well. They became our friends from the moment they stepped off the bus and introduced themselves. This was my first time to Israel and it will certainly not be my last. Words can’t explain the time I had in Israel and I am so thankful for that. I feel much more connected to Jewish culture as a result and I look forward to seeing where that takes me in the future. I hope to take the lessons I learned on this trip and make a difference in the world. I can’t wait to go back to Israel and make even more memories. Thank you Taglit for giving me the best 10 days I could ask for.

I had a trip of a lifetime to israel. There is not one thing i would change about this trip besides how early we need to wake up but by the middle of the day you don't even realize how tired you are because you are just doing so much. The holocaust Museum, the Cotel, and the Dead Sea are just 3 of the highlights of my trip. The holocaust museum was just truly special and left a lasting imprint on me from all the sites and stories i learned about. we went to the Cotel for Shabbat, and that was an experience of a life time. Never thought that's what a Shabbat service contains of. And although the Dead Sea stung it was the best sting i ever felt because its just so awesome that you fight through the stinging. I would recommend this trip to any and everyone that has the chance to take it.

 We started our day on Tuesday at Sderot near the Gaza Strip. It was a crazy experience being so close to the border of major conflict. I was intrigued to learn about how people sacrifice their lives every day because they will not surrender the land to their enemy. We spent some time in a park that serves as a bomb shelter which was really impactful because I could not imagine living my life in constant fear like these people do. Then we went to a lookout point where we could actually see some of the Gaza Strip and learned more about the history of the conflict and current events. Then we made our way to the Bedouin tents where we stayed until the following morning. We put our stuff down and headed over to the camels for a quick ride during sunset. The camels were pretty gross but it was a fun experience regardless. Then we ate dinner in one of the tents with many other birthright groups. They served us the classic hummus, pita, shwarma, rice, potatoes, and salads. The food was very tasty to no surprise. After dinner we had some time to hang out, take showers, and spend time together. Some of the boys even had a wrestling match in the tents. Then we went star gazing out in the desert with no distractions. We each had time to sit by ourselves to reflect and think about anything that was on our minds. After some time we gathered back together as a group to share what we thought about and listen to each other speak. Lastly we made it back to the tents to sit around the camp fire and sing some campfire songs. It was a great way to spend our last night together before most of us crashed and went to sleep fairly early compared to all other nights. On Wednesday we woke up early to hike Masada. The snake trail that we were meant to hike was not open so we goin a different route. We climbed to the top and then Tzvi gave us a tour of the ruins that still remain up there. We took the cable car on the way down and all packed in there like sardines. We had some time to shop around the Dead Sea store and eat our last falafel and shwarma of the trip. After that we went to the incredible wonder of the Dead Sea. We floated there for about an hour and exfoliated with the minerals before it was time to shower and head out for our last few moments as a full group. We had a traditional and delicious Israeli dinner in Jerusalem. When we were finished eating we sat in a circle to share our highs from the trip, what we will take away from the trip, and what we learned. It was great to hear what everyone had to say but it was sad to come to terms with the fact that we had to leave right after. We headed on the bus to Ben Gurion airport where we said our final goodbyes and got our group T-shirts. 12 of us made it back to the states while the rest of the group remained in Israel to extend their trip. We might have said goodbye but it was only temporary. I know we will all stay connected and meet up again soon.

 We are almost done with our trip but there is still so much more left to come! Israel has been so amazing up to this point as I’m sure you’ve heard thus far. To recap, on Sunday we started off our day at a non profit organization called pantry packers. We had the privilege of packing boxes in a factory to help feed families in need. Here I discovered hair nets are not my best look. It was a rewarding experience nonetheless. When we finished, we headed to the great city of Tel Aviv. Our first stop here was the innovation center. We saw inventions like creating water from air, learned about the iron dome, and apps that were all created in Israel. I was amazed by all of the inventions in this center. We headed to another market for lunch and shopping. A bunch of us ate shakshuka, my favorite! Tzvi took us on a tour of Jaffa by the port and the beach. We stopped in one area to celebrate Erin’s birthday and say goodbye to our soldiers. The trip is not the same without them. We will miss them but so thankful we spent time together. Then we made our way to our 5-Star hotel in Tel Aviv. A few of us went in the pool before we had a delicious dinner accompanied by fancy desserts. At night, we went out to a club in the port of Tel Aviv and had a great time hanging with each other and another Mayanot group. On Monday we woke up and headed to the beach where the water was crystal clear and the jellyfish enjoyed stinging. Bradley and Dan were gentlemen and escorted Shiri in a cab ride to the beach. Afterwards we went to Carmel market for yummy food and even more shopping. We made our way to independence hall where Ben Gurion declared Israel a state and the nation gained their independence. It was a unique experience sitting in the room where it all happened and I learned a lot about the history of the nation through this activity. Then we went to Neve Tzedek where we engaged in discussions about Israel and watched a video about its history. This was right after we filmed our live Facebook video so if you haven’t seen it I recommend watching.  We made our way to the original train station in the country which had some shops but even more brides. Finally we arrived at the Kibbutz in Kramim at the northern part of the Negev. We ate dinner, played games, and reflected on the highs and lows of our trip up to this point. It is beautiful here (and the stray cats are adorable in my opinion) but we will be on the move again tomorrow for many more memorable adventures.

Today was a great morning, we actually got to sleep for much more time then normal. We woke up at about 10:30 to find out our groups were splitting up for lunch with an Israeli family. We were given directions and we were told to walk, but a 30 minute walk in nice clothes in the heat of Israel was not the best walk I've done this week, but the reward at the end was awesome- an amazing home cooked meal. My family prepared a huge meal for us which started off with delicious, luscious challah with hummus, eggplant, and plenty of more toppings. They continued to put out 2 types of salads, then some fish. After the fish I thought that was all, but no- they continued to bring out 2 types of chicken, some cooscoos, and string beans. After we stuffed ourselves, we were ready to go, but all of a sudden they brought out fruit, ice cream, and gelato. There was an insane amount of food, and we weren't  expecting that but we just kept on eating to be polite, regardless of how full we got because it was so good, and of course it's rude to not eat as a guest. The family was so nice and enjoyable to talk with. They moved from New York and have been here  in Jerusalem for about 16 years now. We listened to them talk about Israeli politics for a little bit, we asked them questions about living here compared to the states, and had plenty of more conversations. It was such a great experience to meet new people, and be put in their atmosphere in their house, which was actually stunning. After we walked back to the hotel and just hung out for a little bit and got to relax. After some down time, we divided into 3 groups to discuss Jewish identity. We were given about 15 cards with different phrases on them representing different thoughts on Jewish identity. We then discussed and debated as a group as to which cards we thought were the most important facets for a lasting Jewish identity. It was a great exercise to recognize what was important to each member of the group in terms of their Jewish identity and explore what the future of being Jewish looked like to each of us. We then had some fun with RabbI by playing a game called stump the Rabbi. People asked questions to try to stump him.  All I can take out from this was that Rabbi levi is a Jewish genius, he was able to answer every question and it really showed us that he has a lot of knowledge and it was just an all around fun time with the rabbi. We then met in the basement of the hotel to exchange our secret Moses. One person would go say who they bought a gift for, light that persons candle with the candle they had, and then the person who received a gift then would present their gift. Every person had such great things to say about everyone and it was a good time just being with the group talking about the trip. Showing appreciation for other members of the trip was a fulfilling activity for everyone involved. After our secret Moses, we enjoyed a leisure night out on the town!

Another morning of waking up early which led to a late departure due to "Persian time". This morning, however, was not a typical fun day as the past had been. The nature of our activity involved a visit to the Yad VaShem Holocaust  museum. The Holocaust museum in Jerusalem is a solemn yet special place to visit for all of us on the trip. We started off with a walk through the outside memorials which included dedications to both children who perished as well as all those non-Jews who devoted their lives to saving Jews all over Europe during World War 2. The courage and sacrifice of each memorial sent a lot of different thoughts and emotions through everyone’s head as they reflected on the atrocity that occurred. It was clear that each person took away something different in relation to their personal relationship to those who perished during the Holocaust. We continued the tour through the triangle-shaped memorial which represents the Star of David. One story that we all took away was about a little boy who, due to his talent of playing the violin, was hired as an entertainer in an SS officers club. He worked with local resistance fighters to sneak explosives into the basement of the club, later on blowing it up and damaging German morale. It was an inspiring story of a young boy who had unmatched courage and bravery in the face of so much hardship. The museum contained great images and explanations of the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust and it was important for all of us to see and experience it in our own way. After we finished the tour, we had a memorial service for grandparents and other relatives of members of the trip who perished during the Holocaust and heard stories about their lives. It was a great way for members of the group to connect to each other and remember the past. 

After a very exciting and jam packed first two days, mayanot group 291 made the trip from Tiberius to the holy land of Jerusalem. We started the day looking over the city of Jerusalem from the view point of mount scopus. After many photos and taking in the beautiful view of the holy city, we explored the market of Machane Yehuda. During this time we were all able to explore the many shops and pick from a wide variety food choices in the market. Before we entered the market, each member of group 291 was secretly given a name of another member on the trip to be sha budies with and pick out a present from the market to give to them on Shabbat. After the market we took a trip 

Day 3 was yet another long day filled with fun  activities. We began with an early (7:45am!) bus ride to the Golan Heights, where we went ATVing through fields of orange trees and along a section of the pre-1967 Israeli-Syrian border. We took turns driving the four-seat buggies on the unpaved and bumpy road, stopping at one point for a quick water break and some history. It was hot and extremely dusty - some of us didn't have windshields on our vehicles - but was fun nonetheless. 

 Next, we went rafting down the Jordan River. Some parts of the 4 km stretch of the river were calm and some parts were not. In my raft was the Mendelson/Mendelsohn duo and another Israeli soldier, Eran, an Operations Sergeant who loves heavy metal music and film. It was a lot of fun, filled with splashing and singing and even a little swimming, which was very refreshing in the hot sun. It was over much too quickly. After, we stopped for a late lunch in a small mall in the town of Kiryat Shemoneh - we were all very hungry after ATVing and rafting.

 After lunch, we traveled north to the Tel Zaki bunkers, which is right at the current Israeli-Syrian border. There, we gazed across a small expanse of desert and saw some Syrian villages, and we learned about some of the history of Israeli conflicts with its neighbors over the years. In particular, we heard the story of the soldiers who fought bravely to defend Israel from the surprise attack by Syria and Egypt at the onset of the Yom Kipper war in 1973, including how 28 soldiers hid in a small 3 m x 5 m bunker, overlooked by the Syrians due to a heroic diversion of one of the Israeli soldiers. They hid for 30 straight hours and were eventually rescued by Israeli citizens in the reserves. We also had a chance to go inside the bunker at Tel Saki that was built after 1973 in case of another attack (our tour guide, who lives 10 minutes away from the point, assured us that the surrounding area was currently very safe). It was a surreal and harrowing experience.

 Following Tel Zaki, we traveled back to the hotel for a quick nap and showers before a delicious group dinner and a night out in Tiberias to explore the city. It was tons of fun! We all returned to the hotel very late and are exhausted, but we will try to get a few hours of sleep before our early bus ride to Jerusalem.

Best,
Sam Engel

Stay tuned for daily photos, videos and personal reflections of our adventures. It all goes down at JFK Airport on Sunday, June 3rd as we embark on this very special trip of a lifetime.