The End

Well, our time in Israel is coming to an end. We enjoyed the last day in Tel Aviv at the spa, on the beach and in to pool.

Todah to everyone who made this trip possible. We are especially are especially appreciative of Muki, Daniella, Eli and Rabbi Spilker. This trip created many memories for each and everyone of us.

Also, Todah Rabbah, to everyone who participated in the blog, both at home and on the trip. It was truly a success!

Here are a few of the thousands of pictures that we took collectively. Enjoy!

L'hitraot,
Laurel

Day 13

Day 13- Ben Gurion’s Dream

Shabbat shalom!Our group was well aware that this was our last day of
sightseeing together so it was a bittersweet day, starting with a view
of amazing works of God, followed by the incredible ingenuity of man,
and ending with welcoming Shabbat.

We left Kibbutz Lotan which we appreciated as an amazing idealistic
communal kibbutz. We drove north through the mountains of the Negev to
the bottom of the Ramon Crater ( Machtesh Ramon). The Negev between
Lotan and the crater was very barren because it received so little rain
even by the definition of desert. Sometimes the only precipitation was
winter snow from the high Negev mountains, as high as those in the Galilee.

One of the touching moments on the drive occurred as we were singing
Naomi Shemer’s “Jerusalem of Gold”. Eli, our driver for the whole trip,
had fought in the 6 Day war in 1967 and since Shemer added a verse to
celebrate the winning of that war, he said it always brought tears to
his eyes. It reminded us that the history of the State of Israel is
young but intensely impacted so many. (Interesting to us was that later
at services, the congregation sang it to honor her yahrzeit.)

The Negev is sparsely populated with dramatic wide open spaces. Our
first stop was to view the amazing natural crater with its spectacular
cliffs around the rim. Muki explained the theory of the geological
formation of the crater over millions and millions of years. Most
craters are formed by meteors hitting the earth, or by volcanoes, or
glaciers or rivers. Makhtesh Ramon came from a different process.
Horizontal layers of microscopic shell fish were deposited over millions
of years. Eventually the layers were compressed into flat limestone. The
volcanic pressure from below pushed the layers up, forming sharp peaks.
Rain falling on those tall peaks ran off, washing away and eroding the
mountains with canyons. The process of the flash floods and sand filling
in occurred again and again so the sides of the canyon would collapse,
leaving a huge crater. It is possible to view geologic layers on the
sides of the cliff—a window into geologic time. There are lots of
fossils in the sedimentary rocks left by the marine animals dying and
then the pressure smooshing them into rock.

We climbed a set of stairs up the side of the crater to the top of
Carpenter’s hill, called that because the rocks look like wooden posts (
or bricks ). Muki read from the Bible and had the group listen to the
wind and hear “the still small voice.”

When we left that site, we saw wild ibex standing on its hind legs
eating leaves on a carob tree. Our bus then drove further north and we
learned we were passing through the wilderness of Zin, where our
forefathers spent much of the 40 years they were wandering. Frequent
road signs: Beware of camels near the road.

Our next stop was to honor the story of David Ben -Gurion, the first
Prime Minister of Israel who had such a big influence on the founding of
the State. We went to the Ben-Gurion Burial National Park. to the graves
of David and his wife Paula Ben-Gurion.

As an aside--Unlike American sites, the Israeli sites have the parking
lot many hundreds of yards away from the site and out of sight and sound
of whatever you are going to see. This one was a particularly love
entrance with the rocks and trees from the desert flora. If there were
such a thing as a desert Japanese Garden, this was it—a great sense of
slowing down on the passage and turns in the path to new views until you
came to the grave on a plaza overlooking the crater with further views
of all of the Negev!!

David Ben-Gurion is one of the great personalities and certainly one of
the most influential people in the founding of the State of Israel. Muki
had us focus on his natural nation building instinct by learning that
his grave not only had the dates of his birth and death ( 1886-1973) but
also the year 1906 which marked his Aliyah to Palestine. Upon his
arrival, David Green took the name of David Ben-Gurion, a new family
name, to show that he was changing his identity, language and that
indicated his part in the Zionist revolution. As evidence of how
important this new kind of identity was, many of the people we recognize
as giants in the history of Israel also did the same ( Peres, Meir etc)
and Ben Gurion only put people in his cabinet who had changed their
identity!! Muki shared with us that he too had changed his first name
when he immigrated from South Africa based on an experience when he was
visiting as a teen and the group had created new names for each other.
So instead of Mark, he is now Muki, still Michael as his Hebrew name.

We also talked about Ben- Gurion’s Dream—that the Negev had great
potential for Jews to live and build there and relieve the density of
the North. What other saw as wasteland, he saw as potential. The current
vision also has added that whatever building has to respect the fragile
ecosystem. So when we headed further to Beersheva, where the major
Israeli University bears his name, we learned this is the fastest
growing area of Israel and that the University and hospital, which when
founded were second rate, now are very respected. It was obvious when we
stopped in a mall to eat in the food court that we’d left the open
spaces, the quiet winds of the wilderness for the hustle and bustle of
this modern city. Shocking! Despite all the Hebrew we’d learned on the
bus, the purchase of lunch required the quick intervention of Muki,
Daniella and Rabbi Spilker!

We got back on our bus for the last long drive to Tel Aviv where we
started our trip. The vegetation increased the closer we got . Tel Aviv
flora looks like Los Angeles. We had a hard time getting our heads
around the fact that it was almost erev Shabbat, another week had
passed. We attended services, along with several other Reform
congregations at Beit Daniel, the Center for Progressive Judaism in Tel
Aviv and Jaffa. The Executive Director talked with us before services
about the issues facing Progressive ( Reform) Judaism. David and I both
commented to each other on how the Reform movement had grown in Israel
since our first trip here with Rabbi Lerner 23 years ago!! Just as
example, the Education Department of the Daniel Centers run 3 Elementary
schools (including 1 in the poorest area of Jaffa), and 16
Pre-school/Kindergartens in the Tel Aviv Jaffa area..Just from the
services we have attended this trip, it is obvious that there are native
Israeli rabbis in the movement (as memory serves, there were only 1 or
two 23 year ago and.a rabbi from St. Paul had headed the World Union for
Progressive Judaism then!) The service used familiar tunes, but for us
the choreography was quite different as was the order of the service.
The sermon, for example was before the Sh’ma and the congregation stood
for candlelighting. The sanctuary was full with about 400 of us—half
visitors. Rabbi Galia Sadan was considerate in providing an English
translation of her sermon, The male cantor (yes there are still male
cantors!) had a gorgeous full, deep voice and again I was struck with
the power of all the male voices in the congregation. Following Kiddush
in the social hall, we took the bus to the Mishkenot Ruth Daniel in
Jaffa where we dined in the rooftop restaurant with Rabbi Sadan members
of her Kehillat Beit Daniel. So each of us had a chance to talk with
Israelis.

It was beginning to sink in that our trip was nearing the end because we
said L’hitraot to Daniella , the youth worker and Eli our bus driver.
Ken and Bobbie Glick were leaving the group tonight as well.

If you have been following this blog, you will know that “next week
in St. Paul”. While we are sad to disperse our group, we do look forward
to sharing our adventures and learnings with you. We know we will be
reflecting on all the varied experiences for a long time. We have so
appreciated the thoughtful planning of this trip on which Rabbi Spilker
brought us to many places where he had personal connections to share
them with us. We’re tired, happy and looking forward to a restful
Shabbat on the beach!

Mary Ann and David Wark

Day 12

Day 12 Petra and Eilat

Splitting up the group definitely felt odd. Half of us took a side trip into Jordan today, and the rest did their thing in Eilat (diving, snorkeling, touring). But what fun to be able to share our varied experiences!

I hope that these impressions help to jog the memory of those that were there and paint a bit of a picture for everyone else.

We entered a kingdom….yes, a kingdom with pictures of the monarch everywhere and an official stamp in our passports.

Just before we crossed the border, our perky English border helper warned, “You can get a free horse back ride, but you’ll have to pay a tip to get off.”

Our guide, Husseiya, stuck to his script, and only his script. How we missed Muki’s explanations (and his impeccable English!).

We climbed 5000 feet into the Edom mountains, covered with brilliant strips of minerals. So very rugged!

On the two hour journey to Petra we saw snapshots of life—Sunni women carrying young children; a group of boys running up a hillside with the dust flying; two goats following each other out of a store that was filled with chickens; a boy cleaning a rooftop with water and a broom and his mother appearing with her arms crossed; a herd of goats crossing the road. The poverty was evident, but so was the beauty--trees in every courtyard, rolling hills covered in rock and scrub, vistas and valleys, camels and sheep.

The cooler mountain air surprised us all. Our walk, we thought, wouldn’t be so bad after all. Down, down, down we went. Those holes aren’t caves, they’re ancient tombs, tombs, and more tombs. If you were rich, a tomb to yourself, if not, up to nine people shared your final resting place. Oh, but the beauty! Red rocks laced with yellow, black and brown. Carvings graced the walls as we continued down the path.

We went through the Siq (narrow canyon), went around a corner, and, just like Indiana Jones, beheld the spectacular view of the treasury. Wow. It really is as cool as it seems—just bigger. Those Nabateans were amazing!

Horses and horse drawn carriages helped some of us make it back up the hill (it was hot after all!), and Allison even had an adventure of her own, riding double along the hillsides with Mischa. We were all pleased she made it back safely.

A quick, yummy meal later, we were back on the bus. Two hours later we were at the border crossing—and home. Home. Yes, home. Israel.
After we arrived back at the kibbutz, we had a lovely dinner, and afterwards, some listened to a resident of the kibbutz talk about the kibbutz while others of us went out and played soccer.

The Red Sea is perennially listed as one of the best places to scuba dive in the world, and five of us took a wonderful opportunity to dive in Eilat. Three Glicks and two Schiffs did three dives and spent nearly three hours underwater. With 80-foot visibility and a huge amount of sea life, the experience was full of discoveries! Many of the species are similar to what one sees in Florida or the Caribbean: parrotfish, butterfly fish, wrasses, and sergeant majors, but the colors were often quite different. A cobalt-blue butterfly fish with concentric white circles around its whole body provided a gorgeous example. Then there were lots of species that were less familiar: lionfish, a stonefish, and large schools of two-inch bright orange fish with sky-blue eyes. Classic views of clownfish in anemone made us think of Finding Nemo!

At one point near the end of one dive, a family of parrotfish, including a male, female and a couple adolescents (identifiable by different colorations), entertained us by swimming in circles around us a mere arm’s length away. We just relaxed on the sandy bottom, watching, taking pictures and enjoying their choice to interact. I think they would have kept the show going all day, but unfortunately, we had to continue to shore.

Like everything else on this trip, we feel like we got a taste of what Red Sea diving has to offer, and only whetted our appetite for more! I guess we’ll just have to come back soon!

An evening soccer game was EPIC! Players accumulated over the course of the game until we had about seven or eight players on a team. In order to score a goal, you had to actually hit a specific tree with the ball, which proved to be very difficult. We were playing on grass (it was very cushy), so some of us went barefoot, which felt spectacular! Satchel was on the field the whole time and acted as the mediator, which was a good thing. There were a bunch of kibbutz kids who also played with us and were so much better than us for the most part. One of the things that was most fun to see was this tiny little kibbutz kid, Amos, totally whupping everybody. It was TONS of fun!

Sally, Dave, Rachel and Daniel Glick

Special update from Julia, Rachel and Laurel

Day 11

As we left the cool city of Jerusalem we experienced a wonderful refreshing mountain breeze. It was our coldest morning of the trip. Many of us were sad to leave the city that we had just begun to know in all its complexities and many layered history. Some of us also did not take full advantage of the awesome pool facilities at Mt Zion Hotel. Even Zach had to agree it was a five star hotel. As we drove south from Jerusalem, we descended 450 ft below sea level, to the Dead Sea Basin. Of course the temperature quickly rose to 39*C, around 100 F. As we descended we drove through part of the Territories and witnessed first hand the changes in the Bedouin communities. Very few of them are truly nomadic, they have started to settle down and build permanent structures. We saw camels, goats, and sheep grazing on the side of the highway. Despite incentives from the Israeli government, the Bedouins are living at the lowest SEC in all Israel. They have they highest infant mortality rate, the lowest literacy rate, and highest overall mortality rates. As we descended we also were able to see first hand the greening of the desert by the different Kibbutz communities, many of which grow Date palms because the date tree can handle a certain amount of salinated water. Our first destination was the hill top fortress of Masada. Unfortunately, we were unable to climb up due to the late hour and the weather, but we did see many youth groups walking back down. Once again our luck held and we experienced a cool breeze at the top, which Muki our guide said was extremely rare. Despite the breeze, it was very hot at the top and we mostly tried to stay in the shade. At around 650 meters long the majestic mountain of Masada captured the admiration of the group. During the days of King Herod (who was more roman than the Romans themselves) he built himself a luxurious summer resort on Masada. It took from 37 BCE to 4 BCE to complete. Of course it was on top of one of the more defendable mountains of the area because of his paranoia. After we got an overview of the entire complex, we first explored the western palace structure, complete with private Roman bath house with 5 separate rooms- apoditerium, with frescoes on the walls, the tepidarium, the frigidarium with a stepped pool, and the caldarium (a steam bath). The caldarium had a raised tiled floor and domed roof that prevented the steam from dripping straight down, instead the steam could recycle within the room. Quite extravagant given the fact that we are on a desert mountaintop. You might be wondering where they got water. Herod devised an ingenious system to collect the winter rainwater via channels dug into the mountain side that diverted these flood waters into a series of large cisterns. some of them as large as 4 tour buses. It is still debated if Herod ever actually visited his completed palace. Of course Masada is famous for its place as the last stronghold of a group of Jews led by Eleazar ben Yair, who revolted against Roman rule. This group of zealots fled from Jerusalem to Masada in the year 70 CE. They numbered close to 1000 people, and they were able to survive until 73 CE. One of the sayings that epitomize the difference between the two groups and their use of the palace is “Romans worship beauty, and Jews find beauty in worship.” The Jews built a kitchen right on top of the Roman’s mosaic tiled floor. We also followed in their footsteps by adding a water bottle and a rock to the mosaic floor. A large group of us were able to walk to the far southern edge and yell the saying “Masada will not fall again” Each word came back to us as an echo from the past. Eleven brave members of our group ran/walked down from the top! The rest of us took the cable car back down.

As we drove further down the coast, we saw acacia trees, and small oasis along the Dead Sea. We then had a wonderful few hours floating in the Dead Sea with its 30% salt content, except for a few of us who had cuts and scrapes. In comparison, Ocean water is 3% salt, and sea water is 3.3% salt. The salinity of our blood is 0.9%. We then drove two hours further south towards the Red Sea to Kibbutz Lotan, an Eco-Friendly Reform Kibbutz. The kibbutz has 150 people a combination of members and volunteers. We got a tour of the facilities by two volunteers who are working at the Kibbutz
They built and teach others to create geodesic domes made out of straw and mud, they utilize their trash as building materials for a playground, art and sculptures and they turn their waste water into irrigation water by a series of hydroponic plants, and their food/human waste into compost. They are planning to build a solar field which will eliminate the power grid needs for the guest houses. They served us a wonderful dinner made from all their own products.

Susan and Allison Benfield

Day 10

Waking up in Jerusalem. The is a vertical city. Eyes closed, listening to the birds around us, the traffic, mostly below, the church bells across. So much sound from so many directions. And then to open your eyes and look, in just one slice one can see the grass and flowers around the pool of the hotel, the bottom of the valley of the shadow of death, the traffic moving up the hill, the walls of the old city; just off to the right is Mount Zion and behind that more hills and the barrier fence.
The heat wave has continued on this day, even early in the morning it can be felt.
We begin our programming with a presentation by Colonel Bentzi Gruber, one of the commanders in Gaza. He talks to us about “ethics in the field”. Really he tells us of the challenges of this conflict, of how to protect Israel from the incomprehensible concept of suicide bombers. Eight seconds. In a dramatic sequence of footage we see a smiling young man from Gaza sitting in the front seat of a car. We see his jeep begin to drive across the field that is the barrier, the Israeli guards distracted by gunfire in the other direction. We see him being too late for the bus he was aiming for, heading for the town, the road blocked by a hummer, an explosion, a Palestinian young man in a thousand pieces, a young Israeli soldier from behind the HumVee without a leg. Eight seconds.
To be clear, this talk was not about the “why” of this conflict. This was about the how, how to protect Israel, how to fight this and cause as little damage to Palestinian civilians as possible. It was also about how to get this message out, that Israel and the territories are a tiny spit of land, that Israel needs to defend herself, that rockets and suicide bombers flying into neighborhoods are not the same as carefully, selectively trying to find combatants that hide in the population.
From here a part of the group went to the Hartman Institute to discuss the conflict further. A crew of us went off to the zoo, a diversion to fun and a beautiful spot. It is a wonderful zoo – goats happy to chew on your back pack straps; a poor little mole rat trying for many minutes to unsuccessfully negotiate an uphill glass tube; two amazingly big rhinos in an exhibit with graceful long eyelashed giraffes and zebras; monkey yelling, a cacophony of birds calling, their sounds echoing against the hills of Jerusalem.
After lunch, the group went to Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem is the museum and memorial to the Holocaust (Shoah in Hebrew). The physical structure of the museum is both incredibly beautiful- imaging walking through a triangular tube of Toblerone chocolate to come out the far end to a magnificent view of Jerusalem- and incredibly stark. Just cement walks, not Jerusalem stone.
The Shoah is so many stories, the visit is the same. I want to just relate just two, they will be more important than the whole = terror and hope
Terror - I have been through and read much about the Holocaust. Something always gets me. The whole is too much. But this time it was on a small screen, a speech written by the President of the ghetto in Lotz Poland. This man worked with children, but did not have children of his own. The speech explained that he was commanded to have all the children under age 10 report to the square the following day for deportation. He explains that he pleaded and begged, but the Nazi’s insisted. This order and participating in its execution was incomprehensible to me – to be this man and say these words or to be a parent in this ghetto. I could not have been that man. I do not believe I could have been one of those parents. I do believe that for me, it would have ended here, that night.
Hope - We have been blessed to have Charles Fodor with us. Charles was a young boy when he was in the ghetto in Hungary. He and his father survived. He did not see his mother after she was deported from the ghetto. This is his first visit to Israel, and hence his first visit to Yad Vashem. I will long remember his reaching out to his wife, to holding her hand as they started to visit the museum; to the courage it must have taken to come here. It was an honor to share this visit with Charles; for my kids, for all the kids, to learn about this in his presence. While he might have been held up by Vicky, his wife, we were all held up by being here with him.
A few days earlier, at Havdala, as the kids where all standing against a wall overlooking the Temple mount, I remember Charles looking over the crew of youth and saying “Am Yisrael Chi” “The Jewish People live” Remarkable, to so clearly feel the link from the terrible past to this rich present, to the future. Remarkable.

Jeff Schiff

Day 9

Hello friends,

Greetings from our third full day in Jerusalem!

Today began differently than most—I sat in the front of the bus. This provided an excellent view through the windshield as we drove through the valley of the shadow of death, past where the three valleys of Jerusalem meet, to the old city.

To anyone who has the opportunity to meet someone from South Africa, I recommend asking them to say the words ‘valley’ and ‘tomorrow’ as they are both what separate a South African accent from the British. Our route to the old city provided many opportunities to hear our excellent tour guide, Muki, say the former.

We entered the walled Old City through the ‘Dung Gate’ (where garbage used to exit the city) and immediately walked toward the Southern Wall (an archeological park adjacent to the Western (wailing) wall to watch our tour mate, Daniel Glick become Bar Mitzvah.

It was a beautiful ceremony. Daniel ROCKED it! We were all lucky to have the chance to participate and share that with Daniel and his family in such an important location. Mondays are popular for Bar Mitzvahs in Jerusalem and in the distance we could hear drums and shofars coming from others celebrating their own B’nai Mitzvah. I like to think of it as free DJs, their joy and enthusiasm encouraging Daniel and celebrating his special day. Another tour mate Isaac Schiff was called for an aliyah.
(Note from Sally Glick: It was even more than I expected. Can you imagine turning around for t’fillah, seeing the wall, knowing that your son is about to chant Torah in the spot where generations and generations of people have done the same? It was an amazing morning—from helping lead to passing the Torah from generation to generation to watching Rabbi Spilker and Daniel jump up to a rock in front of the Wall for a blessing. Wow!)

After the ceremony, we walked further along the Southern Wall to learn about and see the Ancient steps leading up to what once was where the Second Temple stood on the Temple Mount.

We continued into the Davidson Center where we watched a video titled ‘Life During the Times of the Temple’ which some of you may have seen when the Dead Sea Scrolls were exhibited at the Minnesota Science Museum in St. Paul.
sidenote: the narrator of the video looked strikingly like a Herodian version of the Geiko cave man which amused some of the younger (at heart) members of the tour.

After the video we made our way toward the Western Wall. In order to gain access we passed through security that would have made our friends at TSA in the MSP Airport proud.

As is required by our Orthodox brethren, we separated by gender, covered up (hats/kippahs for men, skirts and sleeves for women) and stepped up to the crowded wall—a/the most sacred site to Jews for its proximity to the past temples on the Mount, which contained the Holy of Holies.

After a few minutes at the wall, many of us followed Rabbi Spilker as he led us through the Arab Quarter to a lesser-known spot to access the wall—a profound moment indeed to be alone with friends at such a sacred site.

Oh, did I mention it was hot? It reached at least 100 degrees but everyone managed to stay beautiful and kept a good attitude while drinking plenty of water and taking many Shirutim (bathroom) breaks.

We continued to see important archaeological sites in the Jewish quarter such as the broad wall and the recently discovered Herodian mansions.

After lunch, our group split. A large portion of the group went to Christian East Jerusalem while many of the youngsters (at heart) and I were led by Muki through Hezekiah’s 2,600+ year old Water tunnel.

Then we took a well deserved break.

After a touch of shopping and dinner on Jerusalem’s hip Ben Yahuda area, (where I was able to get my daily fix of world cup action) we regrouped for a late-night tour of the Western Wall Tunnels. These tunnels, like Hezekiah’s were simply astounding for revealing unbelievable engineering feats, their mere size (bricks weighing nearly 550 tons (TONS!!!), age, historical significance, and the political complexities that arise from them.

BED TIME! LONG AMAZING DAY!

Jerusalem is a city where the juxtaposition of old and new holds the ancient and the totally modern in a degree of hyper-relevance. Every new thing we see is astounding and I can’t imagine should anyone see any of them hundreds of times that it could possibly become anything less than unbelievable.


Layla tov,

Satchel Borow Moore

Day 8

Some random thoughts from yesterday (Shabbat):

We had just begun “walking the psalms” with Rabbi David Wilfond. We were perched on some ancient steps in the old city that were just beginning to turn gold and listening to the Rabbi describe how we all ascend to Jerusalem with “a lot of baggage piled on our shoulders” when Charlie Rich remarked quietly, “Hrrmph, not me!” There were a few giggles. For those of you eagerly following the saga, Charlie’s suitcase did finally arrive last evening.

Returning to our room last night, after a rather long walk home from Ben Yehuda Mall with Anne, I realize that she will out-walk all of us.

Day Eight: Sunday, June 20, 2010

LaDa’at: To Know –
The Geopolitics of Jerusalem.

This morning, Robbie (from the Parents Circle – Families Forum) was a powerful voice for the people. Regardless of what is happening in the political scene, and regardless of what we see in the media, there are real people – Israelis and Palestinians, Arabs and Jews – with real children they love, who are dying and being killed, some sniped at and many sadly caught in the crossfire. Much like our own wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, until the conflict hits home – becomes personal somehow – it is difficult for us to want to work hard to end it. Robbie, and the stories from her organization, clearly embodied and communicated that personal contact for us.

After quite a bus ride via vistas and controlled highways in the “West Bank,” we could see Bethlehem in the near distance, but we couldn’t go there. Actually standing next to the 8-meters-tall concrete separation barrier and touching it was surprisingly comforting. Its existence has virtually eliminated homicide bombers in Israel. And it is mostly (96%) fence, not wall. It’s a necessity so that Israelis can live “normal” lives, more like we get to do in the U.S., reducing the daily fear caused by terrorism. The commentary from Muki is that much of what we see in the media may be real, but it is often not representative. Radical sound bites and visuals of “the Apartheid Wall” play better on our TVs than an invisible fence and nuanced discourse. One of the best memorable moments was when the stern soldier came over to ensure we weren’t taking any photos of the security gate, watch tower, etc. Then, he gladly posed for a photo with Anne and actually broke a smile when he put his arm around Zach and they switched hats, reminding us that the stern guy in uniform is still a young teen at heart.

At Kfar Etzion kibbutz, we met Sandy, a kibbutznik originally from Los Angeles. We heard her story and watched a 25-minute sound and light show about the history of the Gush Etzion settlement, their heroic stand to protect Jerusalem in ’48, and the tragic conclusion in their bunker. I found it rather surreal, because, once the projector started working without the white screen, we got to watch the video on the striated wooden wall, which kept reminding me of the striped uniforms and prison bars of concentration camps. We were in good company; as we came back out into the sun, we were surrounded by many young soldiers who’d come to see the 2PM showing of the same historical film. Muki reminded us that the soldiers come from all different sorts of backgrounds and that it’s important for them to learn about whom and what they’re fighting for.

Returning to the community of Efrat (where we had lunch earlier), we met with modern Orthodox Rabbi Shlomo Rishkin, one of the town’s founders and its Chief Rabbi. He stunned most of us with his talk – for example, while they do still separate men and women during their services, their girls do become Bat Mitzvah, and he said some of his schools even have rabbinate training for women. One of the statements that particularly stuck with me: “The biggest obstacle to growing faith and religion in Israel is the Orthodox monopoly.”

Most of us took the opportunity to “set down roots” in Israeli soil by planting trees. We also got to meet Malka, formerly Michelle, whose mother and Anne were consecutive presidents of Hadassah in New York. Our guide at Neot Kedumim nature reserve boarded the bus, welcomed us, and told us she had made aliyah from New York. Anne, of course, asked where in New York; Michelle said “Newburgh” – and then the hilarity ensued. Anne said later this evening:

“The emotions of meeting someone whom I knew and catching up on old friends makes me realize what a small world it is! The last time I saw her, she was in elementary school, and yet she remembered my name.”

Walking the seven species of the Bible at the nature reserve was a fun, low-intellectual-stress activity. We learned how ancient Israelis harvested, processed, and produced food from their crops. Sandy may not have been the most proficient grain thresher, but he was probably just making the rest of us city-folk comfortable. I learned a lot about basic farming that my dad, a New York City bus driver, never taught me. And David Wark doing the hamster-exercise routine in the water wheel was an event not to be missed!

On our ride back to Jerusalem, making aliyah up Route 1 this time, there were numerous phone calls in and out as people wished their families a Happy Fathers’ Day.

A group of us walked up to meet Daniella at the Jaffa Gate later in the evening for an absolutely amazing sound and light show covering the entire history of Jerusalem. The show was projected on the Old City walls within David’s Tower Museum. When I saw the wheat and pomegranates and the other plants of the seven species being painted in light on the walls, I reflected on a most perfect day. Wake up call is set for 6:45 for another fun-filled day tomorrow.

Charlie and Marjorie Levine

Shabbat

Good Shabbas!
Another eventful day and rewarding in so many ways. We awoke to Shabbat in Jerusalem. Some of us chose to "chill" at the hotel, enjoying this beautiful hotel and pool. Others of us went exploring. We chose to walk to Hebrew Union College for services. Rabbi Spilker led us to HUC walking through the first Jewish neighborhood outside the Old City established around the late 1800s, Mishkenot Sh'ananim. It is adorned with beautiful flowers and this was a beautiful walk. Upon arriving at HUC, the sanctuary was packed with many visiting groups. There were so many people that chairs were lining the entrance. The service was led by Rabbi Spilker's former classmates and colleagues from HUC. The service was complete with 2 guitars, piano, drum, and beautiful cantorial voices.
After the service, a group of us walked back to the hotel. While walking we passed the YMCA. Normally, I would have passed on by but before departing for Israel my father had told me that going to the top of the tower of the YMCA was a "must do!". We bought our elevator tickets for 10 shekels and went to the top. The view was amazing! You could see to the horizon 360 degrees around the city. Jerusalem is a sprawling city in all directions. This ascent really gave us all a perspective and an appreciation for the city. Thanks, dad! The best 10 shekels I've spent so far! We meandered back to the hotel for lunch and a few minutes rest.
Little did I know that the day was just beginning...
The group met up and we walked through the "Valley of Death" and arrived at the Jaffa Gate. We walked through the Arab market and then along the rooftops of the Old City where our guide Muki pointed out the different "quarters" of the Old City.
After some shopping in the Arab market we met up at the Jaffa Gate and then met up with Rabbi David Wilfond for a "Walking the Psalms in Jerusalem" shabbat walking tour. Rabbi Wilfond led us in reading and studying Psalms that related to what we were seeing. We saw King David's Tomb along our walk. This was really interesting to relate our text with the exact place we were standing. Really interesting! At one point we were standing next to a shul, adjacent to that was a church, and adjacent to that was a mosque. This is truly a Holy land.
Our walking tour ended up inside the Old City in a spot overlooking Mount of Olives, adjacent to the Western Wall, and looking out in front of us we could see some mosques. The sounds of prayer coming from all directions-- sounds coming from the Western Wall, call to worship coming from the mosques, church bells ringing. At this overlook, we gathered together for Havdallah. The kids joined Rabbi Spilker in leading Havdallah. Truly we celebrated as a Mount Zion community our first Shabbat together in Eretz Israel and in Jerusalem. This was very moving and a Shabbat I will always remember.

Our evening continued on as we headed toward Ben Yehuda and Nachalat Shiva Pedestrian Mall where we joined the many Israelis out on the town. It was a big celebration of dancing, singing, and shopping!
And, finally as I finish writing this blog entry it is 1:00am. A full and wonderful day. As I took my evening pills I noticed that we still have another week as pilgrims. Each day has been a wonderful adventure and I cherish those to come. We are learning so many things, wrestling with new concepts and ideas, opening our minds, and especially opening our hearts to this incredible Holy land.
Lila tov,
Susan Schwartz

Day 6

Day 6: Driving The Rift – A Day of Spirit and Ascension
June 18, 2010

(this was written in pieces by each of us in the Rich family- Liddy, Charlie, Robin & Rebecca. Each of the “I’s” is one of us. You can guess which one…)

Kinnert Cemetary
The site is beautiful – surrounded by date palm groves, shaded by trees, on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, canopied by blue sky, with the Golan cliffs across the Sea, and many bird songs in the air. The beauty of the location is difficult to capture in words; the spirit of the place is equally indescribable.
They came early in the 20th century, leaving houses and families to build a vision into reality. The vision was one of egalitarian worker communities, educated and independent. These women and men worked to reclaim the land as agronomists and farm laborers, newspaper and literary publishers, nurses, and poets. Berl Katsenelson and Rachel are among those honored here.
It was especially meaningful for several of us who work in the Labor movement. These were the mothers and fathers of moving thought into worker action by forming an early settlement kibbutz. The welfare of the whole community was agreed to be the priority, not the welfare of the individual.
Rachel’s poetry is kept and read by the side of her grave. Her poetry has been set to music. Many of her dreams were denied her in life, but her words live on.
While their bodies rest in this place of peace their spirits have led the way for many in thought, expression, and action.

Beit Alpha Synagogue

We pulled off the main highway to go to the national park of Beit Alpha to see the 1500 year old floor mosaic from the ancient synagogue. It featured a huge zodiac which you wouldn’t normally see in a synagogue and we watch a movie which simulated the fund-raising and production for the floor-and possible explanation for why the Zodiac, as well as other more traditional Jewish symbols, were included. (Simplest explanation: it was hip at the time!)
The most impressive thing to me was the short news-reel clip showing the kibbutzim who were uncovering the mosaic while digging in the earth. What a find! How amazing to be involved in building a new land, and continually uncovering an incredibly ancient land. Like the hippodrome we saw in Caesaria, which Muki told us wasn’t even there 20 years ago when he worked on that kibbutz, the “everyday-ness” of these archaeological wonders…is pretty wild.
Around this time we started looking at our map and realized we were about to enter the Palestinian or occupied territories/West Bank/Judea & Samaria (among the many names given this area). We saw how close we were to Jordan, Jericho and Jenin, to settlements, to many things we read about in the papers and now it was real. Also making it real were Muki’s stories of patrolling this area while in the reserves, including the scary Pesach night they thought a terrorist had come through the fence, and it turned out to be an animal and a fish caught in the Jordan…well it’s a long pretty funny story that Muki tells well.

We prepared for our entry into Jerusalem by stopping on Mt. Scopus. With the beautiful Hebrew University and its enormous rooftop menorah at our backs, and our first panoramic view of Jerusalem before us, we celebrated with the Shehecheyanu, Kiddush, and ate traditional fruits and nuts. Most of us tried to photographically capture this very specific moment in time, in a timeless place with ageless sites and enduring spirituality. Rabbi and Muki asked us to see Jerusalem with our eyes in the following days, but to also see and feel with our hearts. We came down from Mt. Scopus, and ascended into the city, with our hearts very full.



(Note: I have been reading the Amos Oz memoir during this week and just got to the parts about the siege of Jerusalem. Lots of tears while reading as well as experiencing these places and feeling the history. Highly recommend the book.)

Jerusalem Market

A group of us climbed the 5 flights to where Daniella has an apartment on the roof overlooking Jerusalem, only a block from the marketplace. In addition to a great view, the roof is cool because like most Israeli roofs it has lots of solar panels for the water heaters. Over 90% of the water heaters in the country (I think!) are heated by the sun!

After visiting Daniella’s apartment we were all released into the outdoor market. There were two sections of the market, outdoor and covered (which was still outside, but had a roof). Our family immediately went over to the covered side. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. There was so much real, every-day Israeli life. Everyone was bustling around and smells were incredible. We had some great food and a great time.

Jerusalem & the Mount Zion Hotel

The front of our bus has a banner that reads “Mount Zion Temple Tour led by Rabbi Adam Stock Spilker. “ After a full day of experiencing the land, this bus pulled up at the Mount Zion Hotel overlooking Mount Zion.

I was particularly excited because after arriving more than 32 hours later on this trip than planned (major Delta Airlines snafu), I was expecting our luggage to finally catch up to us. (Charlie & I have been wearing borrowed clothes, bathing suits, and sandals from many of our fellow travelers.) Word was that luggage had arrived, just in time for Shabbat. The good news is that my bag had arrived. The bad news is that we still don’t know where Charlie’s bag is. So we had to knock on a few doors and add “Shabbat clothes” to things that we’ve borrowed.
As always, Muki, our tour guide and the Rabbi, gave us instructions on the proper dress for Shabbat. While everyone is clean and neat, people are quite casual. Men wear pants, or perhaps shorts, and most wear white shirts. Women wear skirts or pants and also white. Muki predicted that while the dress is casual, we’d noticed many with hair that has that “just washed” look.
So, dressed for services in our Israeli casuals we met at the hotel lobby. Our bus delivered us to Kehukkat Kol Haneshema, a progressive movement synagogue, 2 blocks from the apartment where the Spilker family lived during their sabbatical.
A member of the board greeted us and talked a bit about the congregation. The Kabbalat Shabbat service was spirited. Everyone sang. Everyone. Though there wasn’t much English in the service, there also wasn’t much talking. Our prayer books did have English translation. And many of the tunes were from our Mt. Zion repertoire.

One of the wonderful aspects of the service was Rabbi Weiman-Kellman leading us in closed- eyed reflections on our last Shabbat ending, the week since, and the day leading up to Shabbat, helping us to separate from the week behind us, to truly make it a holy evening and day. Also very meaningful was the ending of the service, a song and prayer for peace in Hebrew and Arabic.

Shabbat Walk & Dinner

Shabbat in Jerusalem truly means peace. After exiting the shul we found most traffic was gone and our bus driver had headed home. Israelis walk the streets with flowers and challah for Shabbus visits. We walked about 20 minutes back to Mt. Zion Hotel, enjoying the neighborhoods, beautiful plants, Israeli recycling bins (!) (huge metal cages for plastic bottles) and running into old friends of Adam and his children. (Rabbi seems to know everyone in Jerusalem!) And then…dinner! Truly our meals have been more like huge feasts and this was the most amazing of all, very delicious and full of unidentified but wonderful tastes. It’s very hard not to eat too much and feel too full. What was very powerful for me was singing the Birchat Hamazon after the meal. I read the translation: “May Jerusalem, You holy city, be restored to all its former glory soon and in our time. Blessed are you, Lord, who in Your mercy will rebuild Jerusalem.” This prayer has been chanted for 1800 years. And now, June 2010, here we are.

Day 5

I apologize in advance for the lack of facts in this blog post…. I am so overwhelmed by every breath I take in Ha’eretz Yisrael that I remember only the emotions and hope I will hold them close to my heart for the rest of my days. This is my second trip to Israel, my first being as a college student on the Birthright program. Needless to say I am seeing Israel through an entirely different set of eyes, yet the feelings invoked by this land are stronger than ever.

But enough about that, I’m sure you are all reading this for an idea of what we did today, not the metaphysical ramblings of a 27 year old man.

The day started with yet another excessive Israeli breakfast, I’ve learned my lesson and try to stick to fruit. We boarded the bus at 8 AM after being read the riot act on what we needed to bring for the day: Modest clothing for visiting the synagogues in Tzfat, water safe clothing for rafting down the Jordan River, and a back up set of clothing so we wouldn’t get the bus wet.

After making sure we were all ready to go we headed to a Modern Orthodox school in the city of Tiberias, which is St Paul’s partner city in Israel. After an introductory slide show by staff, a sea of smiling Jewish faces stormed into the gymnasium to meet us. The first activity was making prayer plaques; the blessing for the wine as well as the Shabbat candle blessings. I was hanging back and trying to help my dad with his Hebrew until one of the trustee’s (a mentor for the children of this particular school), Sasha, pulled me to one of the tables and the work began. After a few minutes of glue smearing I was the proud owner of a prayer plaque for my home.

The music teacher came out next and started singing several songs that I wasn’t familiar with. However, I am blessed with an extremely loud clap which I put to use during these songs. Once the words of “Am Yisrael Chai” left her lips it was an entirely different story. The familiar tune and the energy generated by dozens of kids clapping, singing and loving being Jewish will be one of the defining moments of my trip. It is inspiring to know that the future of our people is in such capable young hands. Finally, with the music blaring from the speakers we all began dancing a Hora-esque jig. I introduced a few new moves to the kids (words cannot do this justice, hopefully pictures will be added) and by the end of the dance I had many new achiim (brothers).

Leaving the school we headed further North into the hills of Gaililee and the mystical city of Tzfat. I must stop and take a moment to thank our bus driver Elle (sp?) who navigated the labryntine streets with unbelievable dexterity in our giant tour bus. We walked through the old city and got a better understnding of mystical Judaism or Kaballah. We visited synagogues of both Ashekenazi and Sephardic jews and heard of the additions both sects made to further this aspect of our faith. The most long lasting addition to our faith as Reform Jews is the Kaballat Shabbat service. Rabbit Spilker told us about a Shabbat that he celebrated in Tzfat, I hope all of us are lucky enough to have a divine experience such as that.
The remainder of the day can be described with one word: WET. Considering the heat we’ve been schlepping around in, I believe this was welcomed by all. Our first stop was a hike through the Tel Dan National Park. It is a lush green forest fed by the main tributary of the Jordan River. This made a fitting transition to the final activity for the day, rafting down the Jordan River. Despite the hype surrounding this river in song and lore it hardly qualifies as deep or wide. The mass amounts of boats in the river created a situation with plenty of splashing and the Israeli version of bumper boats. Watching the wide variety of ages on this trip all come together to spend a great afternoon having fun on the river was a site I hope to see repeated during this trip!!

Adam Bahr

Day 4

Our group became whole with the arrival of Mary Ann and David Wark Sunday evening and Liddy and Charlie Rich Wednesday morning.

The weather was magnificent -- clear and warm --from Tel Aviv up the coast to Caesarea, into the Carmel Mountains, then to Lake Kenneret.

A sign from home appeared from the Medtronic facility in a high-tech suburb of Tel Aviv, Herzelia.

The dilemma of dining and maintaining Jewish values in the context of a larger community was a major theme of the day. At Caesaria Muki, our tour guide, had the group act as the Senhedrim in judging whether Jews could attend gladiator games as part of combat that occurred at the ancient site. He posed a similar question about attending pagan plays in the amphitheater where we had gathered. Muki told us that these were actual questions asked by the Sanhedrin 1,800- 1,600 years ago with similar feelings of ambivalence.

Later in the day at Beit Shearim raised questions about graven images that appeared on stoned caskets buried in caves dating from the 3rd and 4th century CE. What explains the appearance of such images on Jewish caskets when the ten commandments forbids them? Adaptation to contemporary practices in society generally was a possible explanation.

Other stops during the day were: Park Alona to tour the underground aqueduct that supplied water to Ceasarea more than 12 miles away, and Zichron Ya'akov to learn about Aaron Aaronson who discovered the original wheat and help the British invade Turkish-held Palestine during the first World War.

Daniella, our youth counselor, provided Hebrew lessons including how to ask and respond to several questions of phrases. Not surprisingly, a bus-full of Jews ended up giving different responses.

- Mitch Rubinstein

Day 3

Day 3 - Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tel Aviv, Israel

The first full day of the Mount Zion trip’s adventures
By Stuart and Jean King Appelbaum

Monday evening- World Cup soccer broadcast on screens in restaurants, bars, and clubs up and down the Tel Aviv beach.
Tuesday morning- We begin the morning with a 6:15 AM wake-up call (that would be 10:15 PM Monday, MN time, but who’s paying attention?). Our first Israeli breakfast buffet offers the full complement of items Israelis eat first thing in the morning, including green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers. and carrots, many types of cheese (cottage, labene, herbed feta, and more), hard boiled eggs, hot items including scrambled eggs and blintzes, breads, buns, muffins, sweet rolls, juice, coffee--and that list is not inclusive. We eat. Then we eat some more.
We are pleased to welcome Sandy and Carol Weisberg, who have had an adventure in travel that eventually featured a cab ride from Philadelphia to Kennedy Airport and two business class seats that folded into beds where they slept seven hours as they were flying to Tel Aviv.
Onto our bus, and we head to Israel’s Independence Hall. Tali, the same woman who spoke to the 2006 Mount Zion group, orients us to the building (which began as Meir Dizengoff’s home, then became the city’s first art museum) before we see a short film about the declaration of independence. She is enthusiastic and funny and has given this presentation a few thousand times, but remains inspiring. We move to the hall where the chairs, wall coverings, mikes, and gavel are exactly as they were Erev Shabbat, May 14, 1948. It is moving to hear the recordings of Ben-Gurion’s voice, Israel’s Senior Rabbi reciting the Shehekianu, and the orchestra playing Hatikva after the declaration. We move outside to the 1949 monument that documents the sand dune origins of the city, the Jewish workers doing physical labor (the “new Jew), and the modern city. Back on the bus.
Important background note: There are a small number of toilets at Independence Hall. A line instantly forms and we’re on a schedule, so many dutifully wait.
The bus drives us to Jaffa where we stop at a breathtaking overview that features the Mediterranean and Tel Aviv’s skyline. Our guide reads the beginning of the book of Jonah, which contains reference to Jaffa. Many pictures are taken.
A second point of background: Back on the bus, Rabbi Spilker introduces himself, explaining that his role on the trip is to provide spiritual advice and guidance. He begins by instructing us on how to use Israeli toilets, expounding on the difference between a light (half) flush and a heavy (heavy) flush. We are also warned of the dangers of dehydration in the June heat, the importance of drinking lots of water, and the related importance of using toilet s when they are available. A Mount Zion Temple banner is draped across the front of the bus and Rabbi Spilker’s name is prominently displayed as our leader.
Our group divides into two options:
• One group is dropped at the IDF Museum on the coast. [A member of that group will add details.]

• A second group heads back to Jaffa for a “walking tour of the city” featuring the competing Palestinian and Jewish narratives. Well, sort of. The Jewish narrative is presented by an American guide who has just completed his master’s degree in Middle Eastern history; the Palestinian narrative is presented by, well, a Palestinian, who presents his narrative much more powerfully. His counterpart is mainly silent.
The cards are not evenly stacked and, after the walk ends and we’re back on the bus, our guide offers us a more nuanced interpretation of Israel’s history, noting that Jews were not a colonial power, that many displaced residents of Jaffa during Israel’s war of independence, whose descendants are now seeking the right of return, were themselves relative newcomers in Palestine, drawn to the area by the prospect of employment; that Jews were also displaced persons, thrown out of Arab lands.
Rabbi Spilker notes that the language of the British Balfour Declaration (1917) was ambiguous. To some Zionists, it held the promise of The Jewish homeland of Palestine; to others, the language promised a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
By this time, time has passed. It’s been four and a half hours since we left the hotel; three and half hours since the last available toilets at Independence Hall. Remember that we were advised to drink lots of water, and we were obedient. Many people request a bathroom, but there are none available until we arrive at the restaurants of Nachalat Binyamin, a pedestrian mall with arts and crafts merchants, fresh produce and fruits, and (as we are told several times) shmatas where we get lunch (and toilets) on our own.
We spend the afternoon at the Rabin Center, a beautiful new museum (opened two months ago) that traces Israel’s history and the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s life, showing their intersections. It was informative and moving.
The day’s activities were formally concluded with an (optional) visit to Nalaga’ at Theater. Mary Ann and David Wark finally arrived following their own adventure in international travel 10 minutes before the bus was scheduled to take us back to Jaffa for the performance. Good sports, they joined us for an incredible experience. An acting troupe of deaf, blind, deaf/blind performers invited us into their world – their joys, frustrations, aspirations, fantasies. The only one of its kind in the world, Nalaga’at Theater has performed internationally and won widespread acclaim. Safe to say that none of us had ever experienced anything quite like this and were literally moved to tears. Kudos and thanks to Rabbi Spilker for making this option available to us.

The stalwart seven, Carolyn, Harper, Satchel, Robyn, Rebecca, Stuart and Jean walked 3+ miles along the sea back to the hotel... On the way, Brazil scored the winning goal in its World Cup match against North Korea. We saw it on one of many giant screens erected on the beach by local bars and restaurants so guests could watch the games outside with the Mediterranean as backdrop. Quite a day.

We have arrived!

Hi, Everyone!

We arrived safely on Monday afternoon. 26 of us flew together from Minneapolis to Tel Aviv and the others met us at the hotel. We are still waiting on a few people to join us after problems with their flights that they booked separately.

When we got to the airport, we were introduced to our tour guide Muki and our youth counselor Daniella. Muki is a South African who moved to Israel in 1987 and Daniella is a 25 year old who just finished getting her degree.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were met by Rabbi Spilker. We quickly dropped off our bags and went out for dinner at Maganda Restaurant, a Yemeni-Israeli restaurant. We had a great dinner of falafel, hummus pita and meat.

We will be traying to update the blog as frequently as possible. Each family will be responsible for one day so that you can hear from all of us.

Thanks,
Laurel

Welcome

45 Mount Zion congregants and some of their family members are joining Rabbi Spilker for this 15 day trip to Israel that includes:

* sites of nature – floating in the Dead Sea, kayaking the Jordan River, hiking through the largest geological crater in the world at Mitzpe Ramon
* sites of archaeology – Caesaria, Petra in Jordan, old city of Jerusalem
* meetings with people – our Federation partnership in Tiberias, Arab-Israeli Unity Walk of Jaffa, the Bereaved Parents group of Israelis and Palestinians; West Bank settlers
* study – at the Sholom Hartman Institute for Pluralism in Jerusalem
* museums – Rabin Center in Tel Aviv, Israel Museum, Western Wall Tunnel Museum
* connecting with Progressive Judaism – Shabbat in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and two nights at Kibbutz Lotan (a Reform Kibbutz devoted to ecological work) will allow for many conversations with progressive communities

And so much more!