Sunday, January 27, 2013
Quote of the Week: The Future
"The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time." -Abraham Lincoln
Monday, January 21, 2013
Taglit Mayanot Final Day: Until We Meet Again
I am transcribing my Birthright journal, a day by day account of my time in Israel. To start at the beginning, click here!
January 7, 2013
Hebrew word of the day: Hazeman tas (הזמן טס) = Time flies
We woke up this morning to a rainy day. Our first stop was a monument called the Scrolls of Fire molded out of bronze by Natan Rapoport. They are huge and in the middle of nowhere on a hill. The scrolls depict the history of the Jewish people from the Holocaust through the Six Day War. It was a great stop, despite the rain and hail.
After the caves, we went to something called the Time Elevator. It is a video with motion seats that quickly explains the history of Jerusalem from the binding of Isaac through the first and second Temples and exiles until we retook Jerusalem in the Six Day War.
We were supposed to fly out tomorrow morning on Aerosvit Airlines, but Aerosvit has gone bankrupt, so we are on a direct overnight flight on El Al with twenty others from our group. The rest are either leaving on a flight tomorrow morning or extending. Because of the change of plans, we had to shorten our closing session, so we hurriedly said "until we meet again" and then hopped on the bus to Tel Aviv.
I had an unbelievably incredible time in Israel and can't wait to come back!
January 7, 2013
Hebrew word of the day: Hazeman tas (הזמן טס) = Time flies
We woke up this morning to a rainy day. Our first stop was a monument called the Scrolls of Fire molded out of bronze by Natan Rapoport. They are huge and in the middle of nowhere on a hill. The scrolls depict the history of the Jewish people from the Holocaust through the Six Day War. It was a great stop, despite the rain and hail.
 |
| Scrolls of Fire in the rain |
Next, we went to the Tel Goded caves and crawled through mud to get to the inner chamber, where our tour guide, Ariel, told the story of Rabbi Akiva's death and the story of the Bar Kochba rebellion. Again, despite the rain and mud, it was an awesome experience - totally worth it, though our bus driver was furious when we returned caked in mud.
After the caves, we went to something called the Time Elevator. It is a video with motion seats that quickly explains the history of Jerusalem from the binding of Isaac through the first and second Temples and exiles until we retook Jerusalem in the Six Day War.
We were supposed to fly out tomorrow morning on Aerosvit Airlines, but Aerosvit has gone bankrupt, so we are on a direct overnight flight on El Al with twenty others from our group. The rest are either leaving on a flight tomorrow morning or extending. Because of the change of plans, we had to shorten our closing session, so we hurriedly said "until we meet again" and then hopped on the bus to Tel Aviv.
I had an unbelievably incredible time in Israel and can't wait to come back!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Taglit Mayanot Day 10: The Kotel Tunnels
I am transcribing my Birthright journal, a day by day account of my time in Israel. To start at the beginning, click here!
January 6, 2013
Hebrew word of the day: Para Para (פּרה פּרה) = one thing at a time
This morning we went to a senior living facility to hang out with the residents. I got to talk to a man named Zvi, who was born in Denmark in 1943. His family had to flee to Sweden to escape the Nazis and lived there for two years before returning to Denmark in 1945. At the age of 24, in 1967, Zvi made Aliyah. He served as a commander in the army for fifteen years and then went to school and got two PhDs - one in math, the other in immunochemistry. He spent his life studying cancer. He has two daughters, one son, and seven grandchildren. Talking to him was a great experience. When I asked how he came to live in Israel, he said, "because I wanted to live in Israel," as if there were no conflict, no fear of leaving behind the land of his childhood and the life he had built there.
We had lunch in the Jewish Quarter and then went to the Kotel, where three of our group members became Bar and Bat Mitzvah. After the ceremony, we went down to the Wall, men on one side of the mechitza and women on the other. The guys wrapped tefillin and we all said the Sh'ma. There were more women than men at the Wall today, so we had to push our way to the front of the crowd to stick our notes to God in the Wall. When I got up to the Wall, I said the Sh'ma again and Shehecheyanu before sticking my little note in the wall.
It started to rain just as we were entering the Kotel tunnels, which was perfect timing. The tunnels are excavated under the Muslim Quarter to see more of the Western Wall. There were a number of (mostly) women down there praying. The holiest spot along the Western Wall, the closest point to what used to be the Holy of Holies, is in the tunnels. It was very cool and unreal to be there.
Read about my last day in Israel (for now)!
January 6, 2013
Hebrew word of the day: Para Para (פּרה פּרה) = one thing at a time
This morning we went to a senior living facility to hang out with the residents. I got to talk to a man named Zvi, who was born in Denmark in 1943. His family had to flee to Sweden to escape the Nazis and lived there for two years before returning to Denmark in 1945. At the age of 24, in 1967, Zvi made Aliyah. He served as a commander in the army for fifteen years and then went to school and got two PhDs - one in math, the other in immunochemistry. He spent his life studying cancer. He has two daughters, one son, and seven grandchildren. Talking to him was a great experience. When I asked how he came to live in Israel, he said, "because I wanted to live in Israel," as if there were no conflict, no fear of leaving behind the land of his childhood and the life he had built there.
We had lunch in the Jewish Quarter and then went to the Kotel, where three of our group members became Bar and Bat Mitzvah. After the ceremony, we went down to the Wall, men on one side of the mechitza and women on the other. The guys wrapped tefillin and we all said the Sh'ma. There were more women than men at the Wall today, so we had to push our way to the front of the crowd to stick our notes to God in the Wall. When I got up to the Wall, I said the Sh'ma again and Shehecheyanu before sticking my little note in the wall.
 |
| The Western Wall |
Read about my last day in Israel (for now)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)