Birthright Israel: Day 10!

This was the final day of Birthright! My next entry will being chronicling my 2.5-week journey exploring the holy land on my own, but for now, the last day with these wonderful 50+ people I'd slept, ate, and traveled with 24/7 for a week and a half.

In the morning, we had a small talk with the rabbi on Jewish thought about love - it was our official "taste of Jewish learning" experience that is mandated by Taglit, but Rabbi Dov was so wonderful throughout the entire trip providing us with bits of learning and tying places to history to scripture to philosophy that it didn't seem out of the ordinary at all - it seemed we were just stalling hoping the rain would stop (which we were, to a certain extent).

The rain only relented a little bit, which put a damper on our plans to have a tour of the old city, but we wanted to get going so we went straight to the archaeological excavations at the southern side of the Temple Mount.  This is an active site, with more parts of biblical Jerusalem still being uncovered and waiting to be found, which was really neat to see.  A lot of it is an indoor museum as well, which is why it was suitable to go straight there.  Alex was a lot of fun, helping us reenact some of the events that took place in and around the Temple Mount area with great enthusiasm.

Outside the Old City walls

The back of the Temple Mount, with the archaeological dig site and a bunch of olive trees

Descending down into the archaeological museum, the walls of which were a first-millennium palace.

After taking a brief moment to write our own personal notes to put in the Kotel, we had our chance to return to the Western Wall at a non-Shabbat, non-night time to take pictures, put our notes in the wall, and take personal time to pray or meditate or whatever we wanted or needed. The rain had let up a bit when we first went, but started pouring again while we were there.  I didn't mind - any readers that know me well know that I absolutely love the rain, and it did not disappoint at the Kotel - it was beautiful.

 Women's side of the Kotel

 Putting my note into the Kotel.

 Women's side of the Kotel, with umbrellas.

 Roommates at the Kotel.

 Me and the Western Wall.

 Temple Mount, soldiers, rain.

We then had a little time to explore the old city and get some lunch before meeting back together.  I went to a place called Holy Bagel because honestly, I couldn't resist the name, and I was missing the good old American Jewish tradition of bagels.

 Myself in the rain, overlooking the Temple Mount.

 Old City Jerusalem

Seasonal Chanukkah donuts at Holy Bagel.

Old City Jerusalem

After lunch, it was time to go to the big Taglit "mini-mega event." I think the "mini" was thrown in there because a couple weeks later they had an even bigger event that the prime minister himself attended, but that could just be pure speculation.  The event itself was for every single Birthright participant currently in the country, to gather, hear important people speak to us about Jewish identity and the state of Israel, including some of the donors that help fund us.  Then, a popular Israeli reggae band played a concert for us, which was a lot of fun - I can't remember their name, hopefully someone will help me out with that soon.

Our Brittany lighting one of the Chanukkah candles!

The band (WHAT WAS THEIR NAME???)

Rocking out to the music with some Israeli soldiers (photo stolen from Hannah).

We then returned to the hotel for dinner and our closing ceremony.  We went around the circle sharing significant parts of our experience, campfire-style, and tied a few other loose ends together like updating our trip maps and having the staff talk to us about each of their particular niches (the rabbi talking about Jewish identity and the experience we all got to share, Alex sharing more history and culture, etc.). 

 Lighting the Chanukkah candles and singing our hearts out to Chanukkah songs before convening upstairs for the closing ceremony.

That was the last time we all got to be together - after the closing ceremony, a couple people with family in Israel left us, and everyone else went to pack.  I stayed up to hang out with everyone as long as I could, and waved the bus good-bye as it left the hotel at 2:00am.  Myself and a few others who were extending were permitted to stay the night at the hotel, and made tentative plans together in the morning.  I stayed up late, calling home to say Merry Christmas and to Skype with Loren.  The hotel was so eerie and deserted with ours and another big Birthright group gone, and I hadn't booked any places to stay yet - I definitely felt myself suspended between trying to process everything I had already seen and the exciting uncertainty of my next adventure.

So, this entry concludes my Taglit-Birthright Mayanot experience! Stay tuned for more incredible travels!

[As always, I do not put every single picture I take into this blog.  To see the entire album of photos I took while on Birthright, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke /sets/72157628872433827/ When I get to my extended, post-Birthright part of the trip, there will be a new album for those photos as well.]

Birthright Israel: Day 9

Second to last day of Birthright!

Because it was once again Shabbat, we had a lazy Saturday, and because I was in the holy city I felt I should respect the rules of Shabbat and not use my camera. Not everyone felt the need to do so (which is fine), and so I was able to steal a few pictures from others to use here.

After breakfast, we had a group discussion time where we could ask the rabbi anything we wanted, anything on our minds about Judaism or Israel, etc.  It was very informative, I'm sad it was only an hour long. Questions ranged from the origin of Kosher rules to Jewish emotions on the Islamic structures on the Temple Mount to historical tidbits. 

After lunch, Yonit organized a little excursion so anyone who wanted could go on a Shabbat walk.  We went to a rose garden and wound up at the Knesset (Parliament).  Just like the previous night, because it was Shabbat the streets were empty.  No cars and, what worked out well for us, no public transportation.  That meant we could walk all over the streets, all over the train tracks, with no fear of anything coming our way.  Yonit, who lives in Jerusalem, wanted to take advantage of this and do something she's never done before: walk over the Chords bridge.  It's a new bridge in the new city of Jerusalem that the new Light Rail train runs over - no cars drive on it, and there is a pedestrian part to it but we wanted to dance on the tracks.

 David, "Tebowing" on the Jerusalem Chords Bridge

After walking over the chords bridge and through a lovely rose garden (not blooming much in winter, but still nice), we found ourselves at the Knesset building, which houses the Israeli Parliament.  Of course it was closed on Shabbat, but we still got a good look at the building, and a security officer came over to make sure we weren't causing any trouble.

 A photo Greg took of the Knesset that I edited a little.

We made it back to the hotel just in time for Havdalah, then we had a little demonstration by a couple Israeli charities - one was a bone marrow registry, which apparently Israel does a lot of great work for, and one was a T-shirt company whose proceeds went to another charity.

And, of course, we had to light the Chanukkah candles!

Tony, helping a couple boys nearby light one of our extra menorahs.

Finally it was time to go out! And it was pouring rain! Our evening activity was to go shopping on Ben Yehuda, which is a big shopping street in the new city of Jerusalem.  I actually thought the pouring rain made it a much more fun adventure.  It was Christmas Eve, and being in a Jewish state on a Jewish trip it's easy to forget that all religions are thriving in Israel, especially in the holy city, so it seemed surreal at first to hear a choir singing Christmas carols.  Perhaps the fact that it was a Chinese choir, singing in Latin, in the pouring rain, down the street from a giant illuminated menorah, that made it surreal... but it was nice to hear them, since Christmas is virtually nonexistent commercially in Israel.  It was nice not to be bombarded with Macy's ads and being aggressively marketed to like in the States, but it was also nice to have that little touch of home.

Chinese choir singing Latin Xmas songs on Ben Yehuda

Giant glowing menorah!

Rain on Yaffo St.

After ducking in and out of stores and getting thoroughly soaked, Becky and I went in search of dinner.  We found a place called the Waffle Stop, and got some delicious crepes there (logically), then took refuge in a restaurant's abandoned sidewalk canopy until it was time to meet the bus again.  We were freezing, but I had a blast playing in the rain.

 Becky and I, soaked!

 Delicious crepe!

The next day was the last day of Birthright!

[As always, I do not put every single picture I take into this blog.  To see the entire album of photos I took while on Birthright, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke /sets/72157628872433827/ When I get to my extended, post-Birthright part of the trip, there will be a new album for those photos as well.]

Birthright Israel: Day 8

So, I neglected to make a big deal about this in my last post: we finally made it to Jerusalem! Jerusalem is now one of my favorite cities in the world - there is just a special feeling to it that can't be explained.  I wound up staying in Jerusalem for a week after Birthright ended, but, that is a story for another entry.

This was our "heavy" day - we spent most of the day at Mount Herzl (the big political / military cemetery in Jerusalem) and at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum).  I decided to shoot pictures in black & white to preserve the mood, and it worked really well, outside of the ability to capture the beauty of the nature and greenery throughout the cemetery.  The calm peace and beauty is what struck me the most during out time in Mount Herzl - in this city that is so contentiously fought over, that many aspects of the modern world and world relations seem to center on, we were surrounded by peace and quiet and serenity.  It was very moving.

 A typical grave in the military section

 A small patch of the military section

 Golda Meir's tomb

 Yitzhak Rabin and his wife

 Theodor Herzl, founder of the modern-day Zionist movement, who first had the idea for a Jewish state

Yad Vashem is connected to the cemetery by a nice outdoor walkway, and we walked downhill to the museum.  There were no photos allowed inside, unfortunately, but it is a really great, well-put together museum, from the architecture to the way the layout forces you to wind your way through art and displays.  We were rushed through, unfortunately, due to time, but it was still a beautiful experience.  The best part was at the end, where there was a reflecting pool at the bottom of a well, which reflected up to both us, circling the pool, and then above us where there were pictures of those who came before us.  The pool is located in the records room, which is part of a project to find, identify, and remember every single victim of the holocaust.  It is an ongoing project, as an attempt to give a voice and identity to every single life lost.

After our tour of the museum, we were fortunate enough to be able to hear a survivor talk and give us an account of his experience.  It was very moving - I had never heard a Holocaust survivor speak before.  He had survived Auschwitz, and was able to tell us his story very smoothly, and even took questions at the end. I was astounded at his bravery to be there speaking to us.

 View over the back hills of Jerusalem, seen from outside Yad Vashem.

Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations - honoring non-Jews who made great sacrifices to help Jews during the holocaust.

After this powerful day, it was time to go back to the hotel, light our Chanukkah candles, then light the Shabbat candles before going into the Old City for a very special Shabbat - we were being taken to the Kotel for the first time.

 Lighting Chanukkah candles!

The guides wanted to make our first time at the Kotel extra-special.  We were driven to the Old City by our bus driver while it was still light, so he could make it home in time for Shabbat with his family.  We were given a little bit of a tour / talk by our rabbi, as we waited for it to get dark.  We were then taken to a small little enclave, lined up, and told to close our eyes.  We were then lead to an outlook to have our first view of the Kotel.  I didn't bring my camera with me because none are allowed in the area on Shabbat (since it's a holy place), so here is a photo I found on the internet of what that first view approximately looked like as dusk set in:

It was breathtaking, and there was a special energy in the air.  Not only was it Shabbat, which is magical every week in Jerusalem, but it was Chanukkah! There was a big menorah ablaze on the northern (left) part of the wall, and there was a HUGE crowd.  After having our first overlook, we were finally taken down to the wall to sing, dance the horah, have private reflecting time at the wall, etc.  We wound up dancing with a group of middle school girls from a kibbutz near Tel Aviv who were in Jerusalem for their first time, members of our group over on the boys side got lifted on chairs, it was such a fun, incredible evening.  Afterwards, we had a nice long walk back to the hotel for dinner and sleep.  The streets of Jerusalem are empty on Shabbat - the entire city shuts down, there are no rail services, busses, and almost nobody driving. It was eery but really neat to experience.

[As always, I do not put every single picture I take into this blog.  To see the entire album of photos I took while on Birthright, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke /sets/72157628872433827/ When I get to my extended, post-Birthright part of the trip, there will be a new album for those photos as well.]

Birthright Israel: Day 7

We woke up with Yonit coming into our tent saying, "Boker tov, Mayanot 54!" (Good Morning in Hebrew) at first light. Our first activity of the day was riding camels in the desert at sunrise:

Melissa and I riding our camel!

Camels and sunrise

Riding our camels at sunrise

Sunrise over the Negev desert

The Bedouin tents that had been our home for the night.

We then got on the bus and went to Masada.  Masada is where one of the last stands of Jewish rebels took place against the Romans in 73 AD, 3 years after the fall of the second temple in Jerusalem (the outer walls of which are now what the Wailing Wall / Western Wall / Kotel / Temple Mount is today).  This was a huge event in Jewish history - when it became evident that the Romans would be able to attack the next day, all 900+ Jews in the fortress took their own lives in order to avoid becoming slaves to the Romans.

On the bus to Masada, beautiful desert landscapes out the window, exhausted from our early morning

Our first view of Masada, overlooking the Dead Sea and Jordan.

Looking down at the ramp the Romans built in order to lay siege to the fortress.

A Bar Mitzvah taking place at the top of Masada.

A view of Herod's palaces down the edge of Masada, overlooking the Dead Sea.

Me!

Ryan and Tony putting on Tefillin for the first time on Masada

Beginning the hike down Masada

The soldiers saying bye to us and "inducting" us

Me on the beginning of the "snake path" down the cliff side of Masada

A look back up at the "snake path" we hiked down

After lunch, we were then taken to a point along the Dead Sea where we could go swimming.  The Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea because the salinity and mineral content is so high, nothing can live in it.  We were advised to only spend 20 minutes at a time in the water, before those things started messing with our skin and such... but it's a really fun experience to swim there.  Because of all that salt, you're SUPER bouyant - it's kind of comical the way the water forces you to float on your back or stomach, you can't "stand" vertically in the water.  It's a lot of fun, even if it does sting a little.

Salt deposits along the shore - that whiteness isn't salt on rocks, the rocks ARE salt.

Members of our group putting on Dead Sea mud and swimming.

A view of the shore, salt deposits, Dead Sea, and Jordanian mountains in the distance (the border runs through the Dead Sea).

A photo taken with Jessica's waterproof camera - that's me near the left!

Jason, Tony, David, and Hannah playing in the super-bouyant Dead Sea

This was our last time with our soldiers - once we left the Dead Sea, we went to Jerusalem and had to say goodbye to them outside our hotel.  After they left, we lit our menorahs and all got to hit the showers at last before preparing for our somewhat "heavy" day Friday.

Sunset over the Judaean mountains - Moses supposedly died and was buried somewhere in this area.

Me and Ariel in uniform before he had to leave us :(

Happy Third Night of Chanukkah!

[As always, I do not put every single picture I take into this blog.  To see the entire album of photos I took while on Birthright, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke /sets/72157628872433827/ When I get to my extended, post-Birthright part of the trip, there will be a new album for those photos as well.]