One Last Night/Day-Tel Aviv and Haifa w/Leya and Eyal

So, after a nice relaxing day, I hopped a train to Tel Aviv via Binyamina with Leya. We talked about everyone at home, and discussed what kind of souvenirs I planned on getting in Tel Aviv. We met Eyal and went to a market in the pier. This market was populated by merchants from Sderot and other southern areas that are being hit hard by violence in Gaza. We bought a few gifts and navigated the chaos that rivaled that of Yafo or Ben-Yehuda. Hadar and I had plans for the night, but they fell through, so I went back with the Snirs and went to bed.

At 9am I left with Eyal to Haifa. We chatted and drove around the high tech areas of Haifa.
We saw the Baha'i Gardens, and lounged around the cheesy downtown until the English tour began. On the way back, I recognized Max (from Mayanot) and Andrew. We took the tour together and bullshitted about Mayanot and their future plans, including Max's world travels. Eyal invited them to come to lunch and the Drew's Village with us, so we stopped at a delicious hummus place (probably the most authentic food I've eaten the entire trip) and shopped around the Drew's Village for more souvenirs. We stopped at an Arab bakery for some shaibeat, which was unbelievable, and I've already begun my search for some in the States.

We dropped the guys off at their hostel and returned to Karkur. Leya was there to teach me to make challah (not to mention pack it in a shoebox so I could bring it home.) After watching the news, playing with the dog and eating some schnitzel, it was off to the airport.

We said a long goodbye at the gate, and I hooked up with another Taglit group so I wouldn't get lost. We exchanged currency and got some water before boarding the 12 hour flight home. I slept a good 8 of the 10 hours, and made it home around Wednesday at 5:30AM. I texted Carly as soon as I was home, and she was over by about 8. I spent the day at home trying to practice and to work out, but I'm so damn jet-lagged that none of it's really working.

Karkur Day One and some Thoughts from Taglit

Okay, enough introspection. Eyal was already at the airport when the bus arrived, and after I said my teary goodbyes, it was off in his car to the Snir house in Karkur. There, I saw Leah in person for the first time in a while, and met the family dog, Lori. I blogged a bit and caught up on my e-mail and such. Got to bed around 12 and slept till 11.

Today I spent a lot of time with the dog, thinking and writing about Taglit and talking with Ben. I went to a market in Tel Aviv and purchased some gifts for people. My plans with Hadar fell through, but I'm okay with that, because there's always next time.

I found out tonight that I'll be heading to the States tomorrow (well, Wednesday) at midnight, which sucks but at the same time I know I need some time to regroup, practice and see some special people and share this experience.

Here's a bit of one of the poems I wrote while in the desert:

A land of ancient dreams and sights to see

And possibilities

That centers every one of us, inviting us to come inside and stay

A while comfortable within these ancient walls

Jerusalem I call you, call your name

And one from Jerusalem:

Looking back on how far we've come

A simple prayer is all I need to bring home

This simple prayer is all I have

Not envious of innocence

The kind that only blissful people know

We pray for strange deliverance

But don't know quite what we are waiting for

A prayer of desert constellations

Silent rides and missing railroad stations

In the wind I swear I heard them call your name

A song that rests on backs of cats

That took over the city when the sun went down

You listen too intently sometimes

And in this war

It isn't where you are or where you're going anymore

All we need

The friends we make, the risks we take

The places we have seen

B'yachad

The Last Day with Taglit, and Finally some Rain

So we woke up early and got settled, took some pictures over the balcony. We got on the bus to Mt. Herzel. It was freezing, but I decided against a jacket. Bad call number one. Also, I decided to drink about a liter of water before leaving. Bad call number two. So we saw the tombstones of the country's greats, from Theodore Herzel himself, to Golda Meir. We also saw the military cemetery, including the new graves from soldiers slain in Gaza. As our guide was speaking, and Roee shared an anecdote, we noticed soldiers congregating around a new grave behind them. We had accidentally stumbled upon the shiva for a fallen soldier, and had all turned to gather and watch. We held one another as we gradually lost composure over this fallen soldier.

Throughout all of the news, and all of the worldwide chaos surrounding Operation Cast Lead, you almost forget that these are real people. These are people with mothers and families, friends and lives outside the military. The compulsory military service of Israel is a source of such unity, as we heard Roee say he knew the guy. Israelis read headlines hoping no soldiers have died, let alone encounter the name of a person they knew. We all felt pretty crappy about being tourists on this intimate moment between family and friends, but in a way, we all were family now and that was unimaginably reassuring.

We went back to the plaza and sang Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, and got on the bus for the Old City.

In the Old City, we got lunch and cheered ourselves up with a little shopping and some Pop-Rock Chocolate. (Hopefully I'll buy some tomorrow for home!) I did buy Dad his postcard and a kippah for myself, which I was inspired to wear in support of Israel. We visited a Yeshiva where we heard a talk about the role of ourselves in Hashem's plan. The rabbis professed that we were part of a hierarchy of self, soul and Hashem. In the end, he sold a few of his books on Kabbalah, and we all walked away with some interesting insight.

We made our final visits to the Wall, put on tefilin and talked to the rabbis there. I was basically verbally abused by one of the older guys for having a pierced ear, but whatever, he is entitled to his opinion, and that's all. I went to the wall with my paper containing a small poem I thought to send the night before. This was the final moment, the summit of the whole spiritual experience, and it was magical. By the time Eric had finished his summit and reached the rest of us, the heavens opened up, and rain came down like I had never seen it before.

We tried to wait it out, but when a very wet Phil came to rescue us, we ran through the rain, past the Wall to the archway where the rest of the group met us. Naturally, the rain stopped by the time we arrived and a rainbow had appeared over the southern part of the Wall. I didn't get a picture, but I know someone did. I can't wait to see it.

On the way to the hotel for our wrap-up session, it had occurred to us that we were all leaving one another, and in most cases leaving Israel for real. We exchanged gifts and shared our feelings about the trip. It was an amazing experience for those who let it be such an experience. I shared that the experience itself had led its way to a whole new philosophy, and was indeed a life-changing experience. I wrote down this new philosophy on the little yellow pad they provided, and as I put down the last word, the pen ran out of ink.

All in all, as I left the Taglit group and said goodbyes, I knew how much this experience changed me, and how much I will miss these people. Mayanot 38 will always have a place in my heart, and Israel always a place in my thoughts.

Our Last Shabbat in Israel

We woke up super late (aka 9am) because it was Shabbat and we had no place to go. Andrew became Bar Mitzvah this morning, and we were all happy for him, even if we didn't all make it out of bed in time to see it. From there we took a walk to Jerusalem's capital center and took some cool pictures along the way. We had another session of 'stump Malka' like the one in Tiberia. This one took on the subjects of evolution, Creationism and science in general. Basically, it killed me and I couldn't wait for it to end. Kaila fell asleep on me, as did Emma at one point.

We made it back to the hotel and had some random adventures. John used my harmonica and in like 10 minutes learned how to beatbox and play it. Crazy talented kid, but we all had fun. By now the group had really become cohesive for the most part, and everyone was hanging with everyone. We pissed hotel security off by breakdancing and playing drums, showing each other our sweetest dance moves. I turned my back for about two minutes and other Ben was wearing a wig, earrings and Malka's wig. He proceeded to act like Liz for a while, and continued to wear the makeup etc. all throughout the night.

Gift of Life paid us a visit, but since Eric and I had already done it with AEPi, we sat back and messed around with the Israelis. After Gift of Life, it was off to Ben Yehuda Street! We bought some beer and some falafel, and John, Jackie and I hit up a sweet hookah bar. I gave my second beer before walking in, really just to be nice. Since we had no timepiece, and I didn't want to third-wheel it any longer, I left to get someone who did. I found Liz and Ben, still in drag from the shoulders up. He got propositioned by a bald guy selling hookah, and I guided Liz to the Burger King so she could use the facilities. We finally made it back to the hookah bar, but wanted to go dance.

The guys who I gave my beer to directed us (mostly in Hebrew) to a dance bar called Bonita. When we arrived, we paid 40 shekel to get into a club that was packed....with eleven Australian Taglit students who could NOT dance. So I continued to third-wheel it for a while until we found another bar with less dancing space, but no cover. I had been done drinking for a while so I just chatted up the other Americans, who thought I was Israeli and had a really awesome eyebrow. We left around midnight for the hotel, and continued the party.

As if we hadn't pissed the people at Jerusalem Gate off enough, we decided to light up the hookah in my room. I wasn't smoking, and I really shouldn't have been there, but one of the guys knocked the burning coal off of the hookah onto Harrison's leg, which he promptly shook onto the carpet. We heard security was coming and everyone would have jetted if not for me, who made everyone stay and clean. (Flashbacks from the fall semester? Maybe.) After that, everyone relocated the hookah to an uncarpeted room near the elevator, where we hung till about two talking about our experience and about life in general. The highlight there must have been Ami, our slightly nerdy tour guide, taking a hit or two of hookah, and our trip organizer Hadassah trying her hardest to blow smoke rings. I left for Kayla and Emma's around 2, and we got a good 2 hours of sleep.

A Heavy Day in Yerushaliym

This day opened in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum. It was very moving and well-designed. Its impact is so multifaceted that you can't help but respond emotionally. It was difficult to hear so many personal stories and to see the impact the Holocaust had on Israel and the Jewish people. On the other hand, it was very inspiring, in that the Jewish people have survived after several nations have tried to wipe us out, not to mention the most systematic genocide attempt in human history. It has become much more important to me to keep Judaism alive in whatever way I can, so that we can be the nation to outlast the nations.

We went from there to the Old City for Shabbat. It couldn't have been better. The men on their side, the women on theirs, we had collectively almost 300 Mayanot at the wall. There was dancing, chanting, shouting, silent prayer all within the mosh-pit that was the Kotel. I hope to bring a piece of that energy and euphoria everywhere I go.

We walked back to the hotel at night and hung out for a bit. I slept in Emma and Kaila's to avoid Josh's snoring. Poor guy.

Masada, Dead Sea and Jerusalem

We got up just before the sun, and Ariel led me to the desert where we saw the sun rise. Amazing and invigorating. We had yet another Israeli breakfast of peppers, humus and chocolate nutella-like something. We played with a dog that was around, and went to the camels.

Let me tell you, after witnessing the beautiful act of camel sex the night before, I wasn't really ready to, well, mount one of these lovelorn beasts. I actually got a donkey at first, but that's okay. Eeyore was nice, but at the halfway point I was ready to get on that camel. It was cool, I mean I can say I rode a camel in the desert, but it wasn't amazing, and I stand by my comment that camels are some of the ugliest animals on Hashem's green earth.

After the camels we boarded the bus for Masada. There's a great history there, and it was a cool walk. After the hike, however, we were ready to go swimming in the Dead Sea. We got to the park, had lunch and changed (2 shekel for the sherutim, dammit.)

The Dead Sea was okay, another experience I can say I had, but nothing worth repeating, except maybe with someone who has never done it. We showered and hit the bus for Jerusalem!

The Israelis said goodbye once we got to Jerusalem, which was really sad. We all connected over the last few days, and it was sad to see them back in uniform and ready to go.

We got to the hotel and showered, this time it was me, Eric and the great Josh. We went to Hebrew University to hear the army talk about Gaza. It was very invigorating, as we heard about how many ways the IDF is trying to counter the bad press. They seemed very sincere, but unlike the American government, this is clearly a self-defense case, and they provided us with what we need to know to argue this case. It is really important to advocate for Israel in any way possible, especially back in the States.

We had dinner at the hotel, and hung out at the mall and the bar. Overall a very quiet night. I wrote some lyrics and fell asleep to the awful sound of Josh's snoring.

"Israelis are just like the pigeons in Rabin Square. We are very in your face."

Rabin Square was an interesting insight into the assassination that changed the course of the country, especially in terms of how government officials behave in public. After seeing the memorial, we saw a guy's car break down in the square. Not uncommon, says Ariel, so we help him. When he got the car started the whole square applauded. We met a representative from Mayanot NEXT!, which was cool.

We took a drive to Yafo for some history and some shopping. The city was beautiful, right along the Mediterranean. We heard a little history about the ruins that exist from the Roman times. I went to eat with Alon, Josh and Sarah. He says it's my turn to order only in Hebrew, so I tried my best, and got pretty far. The schwarma was incredible and gigantic. After we tried to eat, we made it to the flea market. I overheard a shopkeeper try to rip off another Taglit student, so I decide I'll go in speaking Hebrew. It went surprisingly well. I bought two necklaces, both of which were talked down substantially. We left Yafo after another tie-in session for the Bedouin tents in the Judean desert.

On the way we stopped at a rest stop, I met a soldier who had made Aliyah from West Orange, New Jersey. He was maybe 19 or 20 and headed to Gaza the following morning. He looked scared out of his mind, and frankly I don't blame him.

The bedouin tent was like Disneyland. Nothing near authentic, but a lot of fun. We heard a guy play ud, which was cool. We had a delicious dinner and some tea, and got set for a long night by the campfire. Max and I played guitar, people traded off on djembe, and the whole group had a camp-song session. It was really cool. After a while, a bunch of our bus marched into the desert and got a 'taste of the Israeli Army.' I never liked stuff like that, but why not? It's another adventure. Afterwards, we took a chance to meditate on our lives and enjoy the silence of the desert. It was beautiful after all.

I abandoned the group for a while to think and get a little alone time. I ran into an AEPi brother at Chicago by the camel pen. We talked for a while until we noticed that two of the camels were having sex before our very eyes. Believe me when I say that camel sex is some of the funniest sex ever. We returned to the fire, which was dying out at this point, and I grabbed Chele and took her to the camels. It was pretty cool, and she and I got to talk about a lot of deep stuff. The other Taglit students would disagree, but I saw a different side of her then. We returned and smoked hookah with Eric, Alon and Nadav. I think we went to bed around 4 but I honestly don't know.