Day 5: Beach day for Shabbat in Eilat!

Day 5:

We had a relaxing day in Eilat! It was Shabbat so pretty much everything in town was closed. 

We woke up and did group yoga and then enjoyed some sun at the pool. After lunch, we all went to the beach and took a swim in the Red Sea. It was fun to swim around in the salty water which felt so good in the hot sun! 

We then went back to the hotel and showered up. We did a short havdallah prayer to end Shabbat- we lit the havdallah candle, sniffed some mint plant, and had some wine while we sang a prayer. I haven't celebrated Shabbat in about 5 years so it was nice to be able to start celebrating again in Israel! We then went into the town of Eilat for dinner (falafel) and drinks!

I got to talk to the Israelis a bit at night and I learned so much about te IDF & life as a young adult in Israel. It was so eye opening & I am so grateful to have exposure to this culture.

Sending smiles from Eilat,

Rebecca

Day 4: Jerusalem Explorations

Day 4:

Today we explored the old historic city of Jerusalem! 

After breakfast we were introduced to the Israelis that would be joining our group for the next couple of days! Israelis that are currently or were recently dismissed from the IDF have the opportunity to take time off to join a birthright group. 

We have 5 male and 2 female Israelis in our group so to get to know them we divided into 7 groups and then each group had an Israeli and put on a skit to tell the whole group about their story.

We then took a bus ride into the city and went on a walking tour around Jerusalem. We saw king David's tomb, we saw where the last supper took place, and we walked through the streets, it was great to finally have the chance to see the streets of a city via walking versus bussing everywhere.

We also talked to a rabbi who is from the states now living in Israel about the possibilities of coming back to Israel and a bit about the history of Jerusalem.

We then got a snack and then went to the western wall. Visiting the western wall was an incredible experience. I had been talking to one of the israeli soldiers, Adi, and she helped me through the experience at the wall. She had paper and pens in her bag and explained that you right requests or ask for blessings on the paper and then stick it into the wall. The papers are taken out every so often, but no one reads them, they are put in a bag and buried. Once we wrote our notes,  we walked over to the wall but first washed our hands at the faucet near the entrance to the wall. In jewish tradition, three is a significant number, so we wash each hand three times. Next, we entered the female only side of the wall. We got to the wall and waited for a space to open up. Once there was room, Adi told me to go up and put my note in and pray if I wanted to. I found a spot to squish my note in and had a few moments at the wall. It was such a unique experience because all my life when I was younger I learned that we always face and pray toward Jerusalem where the western wall is, and now I was standing in front of it. 

I observed as others religiously prayed at the wall or in chairs lined up facing the wall. It was a very emotionally charged environment. When we were all done we backed away from the wall-- walking backwards because we should not turn our back towards the wall. We sat outside the wall for the remainder of our time there and enjoyed the environment at the wall.

We then hopped on our bus for a 4 hour drive to Eilat. We stopped for food along the way-- i of course had falafel. The drive was beautiful, we were riding along the Dead Sea and had gorgeous views of the Jordan mountains right along the sea.

We arrived to Eilat and lit the Shabbat candles. It had been a while since my last time doing that, but I still remembered the blessing! We then had a break before heading down to eat, and the dinner tonight was so great and so many options.

We then did a Shabbat activity with a lot of reflecting and partner work. We discussed gratitude and learned a little bit more about the people in our group. Post Shabbat, we brought some beers to the patio and enjoyed each other's company. As you can see, the nights usually end like this :)

Sending smiles from Eilat,

Rebecca 

Birthright Day 3: Israeli politics & rappeling

Day 3: 

We woke up & had breakfast at our hotel before hoping on the bus. Our first stop today was at the Kinneret farm to learn about Israeli agriculture and a little bit about life on a kibbutz. A kibbutz is a communal living area where everything is shared & contributed to the community. This is a very common living arrangement in Israel.

We then went to a short lecture about the geo- politics of Israel that was given by a British jewish journalist that lives in Israel. The talk was fascinating and interactive so I was very engaged throughout. He talked about what is happening in Gaza and in the West Bank. He told us about interviews he has done with Palestinians in the West Bank and how he has had to pretend not to be jewish in order to have those conversations. He told us about how much they believe the Jews should be out of Israel. It was so incredibly eye opening to hear the stories of his interviews and learn more about this issues this country is facing. We talked about the two state solution that has been in talks and we discussed Hamas (the Palestinian terrorist group occupying Gaza) and how the fact that they are located within civilian territory makes it difficult for Israel to attack.

He said that the Palestinians in the West Bank don't like Hamas so it's a really complicated situation that the country is facing. He told us that his boss wanted him to go to the Paul McCartney concert in tel aviv to report on it, but later found out he didn't have to write anything.. This is because they only wanted him there if an event occurred. 

We then went to lunch where I again had falafel!

Next we had a rapelling activity! We each rappers down the side of a mountain, it wasn't that far of a rappel but it was really fun! The best part was that at the bottom there were some awesome places to Boulder so a few of us enjoyed climbing around on the rocks and exploring.

We then drove to Jerusalem and had dinner at our new hotel. After dinner we went out on the town in Jerusalem. I didn't expect for Jerusalem to have such vibrant nightlife. As the holy city it wasn't something that I correlated with lots of bars and clubs. However, that's what the scene was. We all went out as a group and had a blast. The small streets with patios were nice to relax on and the music from about 5 years ago was so fun to dance to. All the bars were literally playing music from YouTube. It was great. The city reminded me a bit of Sevilla. The small winding streets with bars and cafes everywhere made me nostalgic.

We got back to the hotel spent a little time on the roof patio & went to sleep!

Sending smiles from Jerusalem,

Rebecca

Birthright Day 2: Hiking & Rafting & Musicians

Day 2:

This morning I got up in time for the sunrise & did a mini workout and yoga on our hotel patio with an incredible view. 

Our group had breakfast together at the hotel and then went off on our adventure. We started the day off with driving to the Golan Heights, which is a mountainous region in the north. We had a lovely lookout view and were also at the site of an Israeli bunker that had been in use less than 2 years ago. From the lookout we could see the country of Syria as well as the country of Lebanon. Israel is such a small country with so many neighbors. I walked underground through the bunker and saw some of the Israeli attack plans and maps. 

We headed back on the bus towards banyas- a scenic reserve with beautiful rocks. We went on an hour hike through some ruins and it was a lovely walk where we learned about history along the way. Sadly, I learn so much it's hard to remember all of it & share it with you! Setting my intention to get some cool historical facts for tomorrow.

After our hike we went for lunch where I again got falafel. This one was better because it came in a pita rather than a wrap & it was stuffed with good veggies. I also tried Israeli iced coffee from the the "starbucks" of Israel called aroma- their iced coffee is like a slushie here... And it's amazing.

We then headed to the Jordan River where we did some rafting, but I mostly swam down the river because it was so nice out and it felt awesome to just go with the flow of the tide! I also jumped off a tree into the river at one point along the way which was super great. 

We did that for about an hour and had a blast pulling people into the water and creating some type of water war. We also somehow ended up with a few Israeli soliders in our boat so it was cool to hear about their lives and experiences in the IDF (Israeli defense force).

We went back to the hotel to wash up, eat dinner and then do a nighttime activity. We had a musician come in and perform for us as well as tell us about his story and a story about Judaism. I loved hearing him talk about his life & how he started playing guitar. How all of us have stories and it's the little details that make the stories. How we're all a a part of each other's stories. How we are right where we need to be right now. We ended the night with him playing some of his songs, then some Bob Marley with us singing along. We had some beers on the patio & hit the hay. 

Sending smiles from Tiberias,

Rebecca 

Birthright Day 1: Jetlag & Tzfat

Israel 

Day 1:

I woke up at 6am and my journey began on the New York subway from Manhattan to the JFK airport. I arrived to JFK around 7:45 and met with my birthright group and checked in. The process to get through passport control was intense-- they asked so many questions about my jewish background, my bat mitzvah, my congregation, and if anyone gave me anything to put in my bag, because they want to make sure there isn't a chance of a bomb threat.

I then got my boarding pass and checked my luggage, and made my way through security. We got to the gate, and some people in the group were actually escorted through security and had their bags searched through and then were escorted onto the flight.

The flight lasted about 10 hours- we took off from JFK a little delayed around 1pm Monday and arrived to Israel at 6am on Tuesday with the time difference. We got our bags and met our tour guide, Asher, and our security gaurd, Noa. Asher is with us on the bus and at our sites telling us all about israel- he is a really awesome tour guide. Noa is always walking behind our group, she has a gun and weapons in case any situation occurs.

We exchanged our US dollars for shekels and then got on our bus for a 3 hour ride north to Tzfat. We first stopped at a beautiful lookout point and mini hike at -------, we learned about some of the history of the north of Israel and saw the Galilee sea. 

We then hopped back on the bus and went to the city of tzfat. We were given an hour to go get lunch, and myself and another few girls were craving falafel and we found a spot where we got some excellent falafel wraps. We then had a mini tour through Tzfat and were able to enter a very old and historic synagogue. We learned about Tzfat's holiness and how it is one of the 4 holy cities of Israel. We then did an activity at a center called ascent where we talked about some controversial and debatable topics that Israelis have had to go through. We discussed how one of their soldiers in the IDF was held for ransom for many years, and the Palestinians requested the release of 1,000 of their soldiers for the release of one Israeli solider. It was a big debate what Israel should do, but because the Jewish/ Israeli community is so strong and values each life so much, they decided to let go of 1,000 prisoners for the one soldier, Gilad.

We then had some time to walk around the markets- there is beautiful art made in tzfat so it was fun to look at! I'll be going back to tzfat at the end of my trip, so I'll definitely give everything another look then. Overall, I really liked Tzfat. It is a beautiful town tucked away in the mountains with blue doors and windows and alleys and steps. Adorable. To me, it resembled Chefchouen, Morocco. I loved that city & I love this one too.

We hopped back on the bus and went to our hotel. We had a buffet dinner, discussed our itinerary for the next day, and then had a couple of beers on the patio which offered an amazing view of Galilee sea and the mountains. Too perfect- still can't believe I'm in Israel. 

Sending smiles from Tzfat,

Rebecca 

Boston & NYC

Boston & NYC

I arrived to Boston Wednesday morning and attempted to master the public transit system called the T. After a few transfers, walking up some hills, and asking people lots of questions along the way, I made it to my friend Christine's place and dropped off my things. She lives in the Somerville area which is across the river from downtown Boston. 

I hopped back on the T to meet a friend for lunch. When my family was on vacation in Mexico we met a family from Scotland, and the daughter goes to school in Boston. I got in touch and was able to meet her, Anna, and her mom, Tina for lunch before they flew back to Scotland later that same day. 

After chatting with them I got to exploring. I was planning on doing the freedom trail, but after a few attempts to find the trail I gave up and found a lovely lawn next to the Harbour that I took a nice nap on. I think I couldn't find the freedom trail because I was so exhausted. I got up at 3am and didn't get much sleep, so as soon as I laid my head down on the grass I passed out. I woke up with all of my things, so I was happy about that, and I felt a lot better, so I continued to explore. I walked through the Boston commons, which is a large park, through a cemetery with a lot of famous historians, and I also went over to Cambridge and wandered around Harvard's campus. Harvard was a beautiful campus in a completely gated community. I explored and then went back to Christine's and chatted with her room mates. Christine got back from work around 6:30 & we headed straight to Fenway for the Red Sox game! I was so excited to go to a game at Fenway & get to sing sweet Caroline :) it was also cool to see the green monster, and talk to a local next to us about all the traditions at the park. The game was super fun and the Red Sox won, by a lot! After the game we headed back to her place for a good night of sleep!

Thursday morning I went back to downtown Boston to walk around a bit. I explored the Boston public garden. I walked down Newbury street, and Charles street-- I had an excellent pistachio crossoisnt at Tatte cafe. I loved the cobblestone streets and the adorable brick apartments with colorful shudders and flower boxes on the window. I walked a lot and all the way past the emerald lakes to where my past Wisconsin advisor and friend, Chris, now works. I walked in his office & got to see his new space. We then went out to grab lunch and catch up. It was so great to see him & know that he's enjoying Boston. 

After lunch, I took the T to a neighborhood called Back Bay, which is where my friend Molly lives. She recently moved there and I was able to check out her adorable apartment. We then walked around the Esplanade, which is a trail that goes along the Charles River. We caught up and walked around, and got some ice cream at a local chain called JP Licks. We met her boyfriend, Hayden, near his work in downtown Boston, stopped back at their place, and then took a long trek to Charles town. It was over an hour walk, but we got to see a lot of sites along the freedom train, and we also fit in a stop at Mike's Canolis. (As you can see I had a lot of healthy food this day). We were going to meet Christine and her roomies at an event on pier 6 that Harpoon brewery was putting on. It was at a really neat spot- the pier offered great views of Boston and with the water, it was picturesque. The harpoon brewery was promoting their new summer beer which was a mango beer and it was delicious. They had large Jenga games- and our group dominated and built the largest Jenga tower I have ever seen. We always thought our tower was going to fall, but then it just kept getting taller! People around he bar rallied around us to watch & see how far we'd make it. It eventually toppled, and we got some food & then headed back to sleep.

Friday morning I went back over to Cambridge for a bit to explore and check out Flour bakery which was recommended to me. I then took the T back to Back Bay to meet my friend Molly. We walked downtown and met Hayden for lunch- we got food at a Vietnamese food truck and brought it over to the greenway, which is a bit of green space just beside all of the big buildings. The food was amazing- I had lemongrass chicken noodle salad. Then Molly and did the Harbor walk, and saw the seals by the aquarium. 

I went back to Christine's and did some laundry before meeting back up with Molly & Hayden. We went to a bar called Yvonne's which had a very speak-easy gatsby feel. They opened a door for us into a a library/ chandelier filled very dim lit room. It was such a cool & classy vibe! We had a drink and hung out with some of Hayden's work friends. We then went to the prudential tower for a good view of the city- it was a little cloudy, but we could clearly see Fenway and the river! Molly & Hayden went back to their place and I met Christine and her roomies out in the north end for dinner. The north end is known for good Italian food and I had some amazing, fresh ravioli from a restaurant called Bella vista. I also got a mini canoli from modern canoli after dinner :) mikes and modern are the two main canoli spots in town & I think I liked modern better! 

After a few drinks and dancing at a bar we got back to Christine's and slept before we had to get up early for our bus to NYC.

Our bus took about 3.5 hours and we got in around 10:30am. We took the subway to our Airbnb which is on the upper west side, just 2 blocks from Central Park! We dropped our bags and then my friend Mackie met us for lunch near our Airbnb. We got amazing Mexican food at a place on Columbus called Mitote. Then Mackie showed us around some of the other neighborhoods like the west village, Chelsea, the meat packing district, and Greenwich. We got ice cream rolls- which is liquid the turns into ice cream and then rolled up in to little logs- the place was called I CE NY. We went to Washington square garden, we also walked along the high line, which is an old elevated rail road track the has been converted into a park/ walkway that also has some vendors up there. I loved walking up there having some nice views of the city from above. They even had a set of stairs that you could sit on and look through a window to watch traffic! I thought it was the funniest thing! We walked through some markets, saw people doing art, and a guy collected stories from random people on the street and had them hanging up- those were cool to read. We walked everywhere and ended up in Times Square. The over stimulating environment of time square. We were near Broadway and decided to check out if there were cheap tickets to any shows. Mackie had to meet his friends for dinner, we said good Bye and then went to see if the book of Mormons had any tickets left. We arrived and everyone was   Huddled outside the theater. We asked what everyone was doing & they said there was a lottery for tickets for the show at 6pm. It was 5:57, so we quickly scribbled our names down on the pieces of paper and handed them to the lady administering the lottery. We didn't win. However, the lady told us we could wait in line and see if there would be room in the standing section. It was only $27 to stand and watch it, and it would be an assigned spot with no one blocking us, so we decided to go for it. We bought our tickets, went to grab a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant called Mother Burger and then went to the show. I really enjoyed the musical, I laughed out loud many times and the cast was so talented! When we walked out of the theater we were confused why it wasn't dark yet-- it was dark, but everything was just so lit up from the bright lights surrounding time square. We walked by Times Square and the back towards our Airbnb. Near our Airbnb is a famous bakery called magnolia, so we decided to check it out. We got a peanut butter toffee bar & some chocolate banana pudding. OMG the pudding was the most amazing thing I have ever tasted. Words can't describe it. We went back to our place & passed out- we probably walked a half marathon that day.

Saturday morning we got up on a mission to find the best bagel place near by. Christine searched them on yelp & we found ourselves a couple blocks from our place a jewish deli called bagel & co.. I got a plain bagel toasted with strawberry cream cheese & Christine got a bagel with lox & cream cheese. They were really great & super filling. We walked with outer bagels through a nearby market & then through Central Park. I remember my last visit to NY when I was looking at colleges, and we went to Central Park - I loved it then & I still love it just as much now! 

We went back to our Airbnb & packed up our things & left. We walked to my friend Jake's and I dropped my things off there so Christine & I could do some more expiring before she had to leave. We took the T to the World Trade Center and decided to go to the 9/11 museum. It was very sad but such a well done exhibit. They had photos of all those who died because of the event, and each of their stories. They also had telephone calls from people who were on the hijacked planes. It was really something.

We left he museum and looked at the ground zero fountain monuments. We then hopped back on the T towards the west village. One of our priorities for the trip was to go to cien montaditos-- which is a chain restaurant in Spain. Since Christine & I both studied together in sevilla, we had the same feelings about going to cien. We each got a montadito (little sandwich) and reminisced our time in sevilla. We were a bit underwhelmed- they were not as good as the ones in Spain, but it was still awesome to go. We then decided it'd be a good idea to get some NY pizza, so Christine got a big piece from Artichoke pizza, and I had a couple bites! Then we headed back towards where Christine had to get on the bus, we hugged & said our good byes & she headed back to Boston. 

I wandered around a bit, found a food festival to explore in Madison square, and saw the flatiron building. I then headed back to jakes place & we went out to get dinner. We went to the west village to a place called the spotted pig. There was a wait, so we walked around & grabbed a beer at a nearby bar in the meantime. When we finally got to dinner it was Amazing. My favorite thing I tried was the gnudi (type of pasta) with a Sherpa milk cheese inside and brown butter sauce- so fantastic.

We enjoyed our meal & then headed over back towards jakes place in Hell's Kitchen. But couldn't go to sleep without dessert, so we went to a near by ice cream place that I heard was delicious called ample hills creamery. I had a salted Carmel ice cream and a ooey gooey butter cake ice cream- it was the perfect end to my food tour through NYC. We went back to jakes where I finished up my packing, and passed out on the couch- not even new yorker's honking could keep me up.

My east coast adventure was a blast- I got to explore new areas, reunite with friends, and eat amazing food. Thanks so much to everyone who hosted me, looking forward to having some visitors in SF!

Sending smiles from Manhattan,

Rebecca

An Israel Experience

When I was around 10 years old, my parents started a fund for me through a program called SKIP (Send a Kid to Israel Program). My congregation matched the money my parents put in and the Jewish United Fund also donated to the fund, which annually gained interest. Apparently, I told my mom that she shouldn't start this fund for me and that I would never ever want to go to Israel. Well, flash forward 13 years and I'm about to hop on a plane over to the homeland. (More on SKIP later).

If you know a Jew, you've probably heard of Birthright. It's this insanely amazing opportunity that ALL Jewish young adults (ages 18-26) have to spend 10 days in Israel through a program, free of cost. The trip covers airfare to Israel, 10 days of programing, accommodations, and two meals a day. BUT WHERE DOES THIS MONEY COME FROM (asks everyone)?! A large portion comes from the Israeli government, another big chunk comes from philanthropists and donors, and a lot also comes from communities and organizations. There are around 40,000 participants a year that come from over 60 countries.

The only thing birthright doesn't cover is my airfare to NYC, which is where my entire group will fly out together. I decided to make the most of my time on the East Coast, so I'll be spending a couple of days with friends in Boston, then taking a bus to NY and spending the weekend there with friends before leaving for Israel Monday morning.

There are several organizers that put on the birthright trips and while all the trips generally do the same things, there are definitely niche trips. For example, some trips are just for people from Chicago (or another specifc big city), some are for students from a particular university, some are for a certain sector of Jews, and there are many more specialty trips too. My trip is through Yael Adventures and it is an adventure themed trip--meaning there will be lots of hiking, kayaking, camping and more! I'm stoked. My group is also of all 22-26 year olds from all over the U.S. I'm really looking forward to making new connections & friendships with Jews from all over!

Safety concerns: most people that I tell that I'm going to Israel respond with "be safe!!" and birthright ensures that we always have a guard on us and that our bus is tracked by the Israeli government. Once I'm out of birthright I'll be staying with friends in Tel Aviv, which is a safe area, and my program in Tzfat is also in a very safe area. We never go anywhere that could be a potential threat to our safety. And as My Mom put it best, Israelis might ask me if it's safe to live in Chicago, which is a city with one of the highest crime and murder rates. We are on the media probably as often as Israel is. We often forget that there are pockets of unsafe places everywhere we go- as long as you know where those places are and avoid them it is less likely for something to go wrong.

Like I mentioned, Birthright is free-- so what was I talking about SKIP for? Well, the beauty of birthright is that you can extend your flight to a later date than when your birthright trip officially ends. SKIP money must be used for a peer program, so after some research I found the perfect extension program to tack on after birthright.

I'll be doing a 2 week program in the North of Israel in a town called for Tzfat. The program is called Livnot Northern Exposure and it combines hiking a few days a week with a few days of community service. It sounded perfect to me & I'm so excited to be immersed in one city for a 2 week period!

Between the time that birthright ends & my extension program beings, I have a couple of days to explore Tel Aviv. I've met some awesome Israelis through my travels in Europe and New Zealand, and in the Maccabi games (Jewish Olympics) I participated in when I was younger, so I'm excited to reconnect with them in their home country!

While I can't say I've been the best Jew throughout college, I have kept up with lighting the Hanukkah candles each year and inviting friends to join. It was definitely difficult for me to keep up with going to Hillel/temple over the past 5 years because of the many other things I was involved in. Since graduating, I was happy to participate in my first Passover seder in the past 4 years and it made me excited about my upcoming trip. I look forward to learning more about Judaism, the Israeli culture, and the diversity that all lays in the country that is about the size of New Jersey. 

Shalom my friends, I'll see you in a month!

Sending Smiles from Chicago,

Rebecca

Enjoy this photo of 13 year old Rebecca posing for her Bat Mitzvah photos.