I am sitting in the airport and writing the last blog for our family trip. Yesterday, we enjoyed the pool and grounds of Kibbutz Hagoshrim and then participated in different electives--horseback riding, jeep touring, and zip lining. I was pleased to be the official photographer for the zip lining and am happy to report that Rabbi Berg did in fact go down the zip line at Manara Cliff.
We then prepared for our last Shabbat in Israel (for this trip). After a meal with literally 6 different soups and probably 30 different dishes and desserts, we agreed it will be quite a change to return to the US and not have so many options for breakfast and dinner--the food has been wonderful and there has probably been too much of it for most of us! We had our services outside and used it as an opportunity to reflect on the past 10 days. Between each prayer, we reviewed the events of a day in our trip and invited people to share thoughts. Our day in Yokneam garnered the most reactions--clearly making a personal connection here in Israel meant a lot. We heard from children and adults and are certain that this has been a life-changing/eye-opening/spiritually-meaningful experience for everyone. One of the most poignant things for our children was to be in Israel and not be a minority, compared to being a Jew in the United States. In Israel, our young people discovered friendships with one another and a sense of acceptance and belonging which happens here, where Judaism is the majority.
This morning was "kayaking" (rafting) down the Jordan River. Perhaps it would have been better earlier in the trip, because it was definitely a "team-building" activity with six people and two paddles per boat!
All that was left was a short trip to the Golan for those who did not need a lot of packing time, then a drive back to Tel Aviv for dinner and airport. Mazal tov to Isaac S. who lost a tooth during dinner (this is a good thing, in case you were worried).
The hugs and kisses, emails and phone numbers, being exchanged tell us that this trip has fulfilled its goal of bringing our Temple members closer together. Somewhat familiar faces from Sunday mornings are now friends; everyone is bonded by this special experience. This group was outstanding and really felt a sense of community the whole time.
For me, this was my first Temple Israel trip, and I have loved seeing Israel through our participants' eyes. The questions, reflections, comments, and stories that we have shared have led me to think and grow as a person and a rabbi. The pride that I felt in watching our young people become b'nei mitzvah in Jerusalem and experience Israel was overwhelming--I pray that they, and all of us, pack a little of Israel in our suitcase (beyond the souvenirs). May each of us take some of this feeling of belonging and holiness back home to share with others.
If you are reading this and starting to think that you want to come experience Israel with your Temple family, start thinking now about our 2015 trip! Questions can go to Rabbi Rau, Rabbi Berg, or myself--we hope you will join us for what all of our 2013 families would say is the trip of a lifetime!
Shavua Tov, a good week for us all.
Rabbi Lapidus
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Thursday, June 27
Three rabbis dance on a bar...yes, I recognize that you know the joke as walking into a bar. However, this is no joke and yes, there were three (sober) rabbis on a bar in Tiberias. But before I get to this part of the story, there are a few things that happened first in this epic day.
We began by leaving Tel Aviv and heading north to Alona Park. There, we watched a film which taught us about the Roman aqueducts which provided water to Caesarea and other towns. For the record, the film could not decide what time period to set its "Indiana Jones" character in and was weirdly entertaining as a result. With that fresh in our minds, we headed into the aqueduct for a water hike. Unlike Hezekiah's Tunnel, this water was deeper and less clear. Yet, we had a great time exploring our way through this cave.
After drying off, we boarded the bus for the fastest trip ever through Caesarea. At least this film made a little more sense...we saw the ruins very briefly and then returned to the bus to head to Yokneam.
Yokneam-Megiddo are the partnership cities for Atlanta and St. Louis through the Partnership 2000 program. What that means is that our Atlanta Jewish Federation donations, in part, go to support programs in this area. As such, we make it part of all of our trips (our adults visited hi-tech sites and had home hospitality for dinner, and our teens did programs and stayed with host families in the community). We arrived to an elementary school to waving flags and music. We were treated to a brief strings concert, then had a dance party. afterwards, adults spoke with the leaders of the school and community partnership while the kids joined their Israeli counterparts to do team-building exercises. I was shocked to see how quickly Facebook info was exchanged....particularly from the Israeli girls to our b'nei mitzvah boys. We continued to the youth center for lunch and a performance by an Ethiopian dance troupe (our federation funds some of the programs for Ethiopian immigrants). The dancing was amazing, as was the stories from the dance teacher and one of the mothers of the dancers. The dance teacher, as part of Operation Solomon, walked for 6 weeks as part of her journey to Israel. She spoke about trying to change who she was only to discover how connected she is to her Ethiopian roots as well as her Israeli identity. The dance performances concluded with a lesson in Ethiopian dance, which we were told was like Zumba. I wish I could say that we were graceful, but what we lacked in style we made up for with effort and enthusiasm.
The group continued to Tel Yokneam, an archeological site, for a quick program, and then we headed to the Galilee region. We took a boat ride on the kinneret, during which we did Israeli dancing. Then we went to Decks restaurant for a celebratory dinner. The food was quite amazing and clearly the woman running things has tremendous respect and affection for our Rabbi Berg as evidenced by the number of vegetarian dishes which kept coming our way. The b'nei mitzvah students were treated to a small display of fireworks and received personalized t-shirts and held sparklers. The woman running the show said that our b'nei mitzvah was like the twelve tribes of Israel. Then, we had a dance party.
As part of the festivities, we were strongly encouraged to lead the YMCA dance...and what we thought would be leading from the platform was actually leading from on top of the bar. Not our idea (the woman running the music suggested it), but I can now cross "dancing on a bar" off my bucket list. Rabbi Berg, Rabbi Rau, and myself did our best to entertain and lead the dancing.
When you think about the moment celebrating our b'nei mitzvah and the joy and festivity of the night, as well as the nature and personality of these three rabbis, I think we would all agree it made perfect sense. And, while the 2015 trip should not count on a repeat performance, rest assured we will find another way to distinguish ourselves as The Temple.
The last song of the night before heading to our kibbutz was "We are Family." Truly all of us on this trip are family: we spent a lot of time together, we shared meals, we helped corral one another's kids, we celebrated the simcha of b'nei mitzvah together, we have developed new friendships, we have laughed and cried and questioned and discovered together. This is truly a spiritual experience, and we are honored to be a part of it.
Tomorrow we rest in the morning, then have electives before our last Shabbat in Israel. Hard to believe our trip is almost done!
Rabbi Lapidus
We began by leaving Tel Aviv and heading north to Alona Park. There, we watched a film which taught us about the Roman aqueducts which provided water to Caesarea and other towns. For the record, the film could not decide what time period to set its "Indiana Jones" character in and was weirdly entertaining as a result. With that fresh in our minds, we headed into the aqueduct for a water hike. Unlike Hezekiah's Tunnel, this water was deeper and less clear. Yet, we had a great time exploring our way through this cave.
After drying off, we boarded the bus for the fastest trip ever through Caesarea. At least this film made a little more sense...we saw the ruins very briefly and then returned to the bus to head to Yokneam.
Yokneam-Megiddo are the partnership cities for Atlanta and St. Louis through the Partnership 2000 program. What that means is that our Atlanta Jewish Federation donations, in part, go to support programs in this area. As such, we make it part of all of our trips (our adults visited hi-tech sites and had home hospitality for dinner, and our teens did programs and stayed with host families in the community). We arrived to an elementary school to waving flags and music. We were treated to a brief strings concert, then had a dance party. afterwards, adults spoke with the leaders of the school and community partnership while the kids joined their Israeli counterparts to do team-building exercises. I was shocked to see how quickly Facebook info was exchanged....particularly from the Israeli girls to our b'nei mitzvah boys. We continued to the youth center for lunch and a performance by an Ethiopian dance troupe (our federation funds some of the programs for Ethiopian immigrants). The dancing was amazing, as was the stories from the dance teacher and one of the mothers of the dancers. The dance teacher, as part of Operation Solomon, walked for 6 weeks as part of her journey to Israel. She spoke about trying to change who she was only to discover how connected she is to her Ethiopian roots as well as her Israeli identity. The dance performances concluded with a lesson in Ethiopian dance, which we were told was like Zumba. I wish I could say that we were graceful, but what we lacked in style we made up for with effort and enthusiasm.
The group continued to Tel Yokneam, an archeological site, for a quick program, and then we headed to the Galilee region. We took a boat ride on the kinneret, during which we did Israeli dancing. Then we went to Decks restaurant for a celebratory dinner. The food was quite amazing and clearly the woman running things has tremendous respect and affection for our Rabbi Berg as evidenced by the number of vegetarian dishes which kept coming our way. The b'nei mitzvah students were treated to a small display of fireworks and received personalized t-shirts and held sparklers. The woman running the show said that our b'nei mitzvah was like the twelve tribes of Israel. Then, we had a dance party.
As part of the festivities, we were strongly encouraged to lead the YMCA dance...and what we thought would be leading from the platform was actually leading from on top of the bar. Not our idea (the woman running the music suggested it), but I can now cross "dancing on a bar" off my bucket list. Rabbi Berg, Rabbi Rau, and myself did our best to entertain and lead the dancing.
When you think about the moment celebrating our b'nei mitzvah and the joy and festivity of the night, as well as the nature and personality of these three rabbis, I think we would all agree it made perfect sense. And, while the 2015 trip should not count on a repeat performance, rest assured we will find another way to distinguish ourselves as The Temple.
The last song of the night before heading to our kibbutz was "We are Family." Truly all of us on this trip are family: we spent a lot of time together, we shared meals, we helped corral one another's kids, we celebrated the simcha of b'nei mitzvah together, we have developed new friendships, we have laughed and cried and questioned and discovered together. This is truly a spiritual experience, and we are honored to be a part of it.
Tomorrow we rest in the morning, then have electives before our last Shabbat in Israel. Hard to believe our trip is almost done!
Rabbi Lapidus
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Celebration on the Sea
Tonight we went to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) for a boat ride and celebration. They made each of our 12 b'nei mitzvah princes and princesses of the sea. Then we danced...a lot!!
Spending time in Atlanta's sister city, Yokeneam
Games with the local school...
Dance recital and dance class with Ethiopian troupe...
Togas and the view from Tel Yokeneam...
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Wednesday, June 26
Today was our Tel Aviv Museum Day--also known as "great until the kids crashed" day. We began at the Ayalon Institute, where we learned about the underground bullet factory which supported the fighters for Israel's independence. Everyone loved this experience, and we were all impressed by the ingenuity and perseverance of these heroes.
We continued with choices of the Palmach Museum and Museum of the Diaspora. Both are unique and special in their own ways and gave us plenty to think about. Everyone was quite tired by the end, and clearly two museums is plenty, if not more than enough, for the students!
After lunch, we took some rest/beach time and then continued with a special dinner on the beach. It was fun to take time to socialize and enjoy the sunset. We are continually amazed by how well everyone gets along, particularly the kids. Tomorrow is our longest day yet as we head to Caesaria, Yokneam (our partnership 2000 city), and the Galilee region. So, Laila Tov!
Rabbi Lapidus
We continued with choices of the Palmach Museum and Museum of the Diaspora. Both are unique and special in their own ways and gave us plenty to think about. Everyone was quite tired by the end, and clearly two museums is plenty, if not more than enough, for the students!
After lunch, we took some rest/beach time and then continued with a special dinner on the beach. It was fun to take time to socialize and enjoy the sunset. We are continually amazed by how well everyone gets along, particularly the kids. Tomorrow is our longest day yet as we head to Caesaria, Yokneam (our partnership 2000 city), and the Galilee region. So, Laila Tov!
Rabbi Lapidus
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Tuesday, June 25
This morning we said good bye to the Dead Sea region, heading first to Beit Guvrin for an archeological dig. Our families ventured into a cave and dug for various pottery items. This program earned an overwhelming two thumbs up from everyone, regardless of age. We then took our dusty selves to Tel Aviv, a bustling city, and enjoyed the markets and shops. A few rushed to the Mediterranean for a quick dip, and then families went to Cafe Kapish, a dinner served by waiters who are deaf followed by a show of actors who are deaf and blind. Some families took a night off. Elizabeth and I had the pleasure of taking most of our kids to see Monsters University at the cinema. The movie was in English with Hebrew subtitles, but the theater was more or less like any American theater. The kids had a great time and all enjoyed the experience.
Every day on the bus we do "interviews" with our young people. The rabbi interviews the student and then at the end, they have the opportunity to ask both the guide and the rabbi a question. It has been fascinating to hear what students have enjoyed, found meaningful, and how their expectations of Israel have compared to the reality. Many weren't sure what they expected Israel to be--desert, Orthodox, etc--but everyone has found something to love. That is what is amazing about this trip: we get to experience everything through the younger generation's eyes and feel that sense of awe and wonder in everything.
Tomorrow is touring in Tel Aviv...one of our tamest days yet!
Rabbi Lapidus
Every day on the bus we do "interviews" with our young people. The rabbi interviews the student and then at the end, they have the opportunity to ask both the guide and the rabbi a question. It has been fascinating to hear what students have enjoyed, found meaningful, and how their expectations of Israel have compared to the reality. Many weren't sure what they expected Israel to be--desert, Orthodox, etc--but everyone has found something to love. That is what is amazing about this trip: we get to experience everything through the younger generation's eyes and feel that sense of awe and wonder in everything.
Tomorrow is touring in Tel Aviv...one of our tamest days yet!
Rabbi Lapidus
Kid Night Out
While all the parents enjoyed Cafe Kapish or a night off, almost all of the kids headed out to a movie with Rabbi Lapidus and Elizabeth. So much kef (fun)!!
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