David's Trip to Israel

Dateline – Saturday, December 26, 2009

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Our seventh day of the trip was also the seventh day of the week, and as it was Shabbat, we rested. After running ourselves ragged for the first week of our stay, it was wonderful to take it down a notch and catch our breaths. (Dear readers, you will be treated to a blog entry of rest, as well, as this will undoubtedly be the shortest entry of all.)

To start things off, we slept in. Many of us had a late breakfast and took our time, since there was no hurry to get to a bus. Some people went off to services at a nearby Conservative congregation, some people found places to go in the city that were open on Shabbat (such as the Biblical Zoo), and others just stayed pretty local. My mom and I planted ourselves in the comfortable lobby of the hotel and read our books and watched people passing through. Starting on Friday night, huge crowds of Orthodox Jews had been coming in and out. We figured there was some sort of bar mitzvah or other family celebration. Whatever it was, there were adults and kids passing through, running through, and shouting through the lobby through Shabbat. It was very entertaining. And of course, they were all dressed to code (for the most part): men with the long beards, black suits and black hats; women with heads covered and long dresses; and children – mostly in dress clothes, yet still bouncing around the place.

Let me take a moment here to comment on Shabbat elevators. For those of you unfamiliar with some practices of Jewish religion, you are technically not supposed to do any work on the Sabbath. “Work” includes the pushing of buttons on an elevator (and for many people it also covers such things as turning on lights, ovens, or even writing a note on a piece of paper). So, in a fourteen-story hotel in the heart of Jerusalem, what do you do on Shabbat? Well, you turn two of the three elevators into Shabbat elevators. A Shabbat elevator requires no button pushing. It also requires a great deal of patience. That’s because it stops on every single floor and opens its doors each time. That’s the only way around the “work” required to operate an elevator. I was quite happy to use the non-Shabbat elevator and go straight to the ninth floor each time.

We ventured out for lunch, already made aware of the very few places that would be open. We headed for a long walk to The Colony, where we saw the Browns having lunch with friends they knew from Israel who’d come down to see them. My mom and I had a wonderful meal and because of how filling it was, we were very eager to walk it off on the way back.

Upon returning to the hotel, it was time for more relaxation and reading. Then, as Shabbat ended and the city came back to life, we had our one scheduled activity for the day: the Night Spectacular at the Tower of David. It’s hard for me to describe how cool this was, and the YouTube video below can help a bit. But you really have to see it yourself. Imagine a big castle made of stone. Imagine walking inside this castle and taking seats, with the walls rising high all around you. Finally, imagine those walls coming to life with virtual reality animations projected onto them in bright, vivid colors. For forty-five minutes, the story of Jerusalem from beginning to present-day was told through music and light. That’s it. It was absolutely remarkable. I don’t know what kind of technology they had to project the images onto the walls, but you forgot that they were even walls.

This simply has to be seen to be believed. Watch a little yourself:

On our walk home, we stopped at the David Citadel hotel with our new best friends, the Wellers. Even though my mom and I weren’t too hungry after our late lunch (and pre-light show snack of lunch leftovers), we had a very nice late meal. This hotel was beautiful and it was hard to turn down another opportunity to sit outdoors, and have great food and great company. The service was so-so, as our waitress was confused both about carrot soup and bagels. And of course, her replacement had to deal with wondering about the different between the “warm chocolate cake” on the regular dessert menu and the “hot chocolate cake” on the specials menu. (There was no difference.)

We got back to the hotel on the late side, and crawled right into bed. Judy had another big day in store for us!

DJW

Dateline – Friday, December 25, 2009

The most amazing thing about waking up on Christmas Day in Jerusalem was that you couldn’t even tell it was Christmas. The only place we ever saw with lights or a tree was the Jerusalem YMCA. It was very bizarre.

My mom gets some help identifying something she found.

Our day began with a bus ride to eastern Jerusalem, up into the hilltops between the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus. Here was the Emek Tzurim National Park Temple Mount Sifting Operation. Long title, huh? Well, the story behind it isn’t short either, but I’ll try to give you the quick version. The Temple Mount, a site of great importance to Jews and Muslims alike, is nowadays controlled by the Muslims. In 1999, the Muslims illegally brought in bulldozers and knocked out a section of the Temple Mount. They dumped the rubble in a location outside the area, to the appall of many in Israel. The Temple Mount had NEVER been allowed to be excavated, so this negligence brought about a firestorm of attention.

However, once it was done it couldn’t be undone. So now what? Well, the huge pile of rubble was probably filled with many thousands of artifacts and remnants of thousands-year old history, and someone needed to go through it all and find the good stuff. But with tons and tons of rubble, how could this be managed? With volunteers. Like us! For the past five or six years, over 40,000 volunteers have headed to the Emek Tzurim site and slowly, carefully, and methodically sifted through bucket after bucket of the rubble – hoping to find pieces of history. This is not a made-up dig for tourists. This is real.

An ancient thumbprint in pottery.

So, after an overly lengthy introduction by one of the archaeologists on site, we broke up into pairs and triples and got to work. And it was a lot of fun! My mom and I had our own station, and we were surrounded by everyone else in our group. The first step was to take a bucket of rubble and pour it out onto our wire-mesh sifting screen. Then, we hosed off the inside of the bucket as well as everything we’d dumped out. That way extra dirt could be cleared off and we could sort properly. After that, we got to work. There were six categories of items to sort – pottery, glass, tile mosaic, metal, something-I-forgot, and “other”. It wasn’t as easy to tell all the things apart. What might have looked really important to us was just a rock. But once we got the hang of it, it was enjoyable work. The idea that we were wading our hands through material that hadn’t seen the light of day for possibly 2,000 years was incredible. (See the end of the post for some video clips of our experience.)

The Am Yisrael group, as a whole, found some wonderful items. The two most memorable were a coin found by Ezra and a piece of pottery found by Charlotte. Charlotte’s pottery piece was special because it had the imprint of a fingerprint on it! The archaeologists at the site guessed that it was from when the pot’s maker was pressing the clay down to shape it. To see and touch the fingerprint of some way-distant ancestor, whose belongings were on/under the historic temple(s), was unbelievable. The people in charge of the sifting project said that it could take FIFTY years for all of the things that are found to be properly sorted, identified, cleaned and then put on display.

Some of the ruins of what could be King David's palace.

Many of us felt like we didn’t have to leave, but Judy told us we must. There was more to do. Our next stop was to the City of David. This small neighborhood has had a rich history throughout time. In the recent past, it was mostly inhabited by Arabs, but is slowly being repopulated by Jews. It sits across the valley from the Arab town of Silwan, and we went up to a lookout point for an incredible 360-degree panoramic view of Jerusalem and its surroundings. Both Judy and the rabbi gave us plenty of history of the area. We made our way from up-top down below some of the shops and into the archaeological sites. In one area, Judy pointed out that the oldest recovered examples of written biblical texts were found right near where we stood. The two scrolls that were found contained the priestly blessing and date back to the period of the First Temple, approximately 700 B.C.E.

She also explained that many people believe that the ruins were exploring might actually have been the palace of King David. As we continued to walk through, we were shown a more “practical” archaeological find – the earliest toilet basin ever discovered. This was a clue, Judy said, that the area where we stood (maybe the palace) was no doubt an area where the upper-class or royalty had to have lived, since toilets would not have been an everyday item.

A royal toilet.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out one other thing that happened when we arrived at City of David – and, for some, as we were leaving, too. We ate Magnums. Magnums are ice cream bars. But they’re not just any ice cream bars. They’re quite outstanding. And starting with our trip to Caesaria, Magnums (or Nok-Outs – which are not as good) became the mid-morning snack for many people on our trip. Of the ten days or so of touring, I would say I had Magnums at least six or seven of those days. You just don’t get tired of them. And with a lot of late lunches, they were a perfect way to bridge the gap after breakfast. Now, I will say that I don’t think I was ever a two-a-day Magnum consumer. But certain members of our trip were. I can think of at least one person who I know was working on his third one before we ate lunch. (He shall remain nameless.)

Anyway…Ben Yehuda Street was our next (and final) stop for the day. This is a large pedestrian shopping area, and we all went there for lunch and shopping. I bought myself and a new kipah, my mom got some jewelry, and we had our first McDonald’s in Israel lunch. (This wasn’t quite by choice, but more by happenstance.) No matter, I still had something I don’t have at home – a McKebab. Just you try to walk into your local McDonald’s and order one! It was actually quite good. My mom wanted to keep shopping, so I walked back to our hotel to rest up before Shabbat.

A McDonald's menu on Ben Yehuda Street.

That evening, we were going to a reform synagogue’s Friday night service. Throughout the 30-minute walk, I ended up keeping pace with David and Michael Weller, who until that point I hadn’t interacted much with. In such a big group, it sometimes take a particular event (like this one) to match you up with some of the other people. We had quite an entertaining time chatting about all manner of things (word games, riddles, sports, New Trier, Chicago and more) on our way to the synagogue. When we got there, the place was packed. The rabbi had informed us that this is a very popular place for Jewish tourists to visit. And with the holiday season in full effect, there was barely a seat to be had.

Now, for me, I always equate reform synagogues with having less Hebrew and more English than my conservative synagogue. Well, throw that out the window. We were in Israel. Everything was in Hebrew! The melodies to most of the songs were very different than what I (we) were used to, but it was still an enjoyable and inspiring service. Less so for the younger members of our group, for after thirty minutes or so, I looked out the window behind me and saw nearly all of our kids outside playing soccer.

Our soldier, Jay (right), talks to the Browns during Shabbat dinner.

After the service, we took a leisurely pace back to the hotel. We met up in a private room for a Shabbat dinner. Two sets of guests were there. The first were Mona, Shari and John – the last three of our group who got weather-stranded in Chicago. They’d finally made it and our group, at last, was fully complete. The second guests were Jay Shriver and his girlfriend (whose name eludes me). Jay is from Lincolnwood, Illinois, but made aliyah to Israel 4 or 5 years ago and now serves in the Israeli army. He is our synagogue’s “adopted” soldier and when a handful of us were en route to Israel on Monday, the people who’d already arrived got to go to his army base and see him and his soldier buddies.

One of the nicest things about the meal was that it was a Shabbat dinner. And since you’re supposed to rest on Shabbat, we were able to. With no big plans the next day, we could relax, eat, and chat and not worry about how early we had to be on the bus the next morning. It was a wonderful way to end a day.

Until next time…

DJW

Dateline – Thursday, December 24, 2009

This was a spectacular day, one only to be rivaled by the following Monday. (You’ll have to wait and see what happened that day!) Our day began at Robinson’s Arch, which is a section of the Western Wall that is south of the Kotel (which is area of the wall that most of us are familiar with). We gathered here to celebrate the Bnei Mitzvah (that would be the plural of Bar or Bat Mitzvah) of three of the people on our trip – David Weller, Charlie Rovin and Charlotte Kamin. It was a wonderful experience to be at the walls of the Old Temple (the Second Temple, from about 19 B.C.E.) and to not just conduct a prayer service, but watch these three young people celebrate such a momentous occasion in their lives. There are no more words of mine which can do it justice, so I’ll let some short snippets of our service do the rest of the talking.

After the service, Judy led us around part of the complex. We learned about the area around Robinson’s Arch – and what Robinson’s Arch actually is (or, rather, was). As you can see in the picture to the right, Judy is pointing out on a historical map/drawing what the temple area looked like in its heyday, and the arch supported a stairway which led to the Temple Mount.

Judy points things out on a historical map.

We also made our way to the southern wall, where the kids in our group went up and down the steps in order to make an observation. What did they observe? That the depths of the steps are staggered between shallow and deep. We theorized at what the possible meanings could be, and why the makers would want to create a step structure that would deliberately force people to ascend and descend more slowly.

We went into the nearby Davidson Center to see a virtual reality presentation on the Temple Mount and the surrounding area, and what it might have looked like back in the days of the original temples. There were plenty of interesting items in the center, but we are on a tight schedule and Judy moved us through! We made our way up the steps to the outskirts of the Jewish Quarter, where we were left to our own devices for lunch. Once again, the majority of us chose falafel…followed by shopping.

The next part of the afternoon was a huge highlight of the trip. We were brought down into the Jewish Quarter and introduced to the neighborhood of Nachla’ot. We were divided into teams and began playing the Neighborhood Game. This was basically a large scavenger hunt through the area, where we would learn all about the history of the Old City and the Jewish Quarter, while finding clues, located objects shown to us in pictures, and answering questions about the things we were learning and seeing. Those of you who know me know that I’m slightly (ha!) competitive. I set out to win. Luckily, I was with a group of people who felt the same way. Ross Culiner, who led this activity, purposely had families separated and mixed up, so each group contained a fun variety of the members of our tour.

Celebrating our victory.

In the two-plus hours we spent traipsing through Nachla’ot, we had a fantastic time, learned a great deal and, in the end, won. We had a final score of 94 out of 100, having missed only a few questions. Would we have listed this experience as a highlight had we not won? I’d like to think so. Our group (Lisa, the Rabbi, Dan, Michael, Miriam, Debbie, Julie and me) had a fantastic time and got to know each other a bit better by playing the game. It was a blast. All the groups’ paths ended in a square near the middle of the neighborhood, where kids from a Hasidic (or Haridi) school were playing soccer and other games. Their school day runs to 5:00 or 5:30, so as we sat there watching them play around 3:30, it was just their mid-afternoon break. (And, of course, there’s no “Christmas break” in Israel!)

We returned to the hotel for a well-earned rest, before heading back to the Western Wall. Before, for the Bnei Mitzvah ceremony, we didn’t get into the proper Western Wall area (the Kotel). At night, we did. Men to one side, women to another, we made our way down with prayers written on paper. Everyone had their time at the Wall, spending whatever time they needed. It was a powerful experience to be there. After I took care of my business there, I found a chair and then sat and watched many other people come and go.

The Mount of Olives and more on a gorgeous Jerusalem night.

Our long day continued with a tour of the tunnels under the Western Wall. You see, the Western Wall isn’t just what you can see aboveground. There is a sizeable depth to the wall, and in the past ten years (?), tunnels have been dug underneath the entire length. They exit in the Arab Quarter, although we ended up backtracking and coming out the entrance. You can see some of the travels in the video montage at the bottom of the post.

We wrapped things up with a whole-group dinner at Olive & Fish, a restaurant just across the street from the hotel. It was a nice meal, but we were all exhausted and ready to head to bed. We knew Judy had another very busy day in store for us.

DJW

A day in the life:

Dateline – Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Judy heads out through one of the arches of the aqueduct.

During breakfast on Wednesday morning, we were all pleased to see Joel and his two sons walk in. His wife, Julie, and her parents had made it out in the group before us. But while my family, Lisa’s family and the Rabbi’s family all made it out of Chicago on Sunday, Joel and the boys hadn’t. Fortunately, they got out the next day, arrived while we were at the Palmach Museum, and were finally part of the group. At this point, we were waiting on a final group of three – Brian’s mother, sister and brother-in-law. They were still back in Chicago. Slowly but surely, our tour bus was filling up.

Jonathan and his new Nigerian friends.

We started the day by heading out to the beach to see one of the ancient aqueducts that was built outside of the town of Caesaria. (Want to guess which empire that ruled Israel throughout history built Caesaria? Of course…the Romans.) Not only was the aqueduct incredible to see and marvel at, but the beach was wonderful, too. A large group of Nigerian tourists arrived a few minutes after us and soon flooded the beach. And they wanted pictures with us! (More specifically, the kids in our group.) It was very funny to watch.

An old Roman bathouse at Caesaria.

We packed it up and headed to Caesaria, which if you hadn’t known different, might just as well have been in Rome. It certainly fit the part. We got the full tour (albeit a speedy one) from Judy, who gave us the overview of its history. It was built by King Herod around 22 B.C.E. to honor his leader (Caesar) and to also point out his own greatness. (I may have a few details wrong – please forgive me. It’s been a few weeks and Judy gave us A LOT of info.) We toured the amphitheater, the hippodrome and more. It’s an incredible complex and quite well-preserved and restored. We caught a group of workers putting an old floor mosaic back together.

Our next stop was the town of Zichron Yaakov. This town, up in the north near Haifa, was the first town founded in Israel by modern Zionist pioneers (called Halutsim) in the 1880’s. It is a beautiful, picturesque city and our stop there was at…a winery! The Carmel-Mizrahi winery was founded by Baron Edmond James de Rothschild in 1885 and it was the first winery in Israel. We had a wonderful tour from a woman with a unique genealogical history – she was a Scottish-Israeli. The effect of her Hebrew accent on her Scottish English gave her a very unique sound. Our tour ended with a wine tasting (five varieties), and our tables were also filled with bread and some of best olive oil any of us have ever tasted!

My mom, Julie and Joel during the wine tasting.

We gathered for one of our most enjoyable lunches in the winery’s cafe. The staff kept bringing us the most wonderful food – salads, wood-fired pizzas, pastas and more. The dessert was phenomenal too. The only downside to this lovely outdoor lunch was the group of fifteen or so Israelis who came in partway through and sat next to our table on a little raised-up deck. They smoked and drank non-stop throughout our meal (including a few pregnant women). It was both distracting and disconcerting. Nevertheless, we had a great time.

Our final touring stop of the day was at Latrun. This place houses many of the tanks used by the Israeli’s throughout their history. This was definitely a highlight for the kids on our trip, for after the Los Angeles-born, former Israeli Army member tour guide finished his spiel, it was free time climbing on the tanks. As the sun set behind us on the hills, it was a nice end to the day. We also visited their equivalent to the Vietnam Memorial Wall, commemorating fallen soldiers in a similar fashion. Sadly, there were extra panels at the end for adding additional names.

Climbing the tanks at Latrun.

With our day of touring ending, it was time to head into Jerusalem, where we’d be staying for the next five nights. We made a quick stop outside the city to take in the view, but between the dark and the clouds, there wasn’t much to see. After checking in at the King Solomon Hotel, my mom and I joined Sarah Rothschild (no relation to the Baron mentioned above, she claims) and her kids and Joel, Julie and their kids on a walk to find dinner. We headed down to a nice area on Emek Refaim. The Rothschilds and Browns wanted sushi, and while we didn’t, we figured the menu would have something we could handle. After a long walk, we found the place and settled down to a nice meal. Even though we had to have heaters on, there’s just something about sitting outside and having a meal in December that’s just magical.

And another day was complete.

DJW

Dateline – Tuesday, December 22, 2009

I’d seen our itinerary before I left for Israel and I knew that this was a TRIP and not a VACATION. Any lingering doubts about that were wiped away the next morning. We started off with breakfast (duh!). But have you had an Israeli breakfast before? I know I hadn’t. And boy was it spectacular. They know how to do breakfast there. Plenty of food – eggs, casseroles, fruits, veggies, fish, pastries, cereal, waffles, and more. What a spread. The veggies were the most surprising to me – they believe in eating greens and so waking up to a salad bar is the norm for Israelis. For those of you who know I like to eat salads for lunch…well, it became breakfast instead. In addition to all sorts of other goodies. Plus, with a full day on a bus ahead of us, I had to stock up.

Getting on the bus, my mom and I got to meet the 10 or so people who made it out before we did. (Incredibly, it took FOUR different itineraries before all members of the trip made it to Israel.) Then we headed north out of Tel Aviv to Rechovot, which brought us to the Ayalon Institute. Now this was an amazing place with an even more amazing history. On the surface, it looked like your basic kibbutz (cooperative). But there was a very special story. From 1945 to 1948, some members of the kibbutz were working secretly underground in a bullet factory. You see, the British were occupying Palestine at the time, before it became independent and Israel. How could the Jews prepare for their own independence and own survival when the British wouldn’t allow them to have weapons or ammo? They had to do it themselves.

The secret entrance in the laundry room floor.

Not only did they build a literally underground ammo factory, but they did within sight of the British troops stationed nearby. Their thought was, surely the British wouldn’t think we’d do such a thing so close to them. Right? Very right. During their three years of secret work, the members of this kibbutz made over TWO MILLION bullets. The entry and exit into the factory was underneath a washing machine in the laundry. For moving big equipment in and out, the opening was hidden underneath the ovens in the bakery. What’s even more incredible about this is that the British were buying that very bakery’s bread and using that very laundry’s services! All while the seeds of their overthrow were being sown underneath. Wow.

Up next was the gorgeous Weitzman Institute. This was a huge campus where some of the leading Israeli and international scholars and scientists worked to advance science and make the world a better place. We headed to the Science Garden, which is one of the neatest places I’d ever been to. They had all sorts of science experiments, displays and phenomena out in the open for you to touch, explore and learn about. (Think of a combo of the Kohl Children’s Museum and the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago, but outdoors and much cooler.)

We were given a VIP tour of the place, due to the fact that the father of Lisa Garoon (in our group) was very involved in the creation of this place. Even better – they’re opening a similar one in Lake Zurich next spring! There was a swing that replicates the moon’s gravity (1/6 of Earth’s). There was a water bowl that created powerful sounds and vibrations just by rubbing the handles the right way. There was even a convex mirror that created instant fire. (Think about how you can use sunlight and a magnifying glass to create a pinpoint of heat/fire. Now see that taken to the next level.) Our tour ended with a sweet treat – instantly made fresh ice cream. They combined the ingredients (cream, sugar, chocolate, etc.) and then brought in some liquid nitrogen to instantly freeze it. It was great.

Here you can see highlights from Ayalon and Weitzman:

The bus returned us to the heart of Tel Aviv, where we were on our own for lunch. A bunch of us headed to a falafel place, where we struggled to order (Hebrew only), so we ended up just pointing to what we did or didn’t want in our pitas. We gathered as a group in a nearby park and enjoyed the gorgeous weather (60’s and sunny).

Next we headed across the street into Independence Hall, where a group of Zionists gathered together in 1948 and declared Israel’s independence. At this point jetlag was hitting many of us, and the entire back row – me, my mom, Julie Strauss and more – was nodding off or fully asleep. Many people wanted to shop afterwards but my mom and I were ready for a nap instead. Dan Kamin, the rabbi’s husband, also wanted to head back to the hotel. Turns out we made the right call. Five minutes after we jumped in a cab, the downpour began. I was quite pleased to hop into my bed back at the hotel and get recharged.

Well-rested (somewhat), the group reconvened and we headed to the Palmach Museum. The Palmach were a group of Jewish fighters, part of the “Hagana”, who had been trained by the British in the early 1940’s to help defend against the Germans. When the German threat to Palestine receded, this group was officially disbanded (in 1942) but went underground and stayed active. After World War II ended, the British tried to stop Holocaust survivors and other Jewish refugees from making their way to Palestine. The Palmach helped illegally bring in 65 ships (tens of thousands of people) from 1945-1947.

Independence Hall

The museum was really beautiful and a great testament to what the Palmach and Hagana went through in their effort to improve, sustain and build Jewish life in the pre-Israel period of the 1940’s.

Finally, our touring was done and it was time for dinner. Woo hoo! Judy, our guide, went with a few of us (Rose & Brian Dubin, Sarah Rothschild and her kids Charlie and Miriam) to the Tel Aviv pier to find a good place to eat. Pretty much all the restaurants were kosher, which in and of itself was no issue to me. Kosher food here in the States doesn’t really taste any different than “normal” food. But what I didn’t realize is that due to the Jewish prohibition of mixing meat and milk (which I personally don’t follow), restaurants are either “meat” or “dairy”. So, the steak place won’t have any cream sauces or ice cream for dessert. The dairy places won’t have any meat products at all (although fish is OK). We ended up at a dairy place, which had great food but awful (and slow) service.

The entrance to the Palmach museum.

After our first long day in Israel, we weren’t that pleased with how slow the service was. Everyone was tired and anxious to get back to the hotel. (Not to mention pack. We were off to a new hotel in Jerusalem for the next night.) But we walked off our full bellies and made our way back to the hotel. A personal highlight that night for me was the Distant Suns app on my iPhone. This is an astronomy application that shows you the night sky wherever you are and helps you identify stars, constellations, etc. I stood out on the balcony and identified nearly everything that was in front of me. That was fun.

How’s that for a full day?

Until the next post….

David

Dateline – Sunday, December 20, 2009

I just erased what I had written as a beginning.  Twice.  As usual, I was way too wordy and play-by-play. You want the broad strokes, right? That’s what you’ll get. At least for the unimportant stuff. (NOTE: This entry is still long. I just can’t stop myself.)

The first day of the trip was long and tiring. Our first flight of the day (O’Hare to LaGuardia) was cancelled. However, we got to the airport around 8:00 a.m. in the hopes of getting on the 9:45 a.m. flight on standby. No dice. My mom and I met Lisa Garoon and her two kids, Isaac and Rachel, while we tried to sort things out. We got placed on the standby list for a 1:10 p.m. flight to JFK. Looking at our watches, that was about five hours away. Joy.

Our ride to Israel.

Luckily, Lisa got us all into the Admirals Club. The rest of the morning was spent reading, talking, and getting to know each other. Some of the 25-odd people on the trip made it New York that morning. Others waited, like we did. The 1:10 flight was pushed back to 3:10. Just great. That meant that even if we got on that flight, we’d miss our connection to Tel Aviv. Would we spend the night in New York? Head back to Wilmette and try the whole thing over again on Monday? No one knew what was best. We met up with the rabbi, her husband Dan, and two of their kids, Zach and Charlotte. After time in the Admirals Club together, we headed to the gate for the JFK flight and hoped we’d make it. If not, the plan was to head back home and try again the next day. Even though we’d miss our connection to Tel Aviv, there was another Israel flight that was scheduled to take off at 12:30 in the morning. Maybe we’d make that one.

Good luck fell upon us for the first time that day. My mom and I were called up. We made the flight. Lisa and her kids made the flight. But of the four members of the rabbi’s family, she was the only one who made it. When we landed in JFK around 6:30 p.m., we found out that the rest of her family had made a flight to LaGuardia and were on their way to meet us at JFK. Now, all we had to do was get onto the red-eye flight to Tel Aviv.

This required making our way across the International Terminal at JFK. Wow. What a building. So many people, so many languages, so much noise. It was incredible. And of course, we entered the terminal from one end and El Al’s spot was clear across the room. But we wove our way through and made it to them. At this point, it’s probably 8:00 p.m. or so. And the El Al security is TIGHT! Before I can even get in line to talk to a ticket agent about standby, my mom and I are grilled by one of the El Al employees. As he examines our passports, he asks, “What synagogue do belong to? What’s your rabbi’s name? Where did you go to school? Did you learn Hebrew?” This was not your typical, “Did you pack your own bags?” kind of TSA quiz.

But we made it through and, long story short(er), we all got our names on the standby list. The rabbi’s family too, although their LaGuardia detour cost them some time. We went with Lisa down to the food court (with ALL of our luggage – El Al wouldn’t take it until we were confirmed). The place was packed. So many people clearly delayed – lying all over the place, sleeping, huddling in corners. At this point, we’ve been on the go for more than 13 hours and have only made it to New York. We’re hoping we catch that midnight flight. If not, we have to find a hotel. Everything near the airport is full – we checked. Manhattan was going to be the next stop, if needed.

At 10:40 p.m., all nine of us return to the El Al station and are greeted with fantastic news – we’ve all made the flight! Yes!! We get checked through, get our boarding passes, go through security and head to the gate. We don’t have too long to wait around, but we’re surrounded by large groups of teenagers and kids in their early 20’s. At least one Birthright group; possibly more. They’re all excited and chatting. We know it means a loud flight. But we’re happy. We’re going to Israel!

Despite a 12:30 a.m. listed departure time, we don’t take off until 2:00 a.m. It’s hot and cramped on the place and my mom and I are stuck in the back of the 747 – separated, one of us in Row 54 and the other in 57. I never sleep well on planes and this was no exception. Despite it being two in the morning, I barely was able to get any rest. I didn’t know how messed up I would be when we landed but I feared the combo of jetlag and regular exhaustion would beat me up.

The plane's in-flight progress tracking. In Hebrew!

One of the cool things about the flight though was the flight tracker on my personal video screen. It was animation of the plane, keeping track of its progress from New York to Tel Aviv. What was cool was that as it cycled through various screens (travel time, miles flown) and then maps (some zoomed in, some pretty wide), it went through one round in English labels and one round in Hebrew. In the picture I took (see it on the right), you can see the plane in the middle of the image surrounded by the continents of Europe and Africa. For those of you who can’t read Hebrew, some of the cities spelled out there are Moscow, Sofia (Bulgaria), London, and Casablanca. Sometimes, when it was a more zoomed-in shot, I would try to figure out what the cities said in Hebrew and then wait for the English to come around to see if I was right. At one point, as we flew over Greece, I could recognize one of the five cities shown.

After ten-and-a-half hours in the air, we finally had made it to Israel. Customs and passport control went fairly easily and a driver met us in the baggage area. We were all tired and hungry. It was now about 8:00 p.m. Monday night in Israel – we’d been on the move for 37 straight hours. Craziness!

The view from our balcony in Tel Aviv.

We were met outside by our tour guide, Judy. She led us to the bus, we settled into our seats and began our drive into the city. It didn’t take very long and while she tried to lay out the next day’s schedule and do some basic introductions, we were all too wiped to take much in. We walked into the hotel (The Carlton Tel Aviv – located right on the Mediterranean), dropped off our stuff in our rooms, had a quick dinner in the restaurant there and promptly went to bed.

It took us forever and a day to make to Israel, but we did so safely and as tired as we were, we couldn’t wait to get started the next day.

DJW