All the pictures from the trip can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151126365006319.436636.201166321318&type=3

Day 9 - Monday, December  24th

Waking up at the ass crack of dawn, 5:30 in the morning in the Bedouin Tents was not our ideal way to start our day.  However, the bright sunrise that peaked over the desert hills proved to show all of us that we would have a pleasant day..until we smelled the camel shit.  Upon smelling this, we gathered the courage to ride camels in a circle.  We even had the opportunity to name the camels.  After departing the silent desert, we embarked on a treacherous 2 hour bus ride filled with frigid conditions that no towel or sweatshirt could provide a sufficient amount of warmth.  Upon arrival at the Mesada, we gazed upon the steps that would lead us to the monumental feat for our trip.  As we gathered our gear, preparing ourselves for a gruesome, sweaty hike, we found that said hike turned out to be a 15 minute stroll up the mountain.  Despite the short walk, achieving our goal to the top of the Mesada remained monumental.  Before commencing our archaeological tour of the ruins of the Mesada, we were given the opportunity to renew our Jewish names.  The purpose of renewing our name was so all of us could unite in the act of Judaism.  In order to do so, we stood in unity, shouting from the tips of Mesada into the hills of Israel.  As each name was echoed back, a new sense of spiritual awakening engulfed our group.  From there, we explored the remainder of the Mesada, where Lilly stood with courage in front of our group, having her Bat Mitzvah on top of the beautiful mountain.  Mazel tov!  After this awesome little ceremony, we began our journey down the mountain.  This proved to be much harder than the upwards journey because of the winding Snake Path.  After a brief lunch, what was meant to be a long ride to the Dead Sea, seemed short due to our anxiety to float in the Sea.  The experience exceeded our expectations.  Not only did we lather from head to toe in mucus like mud, but we also managed to form bonds with other members of Taglit.  The Dead Sea proved to be very lively.  We were hesitant to submerge right away, but as everyone began bobbing along, we quickly floated our way to serenity amidst the Dead Sea.  After the sudden shock of burning sensation, it very quickly became fun in games as people began loosening up and dancing through the Sea.  It was interesting to feel the way the Sea was able to carry us without effort as if we were a feather.  After a brief, but cleansing shower, we journeyed to our final destination: Ma’ale Hachamisha Hotel.  The evening was pleasant, as everyone settled in and feasted like champions!  We look forward to experiencing the final moments of our journey before we are taken hostage on Delta flight #### to the United States of America.

Miss you and love you

Love,

Allie, Lizzy and Marci

Day 8 - Sunday, December  23th

Our 3 nights at the Hashalom hotel has come to an end and we are ready to continue our trek of Israel by heading to the southern desert of Jehuda and of course, stopping at several jaw dropping stops along the way.   

               For most of us, the sound of our alarms at 6 am was a harsh slap in the face to the fact that going to bed at 2-3 a.m. was probably not the wisest idea.  However we pushed through the sluggish morning managing to get our entire luggage on the bus and grabbing a quick breakfast rather quickly.   Now that we were ready to go, we all met as a trip in one of the hotel lobby rooms.  There, we all got into a circle and took turns talking about how great of an impact the soldiers had on us Americans, and how great of an impact we had on the soldiers. It was this afternoon that our Israelis would be leaving us to go back to the IDF. The stories that were told brought tears to many eyes, for it was that moment where reality hit us… That after today, we would lose part of our family.   After we hugged the shit out of each other we boarded the bus and off we went!  Our first stop was only 5 minutes from the hotel and was one of the most incredible overlooks of Jerusalem we have encountered thus far. We took photos and Sarah pointed out historical landmarks for not only the Jewish people, but also showed us how Jerusalem was holy to Christians and Muslims, which was quite fascinating. The only crappy part of this stop was that as soon as it was too late and the bus departed, I realized my Apple headphones fell out of my pocket and I would never see them again L.  Our next stop was a second visit to the old city of Jerusalem where we toured the beautiful tomb of King David and the Last Supper Room . They were beautiful for 2 reasons. One, the architecture of the tomb was unbelievable, and two, because it is one of the few places in the world where Jews, Christians, and Muslims, can all come to pray.  In fact, we happened to see a group of Nigerians kissing the ground of the tomb which was rather interesting.  After the Last Supper Room and the Tomb, we had lunch and shopped around the city for couple hours.  I bought a Mezuzah for my Mom, which meant a lot for me because, ever since she moved into her new condo, she never managed to buy one for her doorframe.  Of course,  being the obnoxious ball of energy I sometimes tend to be, when we were touring the outside of the Second Temple of the Jewish People, I tried hopping over an ancient well and I tripped and dropped my mom’s Mezuzah 40 feet underground. I have never been so pissed at myself in my entire life.  But it was ok!!!  Roy , our incredible security guard, showed me an “illegal” entrance to the sewers of the temple entrance.  I literally walked though the underground tunnels of the holiest landmark of the Jewish people and found the mezuzah!  My mom better fucking appreciate it J. Anyways, we ended our tour at the Western Wall where we prayed and then walked through the Bill Davidson Memorial, which meant a lot, especially to the people from Michigan, because Bill Davidson lived in our Jewish community in metro-Detroit.  We boarded the buses for the last time as a complete family.  We now left for the Central Bus Station where we said our goodbyes to Shaked, Avioo,  Yoav, Atar, Maya, and Rotem for the very last time on the trip. Our soldiers all seluted us as our bus departed which pretty was very sentimental.  After we left the station, it was pretty quiet bus ride and there definitely felt a sense of emptiness. After two hours of driving south, it was dark now.  We finally got to our destination where we would be sleeping, which was the Bedwin village.  We ate dinner in a tent while sitting on our butts, and used our hands instead of silverwear.  After dinner, Felix took us on a short hike to a quiet spot in the middle of the desert, where he gave an chilling speech on why Judaism is in the eyes of the individual. It was really deep.  We then proceeded to lay in the sand, watching the stars, and screaming out to G-d, our prayers we want to be answered.  It had a mystical and spiritual feel to it.  We hiked back to our campground where there was a bonfire ready and delicious Smores to snack on. We partied till it was time for bed and then all got cozy as we fell asleep, together, as a family, in our own Bedwin tent.

Written by:

Brett Feinbaum

aka The Bus 1026 president

aka tittie boi

aka 2 chains

aka mr. tru OG stunna

Day 7 - Saturday, December  22th

               Today was a very special day for numerous reasons. First, today’s breakfast was the only optional meal for the group. Although most of the group slept in, some of us did enjoy the breakfast that the hotel served. Following breakfast, there were two optional sessions. The first was meditation/ yoga and the second was bar/bat mitzvah review. I attended the bar/bat mitzvah review, so I cannot speak about the yoga/mediation session. Nevertheless, during the review session for the ceremonies we rehearsed the Aliyah Blessings, learned about the logistics of the ceremony, and talked about what should be in our speeches. After those two optional activities, the group had Shabbat lunch.

               After lunch, in a mad dash since there were long lines for food at the hotel dining hall, we all spilled into a room with the other bus from Ohio. Lizzie, Nathan, Jeremy, and I sat in the front row because we were the members of our group to have a bar/bat mitzvah today. I was nervous as ever since this was my first bar mitzvah ever.  Emmy helped me along with some Israeli soldiers for the proper reading of the blessing since my Hebrew is not the best. During the speeches from the Ohio State kids, they kept doing their chant, Oh-io. I knew that the first member of our group would have to do the Michigan State chant, Go Green-Go White. Nonetheless, I did not think that the first member of our group would be me.

               Before I put on the talit, I jokingly whispered to Felix “I was not suppose to be the first person from our group to be called up,”  and he just shrugged with a smile on his face. His calm demeanor brought a calm over me before I spoke the blessing that I had just learned how to say a few hours ago.  While I was doing the blessing for the talit, Maya the Israeli soldier who I chose to read the Torah portion came up. I read the first line of the blessing while shaking and speaking Hebrew very slowly. The congregation responded and I repeated the second line of the blessing and read the third  line of the blessing speaking very slowly and sometimes with help from Ester, the Hillel Birthright director. Nonetheless after Maya spoke from the torah, the Vayechi, I finished with the last portion of the blessing and went to stand in front of the Torah.

               Two members of the Ohio bus made their speeches directly before me and then I spoke. I had started to write something on my iPhone before lunch but I did not pull out from my iPhone, I wanted to speak from the heart. I started with a joke: “I’m glad you guys came, even though this was not optional.” I continued with my speech by mentioning that I am glad I had this amazing opportunity to have my Bar Mitzvah in the holiest city of Jerusalem.   I again made a joke with stating that Ester in the review session had said that we would say amazing so many times if we did not write out our speech and I proclaimed “that I had only said it once, well then twice.” But then the next sentence I began started with “amazing.” The room filled with laughter. I continued with my speech pledging to be more involved with Hillel and do more community service in my community. And of course I had to complete my speech with a “Go Green” chant.

               Lizzie, Nathan, and Jeremy had their bar/bat mitzvah following mine and did a wonderful job! Nathan and Lizzie had very sentimental speeches while Jeremy had a very funny but sincere speech; matching his personality. Following the ceremonies we had an activity run by the soldiers. We played dress up games and had dance offs between the boys and the girls. Following their activity, we did Havdallah.

               Succeeding Havdallah, Reuven Hazan gave an excellent speech regarding politics in Israel. He explained the differences between the American two party system and the Israeli five cluster groups that are composed of twelve individual parties. Although I find this quite interesting, some of the readers of this post may not, as some of the members in the audience were falling asleep, so I will spare the details. Following the speech we hoped on the bus and went to downtown Jerusalem and enjoyed our last night with our Israeli soldiers. Shopping bags, fun memories from the night, and sleepy faces piled onto the bus and headed back to the hotel. I will remember this day for the rest of my life and I am sure that Lizzie who had her first Bat Mitzvah today will as well. Nonetheless, our entire bus will remember this night as the last night with our great Israeli soldiers who have become a part of our family.

Aaron Walden

                                                      Day 6 - Friday, December  21th

               Yad Vashem; The Holocaust museum and memorial in Jerusalem.  Sitting at the bottom of Mt. Hertzel it is so extensive that it would take 4 whole days to see the whole thing.   We only had about 2.5 half hours.  So, while we did not see the entire complex as a group it was an educational and moving experience. We did not have Sara to guide us, but our guide was from Yad Vashem and he was very knowledgeable.  The architecture was meant to be unsettling.  It is a heavy structure all cement built into the ground.  The light shines in from on high.  You must criss-cross throughout the exhibits; some areas are narrow and some wide.    Our journey began by watching a video of the story of Hanna, a survivor who had come from Hungary.  What really touched me and made me cry was her telling of the remorse she felt by not allowing her mother to delouse her and give Hannah, her portion of rations.  That guilt was so deep.  After that we entered the museum where there is extensive information on the propaganda from the Nazi party, as well as the military history of the European theatre of World War II.  There was a section dedicated to the explanation of what it meant to be a Jew in Europe.  Our guide told us that in Israel many people did not know what European Jewry life was.  How they lived, how some acclimated and how some did not.  That was surprising to me.  As we journeyed further down the path we entered the area about the ghetto and how the Nazis took time to finally decide what the “final solution” was going to be.  Then we entered the area about the concentration camps.  It had real rail road tracks used for transportation of millions of souls.  We saw a portion of the exhibit that showed the shoes of people who had been exterminated.  From this we learn that these millions were individuals.  Woman who wore high heels, men who worked in a factory and children just beginning to walk.  We finished Yad vashem with a chasm built into the mountain with water at the bottom.  This water works as a reflecting pool.  Above it is a dome with the names and faces of people lost to the Holocaust.  Around it are shelves filled with names of people who were exterminated.  They have found 4 million names but will never find all of them.  So this reflecting pool serves to not only remember the ones we know we lost but the ones with no name.  The people who were completely wiped from history due to war, racism and a man, an elected official who had a vision to wipe out one race.  The water also reflects the faces of the people who come to visit.  Whether they are Jews or not they are the future, the people who must carry the lesson forward to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.  It is about hope and remembrance. 

Despite the torrential downpour we ventured outside to visit the memorial dedicated to the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust.  You walk through the dark silently with the light from 5 candles reflected from mirrors to appear as if it goes on forever.  From speakers names of children are spoken and the city they were from.  I identify as ethnically Jewish.  But for the Nazi’s none of the religious divisions mattered.  They had their Nuremburg laws and if they defined you as a Jew you were subhuman and only good to work or be killed.  It was fitting that this memorial was built into the mountain dedicated to Hertzel.  He envisioned a state where Jews would be free of oppression.  This was one of the darkest times for Jews and many of the ones who survived found salvation in the land of their ancient ancestors, Israel.

               After this moving experience we traveled to Machen Yebuda for a taste of a modern Israeli open air market.  It was something out of a novel or movie.  The spices, nuts and fruit were on display.  The vendors were shouting and the people were pushing, talking, smelling, and tasting. It was Shabbat so we welcomed it in the lobby of the hotel as a bus.  Juliana read the blessing. We had dinner and then there were services.  I personally went to the alternative one where we had a discussion about modern Shabbat in modern Jewish American life and the importance of rest.  Later there were Hillel conversations on everything from tattoos to the discussion I went to about sex, love and relationships in relation to Judaism.  It was led by Esther the head of birthright for Hillel and it was really interesting to debunk the myths and learn what the Torah really says.  The topics ran the gambit from contraception to having children.  We then exchanged our gifts with our visiting IDF soldiers and saw the baby pictures of everyone in the group.

Rachel Manela  

                                                      Day 5 - Thursday, December  20th

Growing up as I did, I put a lot of energy and internal thought as to how I might feel if I should ever reach the holy city of Jerusalem. And well, today I got a chance to finally have those internal discussions and meditations answered. Yeah, it wasn’t all I was expecting it to be. But then again, I couldn't kid myself into expecting some revelatory ‘light bulb’ moment, where everything would just click into place and the whole world would make sense. What instead I was greeted with was a city that I knew that my history (that is to say the history of my people, not me directly) was linked with.

Still, having the service with the other birthright buses Mount Scopus observation point where I got a chance to look at this enormous city that I’d seen in all the pictures was that first moment that I really had a chance to reflect on what I was seeing, there in front of me, and not on some small computer screen. Yes, it wasn’t what I thought it would be. But it was something. Something I’d never seen or experienced before (most certainly not with Hava Nagila playing in the background) nor with the wind nearly blowing off my fedora. And those moments of expectations being lost, but also experienced anew continued, with the climbing and walking of the inner walls, to getting to put my own note into the cracks into the western wall.

Not everything is as it seems in this place, most certainly not in the heads of those coming to it with expectations made ahead of time.

-Paul Barudin

Day 4 - Wednesday, December  19th

Hello!!! My name is Evan Adelsberg and I will be leading you on the adventure that was our 2^nd full day in Israel but 3^rd day in Israel but 4^th day of the trip. I am not quite sure and neither is anybody else. We have lost track of our days already because we are actually having a lot of fun and don’t seem to care what day it is.

So we started with a 7:00am call time for breakfast and were startled when they were serving pasta with mushrooms in the morning. Yay 7:00am! We then departed to change the dynamics of our family (yeah, we call ourselves that…kinda our thing).

We got 6 soldiers to join us on our birthright trip, three males and three females, all from different parts of the IDF. Some of them speak English better than others, but they want to learn and were very excited to meet us. On Tuesday night (I guess I am starting to remember), the group got their names and what they do in the IDF. We had to draw what we think they looked like and ask them a few questions. After they got on the bus, we interviewed them and then showed them their drawings. The only accurate drawing was the turkey hand (remember when we did those in kindergarten) with the semi-automatic gun.

We then started heading to Tzavat. Tzavat is one of the holiest cities in Israel. It was definitely something a lot of us haven’t seen before. There were orthodox Jews everywhere. The streets and alleyways were narrow and kind of reminded me of Venice, Italy, just with more Jew curls. We were fortunate to be able to visit the Art Gallery of David Friedman, a Chaballah artist. He showed us his art and talked about the connection of science and religion. It was actually interesting and a lot of us had our minds blown.

From here we went to an orthodox synagogue where the men had to wear kippahs and the women had to have their knees covered. One of the walls of this synagogue (the southern wall because that is the direction facing Jerusalem) was 500 years old. There were several people praying. We also saw the areas where the women would have to sit and pray. Weird to still see separation of gender still existing in the world. You always hear about it but never really experience it. We then went to another orthodox synagogue and had a very similar experience.

After this we headed to a Kabutz. A Kabutz is basically a subdivision but with people actually working together.  There are about 1000 residents of this Kabutz we went to. There was a daycare, a school, a really nice brand new pool, a museum, a dining hall, a performance house, a grocery store, etc. There was also the biggest dairy farm in all of Israel. We got to see horses, goats, cows (being milked as well). It was interesting to see how the dynamics were different than what we have in America. Most people these days don’t have a strong sense of community and keep to themselves. This was completely different. It reminds me kind of how Japanese schooling works, where you stay with the same class for your entire education.

After the Kabutz we went to NAT Program. This is a program set up to help teach young teenagers how to work with computers. Work with them as in build them and fixing them. They even developed a smartphone app to help people fix their computers. It was cool seeing these teenagers learning these skills at a young age. It is stuff that we in America spend thousands of dollars to learn in college.

We then got back to our Kabutz/hotel and ate dinner. We are getting close as a group and we all hang out. Even though we are all incredibly tired and can pass out at any moment, we still stay up late talking to each other. Tonight we actually did some pretty cool stuff with photography. I set up a camera with a long shutter speed (so it collects a lot of light) and we drew pictures around ourselves using a flash light. So for example, person A would stand in the photo while person B drew butterfly wings (or other stuff) around us. They all came out extremely well and you will see them on Facebook, I am sure.

One of the things I like about this group/trip is that we don’t have cliques. Everybody is talking to everybody and we are all open with each other. It really is an incredible thing to see and we truly are becoming a family…and it’s only the 2^nd…or 3^rd…or 4^th day, but with a group like this, we don’t want to think about how much time we have left, we only want to think about the time we have together.

Thanks! Evan

Day 3 (1&2 was mostly flying and driving) - Tuesday, December  18th

               We kicked off our trip in style and explored the Golan Heights area. Our first stop was the Tel Dan Nature Reserve located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River for a morning stroll through beautiful natural scenery. Not only were we able to work off the last bits of drowsiness, we learned some things about Israel’s wildlife as well.

               After our walk it was off the bus and into Jeeps for some back-roading in the actual Golan Heights. We drove through an army post used and fought over during the Six Day War, learning the history of the area and the conflict as we went. It’s high elevation makes the Golan Heights a key militarily strategic position and offer a huge advantage to those who control it, making it a focal point of the Six Day War.

               We left our Jeeps behind and journeyed to our final destination on Mt. Bental. The area we visited was another military outpost that is currently not in use. From the outpost, we had a wonderful view of much of Israel and could clearly see the Syrian border. After hearing more about the Six Day War and the conflict with Syria, we were free to explore the outpost. Many of us ventured into the depths of the dark, abandoned bunkers and walked along the makeshift trenches to get a sense of military life. We ended our trip with a visit to the coffee shop located right outside of the outpost. Then it was back to the hotel for dinner, debriefing and bonding. Until tomorrow!     

-Lauren Smith