Shalom again from Eretz Yisraeil

 Shalom again from Eretz Yisraeil,

Once again, it has been a few days since I last wrote so I will try to do some catching up.
On Sunday, we set out on a day of remembrance.  It all began at Yad Vashem, the newly renovated Holocaust museum.  Trevor Doll shared with us what the Holocaust meant to him in conjunction with what the modern state of Israel.  From there we visited the Chagall windows at Hadassah hospital and then we paid our respects at the place where almost all of the deceased prime ministers, and the visionary pioneer, of Israel are buried, Har Hertzl.  And then, we finsihed off the day with dinner at an Arab village in the town of Abu Gosh.

Monday was more of a spiritual, historical, and comfortable day.  It began at Qumran where Aaron Goldblum shared with us insights and messages about the Dead Sea Scrolls, followed by a tour and Bar Mitzvah atop Masada.  Now, that was quite a moment.  Being present as Aaron, Trevor, Sydney and Amanda read and chanted the Torah portion was truly extraordinary.  And, to top it all off, the Torah portion, Balak, actually took place just a "stone's throw" away from where we were - the mountains of Moav.   From  Masada, we relaxed and floated in the Dead Sea .  Finally finishing up back in Jerusalem as we joined together in a traditional Morroccan dinner.

So, here we are on Tuesday.  I write this note from Eilat, looking back on an  incredible day which was highlighted by an archaeological dig at the ancient Hasmonean city of Beit Guvrin.  Who knows?  Perhaps we found some pottery pieces that will truly be a contribution to academia.

More to come as many people go to the ancient Nabbattean city of Petra tomorrow while the other hike through the mountains of Eilat.

B'shalom from the land of milk and honey,

Rabi Ari Goldstein

kayaked down the Jordan river

Shalom again from Israel. Since my last entry, we have kayaked down the Jordan river, visited an Israeli tank base, and toured the Golan Heights. (All in one day)
Then we visited the ancient city of Beit Shean, swam in the natural pools of Gan Hashelosha, and rode camels to a bedouin style dinner.

And now, here we are in Jerusalem - "The City of Gold." Our first full day here was spent in the Old City as we visited the Western Wall and all of the newly excavated sights around it. In the evening we ate a delicious Shabbat dinner on the rooftop of Hebrew Union College overlooking the Old City.

Today (Saturday) has been a day of leasure and relaxation as we prepare for the the next few days of intense touring. I look forward to blogging more in the next few days.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabi Ari Goldstein

Rabbi's Blog Entry from Israel

Shalom Temple Beth Shalom,

Our first full day got off to an amazing start.  We began by driving to the ancient port of Caesaria, built by King Herod, one hour north of Tel Aviv.   From there we continued north to Haifa and overlooked the entire city from a beautiful promenade.  This, of course, followed our first Falafal and Shwarma of the trip.  After Haifa, it was on to the mystical city of Tzfat (Safed) where Sydney Forman shared with us her Bat MItzvah speech in anticipation of the group Bnei Mitzvah on top of Masada on Monday.

After some touring and some shopping, we checked into our new hotel called Kfar Blum ( a Kibbutz guesthouse) and many of us hopped into the pool after dinner for a late night swim.

So far, all is terrific here in Eretz Yisraeil.  The 32 of us are already creating fun and meaningful relationships as we go on this spiritual pilgrimage together. 

More blogging and pictures to follow.

Shalom from Israel,

Rabbi Ari Goldstein