Rabbi Goldstein has asked those of us who recently traveled to Israel to take a moment to write a little about our experience. Not being a travel writer, I am not sure how to best capture the incredible vividness of our time there.
I can certainly try to convey some of the impressions I had, starting with the sight of the hot, shiny-bright Mediterranean sea washing the shores of Tel Aviv, with drowsy Joffa in the background, as I sat, drugged with jet lag, on the porch of a beach bar scarfing down some of the best seafood and salads I have ever tasted. Later I learned that the “Manta Ray” was no beach bar, but was one of the trendiest restaurants in town, and Joffa may look like a sleepy town now, but was the landing site for many of the country’s Zionist pioneers. Nothing here is only what is seems, I learned…Our amiable tour guide, gently herding us like a flock of slightly wayward ducklings, was actually a tough former military man. The lovely hills above peaceful kibbutz K’far Blum were actually a menacing threat to the kibbutzim when the Golan Heights were under Syrian control. There we visited a tank battalion and learned a little about the rigors of modern military life from a shyly modest young man who looked more like a scholar than a tank gunner. Two hours after climbing on dusty tanks in a hot dry desert, we were floating down the Jordan River among lush vegetation, waving at picnicking families on the banks. Talk about mental whiplash trying to reconcile such diverse landscapes and experiences.
Our time in Jerusalem began in the loveliest of ways, as we arrived at a site overlooking the old city just in time for the last rays of sunset to glow off the Dome of the Rock and make the city shine just for us-or so it seemed. The next day our family nearly missed one of the best experiences of Jerusalem, though. Tired and footsore, we really didn’t want to walk! back! to the Western wall, on Friday afternoon. Charles, my husband, had experienced Sabbath at the Kottel on a previous trip and he urged us to put our fatigue aside. “There’s something about it, I just can’t explain”. As I have never known my scientist husband to lack an explanation, I thought “Well, maybe we should go”. Of course he was, as always, right. Welcoming the Sabbath looking over the Wall, surrounded by hundreds of people in a chain of Sabbath prayer dating back thousands of years, was truly a special experience and an unexpected highlight of the trip.
One of the most special experiences of the trip, for our family and I imagine for at least 3 other families, was the service we had on top of Masada, at which our son became a Bar Mitzvah. I was so proud of all four of the kids, who despite the heat and unfamiliar surroundings read their Torah portions with composure and grace. We owe so much to Rabbi Goldstein for making such a wonderful experience possible. My husband and I hoped that this experience, and visiting Israel at this important time in his life, would help our son to have a better understanding of what it means to be Jewish in a modern world, and I think our experiences on this trip far exceeded that hope and expectation. On this trip we experienced both the wonders of the ancient Jewish world and the passion and commitment behind the founding of the modern Jewish state, not just in the sites we saw, but with the people we met.
Writing about every wonderful experience would turn this into a truly lengthy article. If you want to know more about: Petra, scuba diving, working in a archeological dig, Caesarea, floating in the Dead Sea, getting lost in the Arab market, Jewish rock concerts, kabuki peanut candy, feral cats, the Dead Sea scrolls, or pomello farming-just ask the Rabbi or one of the 30 of us who went on the this trip. Or better yet, start saving your pennies for 2009 and find out in person!
The Doll Family
