Chabad at University of Central Florida - Israel Blog winter 2013

Day 10: Ein Gedi, Dead Sea, Masada & Goodbye

Day 9: Ein Ovdat, Camel Riding & Salad Trail

Day 8: Tel Aviv, Rabin Square, Yaffo & Bendouin Tents

Day 7: The old city, Kotel, Givat Hatachmoshet

Safe to say today was an emotional day for "Mishpuche 93," as we have all come to call our tight-knit group.

Today we all woke up, packed our bags, loaded up the bus and headed to the Old City of Jerusalem. There, we received a brief tour of the Jewish Quarters and made our way to the Kotel.

The Kotel was beautiful, and instantly connected all of us with our religion. We had the amazing opportunity to write notes for ourselves and our loved ones and put them in The Wall. For me, I never would have imagined I'd have the chance to pray and reflect on my life and the people in it at such a holy site. The entire experience left me speechless, as this trip to the Kotel was much different from our experience on Shabbat.

One of the highlights today was the chance to witness 5 b'nai mitzvot at the Kotel! We sang songs and danced as Abby Stiekman, Aron Stark, Kelly Lippman, Michelle Jijon, and Phillip Stekol fulfilled one of the most symbolic mitzvot, Mazel Tov!!!

Afterwards, we had the chance to grab a bite to eat and shop inside the beautiful and historic city. Unfortunately, Mount Herzel was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Instead, we paid a visit to Ammunition Hill where one of the most pivotal battles of the six-day war took place. Symbolically, this is where we took the opportunity to reflect on our time spent with our soldiers (and newly added family members) and thank them for the opportunity to meet and really spend precious time with them.

They have truly influenced our lives for the better and have made this experience in Israel that much more incredible! The goodbye's were long and emotional as no one thought we could ever become so close to one another so quickly. After many heartfelt hugs and many, many tears we left our soldiers at Ammunition Hill and are now headed to Tel Aviv for a night out!

Today was a roller-coaster full of emotions for all of us, as we had the time to reflect on ourselves as well as the relationship we have with each other and Hashem.

The friendships that have formed thus far on this trip are both unexpected and incredible. It's amazing how people so different from one another are all still alike in so many ways. Although we are incredibly sad to leave our soldiers, they are a part of our crazy beautiful family now and we know we will see them again soon..

להתראות! (Untill next time !)

Day 6: Shabbat in Jerusalem

As Shabbat arrived today, the people crowded the streets of Jerusalem as we made our way to the Western Wall for Friday night services. When we got there, a lot of us were surprised at how much fun we could have while praying. With so much energy put into our singing and dancing, all of Mayanot 93 couldn't erase the smiles off of our faces. Afterwards, we walked back to the Crowne Plaza Hotel for Shabbat dinner. The evening activities consisted of ordering our most important Jewish values that keep our people together, and a fun Farbrengen to finish the night

The next morning, we slept in a few extra hours before eating a short breakfast. Mayanot 93 tried not to get too full, because we would be on our way to some amazing host families who invited us to dine with them for Shabbat lunch. We were split up into small groups, and walked to their houses for our meal. Unanimously, everyone agreed this was the best food we've hard the whole trip (so far). After lunch, Rabbi Lipskier held a Q&A session for the members of our group-- it was fascinating to hear the intriguing questions the members of Mayanot 93 asked. Immediately following, we closed Shabbat with a nice Havdallah service.

Saturday night continued with the showing of a documentary on the American/Israeli soldier, Michael Levin. We were brought to tears during the viewing, Michael was an amazing person and truly is a "Hero in Heaven." We will be visiting his grave on Mount Hertzel tomorrow morning. Our night concluded with a shopping trip to Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem.

Mayanot 93 has become one big Mi'shpacha (family) and are having the trip of a lifetime! We cannot wait to see what is in store for us in the next few days.

Day 5: Yad Vashem

Friday was a very special day that many people on this trip didn't know how to handle. We prepared for visiting Yad Vashem the prior night by discussing how the Holocaust impacted our lives. The stories ranged from close relatives that were in the Holocaust to family friends to public speakers that touched us with the stories of their dark times. It seemed that we all have something in common, and that is the fact that the Holocaust affected all of our lives in some way or another. We lit candles and got closer to one another.

Friday morning started off very well with a delicious breakfast in the beautiful hotel that we're staying in. Afterwards we headed to the Holocaust Museum and learned so much. We were all touched by the heartbreaking stories of survivors such as Ovadia and many more.

Day 4: Tzfat & Yaar Shveitz

Today when we woke up we packed up all our stuff and loaded the bus. The bus took us to Tzfat where the girls went to see beautiful candles that were hand crafted and an outstanding synagogue while the boys went to a Mikvah.

We then left to go see how scribers write in Torahs,mezuzahs, and Teffilin and learn about the intense processes the scribes go through to make sure it is kosher and correct. After that we made our way to lunch in Tzfat for an hour where we walked around and did a little shopping too.

To end the day,we went for a 30 minute hike to look down Tiberius and also see Tzvat in the distance, the view was incredible and breath taking. We are now on our way to Jerusalem!!

Day 3: Misgav Am & Israeli Soldiers Activity

So after our nice lunch at the Nechemya mall in kieryat shmonah we went to the Misgav-am kibbutz overlooking the Lebanon border.

We had a beautiful view from the highest point in Israel. We went into a room and listened to Aryeh speak about his views on the issues with Israel and the war. He also describe how life is on the border of Lebanon. The kibbutz also serves as a military command post for the IDF.

After we listened to Aryeh speak students went and purchased the hilarious t-shirts, and than went and took panoramic pictures of the view. We headed back to our hotel with our new additions to our "mishpucha" (family) our soldiers.

We came back to have an activity with the soldiers. We played Israeli jeporady with our soldiers and has a blast learning more about Israel. We also got our first tastes of the official snack of Israel "bamba" if you don't know it's like a cheeto filled with peanut butter. It was delicious. Now we are headed to our rooms for naps and to refresh ourselves before dinner and seeing the night life here in Tiberius!!

Day 3: Israeli Soldiers & Jeeping

It's hard to believe last night was our first night together in Israel because our group is already so tight. We hit it off with some ice breakers and then prepared for our Israeli soldiers. After that we packed the hotel bar and ended the night with some great laughs. Having arrived at 3 am the same day we took on our jet lag like a bunch of champions.

Today only got better. We started the morning with an awesome Israeli breakfast; before you could even try everything you would already be full. By 8:30 we were on our way to pick up our 8 Israeli soldiers. After a warm welcome we hit the road again for the best activity yet, jeeping. On our way we saw an army base with tanks, one of which was completely flipped over. Everyone got a turn to drive a jeep, although those of us that got too carried away had to give it up. We stopped halfway in the Golan Heights where we learned some Israeli history, drank warm apple cider, and took some memorable pictures. By the end of our trip our jeep was covered in mud and water.

On our way to the mall we jammed out to some sax until Mike bravely rapped some freestyle on the bus mic. At the mall we went our own ways and ate at the different restaurants. It's still a crazy feeling for me to order fast food in Israel knowing its kosher.

We're headed to a kibbutz now and the view of Israel from our bus is incredible. I can't wait for the rest of the day.

Day 2: Mitzpeh Shalom, Katzrin Olive Press & Banias Waterfall

After the Odyssey that was our adventure coming to Israel, we began our day with our first taste of the country. Breakfast was amazing! But it was also not what we expected. The spread consisted of three different cheese, bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, onions, yogurt, cake, eggs, spaghetti, cereal, Kougal, hard boil eggs, and a delicious chocolatey icing that made Nutella taste like cauliflower. Like I said, strange but delectable all the same.

Post breakfast we had a quick meet and greet with our MAYANOT trip coordinator before boarding the bus for our first excursion into the country.

We began with a trip to Shalom Lookout overlooking the kineret. We all knew that we were in our own minnie paradise, but no one realized how absolutely breathtaking the countryside was until we mounted the lookout. The sapphire blue waters that were stationed outside our hotel stretched for miles and was surrounded by rolling mountains of innactive volcanoes. Needless to say, the sight was breathtaking.

From there we piled back onto our bus where we proceeded to get some shut eye, remember some of us have been up for almost 24 hours straight, and headed for our next stop.

The Katzrin olive press is located about 30 minutes from the lookout. There we were met by an olive expert who introduced us to the underground world of olive oil. The locally made oils were great snacks and opened our eyes to all of the benefits that they granted the body!

Finally we took our day to the Banias water fall. Here we were able to get off the bus and dive into nature, trekking along the paths adjacent to the falls. As before, the surroundings were amazing and pictures won't due justice to the scenery. But after a long days of excitement, we gathered on the bus for the last time, ready to return to our hotel for the rest of the evening.

UCF Israel Trip

Mayanot Bus 93 Israel Winter 2013