the holy land.

I just returned, after 30+ hours of travel and sitting in airports, from the most incredible place in the world, that I did not want to leave in the first place. My experience was amazing. Indescribable. All I can think about is the day I will get to return there again. The feeling I get when I am there is just the most amazing feeling I've ever experienced. Israel truly is a holy place.

When I arrived in Israel, I wasn't sure what to expect. So much has changed since I left in the summer of 2006. I have changed, the world has changed, my values have improved, my mind has expanded. As the plane landed on the runway in Israel, my heart fluttered, and I just could not stop thinking that I ws finally back. I was home! I was home! And it was so wonderful.

We traveled to Tel Aviv first and visited the neighborhood called Neve Tzedek. It is the first Jewish neighborhood in Tel Aviv, and it was extremely interesting to see. The first cinema in all of the Middle East is located there. We ate Shak Shuka, which is an Israeli dish I had not had the opportunity to try before, and it turned out to be quite delicious. We had some time to roam, and I went with a friend a had just made at lunch, Ilya, to the Wishing Bridge. We made wishes in the beautiful land of Israel. I am not going to say what I wished for, because I am a firm beleiver that if you tell people your wish, it will not come true. But if anything I have ever wished for ever does come true, I really do hope it is the wish I made that day on the Wishing Bridge, holding on to the Taurus sign, and staring into the Meditarranean Sea and the city of Tel Aviv.

The second day we were in the desert for more than twelve hours. The desert is the most beautiful place in the entire world, and I think it might be my favorite. It always shocks me how much life actually exists in the desert. It is incredible, and it really makes me feel so alive. And I can think clearly. Everything seems to make sense when I am there. We had the opportunity to sit in the silence of the desert and write, so here is some of what I had written during that:

"It has only been a year and a half since the last time I sat in this very same desert, but I have grown so much and changed immensely since that time. There have been amazing times and also heartbreaking moments, but everything together makes me who I am today.
Now I sit. It is silent. Incredible. I can hear myself breathe. Every breath. In and out. I feel so alive, yet so tiny and insignificant in this vast desert. Some birds just flew by. Life. Beauty. The wind whistles through my hair and across my ears. I am overwhelmed by this place. It is so magnificent.
I am so thankful to be here again. It is by far one of my favorite places on this entire Earth that G-d so graciously gave to us.
This trip to the desert is also an emotionally difficult one for me. It is hard to accept that in this very place of absolute beauty, Tal Alon met his death in May of 2007. Looking around me, I think that perhaps this is where he would have wanted to die. I beleive that of all the places in the world, this is where I would want to die (when the time comes of course). The very place where my forefathers walked, where Judaism began. That is where I'd like to meet my end. Full circle.
As I write, the sound of the pen on the paper is even beautiful to me.
The air is so crisp. It just seems so clean and perfect. It is holy.
I just took a deep breath. Its so hard for me to take this all in.
I really want to have the priviledge of some day waking up morning after morning breathing this Israeli air and seeing this absolute beauty."

The rest of the day in the desert was just as rewarding. We got to navigate in small groups through the desert, and it was fun to have the feeling of doing it yourself.

I also received the most amazing welcome of my entire life. As we walked down the side of a desert mountain, a group of young children who live in a bedouin settlement in the valley came running up waving and screaming hello hello. Their curiousity and trust in us amazed me, and I can't even describe the feeling that I had inside. It really made me see that we are all equal. I fell in love with those children even though I only saw them for ten minutes or so, and I'll probably never see them again. They still made a huge impact on me, and I will never forget them.

At the end of the day, I laid under the unbelievable desert sky. The stars are so amazing and bright that it really does look fake. The fact that this great amount of beauty exists is so overwhelming. I don't understand that there can be so much beauty in this world, and yet so so much hate. I think we really need to see the beauty in everything, because, trust me, it is there.


For Shabbat we went to Kibbutz Ein Gev which is located on the Kinneret. It was very fun, and I love spending Shabbos with hundreds of Jews my age. I love really celebrating, really appreciating. It is so incredible.

We got to go see Hatikva 6 perform on Saturday night. I was so so excited, as they are one of my favorite reggae bands, and they did not disappoint me. It was definitely one of the best/most fun shows I have ever seen.

From Sunday until Tuesday we split into different seminars. I was in the Leadership through Service seminar and worked on Kibbutz Tamuz/in Beit Shemesh and Meodonit (sort of like day care centers for children who come from poor/abusive/neglecting families). We spent the days painting and cleaning the rooms so that it would be a place really suitable for children. The transformation from and unwelcoming, cold building into and bright and cheery one was so exciting and rewarding to see. The most amazing part was the relationships we formed with the children. I will never forget them either, and I really hope next time I am there I can spend time with them and play, and hopefully by then I'll speak more hebrew so we can communicate more!

The final day we visited the security fence. It was very interesting to actually see it, as it causes so much controversy these days. I don't have a problem with it. I think anything that is saving lives (not just Jewish lives) is worth building. When you look at it and the options are saving lives and causing some inconveniences or allowing murder to occur, I don't think the latter is the best option.

And then we left that night, and I really wish I had just stayed. I really wish I could just drop everything and make aliyah. Just go! It's so hard though, but I think I will definitely make it there eventually.

I met some incredible people that I know I will always keep in touch with. I am so thankful and happy I got to go back. Although, now returning is the only thing on my mind.

I need to go pack for school, but I'll write more later.




"If I forget you, oh Jerusalem, let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do."