Prosperity Part Shtayn
Day Five, January 12, 2007:
We wake up at 7am so we can make it to Yad Vashem with enough time to see the museum and then get back to the hotel in time for Shabbat. We have another of the same breakfast and head out, and I don't think any of us were really prepared for what we were about to encounter at the museum, deep rooted emotions. I mean obviously when you go to Yad Vashem, you can expect it to be a bit of a downer, being a holocaust museum in Israel and all, but that's what I found interesting about our tour. Udi wanted to make sure we took in the architecture of the memorial museum. The most prominant color around the museum, green, a color which symbolizes life and freedom. In a way, if it wasn't for the holocaust, the state of Israel might not have ever been given the chance to form, and the state's existance is a shinning example of life after the holocaust, so the museum is designed to reflect that. A lot of the personal memorials on the grounds are trees with plaques. Before walking through the museum, we were "treated" to a presentation from a holocaust "survivor". Basically she was not even near the problems when they happened, so to hear her tell her story, I might as well have been listening to my grandfather talk about how he "survived" the holocaust in his Brooklyn tenament building. I fell asleep, as much as I tried not to, mostly because I was sitting right there in the second row, middle isle. After her speach, everyone in the group seemed to be in agreement that although it is always nice to hear stories of the holocaust, this one wasn't much of one. We then quickly walked through the museum, for we were a) short on time and b) our madrecheem felt that it wasn't important for us to see the pictures and replicas which we have seen in other holocaust museums (if we were going to do a real tour of the holocaust, the trip would have gone on "The Walk of the Living"). One point that was not lost on us through the museum, was the importance of sharing the storie of the holocaust with future generations, for we are the last generation that will actually get to speak with actual holocaust survivors. After the survivors are gone, history becomes legend, and legends are easily manipulated. While in the museum it began to rain, the only day on the trip so far to do so, which was pretty appropriate. We then walked across the grounds and discussed a couple of the art pieces outside the building before proceeding to the childrens memorial.
The childrens memorial was set up for every child (18 and under) murdered during the holocaust, and incredibly powerful in it's simplicity. You enter into a dark room filled with mirrors and in the center was a colum with candles. There were maybe 25 candles in the colum, but you couldn't really tell, because with the darkness and the mirrors, it looked like a million (the documented number of children lost) and over the sound system two voices (one male, one female) were reading off all the documented names, both their hebrew names and their anglo equivilents. It was incredibly powerful. Then once we exited the room, as a group we stood outside the memorial, and a coupoe of the Israelis set up a candle light ceremony for anyone who wanted to remember anyone who might have family members who fell or survived the holocaust, or just someone you might have wanted to light a candle for in rememberance. We were each given a candle, and the option to light or not. I was originally on the fence. Having not lost any Jewish family members in over a year, my dad's dad was the most recent family death (having past last March), but I wasn't sure if I wanted to light for him, being as we weren't ever really that close and it felt kind of off, being at a Jewish memorial. So I started to think about my Grandma Lila, the only logical person I could think to light a candle for. But what do I say? I barely know these people. I mean sure we have all bonded, and by this point, we're all pretty close, but we are still only on our fifth day of knowing eachother. Plus, what can I say about my Grandma. She would have loved to know I was in Israel having a great time and making some great friends...but I never really took her too seriously, and often for granted. I started to swell. I jumped next in line because if I didn't go soon, I'd loose it. The person before me gave their little speach and lit their candle. I stood infront of the group, and as soon as I started to speak, I lost it. Words started to pour out of me like I was at some kind of confessional, all the time crying. It felt like I was standing infront fo the group for an hour, even though it couldn't have been more then a minute, tops. I lit my candle of the candle infront of mine and placed it on the floor and stepped to the side, as my tears subsided, but the feelings didn't. I was in self shock. I didn't even cry when I spoke at her funeral, and not even close to as much when I found out she had passed. I guess when you are expecting someone to die, you have time to supress and think about things. After me there seemed to be a rush of people who all had something to say, all extremely emotional. I only found out later that half the people who went up after me went up because of my speach, which made me feel good to know I could inspire people in such a way. Once everyone had gone, we began an emotional break down process, and ended by singing "Od Yavo Shalom Aleynu (Salaam)" and then walked back to the bus. We were the last people at the Museum besides a few employees who were locking up after us. Shabbat was coming. The sky was also breaking, and as we left, the sun was casting these beautiful rays over Jerusalem (which you have wonderful views of from all around the grounds of the museum). It was a truely beautiful site to end such a powerful morning on.
We arrive back to the hotel to change and get ready for Shabbat services and dinner. Well all meet in the lobby of the Shalom Hotel where the girls convene to light candles. While they are doing so, Udi takes the guys into another room where we are told of a tradition where the guys are to give flowers to the girls in honor of a happy Shabbat, or something. Normally the ratio works out where every guy gets one flower and thusly one girl to give it to, however, in our group, we were 12 guys to 33 girls. So each guy was given 2 or three flowers to give to two or three girls. I pretty much went blindly, handing flowers to the first three girls I ran into, which happened to be Olga, Ori, and Loni, which I couldn't think of a better trio to give the flowers to. Then we were all given a choice of services. The Ultra Orthodox service, or the ________. No one seemed to hear what ______ was because we all ended up following Jessica to the UO service. The service only lasted about an hour (we aparently missed the first half hour), but we still were impressed by the swiftness of the service. I only recognised a couple of the prayers, and I chalked the speed up to the fact that there was ZERO english at the service, so we didn't have to repeat everything (once in hebrrew and once in english) as you normally would anywhere else. There also was no sermon that you typically get in "asymilated" services. It was interesting sitting in the circle as well. I didn't realize it, but I was sitting next to the Rabbi for most of the service. And like every orthodox service I have been to before, there was always someone ready to help me find the page we were on, which was even harder without an english reference point.
Then we returned to the hotel for dinner, which reminded me of Camp shabbats with a whole dinning hall of different groups singing shabbat songs over a table of the same food we have been eating the entire trip. It was highly engaging and spirited, and by that point, I am sure we were all past the sadness of the morning/early afternoon. After dinner we were allowed to change back into our "street" clothes and we reconvened in one of the meeting rooms for another circle group activity. We played two. One was a game where everyone (in a circle) stood on their chairs, and then the madrecheem went around to various chairs and were told "that chair is being moved". The object was to use the people around you to keep from falling. I ended up at the end of the game with 6 other people on only two chairs, we were the most triumphant group of survivors. We then played another game which was a little more discusting, and thusly a little more fun. I don't know the name of the game, but Elad was the one who introduced it to us, which he had learned from the Army. Basically, everyone stood around in an extremely tight circle, with one person standing in the middle. Then someone in the circle was randomly given a cucumber, which they had to hide behind their back and pass around the circle. The person in the middle had to guess who had the cucumber. The trick was, as the cucumber went around, the people in the circle had to take a bite as it was passed to them before passing it on. The person in the middle won if they guessed where it was before the cucumber was eaten. Try this game at your next family reunion. Then after the germ sharing, the group all met up in the hotel bar where we formed a large couch circle and chilled before we all got too tired and went to bed.
Day 6, January 13, 2007, Shabbat:
We got to wake up at our leisure, which was relaly nice, giving me the only good nights sleep I was to get the entire trip. I slept until 10am. At 11 we had another group meeting in the same meeting room and we all sat in a circle to discuss the torah portion of the week and something like that. I really don't remember much about it. I do remember that a comment was made about how I should not wear my pajamas to lunch because it wasn't shabbas appropriate. So I went back to my room to change for lunch. Then we had lunch, after which we were given an option, hang out in the hotel or go on a walk around the town and see some of the sites. I opted for the hike, because how many times to you get to walk around Jerusalem on Shabbat. I only regretted not taking the nap later. But the walk was still nice, and we got to see some wonderful sites and those of us who walked got more time to get to know eachother. We returned to the hotel to shower and get ready for Havdalah, after which were were to vacate our hotel rooms and get on the bus. The vacating of the hotel rooms proved to be rather difficult. One of the elevators was broken, and the other two were constantly in use (it was a 20 floor hotel, with about 5 groups all trying to leave at the same time). We were on the 14th floor, and I don't like waiting for elevators, so I picked up my bag and manuevered down the tiniest spinniest staircase I have ever attempted to travel with an awkwardly sized 30lb piece of lugage. Of course I got to the bus before most of the group, all of whom were waiting for the elevator. Eventually we all got on the bus and left for the Dead Sea, where we were staying at the Tsel Harim Hotel. It was dark, but the hotel/touristy area we were staying in lit up the sea enough that we could see some of the large salt deposits left where the sea was depleating. Some of us stayed up for a couple of hours on the beach, drinking tea and enjoying the night air. Of course I didn't stay out too long, because we had to be awake at 4:30 the next morning to hike Masada.
Day 7, January 14, 2007:
I wake up with suprizing ease when my alarm goes off at 4:30. I get ready for an early morning of hiking and head off for "coffee" and "cake". The coffee was crap, and the cake was good, but interesting, I was most looking forward to the hike. We take a short bus trip and arrive at the base of Masada. We are told not to take any night pictures because we were walking up a dark mountain, and our eyes would adjust easier without the flashes. We were also told we wouldn't need flasah lights for you would want your hands free incase you slipped. I didn't slip, but I was thankful to have my hands free to hold the railings, because man, that hike was intense. I don't know if it was because of the fact that we were hiking up a mountain at 5 in the morning, or that the hike was pretty much all ancient stairs put in by the Romans. Whatever it was, it made getting to the top all that much more gratifying. We got to watch the sunrise from the top of Masada, which is quite an amazing site, and if you get to Israel at any time during your life, dear reader, I highly recomend you make a morning of it (there is a tram to take you to the top if you can't make the hike). We then explored the ruins of the top of Masada, and learned of the history of the Romans and King Harod. We even got to see the first Synogouge ever built (built during the days of the Temple, which was a time when no other synogouges were ever built). At the remains of this synogouge we held a Bat Mitzvah service for some of the girls on the trip. There was no reading of Torah, but they did each give their own little speach, then we all threw candy at them, as is tradition in Israel at someones Bar/Bat Mitzvah. We walked around the top a little while longer until it was time to return to the hotel for breakfast.
After consuming another variety of cheese, eggs, hummus, and vegetables, we were given time to go swimming in the Dead Sea. I was originally not going to at all, but once again I asked myself "How often" and went for it. We were not near any particularly muddy parts, so we didn't get to cover ourselves in the all healing mud, but we did get to soak in the thickest water I have ever stuck my full body into. It was quite a sensation to float, but as soon as I was vertical on my back, I felt another sensation which was not so great. No one warned me that my anus would burn so much. There should be signs on the beach "Warning, your anus will burn in the Dead Sea", or there should be t-shirts or something. I also found out I had a heat rash which I was not aware of until I was in the water. That wasn't too nice feeling either. After about 10 minutes I was out of the water, where I found out that all of my roommates (Dave and Jay) were out of the room, and none of us had the key. Thankfully the Israelis spoke Hebrew and could ask one of the maids to unlock our door so I could attempt to shower the super-saturated water off of me. My shower felt futile, for no matter how much I scrubbed, I still felt the thickness on me. Of course my anus no longer hurt and my heat rash quickly disappeared, thanks to the miracle of Dead Sea minerals (they really are fantastic for your skin), but I didn't feel as clean as I normally like. After showering I double plastic-bagged my bathing suit and towel, packed up my suitcase an headed for the bus.
The next stop was the former house of David Ben Gurion, Sde Boker. David, as you know, was Israel's first Prime Minister, but what you may not know was that he was a man of the earth. After retiring he devoted his life to a more socialist life-style and worked on a kibbutz, in the middle of the desert. It's quite a remarkable story. We had a little show put on by some of our trip members (Gary, playing Bob Barker, Robyn, playing (I don't remember who), Maor playing Samuel Jackson, and Jason playing some Asian/German doctor), wach of whom were supposed to be experts on Ben Gurion and we were supposed to guess who was telling the truth on each answer. It was kinda funny, especially with Jason's scientist jumping in and out of different accents. Then we spent some time checking out the view before moving on to the Negev Desert for a Camel Trek with the Bedouins.
The camel ride was fun, although I was rather disturbed by our madrecheem's love for camel shit and CSF (camel shit fights). There were about 12 camels, all roped together in a line. We were too many to all ride the camels at the same time, so half of us rode for a half hour until a turn-around point, at which point we switched, and those of us walking along side the camels (myself included) got to ride the camels back to the camp. It wasn't too different from riding a horse, except you get to ride with someone else, and it hurts your balls a lot more then a horse does. The camel camp was also part of the Bedouin tent site where we were spending the night. This was the most camp like part of the entire trip, for we were all sleeping in the same tent, head to foot on the ground with sleeping bags and mats, and no one had sex. Really? Yes really. For dinner we had a traditional Bedouin meal where we all sat in a giant circle with these little triangle stands placed throughout. Eventually Bedouins came through with trays of food which were placed infront of us, and we all just sort of ate with our hands off the central tray. It was like mideval times meets Ishtar, only not crappy like Ishtar. We also had the pleasure of a cat with the largest testicles I have ever seen walking around us during the meal. He was obviously in heat, not just because of his elephant balls, but also because the thing was screaming like a banshee "HELP ME! I NEED PUSSY (cat)!!!" It was sadly amuzing. Cats are like squirels in Israel, it's kind of interesting. The country must have the smallest rodent problem in the world. Anyway, after the meal we got to learn about bedouin culture, and we were treated to the best baklavah I have ever had in my life. It was also at this point that Liz and Chananel arrived to the camp to hang out. Unfortunately I couldn't break from the group to really say more then hello at that point, but they hung-out anyway. After our cultural learning, we had another circle activity where we had to have intimate conversations with the person next to us in the circle (I got to talk with Izabella) and then talk about what we talked about with the circle. Then we went around the circle and had to say something we like physically about the person to our right. Izabella had me, and I had to talk about Robyn. I assume that this game gets sexual with most groups, but our stayed pretty tame. I was going to comment on Robyn's boobs, but didn't want to be "that guy", so I stayed clean and said her eyes. Izabella was going to say my smile, but so many other people had said smile, she wanted to be interesting, so she said my sideburns (which are awesome, if I do say so myself). After we all sounded off on the attractive parts of our friends to the right, we were then instructed to go and kiss the part we found attractive. Why didn't I say boobs? I think we all would have changed our answers if we knew the second part of this game. Afterwards we returned to the tent and had a bonfire, outside the tent. And I got to hang out with Liz and finally meet Chananel. They brought me some beer and wine, which I shared with some of my fellow Shorashimers. It was also nice getting to talk to Liz, since she was freshly moved to the country, and I was freshly mesmorized by it. Eventually they got tired and left. The group and I however, all had a blast singing songs around the fire, some of us dancing, some of us spazing out in an attempt to dance, all of us having a wonderful time. Then the fire eventually died, and we ran out of kindling, so we had to retreat to the mass orgy of sleeping.
Day 8, January 15, 2007:
We woke up early again, this time which was really easy since we were all in the same room, and only about 5 people set alarms. Some of us (not me) got up early in the morning to take advantage of the one oportunity anyone had during the trip to go for a morning run. I prefered sleep. It was rather confusing when it was time to wake up, the tent did such a good job of keeping out the sunlight out, that I swore we were being woken up way to early. We had a traditional Bedouin breakfast, which was remarkably similar to every other breakfast we have had so far on the trip. It was becoming harder and harder to have original breakfast combinations. We then easily packed (having only brought my small bag off the bus because we didn't need much) and boarded the bus to head off to Machtesh Ramon, the worlds largest naturally formed crater, which is called a Machtesh in english as well.
The machtesh grows by one foot every year, it is already twice the width of Manhattan and much, much longer. We learned about how the machtesh worked from Udi, who showed us using an Israeli seasonal treat called a Chrem Bol. A Chrem Bol is much like a mallowmar, in that it only comes out in winter, has a cookie at the bottom, white filling, and then covered in chocolate. The main difference being the white filling, mallowmars obviously using marshmellows and Chrem Bols using this egg based creme filling. After Udi's graphic demonstration of the operation of the machtesh, we then were treated to a presentation of how Israelis eat Chrem Bols, each Israeli showing us a different way to consume them (much like the reeses peanut butter cup comercials). We were then given our own Chrem Bols and figured out our own best way to eat them. All of them delicious, but not as good as a mallowmar. We then drove down into the machtesh, where we got to see some Ibeks (african mountain goats) up close for pictures. We traveled through the machtesh finally reaching Eilat. Eilat is kind of like if Atlantic City was built in Miami, without the casinos. We were right on the red sea and not too far from the Egyptian boarder. We got to spend time at Eliat, shopping (where most people bought Crocs) and then hanging out on the beach (where most people got color and drunk) and beofre leaving made sure we had a dance party with the DJ at the bar we were sitting by.
After leaving Eilat, we traveled to the Egyptian boarder and stood right at the fence, where we had a great view of Mt. Sinai, although we couldn't visit it for we were not allowed to cross the boarder, for various political/safety reasons. We almost got to talk with an Egyptian security guard, but he got yelled at before we had a chance to. All he wanted were some cigarettes. Apparently they are not supposed to talk to people across the boarder. We then got back on the bus and headed to the Prima Music Hotel where we were spending the night. We had dinner followed by an evening activity of opinions based on statements. For each statement we moved into one of four groups, Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. We then got the oportunity to express why we moved to such groups and also allowed to move from group to group if our opinions were swayed. Afterwards while hanging out in the hotel, I was starting to feel the flu, and I was approached to draw the design for the back of the our trip shirts. I finally got to bed around 12:30 or so.
Day 9, January 16, 2007:
I woke up feeling slightly under the weather, but I took some Airborne and advil and was ready for the last hike of the trip. We set off from the hotel after another breakfast, mine was mostly tea and bread, for Har Shlomo, the highest peak in Israel's Southern Desert. It was quite a trek. Not as intense as Masada (probably because there were no stairs), but it was definately long and took a lot of work, especially when we got to the practically vertical climbs and descents. Before we really got into it, we stopped at an over-look point where we were told of how summer trips can't do this hike because it gets so hot out there that people have died on the trail from de-hydration (the only way out if you get stuck/hurt is by helicopter). So we started off again, finally crossing into the actual mountains, at which point we had a brief scare when Tovah took a spill and slid down the side of the mountain a bit. Thankfully she slipped in a spot where the incline wasn't very steep and she quickly stopped herself from falling and had minor wounds (although the swelling on her ankle has apparently not gone down much). Once we reached the peak, we had about 20 minutes to rest and snakc and drink and such, and Boris took the time to teach us how to meditate. I found it hard as my body was starting to rebel against the impending flu. The rest of the track down was just as fun as the trek up, and marked the only time in the trip when I fell and hurt myself. At one point I got over zelous and tired of waiting for people to get around one corner, so I took a short cut aruond someone, slipped, and caught myself on a really sharp rock wall, tearing out a small chunk of skin from my palm. Didn't need stiches, and I eventually got a band-aid and all was better. Eventually we arrived to another rest point, where we rehydrated and stretched. It was there that we were told we had another hour or two left in the hike. Of course once we rounded the next corner, we came to a dirt road which led right to the bus. I was not in the first group of atheletes who raced to the bus, but I did take the oportunity to sprint. It felt good to release like that. We got back on the bus and returned to Eilat for lunch.
It was while eating that I really started to feel the pressure of the flu. After lunch we got on the bus again, and by the time we hit Jerusalem, I was gone. I could barely function. We arrived at the old city again, this time to take a walking tour of the Western Wall Tunnels, which are the exscavation tunnels under the Muslim Quarter that continue the length of the Western wall to other points of historical interest. To me it was all just me not sitting down and resting. At one point I found myself up against the wall praying to G-d to take away my illness so I could enjoy the rest of the trip without problems. Obvisouly he was a little late in responding, although I guess I did still enjoy the rest of my trip, just not to the extent I really wanted. After the wall tour, we met again at the same spot we met as a group last time we were at the wall, had another group circle dance and shout and then headed back to the Shalom Hotel. The last night was supposed to be one of much partying and merriment, but for me it was a night to get as much sleep as possible, so as not too feel too sick on the last day. Apparently it was the same for almost everyone, so I didn't miss out on much.
The Last Day, January 17, 2007:
After a good nights sleep I was feeling better. I popped some Advil, and then later some Tylinol, and I figured I was fine, having sweat a good deal over the course of the evening. After our last of the same breakfasts, we boarded the bus for Har Herzl, the military cemetary in Jerusalem for everyone who ever died while serving the Israeli army, as well as soldiers who fell in the Holocaust and never had a chance to make it to Israel. It was a touching day, especially when we got to the sections for the soldiers who fell during this past summers skirmish with the Hezbolah in Lebanon and Udi as well as the other Israeli's each had a friend or two who fell and was burried in the cemetary. Udi also had a story of a friend who died helping people who were injured in a suicide bomb attack as another suicide bomber went off as he was doing so. Udi missed that bus. We also hit another emotional point when we hit the graves of the unknkown soldiers. All very touching. By the time we were exiting, the flu was making me a little dizzy.
After the cemetary, we were taken to Ben Yehuda street, the prominant shopping street in Jerusalem, for open lunch and shopping. It was at this point that I bought all the suveneres for my family, as well as had a soup and tea lunch. A bunch of us, at this point kind of sick of schwarma and falafel, opted for chinese food, which was par at best. After a few hours, we met back at the buses, and at this point, I was done. All I wanted to do was go home and be sick, because being sick and walking around wasn't very comfortable. We returned to the Shalom Hotel for a final group discussion and break down of the trip. It was incredibly emotional, and most people started crying. I, although emotional, was also in extreme amounts of discomfort due to the flu trying to kick in over drive. We got our shirts, with my drawing on the back (both a t-shirt and a hoodie, both in IDF green with yellow print) and they came out excellent. It took a long time for everyone to get their stuff together, except for me, who was ready to go sit on the bus. Once we were all on the bus, we were running about an hour late, so we got to the place for dinner and had to scarf it down. Except for me. I drank tea and ate pita bread. Then we got back on the bus, death slowly reaching into my head and strangling my sinuses and blocking all blood from my brain. We get to the airport only a half hour late, but then take an extra hour saying goodbye, which was the hardest part. Especially when the airport security wasn't letting us through the initial check point because of our lateness and our noisy goodbyes of "Achim Simcha" and "Od Yavo Shalom Aleiynu (Salaam)", the montras of our trip. We finally do get to part ways once our madrecheem get us into security, which was also suprisingly lite. I head to the world's greatest Duty free, buy the pop-rocks candy i love so much, as well as a bottle of absynth so I can be like Hemingway and Van Gogh for real, and head to the gate with the few others who weren't fortunate enough to be able to extend their trip. I got various meds from some of the girls (Tylanol PM and Ambien), and by the time I was sitting in my seat, I was doing head head bob sleepy dance (anyone who has seen me try not to fall asleep while sitting knows the head movement I am talking about; think watermelon on a spring). I passed out before we were even done taking off.
The Departed, January 18, 2007:
I woke up around 3:30 in the morning America time, just as they were about to serve breakfast. They didn't have the breakfast I really wanted, so I had to settle for my second of the three choices. Mostly the same stuff we've had the entire trip. I was feeling slightly better thanks to the 10 hours of sleep. As we started to land I was thankful I was sitting next to Mila, who is a professional pharmasist thanks to the University at Buffalo, and she hooked me up with some daytime flu med combos to get me through the day. Getting back into the country was also once again very easy, and as a group we said goodbye three or four times, because every place we decided to stop to say goodbye, security made us move. We did another "Achim Simcha" and parted. Mindy had hired a car, and as a HUGE favor to me, she let me hitch a ride with her to Lexington and 59th, where I caught the N/W home (which was a million times easier then going all over the place with trains and whatnot, especially in my condition. I entered my apartment at 7:30am, the same time I had left two sundays before, and the apartment was in a worse state then when I left. Mike was still not up for work yet, So i had some time to settle in. By the time he did get up, he appologised for the apartment being such a away. He thought I was coming home that night, and was planning on cleaning the last minute, he didn't think to look at the itinerary I had posted on my bedroom door. Shortly after he left for work, I headed out for Tovah's apartment where she Aaron and I watched the 4 hours of 24 we missed while in Israel. What a crazy season this is turning into, huh. Then i went back home to unpack and feel sick, and then make Mike clean up the apartment.
I've been home for just a few hours over a week now, and I must say I still miss Israel. Tomorrow night a bunch of the NYC people from our group are getting together for a shabbat dinnner. We have also all been talking incessantly through email about going back and setting up various other get-together events, all of which I plan to attend, even if it's borderline impossible.
Well I hope this answers all of your questions about what I did on my trip. I must now get back to work, for this took a lot of time away from it. Shhh.
Today's Entry:
Achim - A hebrew word which means brotherhood, but is Joshspeak means so much more.
"Achim, Achim, Achim! Simcha, Simcha, Simcha!"
We wake up at 7am so we can make it to Yad Vashem with enough time to see the museum and then get back to the hotel in time for Shabbat. We have another of the same breakfast and head out, and I don't think any of us were really prepared for what we were about to encounter at the museum, deep rooted emotions. I mean obviously when you go to Yad Vashem, you can expect it to be a bit of a downer, being a holocaust museum in Israel and all, but that's what I found interesting about our tour. Udi wanted to make sure we took in the architecture of the memorial museum. The most prominant color around the museum, green, a color which symbolizes life and freedom. In a way, if it wasn't for the holocaust, the state of Israel might not have ever been given the chance to form, and the state's existance is a shinning example of life after the holocaust, so the museum is designed to reflect that. A lot of the personal memorials on the grounds are trees with plaques. Before walking through the museum, we were "treated" to a presentation from a holocaust "survivor". Basically she was not even near the problems when they happened, so to hear her tell her story, I might as well have been listening to my grandfather talk about how he "survived" the holocaust in his Brooklyn tenament building. I fell asleep, as much as I tried not to, mostly because I was sitting right there in the second row, middle isle. After her speach, everyone in the group seemed to be in agreement that although it is always nice to hear stories of the holocaust, this one wasn't much of one. We then quickly walked through the museum, for we were a) short on time and b) our madrecheem felt that it wasn't important for us to see the pictures and replicas which we have seen in other holocaust museums (if we were going to do a real tour of the holocaust, the trip would have gone on "The Walk of the Living"). One point that was not lost on us through the museum, was the importance of sharing the storie of the holocaust with future generations, for we are the last generation that will actually get to speak with actual holocaust survivors. After the survivors are gone, history becomes legend, and legends are easily manipulated. While in the museum it began to rain, the only day on the trip so far to do so, which was pretty appropriate. We then walked across the grounds and discussed a couple of the art pieces outside the building before proceeding to the childrens memorial.
The childrens memorial was set up for every child (18 and under) murdered during the holocaust, and incredibly powerful in it's simplicity. You enter into a dark room filled with mirrors and in the center was a colum with candles. There were maybe 25 candles in the colum, but you couldn't really tell, because with the darkness and the mirrors, it looked like a million (the documented number of children lost) and over the sound system two voices (one male, one female) were reading off all the documented names, both their hebrew names and their anglo equivilents. It was incredibly powerful. Then once we exited the room, as a group we stood outside the memorial, and a coupoe of the Israelis set up a candle light ceremony for anyone who wanted to remember anyone who might have family members who fell or survived the holocaust, or just someone you might have wanted to light a candle for in rememberance. We were each given a candle, and the option to light or not. I was originally on the fence. Having not lost any Jewish family members in over a year, my dad's dad was the most recent family death (having past last March), but I wasn't sure if I wanted to light for him, being as we weren't ever really that close and it felt kind of off, being at a Jewish memorial. So I started to think about my Grandma Lila, the only logical person I could think to light a candle for. But what do I say? I barely know these people. I mean sure we have all bonded, and by this point, we're all pretty close, but we are still only on our fifth day of knowing eachother. Plus, what can I say about my Grandma. She would have loved to know I was in Israel having a great time and making some great friends...but I never really took her too seriously, and often for granted. I started to swell. I jumped next in line because if I didn't go soon, I'd loose it. The person before me gave their little speach and lit their candle. I stood infront of the group, and as soon as I started to speak, I lost it. Words started to pour out of me like I was at some kind of confessional, all the time crying. It felt like I was standing infront fo the group for an hour, even though it couldn't have been more then a minute, tops. I lit my candle of the candle infront of mine and placed it on the floor and stepped to the side, as my tears subsided, but the feelings didn't. I was in self shock. I didn't even cry when I spoke at her funeral, and not even close to as much when I found out she had passed. I guess when you are expecting someone to die, you have time to supress and think about things. After me there seemed to be a rush of people who all had something to say, all extremely emotional. I only found out later that half the people who went up after me went up because of my speach, which made me feel good to know I could inspire people in such a way. Once everyone had gone, we began an emotional break down process, and ended by singing "Od Yavo Shalom Aleynu (Salaam)" and then walked back to the bus. We were the last people at the Museum besides a few employees who were locking up after us. Shabbat was coming. The sky was also breaking, and as we left, the sun was casting these beautiful rays over Jerusalem (which you have wonderful views of from all around the grounds of the museum). It was a truely beautiful site to end such a powerful morning on.
We arrive back to the hotel to change and get ready for Shabbat services and dinner. Well all meet in the lobby of the Shalom Hotel where the girls convene to light candles. While they are doing so, Udi takes the guys into another room where we are told of a tradition where the guys are to give flowers to the girls in honor of a happy Shabbat, or something. Normally the ratio works out where every guy gets one flower and thusly one girl to give it to, however, in our group, we were 12 guys to 33 girls. So each guy was given 2 or three flowers to give to two or three girls. I pretty much went blindly, handing flowers to the first three girls I ran into, which happened to be Olga, Ori, and Loni, which I couldn't think of a better trio to give the flowers to. Then we were all given a choice of services. The Ultra Orthodox service, or the ________. No one seemed to hear what ______ was because we all ended up following Jessica to the UO service. The service only lasted about an hour (we aparently missed the first half hour), but we still were impressed by the swiftness of the service. I only recognised a couple of the prayers, and I chalked the speed up to the fact that there was ZERO english at the service, so we didn't have to repeat everything (once in hebrrew and once in english) as you normally would anywhere else. There also was no sermon that you typically get in "asymilated" services. It was interesting sitting in the circle as well. I didn't realize it, but I was sitting next to the Rabbi for most of the service. And like every orthodox service I have been to before, there was always someone ready to help me find the page we were on, which was even harder without an english reference point.
Then we returned to the hotel for dinner, which reminded me of Camp shabbats with a whole dinning hall of different groups singing shabbat songs over a table of the same food we have been eating the entire trip. It was highly engaging and spirited, and by that point, I am sure we were all past the sadness of the morning/early afternoon. After dinner we were allowed to change back into our "street" clothes and we reconvened in one of the meeting rooms for another circle group activity. We played two. One was a game where everyone (in a circle) stood on their chairs, and then the madrecheem went around to various chairs and were told "that chair is being moved". The object was to use the people around you to keep from falling. I ended up at the end of the game with 6 other people on only two chairs, we were the most triumphant group of survivors. We then played another game which was a little more discusting, and thusly a little more fun. I don't know the name of the game, but Elad was the one who introduced it to us, which he had learned from the Army. Basically, everyone stood around in an extremely tight circle, with one person standing in the middle. Then someone in the circle was randomly given a cucumber, which they had to hide behind their back and pass around the circle. The person in the middle had to guess who had the cucumber. The trick was, as the cucumber went around, the people in the circle had to take a bite as it was passed to them before passing it on. The person in the middle won if they guessed where it was before the cucumber was eaten. Try this game at your next family reunion. Then after the germ sharing, the group all met up in the hotel bar where we formed a large couch circle and chilled before we all got too tired and went to bed.
Day 6, January 13, 2007, Shabbat:
We got to wake up at our leisure, which was relaly nice, giving me the only good nights sleep I was to get the entire trip. I slept until 10am. At 11 we had another group meeting in the same meeting room and we all sat in a circle to discuss the torah portion of the week and something like that. I really don't remember much about it. I do remember that a comment was made about how I should not wear my pajamas to lunch because it wasn't shabbas appropriate. So I went back to my room to change for lunch. Then we had lunch, after which we were given an option, hang out in the hotel or go on a walk around the town and see some of the sites. I opted for the hike, because how many times to you get to walk around Jerusalem on Shabbat. I only regretted not taking the nap later. But the walk was still nice, and we got to see some wonderful sites and those of us who walked got more time to get to know eachother. We returned to the hotel to shower and get ready for Havdalah, after which were were to vacate our hotel rooms and get on the bus. The vacating of the hotel rooms proved to be rather difficult. One of the elevators was broken, and the other two were constantly in use (it was a 20 floor hotel, with about 5 groups all trying to leave at the same time). We were on the 14th floor, and I don't like waiting for elevators, so I picked up my bag and manuevered down the tiniest spinniest staircase I have ever attempted to travel with an awkwardly sized 30lb piece of lugage. Of course I got to the bus before most of the group, all of whom were waiting for the elevator. Eventually we all got on the bus and left for the Dead Sea, where we were staying at the Tsel Harim Hotel. It was dark, but the hotel/touristy area we were staying in lit up the sea enough that we could see some of the large salt deposits left where the sea was depleating. Some of us stayed up for a couple of hours on the beach, drinking tea and enjoying the night air. Of course I didn't stay out too long, because we had to be awake at 4:30 the next morning to hike Masada.
Day 7, January 14, 2007:
I wake up with suprizing ease when my alarm goes off at 4:30. I get ready for an early morning of hiking and head off for "coffee" and "cake". The coffee was crap, and the cake was good, but interesting, I was most looking forward to the hike. We take a short bus trip and arrive at the base of Masada. We are told not to take any night pictures because we were walking up a dark mountain, and our eyes would adjust easier without the flashes. We were also told we wouldn't need flasah lights for you would want your hands free incase you slipped. I didn't slip, but I was thankful to have my hands free to hold the railings, because man, that hike was intense. I don't know if it was because of the fact that we were hiking up a mountain at 5 in the morning, or that the hike was pretty much all ancient stairs put in by the Romans. Whatever it was, it made getting to the top all that much more gratifying. We got to watch the sunrise from the top of Masada, which is quite an amazing site, and if you get to Israel at any time during your life, dear reader, I highly recomend you make a morning of it (there is a tram to take you to the top if you can't make the hike). We then explored the ruins of the top of Masada, and learned of the history of the Romans and King Harod. We even got to see the first Synogouge ever built (built during the days of the Temple, which was a time when no other synogouges were ever built). At the remains of this synogouge we held a Bat Mitzvah service for some of the girls on the trip. There was no reading of Torah, but they did each give their own little speach, then we all threw candy at them, as is tradition in Israel at someones Bar/Bat Mitzvah. We walked around the top a little while longer until it was time to return to the hotel for breakfast.
After consuming another variety of cheese, eggs, hummus, and vegetables, we were given time to go swimming in the Dead Sea. I was originally not going to at all, but once again I asked myself "How often" and went for it. We were not near any particularly muddy parts, so we didn't get to cover ourselves in the all healing mud, but we did get to soak in the thickest water I have ever stuck my full body into. It was quite a sensation to float, but as soon as I was vertical on my back, I felt another sensation which was not so great. No one warned me that my anus would burn so much. There should be signs on the beach "Warning, your anus will burn in the Dead Sea", or there should be t-shirts or something. I also found out I had a heat rash which I was not aware of until I was in the water. That wasn't too nice feeling either. After about 10 minutes I was out of the water, where I found out that all of my roommates (Dave and Jay) were out of the room, and none of us had the key. Thankfully the Israelis spoke Hebrew and could ask one of the maids to unlock our door so I could attempt to shower the super-saturated water off of me. My shower felt futile, for no matter how much I scrubbed, I still felt the thickness on me. Of course my anus no longer hurt and my heat rash quickly disappeared, thanks to the miracle of Dead Sea minerals (they really are fantastic for your skin), but I didn't feel as clean as I normally like. After showering I double plastic-bagged my bathing suit and towel, packed up my suitcase an headed for the bus.
The next stop was the former house of David Ben Gurion, Sde Boker. David, as you know, was Israel's first Prime Minister, but what you may not know was that he was a man of the earth. After retiring he devoted his life to a more socialist life-style and worked on a kibbutz, in the middle of the desert. It's quite a remarkable story. We had a little show put on by some of our trip members (Gary, playing Bob Barker, Robyn, playing (I don't remember who), Maor playing Samuel Jackson, and Jason playing some Asian/German doctor), wach of whom were supposed to be experts on Ben Gurion and we were supposed to guess who was telling the truth on each answer. It was kinda funny, especially with Jason's scientist jumping in and out of different accents. Then we spent some time checking out the view before moving on to the Negev Desert for a Camel Trek with the Bedouins.
The camel ride was fun, although I was rather disturbed by our madrecheem's love for camel shit and CSF (camel shit fights). There were about 12 camels, all roped together in a line. We were too many to all ride the camels at the same time, so half of us rode for a half hour until a turn-around point, at which point we switched, and those of us walking along side the camels (myself included) got to ride the camels back to the camp. It wasn't too different from riding a horse, except you get to ride with someone else, and it hurts your balls a lot more then a horse does. The camel camp was also part of the Bedouin tent site where we were spending the night. This was the most camp like part of the entire trip, for we were all sleeping in the same tent, head to foot on the ground with sleeping bags and mats, and no one had sex. Really? Yes really. For dinner we had a traditional Bedouin meal where we all sat in a giant circle with these little triangle stands placed throughout. Eventually Bedouins came through with trays of food which were placed infront of us, and we all just sort of ate with our hands off the central tray. It was like mideval times meets Ishtar, only not crappy like Ishtar. We also had the pleasure of a cat with the largest testicles I have ever seen walking around us during the meal. He was obviously in heat, not just because of his elephant balls, but also because the thing was screaming like a banshee "HELP ME! I NEED PUSSY (cat)!!!" It was sadly amuzing. Cats are like squirels in Israel, it's kind of interesting. The country must have the smallest rodent problem in the world. Anyway, after the meal we got to learn about bedouin culture, and we were treated to the best baklavah I have ever had in my life. It was also at this point that Liz and Chananel arrived to the camp to hang out. Unfortunately I couldn't break from the group to really say more then hello at that point, but they hung-out anyway. After our cultural learning, we had another circle activity where we had to have intimate conversations with the person next to us in the circle (I got to talk with Izabella) and then talk about what we talked about with the circle. Then we went around the circle and had to say something we like physically about the person to our right. Izabella had me, and I had to talk about Robyn. I assume that this game gets sexual with most groups, but our stayed pretty tame. I was going to comment on Robyn's boobs, but didn't want to be "that guy", so I stayed clean and said her eyes. Izabella was going to say my smile, but so many other people had said smile, she wanted to be interesting, so she said my sideburns (which are awesome, if I do say so myself). After we all sounded off on the attractive parts of our friends to the right, we were then instructed to go and kiss the part we found attractive. Why didn't I say boobs? I think we all would have changed our answers if we knew the second part of this game. Afterwards we returned to the tent and had a bonfire, outside the tent. And I got to hang out with Liz and finally meet Chananel. They brought me some beer and wine, which I shared with some of my fellow Shorashimers. It was also nice getting to talk to Liz, since she was freshly moved to the country, and I was freshly mesmorized by it. Eventually they got tired and left. The group and I however, all had a blast singing songs around the fire, some of us dancing, some of us spazing out in an attempt to dance, all of us having a wonderful time. Then the fire eventually died, and we ran out of kindling, so we had to retreat to the mass orgy of sleeping.
Day 8, January 15, 2007:
We woke up early again, this time which was really easy since we were all in the same room, and only about 5 people set alarms. Some of us (not me) got up early in the morning to take advantage of the one oportunity anyone had during the trip to go for a morning run. I prefered sleep. It was rather confusing when it was time to wake up, the tent did such a good job of keeping out the sunlight out, that I swore we were being woken up way to early. We had a traditional Bedouin breakfast, which was remarkably similar to every other breakfast we have had so far on the trip. It was becoming harder and harder to have original breakfast combinations. We then easily packed (having only brought my small bag off the bus because we didn't need much) and boarded the bus to head off to Machtesh Ramon, the worlds largest naturally formed crater, which is called a Machtesh in english as well.
The machtesh grows by one foot every year, it is already twice the width of Manhattan and much, much longer. We learned about how the machtesh worked from Udi, who showed us using an Israeli seasonal treat called a Chrem Bol. A Chrem Bol is much like a mallowmar, in that it only comes out in winter, has a cookie at the bottom, white filling, and then covered in chocolate. The main difference being the white filling, mallowmars obviously using marshmellows and Chrem Bols using this egg based creme filling. After Udi's graphic demonstration of the operation of the machtesh, we then were treated to a presentation of how Israelis eat Chrem Bols, each Israeli showing us a different way to consume them (much like the reeses peanut butter cup comercials). We were then given our own Chrem Bols and figured out our own best way to eat them. All of them delicious, but not as good as a mallowmar. We then drove down into the machtesh, where we got to see some Ibeks (african mountain goats) up close for pictures. We traveled through the machtesh finally reaching Eilat. Eilat is kind of like if Atlantic City was built in Miami, without the casinos. We were right on the red sea and not too far from the Egyptian boarder. We got to spend time at Eliat, shopping (where most people bought Crocs) and then hanging out on the beach (where most people got color and drunk) and beofre leaving made sure we had a dance party with the DJ at the bar we were sitting by.
After leaving Eilat, we traveled to the Egyptian boarder and stood right at the fence, where we had a great view of Mt. Sinai, although we couldn't visit it for we were not allowed to cross the boarder, for various political/safety reasons. We almost got to talk with an Egyptian security guard, but he got yelled at before we had a chance to. All he wanted were some cigarettes. Apparently they are not supposed to talk to people across the boarder. We then got back on the bus and headed to the Prima Music Hotel where we were spending the night. We had dinner followed by an evening activity of opinions based on statements. For each statement we moved into one of four groups, Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. We then got the oportunity to express why we moved to such groups and also allowed to move from group to group if our opinions were swayed. Afterwards while hanging out in the hotel, I was starting to feel the flu, and I was approached to draw the design for the back of the our trip shirts. I finally got to bed around 12:30 or so.
Day 9, January 16, 2007:
I woke up feeling slightly under the weather, but I took some Airborne and advil and was ready for the last hike of the trip. We set off from the hotel after another breakfast, mine was mostly tea and bread, for Har Shlomo, the highest peak in Israel's Southern Desert. It was quite a trek. Not as intense as Masada (probably because there were no stairs), but it was definately long and took a lot of work, especially when we got to the practically vertical climbs and descents. Before we really got into it, we stopped at an over-look point where we were told of how summer trips can't do this hike because it gets so hot out there that people have died on the trail from de-hydration (the only way out if you get stuck/hurt is by helicopter). So we started off again, finally crossing into the actual mountains, at which point we had a brief scare when Tovah took a spill and slid down the side of the mountain a bit. Thankfully she slipped in a spot where the incline wasn't very steep and she quickly stopped herself from falling and had minor wounds (although the swelling on her ankle has apparently not gone down much). Once we reached the peak, we had about 20 minutes to rest and snakc and drink and such, and Boris took the time to teach us how to meditate. I found it hard as my body was starting to rebel against the impending flu. The rest of the track down was just as fun as the trek up, and marked the only time in the trip when I fell and hurt myself. At one point I got over zelous and tired of waiting for people to get around one corner, so I took a short cut aruond someone, slipped, and caught myself on a really sharp rock wall, tearing out a small chunk of skin from my palm. Didn't need stiches, and I eventually got a band-aid and all was better. Eventually we arrived to another rest point, where we rehydrated and stretched. It was there that we were told we had another hour or two left in the hike. Of course once we rounded the next corner, we came to a dirt road which led right to the bus. I was not in the first group of atheletes who raced to the bus, but I did take the oportunity to sprint. It felt good to release like that. We got back on the bus and returned to Eilat for lunch.
It was while eating that I really started to feel the pressure of the flu. After lunch we got on the bus again, and by the time we hit Jerusalem, I was gone. I could barely function. We arrived at the old city again, this time to take a walking tour of the Western Wall Tunnels, which are the exscavation tunnels under the Muslim Quarter that continue the length of the Western wall to other points of historical interest. To me it was all just me not sitting down and resting. At one point I found myself up against the wall praying to G-d to take away my illness so I could enjoy the rest of the trip without problems. Obvisouly he was a little late in responding, although I guess I did still enjoy the rest of my trip, just not to the extent I really wanted. After the wall tour, we met again at the same spot we met as a group last time we were at the wall, had another group circle dance and shout and then headed back to the Shalom Hotel. The last night was supposed to be one of much partying and merriment, but for me it was a night to get as much sleep as possible, so as not too feel too sick on the last day. Apparently it was the same for almost everyone, so I didn't miss out on much.
The Last Day, January 17, 2007:
After a good nights sleep I was feeling better. I popped some Advil, and then later some Tylinol, and I figured I was fine, having sweat a good deal over the course of the evening. After our last of the same breakfasts, we boarded the bus for Har Herzl, the military cemetary in Jerusalem for everyone who ever died while serving the Israeli army, as well as soldiers who fell in the Holocaust and never had a chance to make it to Israel. It was a touching day, especially when we got to the sections for the soldiers who fell during this past summers skirmish with the Hezbolah in Lebanon and Udi as well as the other Israeli's each had a friend or two who fell and was burried in the cemetary. Udi also had a story of a friend who died helping people who were injured in a suicide bomb attack as another suicide bomber went off as he was doing so. Udi missed that bus. We also hit another emotional point when we hit the graves of the unknkown soldiers. All very touching. By the time we were exiting, the flu was making me a little dizzy.
After the cemetary, we were taken to Ben Yehuda street, the prominant shopping street in Jerusalem, for open lunch and shopping. It was at this point that I bought all the suveneres for my family, as well as had a soup and tea lunch. A bunch of us, at this point kind of sick of schwarma and falafel, opted for chinese food, which was par at best. After a few hours, we met back at the buses, and at this point, I was done. All I wanted to do was go home and be sick, because being sick and walking around wasn't very comfortable. We returned to the Shalom Hotel for a final group discussion and break down of the trip. It was incredibly emotional, and most people started crying. I, although emotional, was also in extreme amounts of discomfort due to the flu trying to kick in over drive. We got our shirts, with my drawing on the back (both a t-shirt and a hoodie, both in IDF green with yellow print) and they came out excellent. It took a long time for everyone to get their stuff together, except for me, who was ready to go sit on the bus. Once we were all on the bus, we were running about an hour late, so we got to the place for dinner and had to scarf it down. Except for me. I drank tea and ate pita bread. Then we got back on the bus, death slowly reaching into my head and strangling my sinuses and blocking all blood from my brain. We get to the airport only a half hour late, but then take an extra hour saying goodbye, which was the hardest part. Especially when the airport security wasn't letting us through the initial check point because of our lateness and our noisy goodbyes of "Achim Simcha" and "Od Yavo Shalom Aleiynu (Salaam)", the montras of our trip. We finally do get to part ways once our madrecheem get us into security, which was also suprisingly lite. I head to the world's greatest Duty free, buy the pop-rocks candy i love so much, as well as a bottle of absynth so I can be like Hemingway and Van Gogh for real, and head to the gate with the few others who weren't fortunate enough to be able to extend their trip. I got various meds from some of the girls (Tylanol PM and Ambien), and by the time I was sitting in my seat, I was doing head head bob sleepy dance (anyone who has seen me try not to fall asleep while sitting knows the head movement I am talking about; think watermelon on a spring). I passed out before we were even done taking off.
The Departed, January 18, 2007:
I woke up around 3:30 in the morning America time, just as they were about to serve breakfast. They didn't have the breakfast I really wanted, so I had to settle for my second of the three choices. Mostly the same stuff we've had the entire trip. I was feeling slightly better thanks to the 10 hours of sleep. As we started to land I was thankful I was sitting next to Mila, who is a professional pharmasist thanks to the University at Buffalo, and she hooked me up with some daytime flu med combos to get me through the day. Getting back into the country was also once again very easy, and as a group we said goodbye three or four times, because every place we decided to stop to say goodbye, security made us move. We did another "Achim Simcha" and parted. Mindy had hired a car, and as a HUGE favor to me, she let me hitch a ride with her to Lexington and 59th, where I caught the N/W home (which was a million times easier then going all over the place with trains and whatnot, especially in my condition. I entered my apartment at 7:30am, the same time I had left two sundays before, and the apartment was in a worse state then when I left. Mike was still not up for work yet, So i had some time to settle in. By the time he did get up, he appologised for the apartment being such a away. He thought I was coming home that night, and was planning on cleaning the last minute, he didn't think to look at the itinerary I had posted on my bedroom door. Shortly after he left for work, I headed out for Tovah's apartment where she Aaron and I watched the 4 hours of 24 we missed while in Israel. What a crazy season this is turning into, huh. Then i went back home to unpack and feel sick, and then make Mike clean up the apartment.
I've been home for just a few hours over a week now, and I must say I still miss Israel. Tomorrow night a bunch of the NYC people from our group are getting together for a shabbat dinnner. We have also all been talking incessantly through email about going back and setting up various other get-together events, all of which I plan to attend, even if it's borderline impossible.
Well I hope this answers all of your questions about what I did on my trip. I must now get back to work, for this took a lot of time away from it. Shhh.
Today's Entry:
Achim - A hebrew word which means brotherhood, but is Joshspeak means so much more.
"Achim, Achim, Achim! Simcha, Simcha, Simcha!"