After a gazillion hours of flying, we arrived in sunny Israel and were treated with donuts and much-needed water. The 40 of us met our Israeli tour guide (actually from Philadelphia) and loaded onto a big bus. Exhausted from not sleeping on the plane, I passed out without a glance out the window. We arrived where we're staying, ate dinner, and spent the night getting to know each other.
Today we started early, with breakfast at 7:15 and a 7:45 departure. We drove down the winding roads, through stunning scenery of mountains and lakes. David our tour guide talked us through a basic history of Israel and the Jewish religion. He has a great voice and knows his stuff; it would be hard not to listen to him speak about the land he so clearly adores.
We arrived at Svat the mystical city high up on a hill. The charming, pedestrian-only city center winded past art galleries and boutiques. David toured us through various temples, explaining Svat's important history as the cite of a miraculous defeat of Arab aggression post-World War II. Here's the scoop - with heavy rain and loud weapons, the invading Arab army thought the Jews had nuclear weapons and retreated, abandoning their homes completely in fear of a nuclear attack.
Next was my favorite (and I think everyone's favorite) part of the day. We walked into an art gallery and sat in a circle to listen to the artist speak about his experience with mystical Judaism, or Kabbalah. Also an ex-pat, Avraham grew up in Michigan and attended art school in Chicago before gradually making the move to live in Israel. The man exuded positive hippie energy, punctuating most of his points with "like whoa." He spoke of his search for spirituality in Eastern traditions before someone pointed him towards the practice of Kabbalah. The rest is history - the man can talk for days about Jewish mysticism, and his art richly symbolizes the Jewish tradition. He told us that the main goal of Kabbalah is to move away from caring about oneself and towards feeling concern for others. The special part of this wasn't just what he said but how he said it, with this pure unadulterated joy. He repeated over and over how fantastic it was to be seated in a room with people who share ancestry, tradition, and family struggle.
Then we were set free for lunch and exploring. Naturally we headed straight for the winery and tasted local cabs made by a cute old man from Morocco.
With the intent of finding lunch, I got side-tracked by a pretty ring and a lady from Westchester who has no intention of ever returning to the States (the common theme of American ex-pats). I wandered into a cute coffee shop with a spectacular view and met up with other kids on my trip. We drank cappuccinos and enjoyed the view. By the time we were done it was time to meet back with the group, so I grabbed a falafel and rushed to catch up with the group.
Last stop was a mikvah. We learned about cleansing and such, and we delved into the realm of Jewish gender issues. Women are impure when the menstruate and such. No need to get into it here, but needless to say I'm not rushing to pick up Orthodox Judaism.
The next 24 hours will be pretty low-key for Shabbat, but tune in soon for our next adventure. One of the many spectacular views...
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