Bus 1047 Jerusalem

Old City - We went walking through the old city and it was definitely an experience I will not forget. Observing all the architecture and the people around the town was one thing to be amazed by, but when I came upon a local citizen playing some guitar instrument I stopped in my place. This man was by himself on the steps playing this instrument so beautifully; I felt so inspired. I felt like I was in a movie. Definitely a moment I will remember from this trip. -Eden Sapir

Dead Sea - The Dead Sea was definitely was one of the more anticipated scheduled events during this trip. Floating in a sea of water was something that most of us have never experienced. I always saw pictures of people reading the newspapers or playing chess inside the sea, but never really understood how it worked. I literally walked on out into the sea, (which I highly recommend water shoes or flip flops of some sort) and just dreaded the time of entering my body into the freezing body of water. I walked out 50 yards or so, and dipped my body in believing I would sink a little bit. However, that was not the case. I immediately started to float on top of the water. As I looked around in amazement and took in the moment of just being able to lay down and relax in a body of water without having to lay on top of a raft, I heard the tune of Gangnam Style. I watched as me and other members of the group threw balls of salt crystals at each other. Also, while defending myself from being hit by a ball of salt, I splashed myself in the face with the Dead Sea water. Never have I ever had my eyes burn so bad for what would be one long “blind” minute or two. As I got out of the Dead Sea, I felt really dry and clean, but knew it was a feeling I would never experience again after swimming with over forty other humans. -Justin Bennett

Yad Vashem Of all experiences we had over the course of the trip, Yad Vashem was by far the most difficult. Looking back, I’m glad we headed there early on in the trip, so as to not dampen our moods later on. In a nutshell, Yad Vashem is Israel’s Holocaust Memorial. The park consisted of a multitude of memorials, parks, nature trails, as well a museum, all of which covered a mountainside that facing the beautiful valley below. The visit brought us to several memorials, but the two that I remembered the most were the Children’s’ Memorial and Hall with all the concentration camps. In the Children’s Memorial, we entered a dark room that a large black column. Lit candles coupled with mirrors gave the appearance of an eternal sea of candles, one for each child that had perished in the Holocaust. The room was quite dark, and as I followed the path, the speakers boomed out the name, age, town and country of a different child. In the next memorial, In the Hall with all names on the concentration camps, we entered a short, rectangular structure. On the inside, the dark metal floor was inscribed with the names of different concentration camps across Europe. In the center of the building stood a flame, housed by some contorted, twisted metal structure. Upon talking about this memorial afterwards with the group, many of us agreed on the unwelcoming, uninviting, and somewhat frightening atmosphere that the building gave to its visitors. Perhaps the hardest part for us was the museum itself. If I had to, I couldn’t use words to really describe the museum and my experience there. The site described in detail the events that led up to the Holocaust, the sequence of events in this point in history, as well as the aftermath. It offered photographs, first hand accounts from several sides, as well as historical artifacts. It was a very sensitive topic for us all, and there were a lot of strong emotions. Ultimately, I believe that this was an insightful and important experience as myself as a Jew. For anyone looking to further their understanding of the Holocaust and Jewish history, I would definitely recommend the museum, and Yad Vashem as a whole. - Dan Munoz

Jerusalem Having been in Israel before, and having gone to Jerusalem before I did have some experience to build my thoughts off of. However, this time was so different than the last. The last time I was in Jerusalem I was 12, for my Bat Mitzvah, and although I did tour around and see all the sights I did not feel the connection that I do this time. Being able to experience the Kotel was an amazing thing. Having learned about Israel my entire life, the Kotel had the largest meaning to me. Being able to pray at the Kotel was unbelievable! Additionally, I really enjoyed visiting Yad Vashem. I have learned about the Holocaust in the past, however, this museum really brought it to life in a scary but very real way. Overall, looking back at my Taglit Birthright experience I can say in full confidence that I felt the biggest and deepest connection with the city of Jerusalem. -- Dahlia Schudrich

Bus 1050

The past few days have been absolutely amazing, educational, eye-opening and wet, very wet(it seems that we brought a lot of rain with us). After a grueling, turbulence filled flight we saw the bright Israeli sun(it hadn't started raining yet) and could smell the freshness of the air. Even though I had barely slept on the plane, the Israeli sun and air reinvigorated my tired body. I was ready for everything and anything that would come our way, except the amount of rain we would soon receive. It's Israel, its not supposed to rain right? Our first stop was the gorgeous ancient seaport of Jaffa. We basked in the sun and surroundings while our tour guide, Hannah, taught us the history of the area. We would then walk through Jaffa towards Tel Aviv, the bustling Israeli city that I have been waiting to see my entire life. While in Tel Aviv, we learned about the founding of the Jewish State at Independence Hall. I have never been overly inclined to call myself a Zionist, but listening to our guide speak about the declaration of Israeli independence gave me the chills, one student on our trip even cried. We moved from Independence Hall to Rabin Square. Yitzhak Rabin has always been a man that I've admired due to his commitment to peace with Israel and the Arab neighbors. As young Americans, we relived the horrible day that stalled the Israeli-Arab peace process, again I was in chills. The following day, we traveled to Tzipori, an ancient archaeologically filled city. The city was beautiful and the history of not only the Jewish people in the area, but everyone was fascinating. From Tzipori, we moved on to Tiberius for lunch and shopping in preparation for Shabbat. Our Shabbat would be spent on a kibbutz called Nofei Gonen. Spending our first Shabbat in Israel was an experience unlike any others. Our leaders had to find a way to make an egalitarian Shabbat that all would feel comfortable and peaceful at. It was achieved, but that was not the experience that was different. There was a feeling, an essence, in the air that made this Shabbat so drastically different than any other Shabbat I've ever celebrated. Everything just seems better in Israel. Our Shabbat was definitely a relaxing day, since we will be waking up very early and traveling a lot for the remaining of the trip. After Havdalah, we all jumped on the bus eager to get off the kibbutz and go to the ancient hot springs, Hammat Gader, and swim in the volcanic, sulfuric water. On Sunday, we got to explore the north of Israel, the Golan Heights. We learned the troubled history of the area and the defense tactics to protect and hold control of this area, all while "off roading" in jeeps older than a few of us students combined. The most exciting part of any birthright trip is when the Israeli soldiers come to join us for about five days. We picked up our soldiers on the side of the road and welcomed them with loud cheers of excitement and warm greetings. The entire experience so far has been absolutely amazing, and the trip still has the best to come! -Glenn Corregano 2013