TL-46-983 Update 1

We started our adventure playing an icebreaker in the airport lobby of EWR. The question: what are you most looking forward to in Israel. Answers ranged from “connecting to my Jewish culture”, “seeing my family”, and “exploring the Israel’s nature through our activities like ATV riding and rafting.”

We arrived at the airport and met our tour guide, Dror, and standby medic, Or. We then slept our first night in the holiest site in Judaism, Jerusalem.

The first day, we went to the Old City of Jerusalem. We learned about the typical life of the Jews living under the Romans as well as under varying Arab rulers. We finally made our way to the Kotel— the Western Wall — where each person had personal time to reflect. We heard about the paratroopers recapturing Jerusalem after 2000 years without Jewish sovereignty— the takeaway lesson is that we each are an extension to our Jewish past, as well as the potential we all hold to make an everlasting difference in history.

That night we heard from Neil Lazarus about the current geopolitical situation in Israel. Afterwards we went out to experience Israeli nightlife at Shuk Machane Yehuda.

We’re learning the culture of Israel in an immersive way— from the most religious to the secular, and the historical to the modern day period. There isn’t a moment where we don’t experience something new.