By: Alan Sebag

After a rough night in the freezing cold tent, we awoke bright and early (6 am) for camel riding. Little did I know that our last day was going to be just as jam packed with the same fun, adventure, and exhaustion as every other day so far. The camels didn't seem happy to be strolling around the desert with us on their backs but it was still awesome to be riding on top of those interesting creatures and enjoying the view of the sun rising over the mountains.
Shortly after we ventured to Ben Gurion's grave nearby. There we were given a short history lesson from Alex and took pictures of the view. The grave site area was spotted with gazelles and rams. ( not sure the exact animal names.)
We then journeyed to Ein Ovdat, perhaps the most strenuous hike of the trip. But it was worth it because there were many great panorama snap shots at the top. What made the hike especially cool is that we walked over numerous small streams that led to a bigger river and we also climbed a couple ladders towards the top of the mountain.
Being the superhumans we've become, our next stop was to a place called the salad trail which was essentially a big greenhouse with a variety of fruits, vegetables, and spices. The tour guide was fun and upbeat and had us eat purple carrots out of the ground. She also had us tasting "chocolate tomatoes" ( nothing to do with chocolate), very hot peppers (it was funny watching Brandon), strawberries, and a bunch of spices that looked like leafs. Some cool plants and spices we saw were basil, dill, mint, and far. The tour guide than took us to a memorial "nirim" near the gaza boarder that honored 8 fallen soldiers. There she randomly gave about ten of us pigeons in our hands to let fly free. I was too scared to hold one. She did it to prove a point that the birds always fly back home because they have a biological GPS on their beak. Normally she gives groups letters and shows them the birds with the returned letters at the salad trail but she said we didn't have time for that.
Since this is the last blog of the trip I will add some final thoughts. After hearing good things about this trip from a million friends, it's amazing that this trip still far surpassed my expectations. In ten days I have managed to see so much and make so many good friends that it will take a lot longer than 10 days for it all to sink in. Fatigue, cold weather, and rigid scheduling was just small price to pay for the greatest vacation of my life. Hope you enjoyed my blog, I wrote this in 20 minutes so don't judge my writing! MAYANOT 379 for life!

By: Rachel Sorsher

We caught our breaths this morning as the bland desert streets manifested into magnificent mountains painting the horizons .

We had arrived at Masada, an ancient fortress once the center of conflict between the Romans and Jewish Rebels thousands of years ago. With the fortress carved beautifully into the cliffs and the Dead Sea kissing the shore in the distance , it's easy to see what was worth fighting for.

After lunch, we made our way to the Dead Sea where covered head to toe in mud, we floated on our backs watching the day turn into night. We then arrived at a Bedouin village where we had dinner, and heard a presentation about the Bedouin lifestyle. we hiked into the desert and took a moment to lie on our backs and look at the stars , in complete silence. at this particular moment as I write this we are gathered around a bonfire roasting marshmellows. All in all, we had a pretty sweet n' salty day together, and I think we can all agree that as our last night comes to a close. we'll never forget MAYANOT 379.

By: Josh Baumoel

After seven days in the homeland, the Israeli adventure keeps getting more and more memorable. Last night, we parted from the seriousness of the day to venture on a night out on the town, Tel Aviv style.

After exploring a beautiful boardwalk on the Mediterranean Sea, we decided to check out some authentic Israeli nightlife in downtown Tel Aviv. Because of the incredible amount of fun and celebration we all had, letting the night fade by falling asleep was a challenging task. Needless to say, my 3 and a half hours of rest was more than enough to recharge for yet another adventure that awaited us all today.

Our first stop was visiting Rabin Square, where Yitzchak Rabin had been assassinated. After learning of the history of the conflict which led to this event, we were all assigned to a 'getting-to-know-real-Israelis' mission. Split into groups of 3, we walked around the area of Rabin Square and talked to Israeli's walking around their town about their Israeli culture and their own experiences in Israel.

We then headed on an amazing tour of Jaffa by our incredible Israeli tour guide Alex. It was mind-blowing to see structures around the town which are thousands of years old and still intact for natural display. We also had the chance to explore the local market and eat the delicious local cuisine.

Our next stop was down the road to the Nachalat Binyamin Market. This market was full of unique artwork handcrafted by the people of Tel Aviv. It was difficult for many of us not to buy everything in sight!

After, we walked to Independence Hall to sit in the same exact room Israel's independence was declared 65 years ago... Wow! It was just another amazing experience on this trip which continues to astonish me more and more each day. Everything I do here feels right, like I am home. I learn about the history of Israel and feel like it is my own history. Of course, it is the history of my people, but it never felt quite the same from America. There is an overwhelming connection of comfort, spirituality, and a right to be here, my birthright.

By: Dale Bernstein

Up untill today this trip has been distant, not in experience or in depth but rather in time. It was the "old" city which we visited, overlooked boarders of 50 year old states, and a notion of never ending growth. It was today which transformed abstract into reality, infinity into the finite.
As Quentin Tarantino is so fond of I have already revieled our ending, our realization, now it is time to follow our group backwards untill your memory of the last blog message and this unite.
Gifts were exchanged, personal tokens with meanings years old given to soldiers we've know only 4 days. Josh sits down on the bus clutching a black IDF beret, a token from the equivalent of our NAVY Seals. Myself parting with a bracelet, made of paracord, given to me by a friend while hiking. It was a tool to be used while away from home, always carried with me while traveling. It now leaves with an intelligence officer, it is easy to see this tool is needed more by the men who protect our home.
The heartfelt goodbyes mark the end of our lives with the IDF soldiers, 8 in all, all our brothers and sisters. But the tears are not sad from goodbyes alone, rather they flow from the stories and spirits on mt. Herzal. This place is the Israeli Arlington, a final resting place of the celebrated politicians and the unsung heros of war. Here we came face to face with reality, a solem reminder in the eyes of a father. A man quietly praying for his daughter, only 20 years old, a soldier, a hero. We walked from the grave of Michael Levin who was a born American, any one of us. Who not only paid the ultimate price to defend Israel, but clawed and fought, simply for the opportunity to live his dream of becoming an Israeli paratrooper. No one of us, myself included could have prepared for what happened in that cematary. I can only speak for myself but on the walk up the mountain from the holocaust museum, I could only wait for reality after our days of adventuring.

Earlier that day we arrived at the Israeli holocaust museum. The views were amazing and the thought of learning permiated every one of us. As we entered the bare concrete building, it was the design, the curiosity which most struck me. A long triangle, wide at both ends, pinched in the middle, hid the exhibits that lay hidden in its wings. While we all know the facts and stories which follow our people from the nazis, this experience was different. The real pavers and street lamp from a Warsaw ghetto took the textbook learning of our past and forced it to be real. Forced the images and sounds into our minds. As if for a short hour in time we lived like our brothers of past. For that hour we remembered them, honored the heroes which without none of us might be here today.

Then it widended, the narrow concrete center emerged to a great epiphany of light and space. As swiftly as it began and became reality, it ended. ended with a view over the mountains of Jerusalem which seemed unreal. In all that has been our trip, we wake up to what on the surface is unbelievable, Israel our home, the land our fight, the old city our god, the soldiers our family. Tonight we will be in Tel Aviv; another adventure which none of us, half lucid from this roller coaster, can begin to fathom. We will wake up from the dreams while we sleep on the ride to the next reality, a thousand lights in the distant skyline, Tel Aviv.

Saying goodbye to our soldiers

By: Lindsey Aronson

After a late night out in Jerusalem last night, a tired bunch of Jews gathered this morning for our tour of the old city. I think it was hard for us to grasp the fact that we were actually in the city we have been learning about since the early days of Hebrew school even though we were staring right at it. While we were sitting hearing some history from Alex, we got to watch a school of little boys have recess and run around us laughing and throwing balls around. It was adorable.

We did some shopping and shmoozing around town and then headed to the western wall. We all wrote notes and then headed down for most of our first times at the holiest place in our religion. The place all if us have heard about but never thought would be right in front of us. I think it was a meaningful experience for all everyone.

Lastly, we went to a local nursing home and shared some laughs, songs, and dances with the people who live there. It was intesting hearing all the places they were from such as Morocco, Argentina, and France, but they all ended up in Israel together. It was a great way to end our tour of the city, and it felt good to see their faces light up :)

Overall, our day in the old city of Jerusalem was a great success and a very powerful and impacting experience.

By: Brian Zimmerman

Once the rain started to fall, it seemed like it would never stop. It began on our bus ride from Tiberias to Jerusalem, as water slashed against the windows of our bus and dark clouds hovered overhead. As we rode uphill toward Jerusalem, stopping briefly at a gas station for snacks and a camel ride, the clouds began to thin out, and before long we were hurdling into the holy city at full speed. Passing through one last tunnel, we waited in anticipation for Jerusalem to appear before us, and when it did, we could hardly contain our cheers. For many of us, it was the first time we had laid eyes on the place that our ancestors had called home, a city that had once been ripped from our grasp and nearly destroyed. As we gazed upon the city from a distance, there was a unanimous feeling that we were in for something truly special. Rain might have been streaming from the sky, but it was definitely the last thing on our minds. All any of us could think about was setting foot in Jerusalem.

Our first stop was at the Shuk market, a whirlwind of sights, sounds, and smells. Heading into the narrow, crowded street, our bodies became part of a human river, and we were pushed, sometimes against our will, past stalls filled with fruit, candy, and pastries. Our mission was to find a gift for one of our friends in the group, and after some quick shopping, we boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel. The sun was beginning to set, and it was time to prepare for Shabbat.

For many of us, Shabbat at the Kotel, was unlike any other Shabbat service we had ever experienced. Walking through the old city of Jerusalem, we were humbled by the fact that we were occupying the same steers our ancestors had walked thousands of years ago. It was a privilege that many of us did not take for granted, and even those amongst us who had never ushered in a Shabbat could tell they were taking part in one o the most meaningful traditions in Judaism. After lighting the candles and saying a prayer over the wine, we began our walk to the Western Wall.

As we stood in front of the Kotel, praying with our fellow Jews, the outside world seemed to disappear. Suddenly, it didn't matter that the rain would not relent and that we were soaked to our skin. The only thing that mattered was that we were experiencing a deep connection to the Jewish people and the history and culture that has sustained us for so many years. After all, the true beauty of the Western Wall is that while you're standing before it, no Jew is a stranger.

Back at the hotel, after a meaningful walk through the rainy streets of Jerusalem, we sat down for a traditional Shabbat dinner in the dining room. After eating, we regrouped in a circle and exchanged the gifts we bought at the Shuk. This gift exchange was a simple way to show how much we appreciate the people sitting next to us, and though the gifts were inexpensive, they carried a value that will only increase with time.

With a wake-up call set for noon, Saturday marked the first day of the trip on which we could actually sleep in. Rest, after all, is what Shabbat is all about, so many of us were more than happy to honor the sabbath by turning off our alarm clocks. After a relaxing lunch, we all participated in a Jewish identity activity that had us rank our Jewish priorities in order of importance. Though our answers might have been different, we could all agree that the activity had deepened our understanding of who we were as Jews.

Refueled by a quick snack, we reconvened for a presentation by an organization called Gift of Life, a group that helps young Jews like us register for the international none marrow registry. Registration only took up an hour of our time, but its effects could potentially change someone's life forever.

With the sun well below the horizon, Shabbat had finally come to a close, and it was time for us to experience Jerusalem's nightlife firsthand. After a havdallah service that had us singing together arm-in-arm, we boarded the bus and headed for Ben Yehuda street. Finally, the rain had stopped falling, and it was as if the city had been washed clean. We started the new week the best way we knew how: by spending time with each other and dancing well into the night. Our Shabbat experience, rain and all, had truly been a success. Because in the end, it had brought us all closer together.

By: Andrew Wiesel

Today was awesome going to Misgav Am. The view was unbeilevable, I've never felt so close to the sky. Meeting the soldiers and hearing about there lifestyles really made me think how important it is to serve and protect our home of Israel.

Learning about the Kibbutz was very inspiring to me and meeting Aryeh really made me think about my Jewish identity and who we are. He also made me feel the connection between Americans and Israel. This is my HOME! This trip is one of the best experiences of my life and I look forward to more and more.

We ended the evening with some activities to get to know our 8 Israeli soldiers a little better and a tie in session.

By: Katya Sorsher

After a night of enjoying the food and drinks of Tiberius, we were awoken early to a warm breakfast. There was a buzz among the group of the awaited meeting of the Israeli soldiers. We all boarded the bus and sought out to meet our new friends. They turned out to be very different than we had imagined but, of course, welcomed them into our group like long lost friends.

We journeyed on continued to our morning hike. We were going to see the banias river waterfall... In the rain.
That's right folks it is raining here today. The brave few trekked into the cold, wet terrain. The rest lagged behind and slowly dredged after them and were all happy to find that minutes into our hike the clouds spread and it stopped raining allowing everyone to take in the beauty of our surroundings. The hike was muddy yet peaceful and beautiful. But there was more in store for us..

Our next activity was Mini Jeeping, but this time the rain wasn't as kind. We grouped up in 3's, 4's and 5's, dawned our raincoats and hopped into the vehicles. As we drove in a single file with the wind and rain beating into our faces. On the first half I drove and couldn't shake the feeling of being in the Jurassic Park movie. There were barbed wire fences to either sides of the narrow road and the place was deserted. We had no clue where we were going until we arrived at a clearing where we saw Lebanon and Syria in the distance.

Our jeeping tour leader talked to us about the history of the area as we dreamed of warmer places to survive our cold wet clothes. As we headed back, I had a surreal moment of realizing where I was and the effects of this region on my religion. With how fast things are moving it is hard to fully take things but these small moments makes this trip all the better.

For now, I'm off to find warmth and dry clothes.
Signing off.

By: Josh Zimmerman

The floors are not cracked in Zefat. They just have stress marks of where they have to expand, because Zefat is a living, breathing city. It is alive with Judaism and today every kid on our trip connected to their lost lost grandparent named Zefat.

We got our first real "taste" of Israel there as right off the bus we all scrambled to the nearest falafel stand. Then it was off to the mikvah for men where we were fortunate enough to spiritually renew ourselves in freezing cold mountain water. I can speak for us all when I say that experience made us grow closer as friends. The women witnessed art in action, watching master glass blower display his craft in a meditative peace.

We regrouped the tour of the city continued when we met with a man named Avraham, who gave a us brief glimpse of of how to enlighten our souls through Kabbalah.

After a small shopping stint, we learned of the more recent history of Zefat, and the scares that can grow from love and war in the holy city. I can safely say we were all inspired. We all grew. We all learned a little more about ourselves there. And most importantly we all realized how grateful we are to be here.

By Yari Rostamian

After a night of interrogation by the el al employees, napping on the plane, and talking about how great the plane food was we made it to the land of milk and honey. We took a bus ride straight to the land of Tiberias and made our way to the king Solomon hotel. It was so nice getting to know eachother during orientation, and it really got us pumped for the adventure we had ahead of us.

We started off our Israel excursion by climbing the Arbel cliff. of course many of us arent skilled mountain climbers, but we built up the strength to do this together.
It was funny watching most of us so frightened to take the next step, me being one of those frightened kids,however, even though we all just met yesterday we were all looking out for each other, whether it was holding each others hand or standing behind them as they climbed down, and of course standing next to each other to take pictures in front of the beautiful scene. The best part is that we are all in this together, and we are all here to share our connection with Israel.
We are now making our way to Tzfat and we are all so excited for all the places we'll go!

Keeping it classy in y'israel