By: Marc Sznapstajler

Shalom from Israel! My name is Marc Sznapstajler, and I am writing to you from our bus in Israel! After a 12 hour delay and a 10 hour plane ride, our group finally made it safe and sound. The trip didn't exactly start off how I imagined, however, I couldn't be happier with how everything has gone. We were put up in a hotel in New York due to a 12 hour delay. After waking up at 5 am, we made our way to the airport and to our Boeing 747 Plane. The plane ride wasn't too terrible, but 10 hours in a plane can definitely get to you.

Touching down in Israel was simply one of the greatest feelings in the world. The plane erupted in applause and smiles were everywhere! Needless to say, all of us are ecstatic to be here. We are now making our way to our hotel in northern Israel in the dark. Our day will be starting at around 9 am our time - 2 am Eastern Standard Time. Be on the lookout for other blog posts!

Am Yisrael Chai!

Marc Sznapstajler

After a great nights rest at our hotel we are finally back at JFK and aboard out flight to Israel!

Israel be warned! Mayanot 93 is coming get excited!!!!

So we made it into JFK with a smooth flight and on time :)

Our flight to Tel Aviv is now delayed untill 8:40am.

In the mean time Delta put us up at the Hampton Inn at JFK so we can get a good night rest.

As we are sitting in the airport anxiously waiting to board out flight to JFK and then to Israel ;) Students are mingling and getting to know each other everyone is excited to embark on their "Birthright" journey and see what all their friends have been talking about!

We gathered at the gate for a quick orientation and icebraker and got to know each other a bit better.

Seems like we have a well traveled group as we each shared our most exciting adventures up to this point. Birthright is sure to surpass them all!

Quick update: Mayanot has organized a hotel for us at JFK so we won't be stranded at the airport! :)

Oh wait we gotta board the plane! Talk to you later ;)

By: Chaim Lipskier (Rabbi)

Check out our most detailed itinerary to date!

If you have any last minute questions, feel free to contact me at rabbi@jewishucf.com or call 407.310.876

Looking forward to an awesome trip!!

By Chaim Lipskier (Rabbi)

In preparation of our awesome 10 day trip we held a pre trip orientation. We got a glimpse into the daily schedule, met fellow trip participants and asked all the questions we had in anticipation of the trip. As the Orientation was held on Chanukah we also had a Menorah lighting and enjoyed some donuts.

If you didn't get a chance to make it to the orientation you can still check out our powerpoint by clicking on the picture below. You can also view a short video about the trip.

Looking forward to the best 10 days of our lives :)

By: Chaim Lipskier (Rabbi)

As we get ready for the trip of a lifetime that is Taglit-Birthright Israel, we know that there are many of you that would have loved to be on this trip, so we decided to keep an updated blog of our trip and to let you enjoy the journey with us.

Please check back daily for updates and hopefully soon you might be able to go to Israel on your own!

Are you on the trip? Please let your friends & family know that they can follow our trip! Just tell them to visit www.jewishucf.com/israelblog