By: Andrew Maurer

Mayanot 216 had a very exciting and fun filled Friday. We started off our day bright and early with a 7:00 am wake up followed by a delicious buffet breakfast. After breakfast we all met to talk and prepare ourselves for the Yad Vashem holocaust museum in Jerusalem. During this session we talked about what the holocaust meant to us, how we had been affected by it, and anything else that would help us through the day.

We arrived at the museum at 9:30 and spent 3 hours there. During those 3 hours we went through the whole place and it wasn't easy. Everyone saw the horrific things that happened during the holocaust. We saw people crying, people just starring at certain things frozen, and a lot of pain which was definitely the hardest part. Once we got through the museum we went into a classroom with our tour guide to go over some things we didn't get to discuss before. As we all know the 1930's and 1940's were not a pleasant time for the Jewish people or anyone who wasn't part of the Aryan Nazi Regime.

After we left we went to the Machne Yehuda market to eat lunch and shop. We will be concluding our Friday with Shabbat at the Western Wall followed by a joint Farbrengen with another birthright group.

By: Adam Brooks,

​Today was one of the most important days in my life for a couple of reasons. We started the day off at an early 7:00am and had a 2 hour bus ride to Jerusalem. Once there we visited Mount Herzl, a military cemetery and one of 143 others in Israel. Quoting JFK "it's not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

Every Israeli takes this to heart, at the age of 18 every boy and girl needs to join the IDF and protect this beautiful country. I have never been to a place that has more pride in its country and people than Israel. Every soldierlives breaths and dies for this Jewish homeland. While in the cemetery we heard beautifully heroic stories about soldiers who lost their lives for others. It was incredibly emotional and beautiful.

After that life changing experience we traveled to the western wall. This spectacle is one that needs to be experienced rather than seen. A photo doesn't do it justice. We then traversed through a 2000 year old water tunnel in pitch darkness. The low of the day had to been saying good bye to all of our soldiers we were traveling with I made bonds and friendships I will cherish the rest of my life. After drying off and saying goodbye we traveled to a beautiful hotel in Jerusalem and layed our weary heads down.

By: Gable Goodman

Today we woke up at the early time of 6:30 in the kibbutz we stayed at the night before. After eating a breakfast of bread, cheese, and eggs we embarked on the ride to Masada. The trip took a few hours and put us smack in the middle of the desert. Before starting our journey up the mountain of Masada we drank as much water as humanly possible to account for the 105 degree heat. We then hiked up an old battery ramp to the top of Masada where our fantastic tour leader Ariel and our amazing Rabbi described the scenes and history that took place there.

Luckily after lunch we were able to take a cable car down the mountain instead of hiking it down giving us an unreal view. Sadly we had to say goodbye to Rabbi today who has taught us so much this trip as well as making us more passionate about our Jewish heritage like never before. Next we got on the bus and headed to the Dead Sea which we have all been looking forward to. A bunch of us bought Dead Sea mud and proceeded to rub it all over each other helping us achieve maximum softness of our skin.

​Our next stop was the bedouin tents where we got to ride camels, eat delicious schwarma and hummus, and hear about the Bedouin hospitality. We are all looking forward to the next days of our adventure!

By: Shelby Kahn

​Bo Bo bo bokertov! With our eyes almost halfway open, we hopped on the bus to head to the Tel Aviv Beach. The sand felt like a blanket under our feet. We layed out in the beautiful sun and got our tan on. After the beach, we went to the Carmel market. We walked around the market and and got to fill up our growling stomachs. The shopping was great, besides a little bargaining with the head strong Israelis.

We then traveled to the Birthright Innovation center, and learned about the amazing inventions that the Israelis have created. We then went to Sderot, Sderot is one mile from Gaza and many rockets fall there as a result! Sderot is knows for its many bomb shelters some of which are built at playgrounds! We got to see one! We also got to oversee Gaza!
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We then made our way to the Kibutz and were welcomed by a ton of black cats and ate a filling dinner. After a bunch of squeals from the cats and bugs, we got to settle in the rooms and get situated. We had an activity with the Israelis and soldiers called Krav Maga! Krav Maga is a military self defense system developed by the IDF! We got to learn some moves and practice on each other! We then got to learn a lot about them and their roles.

By: Jacky Gonzalez

Mayanot birthright 216 was forced out of their beds at 6:45 AM. Reluctantly, we packed up our suitcases and went to the bus, on our way to our next adventure.


With half the bus asleep, we reached Arbel mountain . We climbed up one side and were met with the most incredible view. On one end of our view we saw the sea of Galilee and the Atarot airport, the oldest airport in Israel, which opened in 1920. After our daily story from our tour guide, Ariel, we were given the decision to either go back down the mountain, or continue on the hike down the cliff's edge. I wasn't sure at first if I was brave enough to do it but after much contemplation, I decided, "what the heck?"

The first 20 minutes were moderately terrifying, but when we reached the actual cliff, I began to regret my decision. I had always been afraid of heights and, being on the literal edge of a mountain, climbing down, this did not ease my anxiety. Very slowly and carefully, I glued myself to the mountain and held onto the metal bars, determined not to look down.

Earlier on this trip we were asked what the scariest experience we've ever had was. I would like to formally change my answer to the 10 minutes spent trying to maneuver myself down the cliff. After I kissed the ground with joy, we kept moving. We came across some caves that were originally for refugees during the time of the Maccabees. Then, it was another half an hour (or close to an hour for me) to get down the mountain.

We went back into the bus and I took a nice nap on our way to Tel Aviv. When we arrive, we were given some free time to roam about. My group and I went to a restaurant that supposedly served the best shakshuka in Tel Aviv. I, personally, had never heard of that but I wanted to give it a try. Shakshuka is basically fried eggs with homemade tomato sauce on top, typically served with bread. This was by far the greatest meal I've had so far on this trip.
When we finished, we went down an alleyway crowded with vendors

Later, we joined our group to go to another high point in the old city of Jaffa with a great view. This one was a little different with buildings in our sights instead of fields and mountains. We were explained to how Tel Aviv came to be; how it was built and rebuilt many times and will continue to grow into a metropolis.

We headed to the Independence hall where we heard a passionate woman retell the story of Israel's independence. So far, this country is more beautiful than I could have imagined. I am enjoying our tour guide and his incredible passion for storytelling and hope the next days to come are as filled with adventure as this one.

We then headed to the hotel and had dinner plus some to get ready for our night out in Tel Aviv!

By: Zach Levine

​Sunday May 7th, 2017 in the land of Israel.

Today is by far the busiest day we've had so far, and potentially will be the busiest day of birthright.

After breakfast we hopped on the bus and headed to our first stop, the water hike. On our way we picked up 4 Israelis (some soldiers, some students) who will be joining our group for the next 5 days.

The hike consisted of pink flowers that we weren't supposed to touch, fish by our feet, and of course, water trees. Rabbi and Ariel (our incredible birthright tour guide) are experts on water trees. Rabbi also wore shorts today, a rare sight indeed.

After the water hike we headed over to an Israeli open market and had Schwarma. Plus, we met 3 more Israelis who joined our group. Then we ventured over to the Golan Heights and looked out into Syria.

Ariel taught us interesting things about Israel's history, conflicts, and terrorism, while we gazed from a breathtaking view on the mountain top, into some of the most "hot" sites in the Middle East.

In addition, he told a moving story that allowed the group to fully understand how important Israel really is, an experience I'm sure no one will forget. After exploring the Golan Heights we hopped back on the bus to our next destination, river rafting.

Ariel told us he had a one-eyed twin brother meeting us at the river rafting site. In reality, Ariel threw on an eye patch and swam away into the river like a majestic Israeli dolphin.

For the rest of us Jews, rafts were boarded with paddles in hand. Rabbi and Shaoli (medic) splashed us, which was very rude. Shaoli made me disco disco boom boom.

After rafting we had one more stop on this life changing journey, Misgov Am, a small community looking over the Northern Countries that border Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. We learned from a 76 year old Israeli Veteran about Israels conflicts in the Middle East, and got a brief overview of his personal story.

Back on the bus exhausted, we look forward to dinner and rest, and the coming days ahead. What an incredible day.

By: Daniel Ohana

Shabbat kicked off with a bang - and that bang was Rabbi. We began with candle lighting when the girls ushered in Shabbat folllowed by a lively Friday Knight service where we sang and danced the service away! We stayed in the hotel for the night, and ate the food provided by its staff. The buffet area was packed with foreigners both from different parts of Israel and the world. They had nothing to do with Birthright. But that didn’t stop us from having one of the most lively Shabbat experiences I think that many of us ever had. Rabbi’s Shabbat prayers and songs were the most animated I’d seen, even from him. It was a great time, and as we followed his lead in loud singing, we noticed that the foreigners were taking videos and even clapping along.

Dinner came to an end, so we went to the ballroom for another group activity: Speed Dating, which helped all members of the trip get better acquainted with each other. It was a nice ice breaker. “Farbrengen” came next, which is a sort of traditional get together taking place after Shabbat dinner. A large group of us sat around, juice on the table, a few snacks, more juice, and good conversations. There are no rules for a Farbrengen, only that we talk about life and enjoy each other's company.. singing dancing and have a ball!

Morning came and, since it was still Shabbat, a bus trip wasn’t on the itinerary. Instead, we walked up to Rabbi Akiva’s grave. Ariel, our tour guide, gave a remarkable tour to the group, explaining why Jews call rabbi Akiva one of the greatest Rabbis to have ever lived. With his burial place behind us, and Ariel’s passionate performance, it legitimately brought tears to our eyes.

In the tradition of Shabbat, we proceeded to take a break and relax for a bit. Catching up on sleep was the best part so far, and I was grateful for every minute of it.

Nearing sundown, we have Stump the Rabbi, which gave us a chance to ask the Rabbi anything we wanted. No holds barred. A lot of information was dropped during this. I personally learned a lot, and had many misconceptions about Judaism and the Jewish people cleared up. We segued from that to Havdalah to mark the end of Shabbat.

After some time to get ready , we hit T-Town (aka Downtown Tiberius). The staff let us loose in a specific area for a couple hours. Most of us ate and went to the closest bar, apparently the “best bar” in Tiberius.

Finally, we got home from a long day and an especially long night. And awaited the huge day ahead of us…

By: Becca Coven

Friday: May 5, 2017
Good morning from Tiberius! Our hotel is on the Kinneret with a breathtaking view of the Sea of Galilee. After an Israeli style breakfast we drove to the city of Tzfat which overlooks numerous mountains that overlook Lebanon. Tzfat had SO many stairs, but they were completely worth it because everything was so beautiful and old. We visited an Kabbalah artist and learned about kabbalah. We were taken on a tour of the Mikvah where the boys and the girls separated. The girls were taken to see the women's Mikvah and learned about the beauty of the mitzvah, while the boys were (supposedly) taken into a real Mikvah where the all (supposedly) went in.

In Tzfat, we were taken into two ancient synagogues. One of the synagogues was where the prayer, "letha-dodi" was first sung. We were able to see how different synagogues are in Israel, for example the bima is raised and in the center while the chairs and benches are in circles around it. After the Mikvah and synagogue experiences we ate lunch and then walked around the city. We were able to try a cheese delicacy that you can only get in Tzfat... it was basically cheese, tomato and spices wrapped in a flatbread. The shops around the city were filled with incredible candles, and jewelry. We learned that the city of Tzfat is very spiritual and it was an honor to be able to experience two of the 4 holy cities in Israel in one day.

We are currently on our way to a supermarket to pick up "Fabrengen supplies" and then back to the hotel where we will get ready for Shabbat dinner. It has been a pretty tiring and packed day so we are very excited for a relaxing night (and day tomorrow) where we can experience the beauty of Shabbat in Israel and disconnect for 25 hours.

By: Samara Halperin

Suitcases in hand and neck pillows ready to be worn for hours on end, Mayanot 216 finally began their journey to the Holy Land! As someone who had never traveled so far, I was definitely not prepared for the amount of sleeping necessary to make it through those kind of flights. We all met at the Miami International Airport Wednesday morning where many were both nervous and excited for the long journey. After being in Israel for only a few hours thus far, it is clear that the travel time is definitely worth it. Our first flight was about 10 hours where we all traveled to Austria, where I personally was able to experience Europe for the first time from the pleasure of the Vienna International Airport. (Maybe not the MOST elaborate Europe experience, but a free trip to Israel is sure to justify.) The hour and a half layover consisted of smoothies, and a bit of waiting around.

Our journey then continued on to the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv where we were greeted by Mayanot staff who couldn't be more excited for us to arrive. We then attended an orientation which began with delicious chocolate rugulach and consisted of speeches by Mayanot staff members. A charter bus was waiting for us to get our Israeli experience officially started. We drove for about an hour and a half to the Mediterranean Sea to Caesarea a historic town, the town was built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BCE as the port city it was amazing to see it. We enjoyed a little time and Judaic lesson on the beach. From there, we continued driving to the opposite coast where we were brought to our hotel by the Sea of Galilee in Tiberius. We were more than ready for our dinner which consisted of a variety of Israeli style foods. All in all, our journey to Israel may have been lengthy, but I know I can speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we can not wait to see what the next 10 days entail.

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