The Dead Sea and the Bedouin Tents

Saturday February 22, 2014 

  

Me covered in mud

The Dead Sea

The Bedouin Tent

This morning we had Shabbat morning services at the hostel. It was so cool looking out during services and having the view of Masada. That was pretty amazing!  After services we packed up all our stuff and headed to the lowest place on Earth, the Dead Sea! Throughout my many  years of going to Hebrew and Religious school and camp, the two most popular places I heard I needed to visit when I go to Israel were the “wall that speaks” (the western wall) and the sea, where you float. So to finally be able to check both of these sights of is crazy!  

As we walked off the bus the smell of salt wreaked though the air. it smelled like something was dead. (Ha Ha get it…. because it’s the Dead Sea). The first stop was to the mud pit where all of the members of EIE covered ourselves head to toe in mud! I think the most shocking thing to me was the Dead Sea spa where the mud at one time used to be right at the shore with the water, but now there is either a trolley or a 10 minute walk down to the sea to get to the mud because all the water is starting to dry up! We decided to walk to the sea and allow the mud to harden on our bodies. It was so funny how instead of a beach being covered in soft warm sand the Dead Sea has a sheet of hardened salt as its beach! I slowly walked into the sea waiting for something to burn because I feared I may have had an open wound. But I walked in sat down and began to float. Thank goodness I was lucky enough to have zero wounds - therefore no burning skin! I can now honestly say that I have floated in the Dead Sea and it was one of the coolest things I have done. I felt like I was defying gravity!  

After a day at the salt beach we got on the buses to head to the Bedouin tents! The Bedouins are a group of Muslim Israelis that created a cultural experience of what it is like to be a Bedouin. Everything took place inside a very large tent in the middle of the desert. I really enjoyed dinner where we sat on pillows on the floor. The food was served to us on huge trays and a group of five shared the food family style.  After dinner we all sat around the bon fire and sang songs. Not having to think about school and being able to relax, laughing and sharing smiles allowed people to break out of their shells!  

Our entire EIE group slept in the giant Bedouin tent, under the stars, huddled together on the floor in our sleeping bags to sleep for the night! 

Ein Gedi

Friday February 21, 2014

Waterfall

Today we went on a beautiful hike though Ein Gedi. Ein Gedi  is a national park in Israel. I was in awe of how beautiful it is. So different for the Canadian national parks that are all trees and forest. In Ein Gedi you are walking through and on the edge of giant mountains! Our group walked though rivers and streams and finally ended up at a dead end with a waterfall! It was so funny going swimming and getting soaked by the waterfall! After the beautiful hike we headed back to the hostel to get ready for Shabbat! After services we played a get to know you game of survivor. To play we were given partners. In each round our staff would assign us a different task. For example - One partner would have to draw with their eyes closed and the other has to guess what they drew. After each round the groups would get bigger and the tasks would become harder. The lesson to be learned from this program was team work and not to be scared to ask for help when you need it.

Masada

Thursday February 20, 2014

Sun Rise

Masada

This morning we woke up bright and early, at 2:30 a.m. to load the buses and travel down south to Masada. After a two-hour bus ride we arrived. It was dark, cold, and intimidating. We got there early in order to climb the mountain and be at the top by sunrise. As I got off the bus all I could see was a giant shadow of a mountain. It was almost like a giant monster that I needed to conquer by sunrise. We took the “snake path” up which is a path that looks like a snakes and ladders game. I tried to stay in the middle of the pack. Let me tell you, it was not an easy hike. My legs were burning as I pushed up with every stair! This was a personal challenge that I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to be able to say that I climbed Masada and made it to the top to see the sun rise. I was going to defeat the giant shadow! As we climbed, the sun started coming out from behind the clouds. Even though my legs were on fire and I needed to stop every few minutes I pushed through the pain. Just as I reached the top, the sun just burst through the clouds and from behind the other mountains. I have never seen anything more beautiful.
After sunrise we did a short morning service. Our opening song was “Here Comes the Sun”. It was a moment I will never forget. After services we had three hours of Jewish history class on top of Masada where we learned about Herod and his crazy house on top of Masada, we also learned about the Sicarii who fought against the Romans and unfortunately chose their own death because they were so passionate in their beliefs.
I am in Israel. Up atop of Massada, taking it all in. Then out of the blue, of all places to see someone from home, I saw Mark Guttman, my CIT unit head this past summer at camp George! So cool!
After Jewish history class we climbed down Masada again on the snake path. It was a lot easier than going up! Once I got to the bottom I had never felt more proud of myself! I defeated the giant shadow!
The mountain experience was not over. We drove to another mountain down the road to go repelling! Unfortunately it was not that exciting. We basically just climbed up the side of a mountain on a ladder and then in a harness repelled (walk down) back down.
Tonight we are staying at a youth hostel that is really nice! My roomates for the two nights we are here are Jamie Dun, Noa Soloman, Kira Singer, and Maddie Maibach.

The Old City

Wednesday February 19, 2014

Today we went on an all day field trip to the Old City. This time when we went to the Old City we went up close to the outer walls that remained from the Second Temple. This is the part of the wall that people don’t usually pray at. The reason they don’t pray here is because it is believed that the Western Wall was closest to the holiest part of the temple. This wall is the southern part of the outer wall of the temple, therefore not as holy. Personally, I thought the history on this side of the wall was more interesting. At the southern wall we were able to see the remains of the stairs that used to lead up to the temple. We also saw the buildings that people would have come to buy an animal to sacrifice at the temple and the building that had the Mikvah.  We also saw the original staircase leading up to the temple that had uneven bricks that go on an angle in order to ensure kids did not run on the steps of the temple. After spending time at the wall we came back to Tzuba in order to pack up our rooms to get ready for a 10-day field trip!

Israel Museum

Tuesday February 18, 2014

replica of the second Temple

My Jewish History class with the art sculpture saying אהבה/ LOVE

Today we went on a field trip to the Israel Museum. The Israel museum is known for their mini but big replica of the second temple, the art sculpture saying אהבה/ LOVE, and the Dead Sea scrolls.  In Jewish History class we are learning about the destruction of the first temple and the rebuilding of the second temple. It was really interesting to see a replica of what they think the second temple looked like. Next my class went over to the אהבה sculpture. I was really excited to see this in person because I have been to the one in NYC so it is so cool to see this landmark throughout the world! Next we went inside to see the Dead Sea scrolls. The Dead Sea scrolls are the oldest copy of the Tanakh that we have, it provides evidence of what life was like back then and it dates back 2000 years! This field trip was just half day so we were back at Tzuba for lunch and general studies.

Jews and Intermarriage

Monday February 17, 2014

For my Jewish history on Sunday we spent a majority of class debating and discussing the issue of intermarriage. The topic started after discussing the story of Ezra in the Tanakh, Ezra was told by the king of Persia to go back to Judah and take over control. When he arrived in Judah he became really upset at the Jewish people for marrying people from outside of Judaism.

For my article this week I looked closely at the issue of intermarriage in relation to Judaism. I read an article called Intermarriage: Can Anything Be Done? By Jack Wertheimer on www.mosaic.com. The article talked about intermarriage based on how civilization developed will Judaism continue. They went into detail such as culture becoming more Americanized, and this generation has a bigger amount of freedom for their decisions. Based on what I read in this article and what we talked about in class, I really am unsure what my answer is to the question is Judaism going to end because of Intermarriage. Personally I believe that times are definitely different right now. Back in the Tanakh people married for wealth and royalties and what ever could get their family more land or animals. In modern day society, people usually married for love. Therefor who knows who you will fall in love with so how can you say you can not married anyone but Jewish people.  In the article it talks about the influence of parents on who you marry. In my personal life I was always told from a young age to marry a Jewish guy. Based on my beliefs on life and religion I see myself marrying a Jewish guy. This is not to say that because personally I want to marry a Jewish guy that if my friend or family member were to marry a non Jew that I would not approve. It really depends on the choices the couple makes and how they go about it. Overall I don’t think that the Jewish population will die because of intermarriage because the Jewish people have had their struggles in the past so its just the issue on this generation and I believe it will pass with time.