Two teens on the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program share some of the exciting experiences from their trip. If you have any adventures of your own that you'd like to share, feel free to add a comment or create a new blog post.
After our long day at the Dead Sea, the beds in the Masada Youth Hostel were a welcome sight. Our bliss, however, was fleeting, as we were rudely awoken at 3 the next morning. I had heard horror stories about the grueling climb, and I was not looking forward to attempting it so early. As we stumbled up the beginning of the trail, I began to realize that not only was the climb easier than I had expected, but that I was actually enjoying it. Reaching the top was exhilarating, and we were greeted with a beautiful sunrise. We spent the morning sitting on top of the mountain, learning about its history and debating the actions of the Jews that had inhabited it. We ended our stay by shouting in unison off the side and listening to the eerie echoes that answered. At the end of our much faster decent, I looked back up the path and felt a sense of accomplishment that I am sure was shared by our entire group. The combination of our physical achievement and the aura of the locale rendered Masada a very memorable experience.
--Ben Judson
It was a long drive down to the Dead Sea. After sitting on a bus for just over two hours, we got off the bus only to find ourselves trapped within blazing hot weather. As the sun was beaming on our skin, we all hurried our way towards the beach and drenched our bodies in mud. After our bodies were all covered, we made our way into the water. Despite the heat and the long drive, the final destination made it all worth it. The sensation of floating atop the salty pool of water felt great. Overall, it was a fun experience that ended with my skin feeling smoother and healthier than ever.
--Jeremy Ginsburg
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AMHSI rocks!
Tel Aviv is an amazing city! It's cool how you guys got to interview Israelis there about their beliefs and perspectives on religion and politics. Wow. It seems like so many people hold to the Jewish religion in their own unique way- ideas of 'secularism' or 'orthodoxy' are so totally relative depending on who you speak to and where.
For Shavuot, I visited an Israeli family in Ra’annana. Both of the parents were Zionist, having made Aliya in the 1980’s. For dinner, me and a few of my friends tagged along and went to their family friend’s house. There were three families there that evening; all had made Aliya from the United States. All of the adults were American, but the children all spoke fluent Hebrew and English, and were born in Israel. After a delicious meal, each couple shared their tale of their voyage to Israel. It was fascinating to hear the different stories and reasons each of them had for making Aliya. Each of the adults grew up just like me. We were all once Secular Jews from America, who visited Israel and fell in love. Except these people actually came to Israel, had children, and created a family here in Israel. While hearing the stories about how and why they had come to Israel, in the back of mind I was imagining myself in their shoes. Of course, I had fallen in love with Israel. But did I have a strong enough passion to move here for good? The narratives had me thinking all night of where I saw myself living as an adult. The next day we hung out at a jam-packed beach all day, and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Then, we had some more delicious home cooked meals, and headed back to Hod Hasharon to meet up with the rest of our trip.
--Jeremy Ginsburg
This Sunday, we took a trip to the first Jewish city established in Israel, Tel Aviv. I had high expectations for shopping, but our experience turned out to be of a much less materialistic nature. We were given the assignment to interview random Israelis about their religious and nationalistic beliefs, which, though it interfered with our planned spending, turned out to be a very interesting and revealing glimpse into the psyche of the people.
We were advised beforehand that the viewpoints of our interviewees may be a bit confusing, and that warning was definitely warranted. We spoke to a man, who, though he used tefillin every morning, still classified himself as "non-religious". This is a vastly different definition of secularism than the one that I personally subscribe to. Another surprising opinion expressed was that the Israeli state was headed the wrong direction. Numerous people that we talked to lamented the moral and ethical decline that has plagued the country, and many said that they did not see Israel's governing body as effective. It was enlightening to discover, though Israel is regarded as a united and stable polity, many disagree with its policies and actions. Regardless of these disquieting sentiments, we really enjoyed getting actual Israeli perspectives on issues that we had discussed in our American-biased classroom.
While our shopping time was cut down, I believe that the interviews augmented the overall experience.
--Ben Judson
This past weekend, our entire group spent Shabbat in Jerusalem. After spending the afternoon on Ben Yehuda Street, we made our way towards the Western Wall as Shabbat was approaching. This was our second time going to the Western Wall, but the atmosphere on Shabbat was far more vibrant compared to our first visit. It was a bit clustered, but the combination of religious expression mixed with jovial dancing was quite an experience. One minute we were surrounded by intense praying, the next, we were caught the midst of a dancing fiesta. We could do nothing but smile at the hundreds of Jews from across the globe as they gathered together to celebrate the Sabbath with such bliss.
After a calm and restful evening, some of us woke up early and attended optional services. The group was given the choice of attending an orthodox, conservative, or reformed synagogue. Most of us chose to go to the orthodox one. It was a remarkable experience to see how modern orthodoxy prayed on Saturday mornings in Israel. The mixture of dancing, clapping, cheering, and praying opened my eyes to the different kind of ways that people chose to practice Judaism.
After services, our entire group went on a walk through the old city and visited a few famous sites. The sites were interesting, but the hushed Shabbat atmosphere on the streets really stood out. As the Sabbath came to an end, the city had awoken, and it was time for our group to head back to our campus in Hod Hashoron. Overall, it was a great experience to spend a Shabbat in Jerusalem, and I would recommend it to anyone.
--Jeremy Ginsburg