i had no expectations of what israel would bring me. a trip and a chance to see a new part of the world, guaranteed, but a profound spiritual/religious/glorious adventure? i was hesitant. there was a time when jews were tribes in desolate land, bonded by history, blood, struggle, and worship, but in this modern world with jews living in all corners and so much diversity, what does it mean to be jewish anymore? am i even allowed to include myself - without a jewish mother, without kosher, without yellow star, without connection? i enjoy pork and work on fridays and frequently write his name on common paper. i boarded a twelve-hour flight with questions, and returned eleven days and another transcontinental flight later still with questions - but perhaps with the itch to explore the answers.
tiberias and the north
day one was a long bus ride to tiberias, a city which rests on the sea of galilee, or kinneret lake. this lake is the second lowest exposed place on earth and exploring the north from this cradle and into the humid mountains was incredible. our formidable group hiked through the golan heights, viewed metula, - the northernmost point of israel, surrounded on three sides by lebanon - and explored tzfat. tzfat lives in a lush mountainside and is the birthplace of kabbalah, spiritual judaism. we toured a local synagogue, and explored the small alleys and cobblestone streets of this hidden gem. i also found the best falafel of the trip at a strip mall in the mountains.
jerusalem
jerusalem was a real trip down the rabbit hole of historical and religious judaism - shabbat at the western wall, yad vashem, mount zion cemetery... we visited the western wall twice, the first being for shabbat. our group lit candles, prayed, wailed (as one does), witnessed the whirlwind of piety. more to come on that.
the old city is unrivaled. divided into quarters and resting at the center of so much religious history, wandering through the corridors of the boroughs was very special. i was disappointed that i could not visit the dome of the rock, sitting on the other side of the wall in palestine, but its golden top rises like a warm yolk over the top of the wall.
on the other hand, we partied hard and danced the night away at the mahane yehuda shuk near our hotel. loud music and ouzo - for balance.
the negev
our first night in the negev desert was at a kibbutz, located about fifteen kilometers from gaza on one side and twenty kilometers from egypt on the other. the nearby idf station on the border was running weapon test runs all night, and the sound of cannons permeated sleep. in the morning, we hiked through ein avdat national park before jumping back on the bus to drive across the desert east.
our second night was at a bedouin tent ground on the dead sea, where we met a gaggle of camels and learned about bedouin culture from a local guide. this was the night that i, and a lot of others, got sick - the dust and sand gets kicked up into the tent, plus smoke from all the nearby campfires, and then the heavy wool blankets come down to seal all that in. enter a restless night and bronchitis.
hiking masada at sunrise was unreal - the ruins of a plateau-city where the jews held their ground against the romans and (possibly, most likely, maybe?) committed mass suicide to avoid capture. the warm sun rose just as we made our way to the top - looking down the face of the mountain and out across the desert.
as promised, the dead sea. just after masada we made our way to the beach and spent a leisurely couple hours in the salty bay. it lives up the title of a great wonder of the world - floating along in the warm sun with the mountains of the desert in the background.
tel aviv
the new york city of israel. tel aviv is a true metropolis and when we had the most “free time” to explore on our own. we stayed at a hotel in yafo - the “brooklyn” of tel aviv - and explored markets, museums, restaurants, shops, and the beaches at will. i had the pleasure of reconnecting with a family-friend, and spent quality time wandering alone through bustling centers and off-color side streets. in the final hours before heading to the airport, i found myself at the shuk near our hotel and met a lovely woman named sonia, whose lace and cotton shop was adorned with tapestries and vintage cutlery. dinner of shakshuka and dancing, then onto the airport. the el-al security tried desperately to put all this beautiful film through the x-ray which involved a bit of hustle to get myself and my photos home safely.
our guide from israel, a man named adam who was born in california and made aliyah as a young man (returned to the holy land), left us all with some inspiring words on our last group activity of the tour - that there is no such thing as a “good jew” or a “bad jew” or “jewish,” but that all jews are jews and all jews are welcome. i understand the appeal of the jewish state, and never before realized how different it would feel to wander a world of people like myself - and in a sense, it felt like a return. but then, landing at newark at six in the morning, when it was thirty degrees outside, schlepping on a shuttle bus to grand central, subways to brooklyn, dragging my suitcase into my tiny apartment… i returned.
falafel recipe testing thoroughly underway. coming to a newsletter near you!
original photographs. all rights reserved by author.
a downloadable pdf copy of the recipe can be found here.