Our 8th Grade Israel Walkabout

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Shalom from Israel!
After many hours on a plane, we finally arrived safely in ארץ ישראל. When we first arrived at the airport, we were one of the only ones there, and we were able to get through security quickly. After boarding the plane, and turning off our iPods and phones of course, we relaxed and watched movies, while noshing on our snacks. The movies on the plane were amazing, they had so many great choices! The plane ride went smoothly, and most of us got a chance to sleep.
We arrived at the airport earlier than expected and were finally able to take our first steps in the Holy Land as 8th graders. After getting our luggage and meeting our madrichim (tour leaders), we hopped on the buses and headed over to Latrun, a restaurant next to an army base. There, we had a delicious meal of shnitzel and chips. After a brief opening ceremony, we got on the buses and headed over to the hotel for the night. The Israel trip is off to a great start, and we can't wait to write more. Keep checking every day for new posts!
XOXO,

Schechter Westchester 8th graders Hope and Samantha

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A word from our Madrichim

Shalom

In the book of Bereshit god commands Abraham "Kum hithalech ba'aratz - rise up and walk through out the land..." The simple understanding of this verse is that only if we walk the land, can we truly call it our own. While much can be said about this I would like to bring to light a more complex understanding that along with the above lies at the base of my educational vision of the last two weeks.
The word "hithalech" - walk, in this particular form appears very few times in the Torah. It is first used to describe god walking through the garden of Eden. We later see it when the Torah describes Noah "and Noah walked in the ways of god" and in gods command to Abraham " walk before me and be just ". It appears that "hithalech" means much more than just walking, it's a spiritual, ethical walk.
The words "Kum Ve'hithalech" teach us that we must not only walk the land physically but morally for us to be able to call it our own.

We tried to do just this, as we explored the country in the last two weeks. Israel was our classroom, our synagogue, our walkabout. We visited sites not so much for their alleged “importance”, but rather for what they could teach us and for the values we might take from them, and finally how they might better us as individuals in the context of our Kehila.

I really enjoyed this trip. The students were very much engaged and were a lot of fun to guide. Israel trips (especially the short ones) tend to be very intense and while I see my role as “kicking up the dust” the true educational work is really done by the teachers. In this regards I must say that you are very lucky to have such a devoted and professional staff. I leave this trip inspired both by the students and by the school staff and to see both on the their future trips to Israel.

B'Yedidut

Carmiel (Tour-Educator)

Poetry

Every miracle needs a reality,

Every coincidence has a reason,

All of life has its ways,

To make it through hard days,

Good is married to bad,

Bad is married to evil,

Every name can change its understanding ,

Help is a name that is always there,

Throughout the rain and down the dark halls,

For it to come it needs a reason,the holocaust came and went

With evil whipping throughout,

By help was there without being seen

And came to stay until the day,

It came to an end

The push-

Life is there in mirrors,

It reflects everybody's ways,

The people stare at themselves,

Looking at their bare heads,

They are not themselves

But a monster to others,

They know as much as their souls are gone,

They will always be there to stay,

That help is on the way,

They see god or Gentiles reflected in the mirror,

Trying to push us out,

Out of the gray hase

Lulu w