Have you ever been so happy you literally can't stop smiling? That's where I got today. This trip has been absolutely incredible and I couldn't be happier. Let's start with a recap before I get deep.
Yesterday we started with an hour long bus ride to Mt. Arbel near the Sea of Galilee. There we checked out the view with was absolutely breathtaking. The top of the mountain overlooks an Arab settlement and you can see the top of the mosque from the peak. Beyond that, you can see beautiful mountains and valleys. It looks totally different than anything I've ever seen before. Pictures will follow as soon as I can get the Wi-Fi on my phone working. We descended down the mountain which was much more difficult than I anticipated. There was actually a climbing portion over an exposed section of the mountain and the rocks were extremely slippery. We all got down safely (with quite a bit of mud on our clothes). Luckily, no one stepped in the ridiculous amount of cow/horse/alien shit that lined the mountain. Seriously, droppings everywhere.
After the mountain we visited the spiritual capital of Israel, Tzfat. When we first arrived, we visited with a Kabbalah guru and artist, Avraham Levinthal who actually was born in Michigan as Robert Levinthal. Dude was a total hippie and was definitely high on life (and many other questionable substances) but provided a really interesting perspective on life and Judaism that I've never experienced before. For those of you who don't know, Kaballah is the mystical, spiritual form of Judaism. It has become a bit of a Hollywood trend over the past 15 years but really goes a lot deeper than that. It's really big on connecting spiritually to yourself and the religion and experiencing as much "goodness" as possible during one's lifetime. While I'm a bit skeptical of the premise of all of it, the one interesting aspect is the meaning of one's name, and how that determines the type of person you are. Every Jewish person is assigned a Hebrew name, and that is the name that is analyzed. Will definitely need to do some research when I return home.
After the Kaballah talk, we explored downtown Tzfat. The city consists mostly of knick-knack and Judaica shops, but also has some interesting food places as well. One place that was recommended to me (thank you again Lauren!) was a stand that made Yemenite pancakes. The best description I could give would be a pancake without the sweetness, mixed with a flatbread (cheese, tomatoes, and spices). Amazing! The first good meal I've had in Israel. Yes, this guy who never tries anything new is actually branching out and trying new things. Shocking to me too.
The rest of the day was pretty slow as we toured some of the holy sites around the city and learned a bit of history. Also, found a Phillies custom-made yarmulke (kipah or head covering for those of you who are having trouble following at home). I resisted purchasing it since I brought my own Phillies yarmulke from the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Citizens Bank Park. Yes, they sell those and yes, they're hilarious.
On Day 3 (I've blissfully lost track of days so I'm not listing calendar days) I started the day off with an early morning run with one of the guys I met on the trip around the facility where we're staying. Took a quick bus ride over to an outdoor training facility where we met up with 7 Israelis who will be joining us for the next 4 days on the trip. One of the girls just left the Air Force and is starting work in Management Consulting in a few months so we bonded pretty quickly. The outdoor activities were a blast (typical team building things that you do at corporate retreats) and I was able to apply lots of the lessons learned over my 5 years at work. Pretty cool stuff and lots of fun leading the group a bit.
We then went over to a small local town to eat lunch (the shawarma was fantastic) where I met a dude who has lived in Israel for 45 years but was originally born and raised in Philly at 31st and Huntington. What a small world, but I guess I'm hard to miss since I'm wearing my Phils cap everywhere (Philly represent!) After lunch, we went up to Mt. Bental which is on the border of Syria. You can actually see into Syria from the top of the mountain which really messes with our head when you think of all the shit that is going on there but everything looked so peaceful from our perch. Confession: we're staying 7 miles from the Syrian border and you would have no idea unless someone told you. Totally ridiculous to think how vastly different things are from a few miles away.
After Mt. Bental, we visited a winery which was super fun and I finally was able to get a bit of a buzz. We then took the bus back to the hotel and I'm currently waiting for dinner in 45 minutes as I write this.
I can't explain how amazing the last 3 days have been. I think most of the high I'm feeling comes from meeting all the incredible people on this trip. Lots of Jews who don't know much about Israel, Judaism, and were a bit apprehensive coming into this trip. We're starting to bond as a group and I think I'll remain friends with many of these people post-Israel. It's great that many of them live in the Philly/NYC area. Simply awesome people.
The other incredible aspect of this trip is the shift I've had in just a few short days towards Judaism and Israel. Judaism has been a dormant aspect of my life for 13+ years. Part of the reason I waited so long to go on this trip was because I had no interest in the religion. Not that I'm going out to buy a prayer book tomorrow, but it has been fascinating learning about the religion and my heritage a little bit. I have so many questions, and I have been given quite a few answers since I've been here. Many more to come as we travel down to Jerusalem tomorrow.
Well that's enough for now. I love sharing with you all and hope you've found the posts entertaining thus far. Plenty more (including pictures) to come!
- Kaps
Song of the Day: Matisyahu - One Day (had to throw at least 1 in there!)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment