Note: This entry was originally written for the Taglit Birthright Media Trip Tumblr page. It was read to the group at the closing session of the trip.
Think back to 10 days ago. 10 short days which seem like a lifetime ago. We gathered at JFK Airport as 36 strangers (with the exception of 2 pairs of sisters and 1 couple). Think about how you felt. Were you nervous? Excited? Skeptical?
Think about why you came here. Was it for the free trip to Israel? Was it to get away from life for a while after a difficult year? Were you looking for something? Did you find it?
Fast forward to today. 36 strangers quickly greeted 7 more strangers from 6,000 miles away. Within days, we were a family, a mishpacha of 43. Can you believe it?
Did you ever think we would have 7 Israeli family members when we began this trip? All of our Israeli hosts were so amazing during our time together, and I can't imagine this trip without them. To those of you serving in the IDF, we will continue to support you from abroad in any way possible.
Each of us experienced Israel through our own filters based on our needs and wishes. Everyone took in the country in their own way and appreciated different things we saw and experienced. However, we no doubt experienced Israel together as a family. One person's revelations taught someone else, and we all learned about life through the numerous deep conversations we had with each other.
Think about all that we did the past 10 days. Hiking Mt. Arbel, the Sea of Galilee, Mt. Bental, the Western Wall, the City of David, Hezekiah's Tunnel, Machne Yehuda Market, Ben Yehuda St, Boker Today, the radio station in Jerusalem, New Year's Eve in Tel Aviv, Masada, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, the Dead Sea, all of the media visits, and so much more that I haven't even listed. That's crazy!! No wonder almost all of us got sick this week! Even with all that, I don't even think those were the highlights of the trip. The highlights happened in between all of those visits when we shared our dreams, aspirations, and deepest thoughts with each other. The endless bus rides, listening to Ross on the guitar, hanging out at the hotel bar, the nights without Wi-Fi in Golan - these are the moments that brought us all together and transformed strangers into family. That is why I have faith that these relationships will continue long into the future once we've all left this amazing country. We can do any of these things in the states (and Canada and Brazil), we just happened to have Israel serve as an incredible backdrop.
Think about the future for a second. What will you take away from this trip? Will you make an effort to learn Hebrew? Will you start attending Shabbat dinners? Will you make aliyah to Israel? Our worlds are filled with endless possibilities - possibilities which have infinitely expanded since we took a leap of faith and hopped on a flight to Israel. We have so much to look forward to and I can't wait to see what the future holds for each and every one of us.
While this is the end of our time in Israel together, I'm viewing this as only the beginning - the beginning of our new lives as proud, young Jews who now carry a burden to carry on the lessons and relationships from this trip. We will all meet again soon, hopefully when we win the competition and return the favor to our Israeli hosts who were so incredibly gracious and accommodating to us.
I'd like to leave you all with a simple word of thanks. Thank you to every single one of you for making this the most incredible 10 days of our lives. We'll have these memories forever. I love you all so much.
Jeff
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