Date

Program

Meals/Overnight

Sunday

July 3

Departure from USA

Monday

July 4

Bruchim Habaim – Welcome to Israel!

Afternoon/evening arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport. Head to Tel Aviv for our opening program and welcome to Israel dinner. Check-in at our hotel on the shores of the Mediteranean Sea.

Welcome Dinner

Rennaisance Hotel

Tel Aviv

Tuesday

July 5

To Be Free in Our Own Land

Examine the struggles leading up to the birth of the State of Israel with a dramatic reenactment at Independence Hall where David Ben Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948. Then,“join” a Palmach unit at the multi-media museum dedicated to this elite force of the pre-State Haganah. In the afternoon, explore Tel Aviv and have lunch on your own. You might want to stroll through the open-air Nahalat Binyamin Crafts Market. Enjoy the urban beaches of Tel Aviv right outside our hotel. Evening and dinner in Tel Aviv on your own.

Lunch and dinner on own

Rennaisance Hotel

Tel Aviv

Wednesday

July 6

Dig the Past

Head out to the fields with Project Leket, and volunteer to pick fruits & vegetables to be donated to local soup kitchens Then, head south to Tel Beit Guvrin for an archeological adventure, digging up the past with our own hands! (the dig is appropriate for all ages and takes place in a cave with natural “air conditioning.”). Swim time at nearby Kibbutz Beit Guvrin. Then, at the Kfar HaNokdim Bedouin Ranch we’ll have a camel trek, Bedouin hospitality and dinner. Get a few hours of sleep in nearby Arad before our sunrise ascent to Masada.

Picnic Lunch

Dinner on own

Inbar Hotel

Arad

Thursday

July 7

What Price Freedom?

Wakeup for a pre-sunrise climb to the fortress of Masada where the last Jewish freedom fighters faced the mighty Roman Empire 2,000 years ago. Shacharit services and tour atop the mountain as we address the troubling issues presented by the Masada story. Descend by cable car or Snake Path to a simple breakfast at the Masada Guest House. Cool off at the natural pools & waterfalls of the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, before relaxing, having lunch & floating in the Dead Sea at the Ein Gedi Spa. Ascend to Jerusalem and celebrate our arrival at the Haas Promenade with Shehechiyanu & the magnificent views & the stories of Akedat Yitzhak and David’s establishment of the city as the capital of the People of Israel 3,000 years ago. Check-in at hotel; evening & dinner on your own in Jerusalem.

Lunch

Dinner on own

Mt Zion Hotel Jerusalem

Friday

July 8

Jerusalem Through the Ages

Explore the City of David (the original Jerusalem) & splash through Hezekiah's water tunnel built 2,700 years ago to secure the water supply of  Jerusalem's from invading armies! Dry option available. Next, consider the mysteries of Mt. Zion, and enter the Old City for lunch and shopping time on your own. In the afternoon, explore the restored Jewish Quarter together and examine the life of the city through the ages including the rooftops, the Cardo and the Kotel overlook. Private prayer and contemplation time at the Kotel (Western Wall) In the early evening we’ll gather together for Kabbalat Shabbat services at Jerusalem’s Kehilat Kol HaNeshamah*  Walk back to the hotel for a festive Shabbat dinner.

Lunch on own

Shabbat Dinner

at the hotel

Mt. Zion Hotel Jerusalem

Shabbat

July 9

Shabbat in Jerusalem

Enjoy the special atmosphere of Shabbat in Jerusalem by participating in Shabbat services at one of Jerusalem’s many synagogues and/or exploring the city on your own…or attend Shabbat morning services at Hebrew Union College followed by a tour of the campus. Shabbat lunch at the hotel, followed by rest and pool time. In the early evening we’ll meet for a walking tour to the famous windmill and the first neighbourhood built outside the Old City walls by Sir Moses Montefiore in the 1860’s. Group Havdalah. Dinner and evening on your own in Jerusalem.

Shabbat Lunch

at the hotel

Snack

Dinner on own

Mt. Zion Hotel Jerusalem

Sunday

July 10

From Out of the Crucible

Visit and stand in solemn memory at Israel’s Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust including the children’s memorial and the historical museum. Children under 10 years of age will head to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo or the Jerusalem Science Museum. After Yad Vashem we’ll celebrate the vibrancy of life in Israel by exploring and having lunch on your own at the famous bustling open-air Machane Yehuda market. In the afternoon, continue our exploration of the Old City; step back 2,000 years to the days of the Second Temple at the Kotel Tunnels. Continue along the traditional Christian pilgrim’s Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where we will consider the Christian connection to Jerusalem.Return to the hotel for dinner and a learning session with Rabbi Donniel Hartman* of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Lunch and dinner on your own

Dinner

Mt. Zion Hotel Jerusalem

Monday

July 11

People to People

After an early breakfast at the hotel, head to the southwest corner of the Temple Mount (Robinson’s Arch) for a Shacharit Bnai Mitzvah service. After a celebratory Kiddush, explore the archaeological finds at the adjacent Davidson Visitors’ Center. Meet with former Jerusalem City Council member Anat Hoffman*, Director of the Israel Religious Action Center. After lunch and shopping time on your own, we’ll have a home hospitality program in Maaleh Adumim with Ethiopian Jewish Women* to hear the remarkable stories of their long trek home from Africa to Israel. Later, head to Ramat Hasharon for a Family to Family program and dinner with Rabbi Stacey Blank and the Darchei Noam Progressive community*. Continue north for check-in at our Kibbutz hotel.

Lunch on own

Community Dinner

Pastoral Hotel

Kibbutz Kfar Blum

Tuesday

July 12

Land of Borders

Delve into the complex security and water issues on the Golan Heights, with a nature hike at the headwaters of the Jordan River at the beautiful Tel Dan Nature Reserve, which also incorporates the ancient Biblical City Dan. Lunch on your own. Then, visit the bunkers at Israel’s border with Syria at Mt. Bental. Tour and taste at the award winning Golan HeightsWinery. In the early evening, visit IDF soldiers* guarding Israel’s northern border. Return to the hotel for dinner and an encounter with Kibbutz members.*

Lunch on own

Dinner at the Hotel

Pastoral Hotel

Kibbutz Kfar Blum

Wednesday July 13

Israel: Land of Many Cultures

Head to the “mighty” Jordan River for a family rafting adventure. Return to the hotel to change before visiting an Israeli Arab community* and meet residents; gain insight to the complicated and conflicted nature of Israeli Arab identity. In the afternoon, head to Tzfat, city of the Jewish mystics. Explore the narrow alleyways and synagogues of Tzfat and learn how the mystical traditions that emerged in here 500 years ago continue to impact the Jewish world. Meet a Kabalistic artist* in his studio to learn about Kabalah through the lens of art. After time on your own to shop the galleries and shops of Tzfat, we’ll have dinner with live Jewish music.

Lunch on own

Dinner

Pastoral Hotel

Kibbutz Kfar Blum

Thursday June 14

The People & the Land

Head to Tiberias for a cruise on the Kineret with a drum circle. Continue to the  ancient Galilean capital of Tzipori with its magnificent synagogue & mosaics; examine the complicated relationship between Jewish and Pagan Roman civilizations This is where Rav Yehudah Hanasi compiled the Mishnah 1,800 years ago. Later, at the Neot Kedumim Biblical Nature Reserve we will do hands on learning about the connection between Jewish heritage and the land and participate in the redemption of the land by planting trees. Final summary discussion and farewell dinner before heading to Ben Gurion International Airport for your flight to the USA.

Packed Lunch

Farewell Dinner

Friday

July 15

Arrive in USA