Day One

We went downstairs to what I can only describe as the largest breakfast layout I have ever seen.


Salads, fresh fruits, dried fruits, cereals, baked goods, HALAVAH, juices, eggs, various cheeses...it was amazing! Only bummer was the coffee. It wasn't poured often enough and the cups were teeny tiny. We here in the states are used to our big cups of coffee no matter how bad for us that is. There, you got about a half cup at a time. I could have poured the whole pot directly into my veins. I needed all the help I could get with the weird jet lagging but that's neither here nor there.


We started the morning after breakfast in another workshop session. This particular morning, we had representatives from both the JDC (Joint Distribution Committee) and JAFI (Jewish Agency For Israel) come to speak to us about the basics of what these agencies do.

I won't get into specifics here, but I will say I took a ton of notes and I feel VERY VERY good about what I heard. It makes me feel even better about the dollars I give to my local Federation.


After our breakfast meeting, we moved on to the JAFI Offices where we learned more about that organization and the work that they do. Incredibly, we stood in the room where the first President of Israel was inaugurated. Here's a shot of that momentous occasion...



Jeez...looks pretty dark here. Oh well...

We spent most of the time of our meeting in what once was Ben Gurion's office. He was the very first head of JAFI back in 1929 or so. Again, I have a ton of notes which I will spare you here. If you ever want to know more about the notes I took or the organizations themselves, I will GLADLY share that with you. But I'm here, now, to tell you the personal side of my experience.

The office was beautiful and big and wood paneled and it felt good just to be in it. I'm sure it looked different in Ben Gurion's days but it was cool nonetheless.

I should also mention, by the way, that it's winter in Israel. The weather there now is typically like it is here in Oregon. 50 degrees or so, overcast, blustery, a little rainy. But for the week we were there, it was GLORIOUSLY sunny and anywhere from 60 to 75 degrees. We were incredibly lucky because we spent a lot of time walking around in it. I have gotten several comments from people about my "tan". I am NOT tan. But I did get sunburned on my last full day there so there's a little color on my cheeks. That's about it. But we were lucky. And I am grateful.

After the JAFI office we went to a local community center to learn a bit about a part of the ENP (Ethiopian National Project) which is funded by JAFI. We spoke with two incredible Ethiopian Jewish women who told us about their lives, their love for Israel, and the importance of sharing their stories and their talents with Ethiopian youth in Israel. One woman we spoke with is an Israeli movie and TV star. She has made an incredible life for herself in Israel. Here she is...



I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to see JEWISH PEOPLE OF COLOR. We truly are a fascinating people. These women were simply beautiful, inside and out and it was a privilege to meet them.

We next boarded the bus to head for the old city. I was particularly excited about this. Having never been in the old city, I had no idea what to expect.

We entered the old city through this gate...pockmarked as it was with bullet holes older than I from several wars for independence. Some were our (Israeli) bullet holes marring those walls and some weren't. We all have been fighting over Jerusalem for centuries and the walls of the old city tell these stories.



I was then lucky enough to be treated to my first falafel and it was FAAAABULOUS. I have to say in all honesty that it could have sucked. But I was in Jerusalem, crammed into a local falafel restaurant with 40 other people, on a sunny beautiful day - my first in Israel. It was an experience I will never forget. I was excited, eating falafel and in the old city. I didn't know what to expect and I will remember the taste of that lunch and how I felt about it for a long time.

Afterwards, we raced to another meeting with a group called Telem, funded I believe by the JDC. Telem works to make Jerusalem more accessible to the handicapped. This is not an easy task. They have done some phenomenal work and, in particular, the blind and the physically handicapped (wheelchair bound) have more access now than they ever have and it has changed their lives. Simply an amazing program.

As we walked through Jerusalem for our next workshop, it was hard not to notice the teenagers in fatigues carrying large machine guns. They were everywhere. Traveling in packs. At one point we turned a corner to find three girls who couldn't be much more than 18, standing side by side, smoking cigarettes, guns slung over their shoulders, chatting on cell phones to their friends, Tweety Bird and Hello Kitty keychains dangling from their pockets. It was a stunning scene for me, the newbie, and a total disconnect. But this is life in Israel. Everyone does their part. Everyone. Can you imagine if we did that in this country?

We traveled through passages, both narrow and wide, up and down stairs and around corners as a group. We came around one last corner and all of a sudden I found myself on a raised walkway leading down to the Western Wall. There it was right in front of me. I was at the rear of the pack, thank goodness. I was stunned by the sight of it. It literally took my breath away. And I just burst into tears.

I cannot possibly explain how overcome I was with awe. I can only try to explain to you what it felt like to see this holy place after YEARS of seeing Newspapers and textbook photos of this incredible place. I wanted SO BADLY to go touch it. To run my fingers over the stone. To hear the hum of the praying. To cram my notes in with the others. To be ALONE with all the thoughts and feelings racing through my body. I think one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life was to try to compose myself at this moment and move on. We had a workshop and a tour of the new tunnel coming up immediately. I'd have my time at the wall later in the week.

I still cry just thinking about this very personal moment. I am not entirely sure of why it's so emotional for me. But it is. Perhaps I'll investigate that a little more this year.

Here's what I saw when I came around that corner and stopped.

Pretty freaking awesome, wouldn't you say?

We next entered a bar near this site, dug down into the ground for a leadership workshop. It was a good one, but I was completely preoccupied.

Next a tour with Reuven of the newly excavated tunnel that lies beneath the Muslim quarter and along the length of that Western wall until it hits bedrock. You get almost to the end. This is all VERY hard to explain in a blog so I won't try. Suffice it to say, though, that it is NOT TO BE MISSED if you ever get the chance to go. King Herrod was amazing in his building of the Second Temple and the detail you can see in some of the stone is simply amazing. I walked on street stones that were walked upon by ancient Jews in the days of the Second Temple. It was all so unbelievable and incredible.

I do need to mention that in the tunnel, there is a place at the wall to pray, right at the closest spot that we, as Jews, can get to the Holy of Holies (the spot known in the days of the First Temple where the ark of the Covenant held the Ten Commandments). Underground, in a tunnel, is a section of wall about 6 feet wide, that on occasion weeps with water and did while we were there. On the other side of this wall and set in a bit is currently the Dome of the Rock and the rock itself, believed to be the top of Mount Moriah. A Holy place for Jews and Muslims.

It was an amazing tour.

We ended the evening in an incredible private Villa on the grounds of the Mt. Zion Hotel where we had a nice dinner as a group. Even in the winter, it was easy to see what a beautiful spot this was. I would like to come back and see it in its springtime glory. But I'd like to go back for sooooo many reasons.

This ends day one. I know it's a lot to read but there's so much to tell. I am finding it virtually impossible to answer the question "So? How was your trip?" How can I possibly do it justice? How can I tell you all what this trip meant to me? I knew before I left that it would be life changing and it certainly was. I wasn't sure HOW it would be, but I knew it would be.

There's so much more to share. I'll try to get Day 2 in the works tomorrow.

Links if you're interested:

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)

The Jewish Agency for Israel

The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland