Milestones of the Birthright Israel Experience
Two of the many milestones in the Birthright Israel experience are visiting Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem, and an evening at the Bedouin tents in the Negev (southern desert). After a restful Shabbos in Jerusalem, we boarded the bus to first head to Yad Vashem, then down south.
Many participants on our bus have direct, personal relationships through family and friends to the Holocaust - survivors, perished family, perished friends, righteous gentiles. Their knowledge and personal stores were so incredibly helpful to us, to put in perspective everything we were seeing in a direct form. We learned how everything on the property of Yad Vashem, from the smallest to largest detail, was done with an intention. Our great tour guide helped us through the long museum with concise descriptions and stories from his direct family experiences in the Holocaust.
After a quick lunch in a local mall, we visited David Ben Gurion's grave site, our first stop in the Negev. Shortly after, we arrived to Chan Hashayerot, the Bedouin tent community where we were staying that evening.
With so many Birthright Israel trips going on at the same time, the grounds were turned into Taglit Village, and hundreds of participants flooded into the property for an amazing evening. We were welcomed with Bedouin hospitality, being served freshly ground coffee and learning about Bedouin culture, followed by a warm, delicious dinner that we ate with our hands, sitting on the floor - real finger food!
After an upbeat welcome ceremony with live music, we split off into multiple activities - scorpion hunting, belly dancing, creative movements, drawing, herb and oil tasting, star gazing, capoeira, and more! We all came together in the end for an hour of dancing, all the trips together as one big family. Israelli and American music filled the cool, desert night as we watched a drum circle ensue with fire dancers, belly dancers, and a capoeira demonstration. We ended the night with a group bonfire, and then went to sleep in our tents together.
In the morning, we kicked off the day with a quick breakfast followed by a classic Birthright Israel moment - camel riding! After the exhilirating moment of getting on the camel and naming them, we had a blast going for a ride in the desert.
We are now off to Ein Ovdat for a beautiful hike, then visiting the Dead Sea after lunch!
Float on....
-Jeremy
Photo Credits: Image 1-@alliegott, Image 2-@hattie.elise, Image 3-@alliegott, Image 4-@hattie.elise, Image 5-@dhernreich, Image 6 and Image 7-@marniaportal
