VAT in another sense

Many of us on this last Emeth trip to Israel had a firsthand experience with VAT, the tax that you pay up front and then get back at the airport. But I’m talking about a different VAT…..that is Value Added Travel when you are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be on a trip to Israel with Rabbi Steven Sirbu. For our family, it was most extraordinary. The itinerary was perfect for us, having been in Israel twice but decades ago. We made the decision to take our ten year old granddaughter, and while the pace was rapid, the Rabbi was so sensitive to the kids on the trip, that they were able to take it all in stride. For me, it is virtually impossible to isolate a particular event, city, experience  as a favorite. But high on the list, was our granddaughter calling her parents and telling them that Israel is paradise. As we venture back into our day to day routines, waiting anxiously for the pictures to be done, the beautiful feeling of having traveled with acquaintances from Emeth, who became Emeth family in a few short days, guided, encouraged, nurtured and taught by this unusual, caring  and knowledgeable Rabbi, continues to expand. We highly recommend the VAT-Sirbu experience! It will change you forever.

 

Micki Grunstein
Vice President Operations and Administration
Peoples Education
299 Market Street
Saddle Brook NJ 07663
201-708-2321

 

Peoples Education is on the rise and we are celebrating! 

Like us on Facebook and you will automatically be entered to win a FREE Kindle wireless reading device. 

When we reach 500 Likes we will raffle the Kindle and announce the winner.  Stay tuned!

 

 

Third time's the charm

This was the most amazing trip.  I was the only one of the 20 congregants that had traveled twice previously to Israel with Rabbi Sirbu.  Some places we visited were repeats (The Old City of Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, Caesaria, Tsfat, the Golan Heights, Masada and the Dead Sea) but I discovered more with each visit.  Muki, our tour guide, was such a wealth of information and history that it was never difficult to listen to him. We had an additional tour guide in the Christian Quarter of the Old City and we all learned so much from her. And the new places we visited, Qumran (site where Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered), Akko (ancient Crusader city), Haifa, Sderot, Beersheva, Capernum (where Jesus was said to have stayed) and the Hula Nature Preserve were wonderful. And we got to see how "up close and personal" Gaza is to Israeli borders.  the morning we visited Beersheva, there was a missile attack there earlier.  Scary but daily events for Israelis.

Incredible to me is that I said Kaddish for my mother on her yahrzeit at the Kotel.  Cried the entire time.  So moving.  And I ran into my opthalmologist on the top of Masada!  He was traveling with Rabbi Frishman and the Barnert Temple group.

And I loved the synagogues we visited in Haifa, Nahariya and Jerusalem and sharing a meal with the congregants.  We were able to find out so much about Israeli life on a daily basis. And were so graciously welcomed at each one.

The last Shabbat afternoon, I visited the Israeli Museum and the 2 hours I spent there barely touched the surface.  It certainly warrants another visit....

I look forward to my next visit...

Elinor B