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