LYA Israel Experience 2023 Blog

We enjoyed an amazing dinner at the Café Feinberg in Hedera. This is a beautiful dairy restaurant. Not only is the food delicious, but the presentation is beautiful. The restaurant manager accommodated all of our trip’s special food needs. They serve amazing bread, pasta, salads and pizza here. We also were served delicious sesame free, gluten free, dairy free, nut free and egg free food. Everyone ate very well.

 

 

Our last tour brought us to Zichron Yakov, which was one of the first settlement in Palestine under the Ottoman Empire. Baron Rothschild, who is buried here gave money for the settlement. Today it is known for its famous wineries. We walked through a pedestrian walkway with quant shops and davened mincha at a shul named for Baron Rothschild.

Zichron Yakov is also the home of the Aaronsohn Family, who emigrated from Romania during the first Aliya in the late 1800s. This was a hard working family. The eldest brother Aaron was a scientist who made discoveries on wheat that revolutionized wheat growing then.

Life was extremely difficult under Turkish rule at this time. The Turks continuously made decree and decree about living conditions. The Aaronsohn siblings and their peers, who were very proud lovers of Israel decided to do something about this. Their idea was to clandestinely contact the British and get secrets to them about the Turks. Their hope was that the British would conquer Palestine. (One wonders if they knew how the British would act later on in the 1920s if they would still feel this way). The spy ring called Nili was born. Nili is an acronym for the Hebrew words: נצח ישראל לא ישקר. This is a quote from Shmuel I -The victory of Israel will not be false.

The Nili group had many false attempts contacted the British. Eventually they were successful and contacted British ships using codes from their home, which was Nili’s base. We walked through the underground bunker used for meetings. When the family put out a white sheet for laundry and opened a lit window, it was a signal it was safe to meet.

For months Nili’s group sent coded messages to the British. Unfortunately, one of the spy members, Avshalom Feinberg was murdered by Bedouins. He was disguised as one on a mission and was caught as an imposter. His cousin went to look for him and was caught with all the names of the Nili spies in his pocket.

The Aaronsohn family was arrested. The Turks were not known for their wonderful treatment of prisoners. The Nili members were tortured. One daughter, Sara, a very proud member, refused to give up any information under extreme torture. On her way to be executed, Sara asked for permission to go home and wash up. Interestingly, the Turks being Muslim wanted Sara to be clean of her dirty clothes. Sara went home and took out a hidden revolver and shot herself. Sadly, she died 3 days later.

The youngest Aaronsohn daughter, Rivka, had been sent to America and was not part of the Nili spy ring. Years later she donated the family land and turned it into an interactive living museum that tells the story of her brave family’s quest for freedom in Palestine. At the time of the spy ring the residents of Zichron Yakov were not supportive of the family. Now the Aaronsohn family’s story is being told in a way that brings great pride to their dedication to Israel.

Our next stop was Acco. Acco was originally built during the Crusader time period when they ruled over Israel. It was a large fortress built to protect the Crusaders from the Muslims. We lifted a cannon ball from this time period. They are quite heavy. Under the British Mandate the fortress was turned into a prison for Jews that the British felt were dangerous.

Many of the Jews that were arrested were young men who had escaped Nazi Germany with one desire - to live in a Jewish homeland. The pictures we saw of the prisoners showed the average age was 18-22. Under the British Mandate there were three groups resisting the British. The Hagana was the main group who cooperated the most with the British and showed the most restraint. The 2^nd group was Esel, who were middle of the road. Esel was clear that they would fight the enemy, but not with Jews in other political groups. Rivkah Kulek spoke about her grandfather, ob”m, who was a member of Esel and fought for Israel. He spent time in jail at Latrun. The 3^rd group, Lechi never cooperated with the British. These 3 groups at times did not cooperate with one another. The British handed out sentences based on which group one was attached to.

We saw the horrible prison conditions that the British had for all prisoners. They slept in small cells and were only allowed very little sun light. The outside was allowed to send in food and provisions. The 3 resistant groups did work together to mastermind a breakout of the jail. They were able to get explosives in to the prison. In all 27 prisoners escaped.

We ended our tour in the execution room. There we heard the story of Dov Gruner, a Hungarian born Jew who escaped to Israel in 1940 and was executed by hanging at Acco. Dov was arrested while trying to steal much needed ammunition from the British. He was sentenced to hang. As the noose was around his neck, his last request was to sing the national anthem. Dov began the song in a loud voice, but was not given the chance to finish it as the executioner pulled the lever while he was in the middle of singing. The rest of the prisoners in the cells finished the song.

Yoni continued to tell us that once he was here with a group and the bus driver joined the tour. After Yoni finished telling Dov Gruner’s story, the bus driver said that Yoni told it very well, but was missing one piece. You see that day when the Jews were stealing the ammunition, Dov almost got away. Everyone was running to the trucks when the British approached and the Jewish fighters were jumping to get on. Dov never reached the truck. When asked how the bus driver knew this, he replied, “It was me who had my hand outreached for Dov to grab onto.”

Rabbi Kosofsky led us through “Kel Malai” for the Jews who lost their lives. It was a truly moving moment, one we will never forget.

Our next stop was to the Tunisian Shul in Acco. This shul was started by Sephardic Jews of this North African Country in 1955. Upon entering the shul it is not clear where to look first. The entire, and we mean entire shul is full of mosaic pictures. From floor to ceiling, from right to left there are mosaics everywhere.

One can learn the entire history of the Jews here. There are mosaics of each stories of Torah and Navi. There are mosaic maps of every time period, including where holy people are buried. There are maps of Europe as well. Mosaics include information about kosher animals, Israel’s flora, zodiacs and holidays. There are mosaics for the 12 tribes and famous sites in Israel. In addition modern history is represented.

It is amazing to look at the detail. The women’s section has stories of Sara, Rivka, Rochel and Leah as well as the blessings of mitzvoth associated with women. The ceiling of the women’s section is a beautiful chupah scene.

The 6 aron holds many Torah scrolls and behind the scrolls are even more mosaic tile pictures. The doors of the aron are made of sterling silver with intricate designs. We took many photos and were continuously in awe at every turn. Some of us decided that focusing on davening would be challenging while in the shul. 

Our last day in Israel and we were allowed to sleep in. We had a 6:30 a.m. wake up! After a beautiful tefillah and delicious pancake breakfast, we packed up and boarded the bus. Our first stop was Rosh Hanikra. Here we are at the Lebanon border. Here is where Avraham came down into the land of Israel from Charan. Thankfully we did not have to climb down since there are cable cars.

Rosh Hanikra is also on the border with the Mediterranean Ocean, which the rabbis of the Talmud called the Yam Hagadol, The Great Sea. Standing here we understood why. One cannot see the end of the sea, giving the impression of how big it is. The water has formed natural grottos and we enjoyed walking through them. It was a hot and calm day, so the water was not crashing in the grottos.

We walked through man made tunnels from Alexander the Great’s day. He did not want his troops to have to climb over mountains, so he had tunnels carved out. Later the Ottomans added a bridge to the tunnels and trains went through this area bringing supplies. Under British rule the bridge was blown up on March 14, 1938 on Night of the Bridges. That night the Hagana blew up 3 bridges around the country to slow down the British supply chain.

Meet our amazing bus driver, Dakar. He lives in Holon, which is the 3rd largest city in Israel. This is the pace where we experienced Dialogue in the Dark. Dakar is the proud father of 4 children. Dakar used manage a warehouse for many years. He switched occupations and became a taxi driver. For the past 5 years he has been driving a bus. In Israel many of the bus drivers, like Dakar, own their own busses and work independently.

Dakar keeps a very clean bus. Each day we made sure to leave the bus in the standard that Dakar keeps. Dakar told us how happy he was to take around a group that is spending time learning about the history of Israel. He told us we were a nice group. Each day on the trip, we read a news announcement and said Tefilat Haderech. Dakar really enjoyed this part. He made a special request of Morah Kosofsky that on the last day, Chaim Cowen, read this travel prayer. Chaim was happy to oblige.

Welcome to Katzrin. I am so excited you are here. Together we will make olive oil, bread and visit my home.

Elisheva greeted us and took us back in time to the year 500 (Jewish year). After we looked the part, wearing period clothes and head gear, it was off to make olive oil. Elisheva showed us the different steps to making the oil. Katzrin was known for its olive oil and wine production.

Making olive oil is hard work. First you put the olives in the yam (base). Then 3 people push the mamal (stone) in the boreg (press). Pressing of the olives occur when the group pushed in a circular motion, Round and round they went and liquid is collected in a jar. That liquid is not oil yet. The liquid must be put into another press and left there for a while.

Elisheva explained that olive oil is the least dense of all oils and will float to the top. She explained that we Jews are compared to oil. We are crushed, but we release oil and that is then used to light up the world. She also explained how the 1st drop is called katit (pure). She blessed us that our actions should be like the 1st drop that comes out of the press, pure and golden.

Elisheva put us all to work. No rest for anyone and everyone tried all the steps. After the olives are pressed, the sediment is left on the press. We each picked up handfuls of the dregs to put in baskets. These will be used for creams and dried to light fires in the home on Shabbat. Our hands were quite messy, but the oil left made them feel very soft.

Now it was off to bread making. After making the brocha of hafrashat challah, we rolled the dough into a round shape. It was baked on a taboon and eaten with fresh olive oil and za’tar. Yum! Elisheva showed us the process of turning wheat into flour.

We now went to visit Elisheva’s modest home. She has two kitchens, an outdoor for summer and indoor for winter. It is here that she cooks food for her family each morning and stores it on a hanging shelf in her dining room. The children also sleep in the room on mats and up a ladder we climbed to see her bedroom.

After a lovely visit in her home, we went to see their synagogue. The shul is set up with benches around the walls all facing the center, as most shuls did that the time. There is no women’s section, since at that time period women did not attend services.

Elisheva taught us so much about the past, but left us with this thought.

Take the good things form the past, but don’t live in the past. Wise words form a wise woman.

Our last stop on a very busy Tuesday was Tevarya. We have now visited all four holy cities of Israel. Yerushalayim – home of Beis Hamikdash, Chevron – resting place of our patriarchs and matriarchs, Tzefat – city of kabbalah and now Tevarya – place where the Talmud Yerushalmi was written. At first one may think that the Talmud was written in Yerushalayim, since that is part of its name. However, the Romans did not allow Jews to live in Yerushalayim and Jews moved up north to the Galillee. The rabbis wanted our thoughts to always be focused on Yerushalayim, so the name reflects Yerushalayim.

 

 

 

 

Our next stop on our very busy day was to Kibbutz El Rom to view a movie about a strategic battle that was fought in what is now known as the Valley of Tears during the Yom Kippur War. The Kibbutz itself was founded in 1971 just 2 years before the battle with 60 members. Today it is a thriving Kibbutz with over 500 members. Kibbutz El Rom is best known for its studio where it adds subtitles to Israeli movies and shows. On their farms they grow apples, grapes, cherries, and berries. Kibbutz wine has won many international awards. They are also the highest kibbutz in the world at 3,000 feet above sea level. Kibbutz Elrom is located in the Golan and is known for its agriculture and studio, which adds subtitles to the majority of films in Israel.

 

 

 

We hope the snow was not so bad. Here we are enjoying some beautiful weather and it is 75 degrees. We are wearing hats and drinking lots of water. We began our day with a hike at Gamla. This was actually more of a walk than a hike. As we walked we enjoyed the beautiful view.

 

 

At the bottom of the steps in Tzefat 3 jeeps awaited our group. Our guide for this fast moving part of our trip was Yoav. After we were all seated and as comfy as one can be in a jeep, we were off for a fun and scream filled ride. As we passed people we waved and as we passed cows we mooed.

 

 

Next stop was Tzefat where Sara met her sister Batya, who is learning in seminary for the year. We broke into a few groups and went to lunch. We have been doing this on the trip. It is called Pizur, from the shoresh to scatter. (By the way, the students are really looking around at translating the words and phrases they see based on their shoresh knowledge.) Each chaperone takes a group to the food choices they’d like. Today we had shawarma, pizza and bagel groups. Following lunch we all enjoyed ice cream and popsicles. Thank you again to our friends Joanne Brown and Yael Neffinger for sponsoring this delicious treat.

 

 

We made it up North and enjoyed the beautiful ways as we were driving. We are staying at a youth hostel in Ma’a lot. The people who work here are very nice. There is another Israeli school group staying here.

While driving to our first destination, we drove through a Druse town. The Druse originally were Muslims and at some point they broke away and now have their own religion. There are Druse communities today in Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Druse are extremely patriotic to the country in which they are living. In 1950 the then Druse leader approached the Israeli government asking that their boys please be drafted in the army. When conflicts arise in Lebanon and Syria, the IDF is careful not to station Druse soldiers there so they are not fighting with family or friends.

Druse are very secretive about their rituals and if one wants to be religious there is a 2-3 year initiation for the elders to assess one’s seriousness. Most Druse are secular, but this is not frowned upon in their culture. The Druse believe they are descendants of Yitro, Moshes father-in-law. According to their tradition, Yitro is buried in Tevaria.

Our first activity in the North was a beautiful hike on Mount Meron. Based on our hikes, this one was a 3 on our scale. The weather here is amazingly beautiful for this time of year. We stopped periodically to take in the breathtaking views over the Galil.

Along the hike Yoni shared with us information about the area. At the top of Mount Meron is an army base, so hiking up there is off limits. On this mountain they track bird migrations. All birds except one pass over Israel during their migration. Yoni asked us to guess the one and only bird that does not pass over Israel. We will give you a hint: this bird was eaten in the desert. Quail!! Interestingly the quail literally rain down in Egypt when they land. Wow, just like it says in the Torah.

We hiked in single file on Mount Meron. Rabbi Kosofsky shared with us that in Mishnah Rosh Hashana it speaks about how the people of Meron walked in single file. We were literally walking in their footsteps. At one of the viewing areas we could see Gush Chalev. Rabbi Kosofsky shared a few interesting stories that occurred there.

From Mount Meron is a bit of a drive to the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai of Lag B’omer fame. It takes a while since we are driving around the mountain. In front of the grave Yoni shared with us beautiful stories about the Rashbi that show how he cared about average people and would go the extra mile to help them.

After living in the cave for 13 years, the Rashbi developed skin lesions. He went to the hot springs in Tevarya to heal himself. He wanted to thank the city. At that time after the destruction of the Temple, the people wanted to inhabit more of the city, but there were unmarked graves. The Rashbi located the graves and had the bodies respectfully moved to allow more people to live in Tevarya. This was but one example of how the Rashbi went the extra mile.