For the first entry I will simply give an overview of the special tiyulim (trips) and activities we have done so far as a group, but as the blog continues, entries will become more specific and based on individual experiences.

We had our first Shabbat T’fillah at the Kotel (The Western Wall), where the EIE’ers saw the Old City of Jerusalem, some for the first time and some again, but for everyone it was a spiritual bonding experience.  As we prayed at the southern end of the Western Wall, boys and girls together, we all felt that we, as a group representing the Reform Movement, could build a home in the Old City and in Israel.  We then continued to the Kotel, the portion of the Western Wall where all Jews go to pray and feel closest to the Beit HaMikdash.  We then became a part of the larger Jewish community of Israel, both religious and secular, tourists and Israelis, celebrating Shabbat as a people. 

 

On Motzei Shabbat (Saturday night) we traveled together as a group to Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem.  Here, the EIE’ers truly experiences Israeli city culture for the first time.  We wandered the street, buying souvenirs such as a shofar or T-shirts, tasting falafel and Shwarma for the first time, and simply taking in the immense culture of Jerusalem and Yerushalmim (Jerusalem residents). 

 

 On Monday morning, we departed for our first educational Tiyul at an archeological dig in the Judean Hills.  Here we crawled through the tunnels of ancient civilizations, and excavated ancient pottery and bones.  We learned that the best way to find out if an archeological find is really a bone or merely a rock is to lick it. If your tongue sticks, then you have indeed found a bone.  Some of the EIE’ers were even brave enough to try!

    



Then reality set in on Monday afternoon when school began, and the EIE’ers finally realized that they were no longer on summer vacation.  We are now finishing our first week of classes, and their Hebrew is improving, their curiosity for Jewish history growing, and their shock of being in Israel AND having to go to school is fading away. 

We now continue on our journey with another Shabbat and another week of tiyulim (trips) and limodim (studies).