Post from some time in middle of the trip

Austin Masket

When I was on the web site reading about mayanot birthright I remember it talking about having the best time of your life with 40 of your new best friends.  I doubted it at the time but I am a true believer now.  I really love all of these people.  We are having so much fun doing everything.  Last night was a blast and the days are a great time as well.  I am most excited for the rafting trip today.  I am definitely going to extend my trip and come back to Israel as soon as possible.  I love this place and I am so grateful to have this experience. I hope the rest of the trip is as good as the last couple of days have been.

Maggie Lowenberg

When all of my friends talk about Israel I never imagined that everything they said – the great food, the nice people, the fun experiences, would be as amazing as they said. Israel is such a dynamic country, the history, culture and religion is everywhere. Mayanot has provided much insight toward my understanding of being Jewish. Today our group of 40 has added 8 more with the presence of our new Israeli friends. I am currently sitting next to Daniel, who is so nice and wears such a fantastic smile! I know with her help my Hebrew will definitely improve

Sarah's Pics

Friday

B"H

Today we went to the Holocaust Museum and everyone is a in a sad mood. But soon it will be shabbat and we are going to welcome Shabbat at the western wall. So I am sure we will all be in a better mood soon.

Shabbat Shalom

Josh Hooper's (Trip Leader) Pictures

Watch us at the Mega Event

We had a great time in Safed today. 
Now we are going to the Mega event. You can watch it and maybe catch a glimpse of us at http://www.birthrightisrael.com

Day 2 - Aislyn

I will start by saying that I grew up in the city with very little access to nature. Im not used to, and I often have a selective fear of heights.

Well, today we went hiking which involved climbing up rocks, jumping over rivers, and what seemed like scaling the side of mountains and I LOVED IT!! I spent the two hours hiking next to our guide, running up mountains and jumping over rocks. For a city girl, it was quite 

Pictures

Day 2

It’s difficult to articulate the meaning of a constant thread of pivotal moments at the end of the day.  Our feet hurt, we’re jetlagged, we’re overwhelmed and we’re just plain exhausted.  That being said, the past two days have been nothing short of life-changing.  Both of us have heard so much about the Taglit-Birthright trip from friends and family and everything we have experienced so far has surpassed our high expectations.  This morning we hiked a beautiful river-valley trail in the Golan Heights and later visited Mount Ben-Tal, which overlooks the border between Syria and Israel.  Spectacular landscapes aside, the historical images and political sentiments our guide,  Chaim, conveyed were truly impacting.  It gave us a completely new perspective on the challenges that ordinary Israelis faced and their triumphs in spite of severe opposition.  We realized how fiercely Israelis have fought for and continue to protect the right to a Jewish homeland.  Their strength is inspiring to us and we look forward to meeting some of these Israeli soldiers and getting to know their stories and perspectives.

Ashley Oberndorfer and Carly Yeager

Random first Impressions

-the flight is too long

-doesn’t feel like we’re actually going to Israel

- We thought we had good seats, until the party gathered behind us

- The food on board was edible.

-Everyone in the group is nice. Our Rabbi is awesome.

- 4 more hours……..

Rebecca Zedeck

Met some great people on the flight, some are not even from our mayanot trip, so we are meeting people from all over our area, some even as far as LA! So cool! J the flight is really long though, and it is tiring, but the food was decent on the plane. I can’t wait to land in Israel and be immersed in the culture of the jewish people. It will be a great 10 days of bliss once the plane is safetly on the ground and my ears stop popping.

Joshua Hooper

-          Nothing but amazing! 

Danna O’Rourke

So far everyone is really cool and I’m looking forward to actually spending time off the plane. It’s getting kinda cramped…

Austin Masket

SO far things are good.  I’m way to tired to give a proper impression but I get a long with everyone I have met and I am looking forward to some Fun times.   Wish I could have brought more people with me

Shani Tal

The plane ride has been dragging but I have met really awesome people. I’m really excited to spend the next ten days getting to know everyone further.

Erica Sommer

Officially meeting everyone has definitely made us all exciting for the journey we’re about to endure.  Now we’re just trying to keep busy during the long 10 hour flight in anticipation for what we can only imagine will be the greatest 10 days! 

Rabbi’s First Impressions

B"H

Well my strongest first impression is “Josh”. He is awesome. I am so excited that he will be leading this trip with me. He is enthusiastic, organized, responsible, in control, inspired and down to earth. I can see that all of the participants feel the same way. This is such an awesome group. My first impression is that the general attitude is seriously laid back - which is perfect for New Paltz – but everyone is ready to be active and have a great time.

I can’t believe they made me check my carry on – Thank you Aislyn for taking my laptop on the plane.
There’s already a “Shabbat all the way” group assembling. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for students to experience a totally disconnected Shabbat where we are totally living in the moment – without being creative or trying to accomplish anything or worrying about anything that isn’t here and now. There aren’t that many other opportunities to try something like that. But because doing that requires refraining from using our cell phones, and computers, or writing, etc. and because Birthright does not require anyone to do that. So many of the students are not going to try it (or they may try it part of the way). But there is already a group of students forming that’ll be doing “Shabbat all the way”. We may even wake up early for a hike to the great synagogue if our tour guide lets.

Arrived Safely with G-Ds Help

B"H

We are in the Holy Land!
We landed around 5:30am local time and we are now Touring Tel Aviv.
Shortly I will with G-Ds help post the first crop of pictures and a bunch of first impressions.

Excited

B"H

I am so excited! Can't wait till Sunday. Going to the Holy Land. Our Land.
I hope that everyone participating in the trip will contribute to this blog. Keeping our families up to date with our adventures and making it an everlasting memory for everything we are going to experience.