Birthright Taglit trawel

Inna Kozhurina
Aug 27, 2017 · 7 min read

Taglit: What is that?

We should start with a very important question — what the hell is “Taglit”? Well, Taglit — it is a ten-day free trip to Israel, “gift by Birthright”. It means that if you have at least a drop of jewish blood, you can join this trip. Cool, isn’t it?

Certainly people begin to suspect that something is wrong with this project: it is hard to believe that man can get a journey to another country completely free of charge. Some people used to ask: What’s the catch? Is it a sect? Or Do I have to pay later? What is the problem? And there is only one answer to all these questions: after this trip you will love Israel. Maybe you will want to move to Israel. Propably you will participate in other jewish events. And of course this trip will be totally mind-changing for you :)

To sum up, Taglit can help you to understand a jewish part inside you, if you have it, and keep it from disappearing.

At once we found out that the trip would have very rich program. Every day out group visited 5–7 new places, events and sights in different cities. I couldn’t describe all travel, but I tried to embrance a couple of bright moments :)

When our plane had landed, the best Israeli guide, Alex, met us in the airoport. I suppose, he knows everything about Israel’s history and he shared with us pretty funny Jewish jokes which he knew a lot.

This brutal man is David, our security staff. He traveled with a gun and guarded us from dangerous surprises.

Golan Heights

It was the first place in Israel which deeply surprised me. Golan Heights is a controversial territory, but now it belongs to Israel. It is a strategy-important object, because its good location: man can observe large area from this place.

You can see Israel’s fields and Sirian towns at the one moment from this place. We looked at the borderline, it was calm, but in less positive time people have tanks or soldiers here.

Jordan

We raft along the Jordan on kajaks. It was cool and awesome. 4–6 people fit in one boat, and 2 of us boating. All raft goes about 1 hour, we crashed several time into the shore stones, competed in boating, become entangled in barbed thickets. So, these little difficulties made this advanture more interesting and funny:)

Aubergins!

It was suddenly. Surprisely we find out, that next morning we will turn in volunteers . And we did it :) 1,5 hours we was volunteers and we з collected aubergines for poor families to Shabbat. At this time we collected 2000 kg, it is enough for 500 families.

Hm, and aubergins grow like cucumbers, I didn’t know it :)

Museum of Geneology

Enother memorable point of our trip was museum of geneology. One picturesque man in authentic clothes meet us and told about migration of Jews. So he narrate, how changed names and surenames from land to land, from time to time. For example, Levit = Levitan = Levitanskiy = Levitsky, and all people, who has such surenames are descendants of one tribe.

Every person from our group, who сompleted before the trip the special questionnaire about ancestors, took information about the origin of the surname. Where are your family from, potencial relatives and other.

Israeli soldiers

On 5 days we has 8 new members in our group. These ara Israelli soldiers, 4 guys and 4 girls. They serve in the army 2 years, but it is another serve, then russian. They has holydays every week, and some kinds of squads can spend the nights at home.

Guys gift us so much positive feels. All of them are russian speacking, some of them moved to Israel in childhood.

They are really cool, positive, cheerfull. Some of them conduct the cours for young soldiers. 3 girls were called “Michal”, and only one — Dana. It simplified the name-remembering process :) Guys are Leor, Ilja, Aviel and Ariel (like mermaid)

Aviel
Michal and Ariel

A little bit later we visited cemetery, it was painfull. On some graves we have seen numbers 1998–2016, 1995–2014… It is fearfully, that our peers, and joung guys die now for the sake of peace.

But we must to know it.

Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem is the Holocaust Museum. It is more horrible experience for the whole trip. It is difficult for explaing, but usually you listen the number — 6 mln died, and it is saddly for you. But when you look on ranks of photos, when you see nazi posters, which depict peoples like worms and beetles and you watch on thousands shooes, which people takes off before shower boxes, but actually it was gase boxes…

Niguns

Nigun is a song without words, the way of self-expression. Niguns appeared 300 years ago in jewish tradition.

One great religion Jew Ruvik gave us opportunity to join to this tradition, to listen niguns and to sing it. I made video with this action, this video is horrible, but you can watch it :))

Desert

On 8 day of our trip we moved in dessert to bedouins sunnis. They lives in small oasis, have electricity. But around this oasis we can find only sand and stones. As soon as the moon rose we went in the dessert about a kilometer from the settlement

Night desert is absolutely unusual sight. Before that moment i thought that phrase “It’s light at night” was only exaggeration. But it really was “light at night” with whole moon and stars. It lights stronger than lanterns light of the city. And wind was mild and warm, hot earth and silence. We spent 40 miutes there. Alex advised a simple way of meditation, we used it. Absolutely great, calm and unflappable space.

Early in the morning we visited Masada mountain. Here placed ancient fortress of the king Irod I. On this mountin we greeted the dawn.

After that we went to ride camels in the desert

Dead Sea

Last place i want mention is Dead Sea. I am sure you know that it consists of abut 30% of minerals about, that you can’t drown here, and about healing mud. But a lot of people didn’t hear about dangerr of this sea. You totally shouldn’t drink this water or take it with mounth, if you wouldn’t like to get poisoned. All face shoulg not tuch the water, because it is so agressive environment. And there are so much salt crystals on thesand. All beach is white.

If you Observe security measures, you can take the sea of pleasure :)) Water is warm like in bath, and you can lie on waves like on your sofa. So you can use healing mud, and be black :) After that you need to clean into the shower the skin of salt.

We left Israel from Tel-Aviv airport. During these 10 days we took friendship, immersed in Israel culture and traditions and adjoin with wonderful nature. Israel — is fairy tail, and i wish you to visit it too.

Have good travels!

And Taglit as possible :)

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