Israel Bound
“It’s going to be a smooth ride for the next 22 hours,” the captain said over the loud speaker. I was on a plane to Israel. This trip took place three summers ago in 2013 and changed my life.
I grew up in a house where we celebrated both Hanukkah and Christmas. My mom’s side of the family is Jewish and my dad’s side of the family is Christian, so in my household, we were both. All through school, I was “lucky” because I was able to have both Christmas and Hanukkah presents or so everyone thought. But I always felt like I was missing out on something. Never Attending church or temple I still celebrated all of these holidays for both religions that I didn’t really understand the meaning behind. I knew a little of the Christian faith because of school Christmas plays we did during the winter and attending church once in a while with friends or family but still knew nothing really of the Jewish faith.
Growing up all my friends were Christian but in college I made some new Jewish friends and that’s where my journey began to better understand the Jewish faith. One friend in particular sticks out. Her name is Samantha aka Sam. She was a modern day Jew who was still a little conservative. She would drag me out to Los Angeles to meet all of her Jewish friends and her Rabbi, Rabbi Jacob Rupp. Rabbi Rupp and Sam had convinced me that I needed to make the trek to Israel.
I called my mom the next morning and asked her if it would be okay to live in Israel for the summer, her response was unforgettable. She told me, “Hell yeah you better go and if you don’t I will take your place you lucky little bastard!” The pure joy and a hint of jealousy in her voice made up my mind for me, I was going to live in Israel.
In line to get my boarding pass, for the Israeli Airline El Al, the Israeli security guard bombarded me with questions about why I was traveling to Israel, who I was staying with, if I was Jewish or not and if I had family in the country. I answered all these questions calmly and collectively because why would I be asked these questions I thought to myself. Finally, I made it to my seat on the plane where I met Sarah, Jackie, and Lauren aka Lo. These girls were going to be my roommates for the next couple of months and I was beyond excited. The flight lasted about 22 hours which to me felt like it would never land.
Sharing a room with three other girls and a bathroom with 20 girls was not ideal because I was used to having my own private room and bathroom but it made the experience more entertaining, to say the least. After we were all settled in we loaded up onto busses, bullet proof busses if I might add, for Jerusalem.
The city looked old and run down but to me, it was a place of so much history and so much life. The smell of the city lingered of old dust and blooming flowers. This is where most religions began. Walking through the streets you could see just how much the people of Israel loved this city. Everywhere you looked there was something going on whether it be a deep conversation over some coffee or a full on farmer’s market. Anyone could find something special to do in this city. There’s four different quarters of the city: the Jewish, American, Christian and Muslim Quarters. Each quarter had something unique to offer and a different story to tell.
After strolling through the city we were taken to the holiest part of the country, the Wailing Wall (Western Wall). This was the western part of the temple that was destroyed by Titus and Roman legions. This is where everyone comes to pray to Hashem (God). My first glance at the wall and this heavy air came over me, I had never experienced anything like this before. The air was thick and tears running down my face and I had the slightest idea as to why. I had never been religious by any means but for some reason, at this moment I was taken over, it was the first time I had ever felt Hashem’s presence. Walking up to the Wailing Wall I had noticed something funny, the men and the women were separated by a separate wall going down the middle of the courtyard. I was curious as to why and asked Sam. The separation was to keep any temptations away from the men and women by looking at each other and to solely focus on Hashem and their prayers.
My first weekend in Israel was one of the most memorable. Every Friday night at sundown to Saturday night at sundown Israeli’s or anyone Jewish practice Shabbos or Shabbat. The whole country almost shuts down. Shabbos is where you join in with family and friends and host a big Friday night meal. The women prepare the meal while the men attend synagogue. Prayers are sung and the rules are maintained. Too many unwritten rules, I don’t even know where to begin but the best way to describe it is you don’t alter or change the way that Hashem has created something. For example, if the lights are on you leave them on all weekend and if they are off they stay off. In the bathroom, there is toilet paper in a tissue box because you don’t want to tear the toilet paper off the role because that would be altering the original form. All cooking for the weekend is done Friday before sundown because after sundown if you cook something you are altering the original form of the food. There are many more rules like no electronics and no driving cars but those examples best describe the many rules to Shabbos. Experiencing my first Shabbos dinner in the holiest city, Jerusalem, was an experience that will always stick with me. I was able to learn the prayers, learn more about the religious lifestyle and also learn that religious Israeli’s love their wine. Toasting of the wine happens very often and the amounts of wine big group slams down in unbelieveable.
The rest of the days after were filled with school in the morning learning more about the Jewish faith followed by going out at night with the locals. I was taken to the little hole in the wall restaurants that just happened to have the best Jewish food I’ve had. The first place I was introduced to was a local deli and the smell of fresh baked bread filled the air. Before I could even order I was kicked out of the deli for holding a latte from the local coffee shop. Not even realizing the latte had cream in it, I threw it away and was able to walk back in the deli. I ordered a white roll stuffed with homemade pastrami, fresh pickles and dijon mustard. But eating in Israel was a whole different ballpark than eating in the States. Everything in Israel was kept kosher meaning that we did not mix our meat products with our dairy products and absolutely no pork. This proved the most challenging thing for me because I didn’t observe a kosher diet in the States and all I wanted by the end of my trip was a big fat bacon cheeseburger.
I did manage to make it a whole summer staying kosher and found some new foods that I still keep in my daily diet. I grew found of falafel, which is a middle eastern dish with spiced mashed chickpeas that are formed into balls and deep dried. Falafel is usually eaten with pita bread and some sort of no dairy sauce. I was also taken out to the local bars which were mostly on Ben Yehuda. Most of the bars had hookah tables outside which drew us in. We would be out there for hours, sharing stories and drinking the local favorite, Goldstar. The smell of hookah was permanently stained in my hair for the rest of the stay in Israel.
Inevitably my trip came to an end but I refused to leave the beautiful country, I didn’t want to come back home to my old life. On the bus back to the airport, I looked back on the summer I got to spend in Israel. I thought to myself how much I had grown in just a short time and how much I had learned about the Jewish faith. I knew going back home that I would be a stronger individual, not physically but mentally because I knew I was okay with who I was. I accepted that I could be both Christian and Jewish. I didn’t want to be one or the other. Instead, I wanted to take a little bit from each faith and just make myself the best person I could be. When I came home I kept up on my studying and went to Torah readings every Sunday. I kept up on my relationship with Hashem and started to learn a little Hebrew. Currently I still have a relationship with Hashem but have slacked off a little when it comes to my Hebrew studying. I still dream about the day I get to revisit one of my favorite countries on Earth. I look back on my experiences and do a little smile because I love the person who I am now because of it. I feel as if I am a better human being. I think of others before myself and am always willing to offer a helping hand. My dream would be to take my mom and dad to Israel and experience it like I did.
