Theme: Defining Moments - Overcoming Challenges
locations: Masada; Dead Sea; Jerusalem
overnight: Prima Kings, Jerusalem [ get map ]
Yuval Yarden:
Today, we joined participants from “Acharai” on a hike up Mount Herzl to celebrate the culmination of their program. Acharai is a program that trains high school students for their upcoming army service through discussion and simulation of the social, emotional, physical and spiritual challenges which the participants will encounter during their service. The training isn’t just for those going into combat; the group is made up of both female and male teenagers who vary in their upcoming army placement. Next year, some might be working at an army office while others might be joining the paratroopers. I spoke to Ariel, the Nesher troop leader, who explained that these kids are not only training for the army – they are training for life. Everyone experiences these types of challenges throughout their life, and Acharai wants to make sure these teens grow up having the ability to cope with these issues.
Although this experience forced us to wake up at 2:10 in the morning, many Fellows have since reported this to be one of their favorite experiences on the trip. The famous Israeli army hero General Yair, or “Yaya” as he is known, split us into two groups and placed us with a group of Israeli teenagers. We all received big t-shirts to wear so we blended in pretty well. The Acharai participants welcomed us warmly, and together we began our 10 kilometer hike up Mount Herzl. 3,800 teenagers created a 2-mile long line. Oh and by the way, we were carrying 150 pound stretchers and 3 liters of water on our back.
After our difficult hike in the Galilee, many of us found the first two hours to be a breeze (except for the several stubbed toes and slightly twisted ankles). Keeping in mind that the Acharai participants had been training for this all year, I began to feel extremely confident in my physical fitness. Slowly but surely, the hike began to increase in difficulty, and we started to hike uphill. As we approached a particularly steep hill, the Israelis suddenly stopped for what we thought was a water break. We had been instructed that no matter what happened on this hike we couldn’t sit down, put the stretcher down, or stop at any point unless we were told to. And then BAM! the Israelis began to charge up the hill at a lightning pace.
Now the easy breezy stroll up Mount Herzl became a strenuous hike which tested our endurance, strength and motivation. Three hours of intense hiking, running and carrying stretchers brought us much closer to each other, and to the Israelis. Our medic Roi had previously told us to motivate each other when we felt we wanted to give up. This advice served us well throughout the hike. At no point did anyone say anything along the lines of “I can’t do this” or “I hate this.” We knew the trip would be a challenge, and it exceeded our expectations in terms of difficulty and enjoyment.
Finally, we reached the last hill and waited for all the students to gather. When all the participants arrived, we used our last bit of energy to run to the top of the mountain as a group. This experience brought me to tears. Imagine, 3,800 Israeli teens (and us) charging up a hill. Those who felt they were unable to do so were surrounded by people grabbing them by the arm or pushing them up the hill. Notice how I said people and not Fellows. At this point in the hike, we were scattered between all these teenagers and were pretty much surrounded by strangers. It didn’t matter if the person pulling you was a complete stranger or that you were pushing up someone you had never before seen in your life. We had all just finished the most strenuous and tiring hike we had ever done, and the main goal was to get every single participant to the top. We succeeded. At the top of the hill, the nine of us in my group held hands and ran up to Annie and Beth with huge smiles and great satisfaction.
Michelle Degutis:
After a mid-morning rest, we met with Micha Feldman. Since he was my “POI,” or person of influence, I was already pretty psyched to meet with him. He was, after all, one of the masterminds behind Operation Moses, Operation Joshua, and Operation Solomon, all of which brought thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. I had expected an intimidating and intense man, but Micha was surprisingly chill and down to earth.
He began with the story of his first trip to Ethiopia and really opened our eyes to what the situation of the Ethiopian Jews had been. After his first trip, he was determined to bring all of the Ethiopian Jews home to Israel. He struggled with roadblocks from all sides of this issue, but was able to bring close to 7,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel by the end of 1985 through Operations Moses and Joshua. Then, in 1991, after unimaginable obstacles, he helped return 8,000 more Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
Micha was pragmatic and strong. He taught us that to be a truly great leader, you need to genuinely care and connect with the individuals you are working with. He reached out to all of the Jews he worked with, and remains involved with many of them today. Micha’s story shows us the importance of truly loving what you choose to do in life and fully committing to that choice.
Zev Steinlauf:
Later, we visited the Kotel (Western Wall), which was a powerful experience for all of us – even those who had been there a number of times before. This is my first time in Israel, so my experience at the Wall was incredible. When we first got there I wasn’t sure what to do; there were people touching the Wall, there were some far back from the Wall, some had siddurs, some had nothing. I wasn’t sure where I fit in. After a minute of uncertainty I simply went up to the Wall, put my head against it and closed my eyes. The first thing that struck me was how warm the Wall was. Leaning against it was like lying on a rock that had been lying in the sun, and the warmth emanating from it felt very holy. I went back and forth a total of four times, interspersed with watching others pray and talking with other Fellows. We only had a half an hour at the Kotel (we’re going again), but I could have spent hours there.
After leaving the Wall, we followed a man named Ronen to the house of Reb Chaim for an amazing Shabbat dinner. Ronen was a bit eccentric but a very nice guy, and he was a hoot. The dinner was great, but held a few surprises for us. First was the seating arrangement – the men and the women were separated into two tables, I guess so we wouldn’t get distracted by each other, or something. The next new thing was the Kiddush. The Reb gave each person an individual blessing as he passed out their drink. This was quite nice, though ended up taking quite a while. There was also an amazing coat made of cloth and real gold fibers that was passed around; whoever wore it was designated as the Reb’s special helper for that time. The rest of the dinner was pretty straightforward, and all the food was delicious. Sometime after the second course (of six), half the guests were falling asleep, but enough of us were awake enough to continue packing away the vast amounts of good food. We left the meal after 11, even though according to the Reb the meal doesn’t usually end until 3 or 4 am. Getting back to the hotel took almost an hour even though it was a “15 minute walk”.
Today was the longest, most intense and most fulfilling days of the trip. Everyone is exhausted but happy, and looking forward to relaxing during our final Shabbat in Jerusalem. |