Shabbat, Shekels and Sherutim

I have some exciting news, guys! Well, maybe it's just exciting to me. I'm fairly well-traveled (though seeing some of the travel bloggers out there makes me embarrassed to even think that thought, but whatever), but most of my travel posts were more of a play-by-play diary than anything. Seriously, why did I not include more pictures? I have thousands of photos, and they're all collecting dust on my hard drive.

So I've decided that I'll be joining the Travel Tuesday link-up every week! Each Tuesday will be a different destination I've been to, and will essentially be a giant photo dump (see also: this one). Basically, this is an excuse for me to go through all my photos and relive some truly amazing memories. I'm pretty pumped. :)

For my first installment, I'm going back to a trip that kicked off the most epic year of travel in my life (so far?): Israel!

I went to Israel in May of 2011 with a birthright group from University of Miami Hillel. If you're unfamiliar with birthright, it essentially means that all Jewish people have a (duh) birthright to visit Israel, so there's a group that funds these trips for young Jewish adults. I'm probably not explaining this well at all. Basically, it means a free trip to Israel. Yes please!

Everyone I knew that had already been on birthright gushed and raved about how that trip changed their life. I was kind of skeptical, as I'm not a particularly spiritual or religious person. But more than three years later, I can honestly say that that trip did change my life.

I actually do feel much more connected to Judaism. Do I believe in god? I still don't think so, but that didn't stop me from being totally overwhelmed and crying when we visited the Western Wall on Shabbat. We spent most of the 10 days traveling with a group of Israeli soldiers who were our age, who wanted nothing more than to be in our shoes and go to school, who had ridden camels but never ridden horses, who love watching Friends and That '70s Show, and that alone was astronomical in changing my perspective on the world. As a Jew in America, I've never been a part of the majority... but in Israel, on Fridays, everyone greets absolutely everybody else with "shabbat shalom." We visited the Old City of Jerusalem and the new city in Tel Aviv, hiked valleys and deserts (where I broke my toe, oops) and Masada, swam in the Dead Sea and kayaked on the Jordan River, stayed at a kibbutz and in a Bedouin tent, rode camels, visited David Ben Gurion's grave and a military cemetery and Yad Vashem, ate shawarma and hummus (all. of. the. hummus)... and everything was amazing. Except, of course, the broken toe. And the ear infection. And the fact that the mere sight of hummus made me nauseous for several months afterwards.


I highly recommend traveling there if you ever get the opportunity to, even if you're not Jewish. It's an absolutely beautiful place, and so unbelievably full of history. And, for the record, not once did I ever feel like I was in danger.

(Also, if you're wondering about the title... the shekel is Israel's currency, and "sherutim" means "bathroom." It's just one of the few Hebrew words I learned and still remember, and I liked the alliteration. Hah.)

For my original posts on this trip, see here and here!

Travel Tuesday

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14 comments :

  1. hahahahah i cracked up with the tittle! Israel is amazing, i go there a lot. I went with my school two years ago and was the best thign ever. your pictures are amazing, looks like yoou had a blast
    xo
    Orly
    coffeebeansandhighheels.weebly.com

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    1. Hahaha thanks! That's so cool that you go there a lot, it really is amazing! :)

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  2. I found you from the HCBN and I'm getting so nostalgic right now, I miss Birthright! I went with University of Michigan Hillel two years ago. My sister left for a six-week high-school program in Israel today (she's on an El Al plane en route to Tel Aviv as we speak!!!!), and I miss Israel so much. This post couldn't have come at a better time.

    I actually went back and saw 4/8 of my soldiers last summer! I interned in France and it only cost $300 more to add on TLV, so why not? I stayed with one of my soldiers (we became really close--it's a girl btw haha) but saw some of the others, and most of us are still friends. I'm hoping to go back to the Holy Land when I'm in Europe next year, but for now, Am Yisrael Chai!

    xoxo
    Chloe | Wanderlust in the Midwest

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    1. A fellow birthrighter in HCBN?! Hi! :D That's so, so awesome that your sister is going there for six weeks. Wow. She's going to have the BEST time!

      Ohhhh my gosh, it must've been so cool to go see your soldiers again! I've mostly lost touch with mine, but we're all friends on Facebook, so I guess that helps things. Fingers crossed you do get to go back!

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  3. Wow, fascinating story! Though the part of the soldiers was kinda sad....nonetheless I think it's fascinating to get to know people who may share certain features with you (like your religion) but live a completely different life in a completely different culture! I would love to visit Israel one day!

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    1. Thanks! It was seriously bizarre. We were all so similar, and our life circumstances were the only things keeping us from having grown up together, or living similar lives. It was an incredibly enlightening realization.

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  4. I agree with Van! And those sunset photos are beautiful.

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    1. Thanks so much! :) I hiked a plateau with a broken toe for those photos, so I'm glad they turned out well, lol.

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  5. A free trip to Israel, that's a good way to go! My parents went there many years ago and my sister lived there for 3 months last summer--I have yet to go, though!

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    1. Heck yeah! I doubt I would've gotten to go to Israel otherwise. That's so cool that your sister lived there! I'd highly recommend getting there yourself if you have the chance! :)

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  6. Thanks for linking up with Travel Tuesday! This is a great story.. I have thought about visiting next year, but I haven't heard much about it. You are swaying my decision to go!

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    1. Thanks girl! It's absolutely incredible, I'd definitely suggest going!

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  7. Ah I love your writing! I sometimes get bored of people telling me a travel story but the way you wrote it I just wanted to read more! Especially looking at all your pictures, I just want to know more! Seems like such a fun trip to take to discover more of your heritage and how people on the other side of the world live!
    Welcome to #traveltuesday btw! :)

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    1. Oh wow, thank you so much! :D That really means a lot to me!

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