Congregation Beth Israel 100th Anniversary Celebration Journey

• Departure from the United States.

• Arrive at Ben Gurion airport with assistance upon arrival.
• Meet Guide and Staff and board buses for the North.
• Depart for Northern Israel.
• Stop at Caesarea for an introduction to Israel and depending on departure time from TLV, a short, guided visit through the site or a stop at the Caesarea Aqueduct.
• Drive to the Upper Galilee.
• Check in to the Kibbutz Hotel.
• Group dinner and orientation at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Ascend the Golan Heights by jeep for a Security Tour of Israel’s Northern Borders, beginning with an overlook of the Hula Valley and continuing to Mount Bental, for a view into Syria and the abandoned town of Quneitra, on the backdrop of the results of the Syrian civil war.
• Visit the Hula Lake, one of Israel’s most innovative environmental projects, with a chance to enjoy a short stroll or bird-watch, with lunch on own at the Agamon Market complex.
• Special program at Kibbutz Malkiya on the Lebanese Border, with long-time resident Eitan Oren, for an introduction to Kibbutz life, a meeting with IDF Troops stationed on the border (pending security situation), and an opportunity to plant a sapling.
• Guided visit through Safed—the alleyways, ancient synagogues, market, and artist colony, using the stories of the mystics as a guide, including meeting with a Kabbalistic artist.
• Youth: The Israel Lens 1 — an exploration of Safed with camera/smartphone in hand as the kick-off of the Jewish Lens Photography Program.
• Group dinner at the hotel.
• Evening activity in the hotel // speaker for adults//free time.

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Start the day the Neot Mordechai Shoe Factory and Outlet Store, with an option to pick up a pair of your favorite sandals before a water-filled day.
• Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve, along one of the tributaries of the Jordan River, concluding at the Biblical site of Tel Dan, exploring a combination of geopolitics, nature and archaeology.
• Join a river adventure, comfortably Rafting by and under riverside foliage, down the clear Hatzbani stream, later merging with the Banias stream.
• Depart for Tiberias, for free time to enjoy the Sea of Galilee at a local beach, or an option to visit the grave of the Rambam (Maimonides), who died in Cairo in 1204 and was later buried in Tiberias, walking along the path to his tomb with seven columns on either side and inscribed with the names of the 14 chapters of his famed codification of the Mishnah and Mishnah Torah.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner on own, either at the hotel or a nearby restaurant. (Bus will be provided).

• Breakfast, checkout and early departure from the hotel.
• Water Walk through the Madjrase tributary where the Dalia River meets the Kinneret.
• Drive to Jerusalem.
• Enter Jerusalem and drive to the Machane Yehudah open air market
• Visit Machane Yehudah Open Air Market as residents prepare for Shabbat, with lunch on your own.
• Free time to relax and explore Jerusalem, including time to prepare for Shabbat.
• Congregation Beth Israel Group Kabbalat Shabbat
• Shabbat Candle Lighting
• Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Shabbat morning services at HUC – pending confirmation.
• Lunch on own (open restaurant options/suggestions will be provided)
• Free afternoon to explore Jerusalem at your leisure.

Late Afternoon Adult Options:·

· Agnon in Jerusalem – Walk through the streets of central Jerusalem, using the writings of Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel’s first Nobel Laureate as a guide, exploring the Jerusalem of over 100 years ago, its differences and similarities to today.

· The Poet and the Windmill – Guided walk through Yemin Moshe with the poetry of Yehudah Amichai.

· The Israel Museum – Visit the Israel Museum, its model of Jerusalem during the days of the Second Temple and the Dead Sea Scrolls, followed by an opportunity to visit the Jewish Life and Living, Archaeology, Israeli Art and Design exhibits and much more.

· The German Colony of Jerusalem – Walk through the German Colony, built by the German Templars in the late 1800’s, with their unique buildings and stories that have become part of Jerusalem’s lore.

· Christian Jerusalem – Guided visit through the Christian Quarter, including part of the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

· Guided walk to the Hill of Mistaken Identities, where nothing is what it seems – at Mount Zion.

Youth Option

· Shabbat treasure hunt in Yemin Moshe and Talbieh.

· Late afternoon group Seudah Shlishit/processing session

· Havdallah, followed by a free evening in Jerusalem

• Early morning optional guided visit to the Temple Mount—Haram al Sharif—Al Aqsa, with a representative of the Waqf holy trust.

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Depart for the Old City of Jerusalem.
• An Historic Weave of Jerusalem – Guided walk through the Quarters of Jerusalem, exploring the multiethnic weave of the city, including rooftop views from within the Jewish Quarter with its archaeological remains that date back 3000 years to the days of the First Temple, the Nea Church, the Biblical and Hasmonean remains in the open Cardo, and the Broad Wall ; a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Christian Quarter and concluding at the Austrian Hospice on the edge of the Muslim Quarter, with parallel programming for youth.
• Lunch on own in the Jewish Quarter.
• Guided visit through the City of David, with Bible in hand, exploring the origins of Jerusalem, guided in part by the B’nai Mitzvah students, concluding with a water walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel.
• Time for reflection at the Western Wall.
• Return to the hotel for a free evening, including dinner on your own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Morning Service and B’nai Mitzvah celebration at the Davidson Center/Southern Wall, followed by a guided visit through the Davidson Archaeological Garden, led by the B’nai Mitzvah.
• Guided visit through the Western Wall Tunnel, including the as-yet-unopened Roman Theater that was covered for almost 2000 years.
• Lunch on own.
• Return to the hotel for free time for shopping, or rest and relaxation
• Afternoon program with Daniel Gordis, at the Shalem College, with parallel youth programming.
• Free time in Machane Yehudah Market with dinner on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Adults:The Memory of the Holocaust in contemporary State of Israel, dialogue with Rachel Korazim.
• Youth:The Israeli Lens II, in the vicinity of the hotel.
• Visit Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center
• First-Timers: Visit the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center Memorial complex to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, including the Avenue of the Righteous, the Holocaust History Museum and the Children’s Memorial.
• Returnees: Guided visit through the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center Museum of Holocaust Art, followed by a special visit to the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center Archives
• Children:  Special program at the Israel Museum Youth Wing, or visit to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.
• Congregation Beth Israel Memorial Service
• Free afternoon
• Take part it a workshop with a Jerusalemite Silversmith, crafting a Yad for the Congregation’s Centennial Torah
• Dinner on your own on the Mamilla Mall, followed by a visit to the Night Spectacular at David’s Citadel Museum, or a special night tour led by Rabbi Kahn.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Proceed to the Dead Sea.
• Ascend Masada via cable car for a guided visit through the site and an exploration of the symbolism and questions that arise from the Masada story and their implications for Jewish life today.
• Ride the cable car down and continue to Ein Bokek for an opportunity to float in the Dead Sea and swim in the hotel pool, followed by lunch.
• Hike up to and cool off in the refreshing pools and waterfalls of Nahal David (David’s Stream) in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, a unique ecosystem of springs, waterfalls and pools surrounded by lush greenery in a desolate desert setting.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel, followed by check-out.
• Depart for Tel Aviv
• Continue to the newly-gentrified Neve Zedek, one of Tel Aviv’s first neighborhoods, hear the stories of the founders and famous personalities, such as Shai Agnon, Israel’s first Nobel Laureate and Shaul Tchernichovsky, one of the Zionist Movement’s greatest authors, and explore the galleries and quaint shops
• Take part in a family Scavenger Challenge on Rothschild Blvd, exploring the old and new, from Tel Aviv’s modest beginnings in Ahuzat Bayit to the global High-Tech Hub all around Rothschild
• Lunch, and rest of afternoon on own, with time for last-minute shopping or site-seeing.
• Wrap Up Conversation and Farewell dinner at a Tel Aviv restaurant.
• Depart for Ben Gurion Airport for return flight home.

• Arrival in the USA

*Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.