Congregation B’nai Torah Adventure in Israel

• Departure from the United States.

• Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance by a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
• Proceed to Tel Aviv.
• Check in to the hotel (early check-in not guaranteed).
• Free time for rest, relaxation, exploration and lunch on own.
• Welcome Dinner and introduction at a Tel Aviv Restaurant (private room).

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided walk and exploration through Neve Zedek, one of Tel Aviv’s first neighborhoods, with its many stories and modern galleries.
• Drive to the Ayalon Institute in Rehovot, a clandestine munitions factory from the War of Independence, an example of the imagination and ingenuity needed to form the State of Israel.
• Return to Tel Aviv.
• “Tasting tour” lunch in the Carmel Market, including some free time for shopping.
• Visit the Nachalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Market, with its many street artists and entertainers.
• Graffiti and October 7 – A guided walk to see how Tel Aviv’s remarkable street artists responded to the events of October 7 and its aftermath (in Kiryat Hamelacha or Florentin).
• Meet with Ashager Arraro, of the Batae Center for Ethiopian Jewish Heritage for a discussion about the Ethiopian Community in contemporary Israeli Society, at the Batae Center.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
• Visit ANU – the new Museum of the Jewish People on the campus of Tel Aviv University for a special mission program: using the creativity of the present, explore the story of the Jewish People, with our past as a map toward the future.
• Drive along the Mediterranean Coast to continue your journey North and visit Caesarea, including the Roman theatre, hippodrome, promenade and palace, concluding at the remains of the Crusader city, exploring the relationship between Romans and Jews.
• Lunch on own.
• Walk through the underground waterway at Park Alona, a water aqueduct from the Roman-Byzantine period, which was part of the ancient water system leading to Caesarea.
• Visit Ohel Menasshe Synagogue in Yokne’am Illit, Congregation B’nai Torah’s sister synagogue, to learn about Masorti Judaism in Israel and the synagogue’s activities in the Yokne’am community.
• Proceed to the hotel and check in to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Ascend to the Upper Galilee.
• Nature walk through the Tel Dan or Banias Nature Reserves at the base of the Golan Heights.
• Jeep Ride ascending the Golan Heights, with both nature and stories from the Six Day, the Yom Kippur and the Swords of Iron Wars.
• Stop at the Druze village of Buq’ata and the home of Naseeba Samara for a glimpse into the world of the Druze community on the Golan with home hospitality lunch.
• Drive to the top of Mount Bental for a peek into Syria to gain an understanding of the delicate geopolitical situation on the Israeli-Syrian border in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime.
• Visit Kibbutz Ein Zivan for an opportunity to visit the DeKarina Chocolatery, with a chocolate-making workshop for the kids and youth or wine tasting at the Bahat or Pelter Wineries, for the adults.
• With “Operation Feed the Troops” (or another organization), prepare a dinner for -and eat with- IDF soldiers.
• Return to the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
• Drive to Safed, Israel’s magical, mystical city, and walk the alleyways, stroll through ancient synagogues, visit the Artist Colony, shop in the Safed Market with its Judaica and unique Jewish art, and meet a Kabbalistic Artist.
• Continue your journey, enter Jerusalem and view the city from atop Mount Scopus.
• Visit Machane Yehuda Open Air Market as residents prepare for Shabbat, with free time for lunch on own and shopping.
• Proceed to the hotel and check in to the hotel.
• Free time for rest, relaxation and Shabbat preparation.
• Kabbalat Shabbat with a Jerusalem congregation (Shira Chadasha, Maayanot, Conservative Yeshiva).
• Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel (private room).

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Shabbat services and free morning.
• Shabbat lunch at the hotel.
• Guided walk into the Old City of Jerusalem, beginning on the Old City Ramparts and continuing through the alleyways of the Jewish Quarter for a behind the scenes glimpse at the people and stories of the Old City, from yesterday and today.
• Visit the newly renovated Tower of David Museum, which tells the story of Jerusalem.
• Return to the hotel.
• Free evening and dinner on own in the Mamilla or Ben Yehuda pedestrian malls.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive south to the Dead Sea region, the lowest point on earth.
• Ascend Masada via Cable Car for a guided visit through the site, exploring the heroic story and its meaning for us 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.
• Continue to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve and walk through the Nahal David desert oasis to the Ein Gedi waterfall.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Dinner on your own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Festive B’nai Mitzvah Ceremony at one of the following:

• • Ezra Yisrael, the egalitarian prayer space at the Kotel, next to Robinson’s Arch.
  • The Goldman Promenade overlooking the Old City

• Family Scavenger Hunt in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, along the Southern and Western Walls of the Temple Mount or in Yemin Moshe.

• B’nai Mitzvah Celebration Meal
• Continue with a special guided walk through the Western Wall Tunnels, along the base of the Temple Mount, led by Bnai Mitzvah, followed by a visit at the Kotel (Western Wall).

• (Option instead of the Western Wall Tunnels: Drive through the Judean Hills and visit one of the many wineries to taste some of Israel’s finest wines. Possibilities include Flam, Castel, Elah and others)
• Free evening and dinner on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Guided visit through Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center, the Jewish national memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, with separate programming for adults and youth/children.
• Visit the new Memorial to Israel’s fallen and some of the new graves at the Mount Herzl National Cemetery, including the graves of those killed in the current war with Nissimi Naim Naor, participant in the Hartman Institute Israeli Rabbinic Program and an IDF reservist whose responsibility it is to coordinate funerals with bereaved families.
• Lunch on own in Beit Hakerem.
• Drive to Beit Guvrin to participate in an active dig at Tel Maresha, exploring human-made caves from 2,200 years ago, followed by spelunking through the caves and tunnel system.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Free time
• Farewell dinner at a Jerusalem restaurant (private room).

• Breakfast at the hotel; and/or check-out for those departing today.
• For those staying, enjoy a day in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, or…? on your own.  In Jerusalem, explore neighborhoods of immigrants from around the world, visit quaint Ein Kerem, explore the Christian Quarter of the Old City, enjoy an exploration of the Israel Museum and see the Dead Sea Scrolls, relax by the pool and more. In Tel Aviv, visit Jaffa, the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, any number of museums, stroll along Rothschild Blvd or the Tel Aviv beach boardwalk, ride the elevator to the top of the Azrieli Tower for a panoramic view of Tel Aviv, shop!

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Check out of hotel
• Transfer to airport for return flight to the United States

Safe travels! And, “Next year in Jerusalem!”

All program elements are subject to change, pending confirmations.