Emanu-El Women in Israel

• Arrive in Israel

“Women’s history is women’s right––an essential, indispensable heritage from which we can draw pride, comfort, courage, and long-range vision.” (Gerda Lerner, Jewish Founder of Women’s History Month)

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Of Food, Israel and Ourselves, program introduction with Rabbi Beth Singer, at the hotel.
• Guided tour through the Israeli art exhibit of the Israel Museum, exploring the latest trends in Israeli art.
• Behind the Scenes in Machane Yehuda Market, a walk through the market exploring the scents, tastes and people of the market, with guide Yael Bar Ilan, including tastings and lunch.
• Free time to explore Jerusalem.
• Return to the hotel.
• Festive welcome dinner at the world renowned Machaneyuda.

“……we’ve brought our understanding of gender to our texts in the past and how we can have a fresh view with a new understanding of gender and women’s experience” (Rabbi Mary Zamore, Executive Director of the Women’s Rabbinic Network)

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Meet with Rabbi Noa Sattath, Director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), at the hotel.
• Praline-making workshop at Ya’ar Hacacao boutique chocolatier, started by Yaara Kalmanovitz who left a promising law career to fulfill her dream of breaking social barriers with chocolate.
• Depart for the Jerusalem Hills.
• MakorWalks – Nature walk along Har Haruach – The Wind Hill, overlooking Nahal Yitlah – the Yitlah Riverbed. (Approximately 45 minutes – can be longer if desired.)
• Continue to Nataf.
• Rama Ben Zvi, owner of Rama’s Kitchen and Anomarel Ogen, one of Israel’s leading bread bakers and researchers, will lead you in an exploration of fine ingredients, the environment and the earth, presenting a slice of the culinary worldview that has developed around bread and wheat; learn about various kinds of bread and pastries by baking them in a “tabun” oven. Finish with an excellent meal prepared by Rama, with local ingredients provided by culinary artists from the nearby communities.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Free time for rest and relaxation.
• A Jerusalem Purim, begin the Shushan Purim celebrations (only in Jerusalem) with a special Purim dinner at La Guta restaurant, hosted by Rabbi Beth Singer.

“The Rift Valley is a natural object created by physical forces but when we look at it, we don’t see just the physical object. We see stories and ideas and our own histories.”  (Haim Watzman, journalist, author, translator)

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
• Proceed north by way of the Jordan Rift Valley.
• Spend the morning cooking and eating with Nof Otmana, a microbiologist from an Arab town in northern Israel who won the fourth season of Israel’s reality show “MasterChef.”
• MakorWalks – Flower hike through the Gilboa Nature Reserve, which is covered in carpets of flowers of a variety of colors from the lily, iris and narcissus families, as well as several arrays of orchids, anemones, tulips, Persian buttercups and Aleppo Adonis that all flower in early spring.
• Continue to Moshav Zippori and the Reish Lakish farm for a special program on olives, olive trees and the Jewish and Muslim relationship to the land, in conjunction with the Sindyanna
• Drive to the hotel and check in to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided tour of Ein Camonim Goat Farm and Dairy, including a tour of the farm, an understanding of the cheese-making process, and tastings of the various cheeses.
• Wine workshop at Adir Winery. This experience includes a tour of the vineyards, an introduction into the world of the vintner, the different types of terroirs and their effect on the quality of the wine, various grape cultivars (red, white), and information regarding the specific terroirs of the plateau region of Kerem ben Zimra.  Use all five senses to taste and note the differences among the wines of Adir.
• MakorWalks – Nature hike on the Mount Meron Peak Trail, part of the National Israel Trail.
• Short stop for a tour of the factory of Buza, a Jewish-Arab ice cream business that is a sweet symbol of coexistence.
• Visit the studio of Galilean artist Ruth Kestenbaum Ben Dov, who says about her art: “Painting is a lifetime commitment, a source of inspiration and a continual challenge. Observation of reality keeps me focused, providing a foundation for journeys exploring multilevel identities, histories, and even languages, with text playing a role in many of my works.”
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
• MakorWalks – Stroll (Guided walk) along the cobblestone streets of Rosh Pina, the first settlement in the Galilee established in the earliest major wave of immigration, and today, a beautifully restored village where aged olive trees, artisans’ studios and quaint homes are reminiscent of old European towns.
• Guided tour of Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. Learn about its cutting-edge ecological business in biologically-based integrated pest management and natural pollination. The kibbutz spreads ecological awareness and uses nature to foster good relations with Palestinian and Jordanian farmers.

• Continue to Tel Aviv.
• Check in to the hotel and prepare for Shabbat.
• Proceed to Modi’in for a bus tour of the city and learn about the unique quality of the city planning.
• Kabbalat Shabbat and Friday night services with Kehilat Yuzma, followed by home hospitality Shabbat dinner.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Shabbat morning on the beach with Rabbi Beth Singer.
• Visit art galleries that provide unique experiences and, since art is customarily experienced as a “finished product” in galleries or museums, the experience will also go behind the scenes to visit artists in their studios to see the creative process and to have an intimate conversation about making art and being an artist. Emphasis will be on female artists, gallery owners, curators and themes.
• Lunch on own at one of Tel Aviv’s culinary “hot spots”.
• MakorWalks – Optional afternoon walk along the Tel Aviv Promenade – length can vary from 15 minutes to an hour and a half.
• Havdallah.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• The Sounds of Silence: Guided tour in the Florentine neighborhood, Tel Aviv’s most bohemian and upbeat neighborhood, and learn about contemporary Israeli culture through urban art: writing on the wall, graffiti, bumper stickers and even painted garbage bins.
• Guided walk through Levinsky market to sample Israel’s street foods, with guide Yael Bar Ilan.
• Drive into the Judean Lowlands and the Ella Valley for a walk along the Elah section of the Israel Trail, concluding at the Ella Winery for wine and cheese tasting.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at Kitchen Market.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit Kuchinate, a collective of African asylum-seeking women in vulnerable situations—many are survivors of human trafficking, torture, and sexual abuse—who design and create crocheted products for the home, to partake in a traditional Eritrean/Ethiopian coffee ceremony.
• Food Fights: culinary journalist Hagit Evron will discuss the ideological identity struggle between Jews and Arabs through local foods: falafel, heirloom varieties of grapes, za’atar, and the “assimilation” of Jewish ethnic foods, followed by lunch at a local “humusiya”.
• Free afternoon for personal exploration of Tel Aviv.
• Return to the hotel for rest, relaxation and packing.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Wrap up discussion.
• Israel in a Pita: An Israeli Culinary Show, an interactive cook show, featuring Israel’s leading mouthwatering dishes, with an intriguing discussion about Israel’s culinary culture, politics, economy, identity – then and now, with Hagit Evron and Chef Yossi Elad, former chef at the Palamor and Machaneyuda restaurants.
• Depart for Ben Gurion Airport for return flights home.

*Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.