Temple Chai Israel Adventure

• Departure from the United States.

• Travel day

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport with assistance by Makor representatives.
• Proceed to Tel Aviv.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Time for rest and relaxation.
• Program introduction, followed by an excursion into Tel Aviv.
• Lunch on own in the Levinsky Balkan Spice Market.
• Graffiti tour in the Florentine neighborhood.
• Guided visit through Jaffa, one of the oldest cities in the world, hearing the story of the city from the time of Jonah the Prophet to the great return of Jewish pioneers to the land of Israel in 1881, including the famous Jaffa Flea Market (Shuk HaPishpashim).
• Light the 3rd Chanukah candle.
• Welcome dinner at the Maganda restaurant in the Yeminite Quarter.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
• Guided visit through the remains of the Roman city of Caesarea, followed by a walk along the beach to the newly-renovated Crusader city and port.
• Travel north.
• With Lotem, an organization that makes nature Accessible, walk along Nahal HaShofet, located in the Ramat Menashe Biosphere Reserve, which flows through a landscape of field and forest that imparts a sense of tranquility.
• Continue to Safed.
• Guided tour through Safed with stories of the 16^th-century rabbis of Safed, who breathed new life into the Jewish people after the expulsion from Spain in 1492. Peek into ancient synagogues and visit the Artist Colony.
• Chanukah activity in the Safed Absorption Center, with staff and residents, with Chanukah candle lightning.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit Christian holy sites that may include: the Mount of Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount, Tabgha, site of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish, Capernaum, site of Jesus’ teachings.
• 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.
• Lunch on own followed by:
  • Adults: Visit the Ortal boutique winery with wine tasting.
  • Youth: Chocolate making at De Karina in Ein Zivan.

• Travel by jeeps to Mt. Bental for a security briefing on the delicate political/military relationship in the Middle East, continuing to the top of Mt. Bental by bus for an overlook into Syria.
• Light the 5th Chanukah candle on the Golan Heights.
• Return to the hotel for dinner.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
• Travel south to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, one of the bright lights of the religious kibbutz movement and still operating as a traditional kibbutz, for a tour of the first organic farm in Israel and to learn about the business of helping farmers all over the world grow safe food, especially Jordanian and Palestinian farmers to help them plant, grow, and harvest healthy crops.
• Drive through the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem.
• Stop at Mount Scopus for an introduction to Jerusalem and an opportunity to recite the traditional Shehecheyanu prayer.
• Stop in downtown Jerusalem for a glimpse at the city as residents prepare for Shabbat, with lunch on own.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Depart for Rosh Haayin.
• Visit Rosh Haayin for a special program with Kehilat Bevat Ayin, including Chanukah candle lighting, Kabbalat Shabbat and a festive Shabbat dinner with congregants.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Morning for services or relaxation.
• Late morning Jerusalem experience with Rabbi Chernow and Cantor Wolman.
• Jerusalem: A City of Many Traditions A Historic Weave of Jerusalem – Walk through the Valley of Hinnom, using the Bible as a guide, to the top of Mount Zion and continuing to the Jewish Quarter, with its archaeological remains that date back 3000 years to the days of the First Temple, including the Nea Church, the Biblical and Hasmonean remains in the open Cardo and the Broad Wall.
• Lunch on own old city, followed by free time for personal exploration.
• Havdallah and light the 7th Chanukah candle in the Old City.
• Dinner and evening 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. Come together at the Valley of the Communities for a special concluding program.
  • Special program for children 10 and younger
• Lunch on own in Machane Yehuda open air market to understand the human tapestry of Jerusalem; meet people of all nationalities, religions and ages; see, smell and feel foods of all colors, sizes and shapes.
• Travel to the Judean Hills to hike along the Sataf springs that water the agricultural terraces, reminders of an almost vanished Hebrew culture dating back thousands of years.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Light the 8th Chanukah candle at the Lev Hair community center in Nachlaot.
• Menorah tour of Jerusalem in Nachlaot.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• B’nai Mitzvah celebration at the Goldman Promenade overlooking the Old City and the Temple Mount. (With inclement weather the ceremony will take place at Teenim, overlooking the Old City.)
• Festive Bar Mitzvah lunch at Teenim, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Free time
• Mitzvah Gorreret Mitzvah – one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah, visit the Shalva Center for special youth.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Proceed to Eretz Beresheit – Genesis Land.
• Mount camels and travel a short distance to the “Tent of Abraham” for an explanation and demonstration of ancient Biblical hospitality customs, many of which are preserved today in traditional Bedouin life.
• 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.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• To really dig deep into the past, become an archaeologist for a day and take part in the ongoing digs at Beit Guvrin, where hundreds of underground caves which served as storerooms, burial crypts and safe havens date back to the time of the Phoenicians.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Remember your Israel journey by making your family’s own personal map of your week’s experiences with Kol HaOt educators, who impart Jewish values, texts and history through a creative synthesis of the visual and performing arts.
• Lunch and afternoon on own.
• Festive farewell dinner at Olive and Fish restaurant.

• Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
• Depart for Ben Gurion Airport for return flight to the United States.

*Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.