Temple Emunah Trip to Israel

• Depart U.S.A on flight El-Al 016 from Boston in the evening direct to Israel.

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance from Makor Educational Journeys representative.
  • Opportunity to change money
  • Collect pre-ordered cellphone
• Drive in to Tel Aviv and check in to the hotel.
• Festive Welcome Dinner at Maganda Yemenite Restaurant.
• Optional walk along promenade after dinner.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Optional Tefillah/Run.

Option I

• Visit the Ayalon Institute, a pre-state underground bullet factory in in Rehovot
• Visit Tel Maresha and participate in an active archaeological excavation in the underground caves, followed by an opportunity to go spelunking.
• Return to Tel Aviv

Option 2

• Graffiti Tour in Florentine
• Interactive walk along Rothschild Blvd. from the First Hebrew City to one of the world’s leading innovation hubs, all in the same place.

 Option 3

• Haifa for students and families with Me’ir Sherer

• Optional Street Art Tour in the Florentine neighborhood.
• Free time and dinner on your own.
• Cultural Program

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out and depart the hotel.
• Guided visit to Bialik Street for a glimpse into one of Tel Aviv’s hidden gems, with the Bialik and Rubin Houses and Tel Aviv’s first City Hall.
• Visit the Nahalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Market and outdoor Carmel Fruit and Vegetable Market.
• Depart for the Negev Desert.
• Lunch on your own en route.

Option I

• Guided visit to the Nabatean city of Avdat with historo drama for kids.

Option 2

• In Sde Boker, visit founding father David Ben Gurion’s home, museum, and grave for a glimpse into the life and dreams of Israel’s first Prime Minister, whose powerful message about the Negev is pulling more people southward than ever before.

• Check into the Beresheet Hotel, Mitzpe Ramon and prepare for Shabbat.
• Shabbat Candle Lighting at 5:07 p.m. with group photo.
• Kabbalat Shabbat overlooking the Ramon Crater.
• Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Opportunity for morning massage, morning run, yoga, meditation
• Morning Spiritual Desert Walk along the rim of the Ramon along Crater with Psukei D’Zimrah and Shaharit overlooking the Makhtesh (crater)
• Kiddush
• Festive Shabbat lunch at the hotel.
• Free Time — Enjoy the world class spa, pool, and hotel surroundings.
• Late afternoon learning session with Rabbi Lerner and Me’ir Sherer.
• Havdallah
• Melavah Malka and dinner.
• Night Hike with flashlights and stargazing (Mitzpe Ramon – Int’l Recognized Star Gazing Site of the World).

• Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning Options

• Option I – Bike on the rim of the Crater
• Option II – Rappel down the side of the Crater
• Option III – Run or walk along the edge of the Crater
• Option IV – Drive into the Crater for a quick visit to the Carpentry Shop Rock Formation
• Option V – Rest and relax at the hotel

• Drive through the Negev Desert to the Arava.
• Drive to Kibbutz Keturah, enjoy lunch, and get ready for a Desert Experience in Sustainability and Creativity:
  • Adults with the Arava Institute
  • Children and Youth with Keren Kolot
• Continue to Eilat.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Dinner on your own in Eilat.

• Breakfast at the hotel.

Option 1 (at own expense)

• Full day of Fun in the Sun in Eilat, possibilities include:
• Underwater Coral Reef Observatory
• Eilat Dolphin Reef (possible to swim with dolphins from age 8)
• Full or half day on a Yacht in Eilat Bay.
• Full range of Water Sports – parasailing, water skiing, banana boating, etc.

Option 2

• Early morning departure for the Yitzhak Rabin Border Crossing.
• Cross the border into Jordan.
• Drive through the Jordanian Araba Desert to Petra.
• Guided visit through the 2000-year-old Nabatean City of Petra, carved out of red rock, including a walk through the Siq to the Treasury and a walk (possibly on donkeys) through the main street of Petra to the Basin, with lunch at the Basin restaurant.
• Return to Nebi Musa (modern Petra) and board the bus for return drive to the Araba border crossing.
• Cross into Israel and transfer to the hotel.

• Dinner on your own in Eilat.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Adults and Older Children meet Israeli General Baruch Spiegel and Jordanian General Monsour Abu Iyad, who were the respective Israeli and Jordanian military advisors to Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein, for a program on war, peace and cross border cooperation.
  • Children: Visit the Eilat Coral World Underwater Observatory – https://www.coralworld.co.il/en/
• Entire Group: Return to the hotel, followed by lunch on your own.
• Jeep ride to the Red Canyon and Three Border Tour in the Eilat Hills (Jordan, Egypt and Israel).
• Timna
• Return to Eilat
• Festive Desert Dinner

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive through the Arava to Masada.
• Ascend Masada for a guided visit through the site, which was both King Herod’s grand desert fortress and later the site of the last stand of Jewish Zealots against the Roman army 2000 years ago, exploring the story’s relevance to Israel and Jews today, with separate programming for adults and youth.
• Descend from Masada, followed by lunch on own at the Masada Visitors Center.
• Ein Gedi (time permitting)
• Stop on the shores of the Dead Sea for an opportunity to float in its buoyant waters.
• Drive to Jerusalem and stop at Mount Scopus, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem for an opportunity to recite the traditional Shehecheyanu prayer.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Free time and dinner on your own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Tfilat Shaharit and B’nai Mitzvah service at the Egalitarian Kotel – Robinson’s Arch, followed by a guided visit through the Davidson Archaeological Garden, led by the B’nai Mitzvah.
• Stop at the Kotel (Western Wall) for a reflection by Rabbi Lerner, followed by time for meditation and prayer.
• Descend to the City of David, in order to go back another thousand years, for a guided visit through some of the newest excavations in Jerusalem, with Bible in hand, in separate groups, adults and youth.
• Lunch on your own.
• Kol HaOt program will take place simultaneously to the options below

Option I

• Visit Yad Be Yad – Hand in Hand, bilingual school in southern Jerusalem, for a special program with teachers and students on creating a new narrative in a multi-narrative environment.

Option II

• Special program with Kids4Peace and a chance to meet Jewish, Christian, and Muslim kids, who are part of one of the most inspirational and hopeful peace projects in Israel, as well as the founder of Kids4Peace.

Option III

• Special program with Al Mishmar HaKnesset of the Israeli Masorti Movement.
  • Meeting at the hotel with a representative of Al Mishmar HaKnesset.

• Return to the hotel for free time and some rest.
• Visit the Shuk (Machaneh Yehuda), followed by dinner on your own in the shuk.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Adults: The Memory of the Holocaust in Contemporary State of Israel, a dialogue with Rachel Korazim
• Youth: The Israeli Lens Photography Project, in the vicinity of the hotel.
• Visit Yad Vashem, the national memorial to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust, including the Avenue of the Righteous, with parallel programming for adults and youth, as well as an opportunity for return visitors to visit the Art Museum and Room of Great Questions.
  • Children: Special program at the Israel Museum Youth Wing.
• Continue to Machaneh Yehudah Market as Jerusalemites prepare for Shabbat, with Israel Lens III, followed by a walk through Israel’s most pluralistic neighborhood, Nachlaot.
• Lunch on your own en route.
• Shabbat Candle Lighting at 4:52 pm
• Kabbalat Shabbat overlooking the Kotel in the Old City.
• Shabbat dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Shabbat Morning Services.
• Lunch at the hotel.
• Depart for the Old City of Jerusalem for a guided walk from Jaffa Gate along the Rooftops of the Old City for a bird’s eye view of the Temple Mount and continue into the Jewish Quarter for a Scavenger Hunt through Hurva Square, exploring Jewish life 2000 years ago and today, followed by an optional tour of the Christian Quarter.

Additional 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 New 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 its 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 Delorosa 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 Options

• Sports afternoon in Liberty Bell Park with Noam Youth.
• Free time for rest and relaxation.

• Meet to leave hotel and travel to Havdallah
• Concluding Program and Sharing: What this Experience Has Meant to Me.
• Festive Farewell Dinner in Blaustein Hall in Beit Shimshon overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Depart for Ben Gurion Airport.

• 12:05 AM Departure flight to Boston, arriving at 5:30 AM

*Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.