Temple Har Zion

• Depart Toronto for Israel.

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance from a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
• Lunch at Halbrecht Farm, a center for learning, growing and cooking tasty, natural and varied foods, and which connects visitors to nature, land, aromas and flavors.
• 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.

OR

• Travel to Tzippori for a guided visit through this once-thriving city, where Jews and non-Jews lived side by side and where the Mishna was codified some 1700 years
• Continue north
• Check-in to hotel
• Opening dinner and introduction to the journey, at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Walking tour of Safed, starting at the highest point in town, the strategically placed 12th c. Crusader Citadel. Descend to the Old City with stories and sites relating to Jewish mysticism and modern Israel.
  • Time on own in the Artists Colony
• Enjoy a 4X4 Jeep Ride through the Golan Heights, with its green fields, farmlands and volcanic mountains, alongside borders and former battlefields.
  • Lunch on own at Kibbutz Ein Zivan
    • Adults: Wine tasting
    • Youth: Chocolate-making

• Conclude the day atop Mount Bental, a dormant volcano from whose vantage point one has magnificent views of Mount Hermon, the Syrian side of the Golan Heights and the mountains of southern Lebanon
• Dinner at the hotel

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Travel along part of the “Blue Line,” the Lebanon-Israel armistice-line, for a first-hand understanding of the history and geopolitics of Israel’s northern border.
• Ride the cable car to the grottos at Rosh Hanikra, for an opporutnity to walk through the naturally-hewn grottos on the shores of the Mediterranean.
• Continue to the Jewish-Arab city of Akko/Acre, for a guided visit through the ancient and contemporary, exploring the mosaic of Abrahamic faiths and their juxtaposition with the old and new, including the Underground Crusader city.
  • Lunch on own in Akko/Acre
• Mavrhatey (My Light): In a full-size Ethiopian gojo (hut), receive an insight into the aliyah experience of Ethiopians and Ethiopian-Jewish culture. Taste the traditional injera sourdough flatbread, participate in the preparation of Ethiopian coffee, and enjoy Ethiopian-Jewish music.
• Dinner at the hotel

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
• Travel through the Great Rift Valley.
• Stop at Eretz Beresheet (Genesis Land) on the way to Jerusalem to be greeted by Eliezer and led on the back of a camel into the “Tent of Abraham” and a Biblical lunch.
• Proceed to the Haas Promenade for an overview and introduction to Jerusalem, and an opportunity to recite “Shehechayanu,” traditionally recited when arriving to Jerusalem.
• Check-in hotel
• Travel to Modi’in
• Shabbat services with Kehilat Yozma followed by home hospitality for Shabbat dinner.

• Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Proceed to the Dead Sea
• Ascend Masada via cable car or on foot 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
• Havdalah
• Dinner and evening on own

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Enter the Old City via the Jaffa Gate and walk along the rooftops of the Old City to the Western Wall, followed by a guided visit through the Western Wall Tunnel.
• Walk to the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, 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 in the Jewish Quarter
• Continue through the Old City bazaars to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, containing the last 5 Stations of the Cross, traditionally believed to be the site of Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified
• Dinner on own
• View the Night Spectacular at Tower of David, which tells the story of Jerusalem with light and music

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided visit through the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, including:
  • The Avenue of the Righteous
  • The Holocaust History Museum
  • The Children’s Memorial
• Proceed to the Machane Yehudah open air market, one of the most colorful and famous markets in the Middle East.
  • Lunch on own in Machane Yehuda
• Tour the Nachlaot neighborhoods, which were planned to accommodate the Yemenite, Kurdish, Jerusalem Sephardi, Greek and Galician Jews, each with their own synagogue and each housed within a walled compound built around a common courtyard and a water cistern in the center.
• Rest of the day on own

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out
• Proceed toward the Mediterranean coast.
• Become an archaeologist for a day and take part in the ongoing dig at Beit Guvrin, where hundreds of caves that served as storerooms, burial crypts and safe havens date to the time of the Phoenicians.
• Continue to Jaffa, with its storied past, outstanding hummus and unique Flea Market, and walk through the ancient port, with views of historic landmarks.
  • Lunch on own in Jaffa
• Check-in hotel
• Dinner and evening on own

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided visit in the Palmach Museum, which follows the story of the pre-state elite fighting unit and their struggles and triumphs in helping to create the State of Israel
• From Hebrew City to Hebrew State: Walk the Tel Aviv “Independence Trail” that begins with the founding of Tel Aviv in 1909 and ends with the establishment of Israel in 1948.
• Lunch on own
• Begin with a short tour in the trendy Tel Aviv neighborhood of Florentin, to explore new and daring Israeli graffiti artists. Continue to the “Tiny, Tiny” art gallery, where a professional graffiti artist teaches the creative techniques and secrets behind graffiti art. Make a T-shirt or canvas to take home.
• Rest of the afternoon at leisure
• Farewell Dinner – Restaurant TBA

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Depart for Ben Gurion International Airport for return flight home
• Arrival in Canada