Temple Israel Family Israel Adventure

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, with assistance from a Makor Educational Journeys representative.

• Proceed to Tel Aviv

• From atop the Azrieli Tower, see how the dream and vision of a Jewish State has developed physically.

• Check-in to the hotel

• Opening dinner and introduction to the program

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Adults: Israel Today, with social historian, Paul Liptz – a look at today’s headlines for a peek into Israeli society.
• Youth: Visit the Visitors Center of Old Jaffa, which enables the visitor to experience 5,000 years of history in one the most ancient port cities in the world with a virtual performance that brings past heroes to life.

• All: Walk through the trendy neighborhood of Florentin to explore new and daring Israeli graffiti art.  Continue to the “Tiny, Tiny” art gallery, where a professional graffiti artist will teach the entire family the creative techniques and secrets behind graffiti art to put on a T-shirt or canvas to take home.

• Lunch on own in the Nachalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts market.

• Kabbalat Shabbat at Beit Tefilah Yisraeli or one of the Progressive synagogues affiliated with the Daniel Centers (Kehilat HaLev or Mishkenot Ruth Daniel)

• Shabbat dinner 

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Shabbat services, or morning at leisure, and/or Shabbat Torah Study: Questions of Identity in Parshat Vayigash

• ANU – the Museum of the Jewish People – conveys the fascinating narrative of the Jewish people and the essence of Jewish culture, faith, purpose and deed.

• Travel to Ramla, a mixed Arab-Jewish city

• Lunch at Samir’s Restaurant

• Travel to Kibbutz Gezer

• Program to be arranged with Kibbutz Gezer

• Return to Tel Aviv

• Evening and dinner on own

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out

• Participate in a volunteer activity y through the LEKET Project, Israel’s National Food Bank that “rescues” healthy, surplus food and delivers it to those in need through partner nonprofit organizations.

• Continue to Kibbutz Yifat

• Enjoy a guided tour -with accordion playing and actors- through a display of original objects and reconstruction of kibbutz and moshav buildings at the Museum of Pioneer Settlement, which tells the story of Jewish pioneers who arrived here to fulfill their Zionist dreams.

  Enjoy Lunch, served “pioneer-style,” with a “taste” of the old days.

• Check-in to the hotel

• Dinner at the hotel

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Travel to Safed

• Guided walking tour of Safed starting at the highest point in town, the strategically placed 12^th c. Crusader Citadel. Interwoven with tales of the Israeli War of Independence, Kabbalists and mysticism descend by foot to the Old City to explore the synagogues related to Safed as major center of Kabbala, Jewish mysticism since the 16^th c.
• Lunch on own in Safed

• Ascend to the Golan Heights and travel by jeeps along the Golan Volcanic Way down a route with some spectacular results of geological activity.  Conclude at 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.

–>Discuss the current Middle East geopolitical situation from atop Mt. Bental

• Adults: Wine Tasting
• Youth: Chocolate making workshop

• Return to hotel; Dinner at the hotel

• Breakfast at the hotel and check-out

• Proceed to Jerusalem

• Visit Sindyanna of the Galilee, an organization led by a team of Arab and Jewish women which works to create social change through Arab-Jewish cooperation.  It promotes fair trade and economic opportunities for both Arab and Jewish communities.

• Drive in to the Carmel Mountains for a visit in a Druze village with Druze home hospitality lunch.

• Continue along the Trans-Israel Highway with selected overlook into the Palestinian Authority and discussion on the Seam Zone Barrier.

• Guided visit through Caesarea, including the Roman Theater, Hippodrome, Promenade and Palace and concluding at the remains of the Crusader City, exploring the relationship between Romans and Jews.

• Continue to Jerusalem

• Stop at the Goldman Promenade, overlooking the Old City, for an opportunity to recite the traditional Shehecheyanu blessing, upon arrival in Jerusalem, followed by a short introduction to the city.

• Check-in to the hotel

• Dinner and evening on own in Jerusalem’s First Station, Mamilla Mall or Downtown.

• 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

§  Returnees: Tour the Art Museum and Sculpture Garden

Concluding ceremony in the Valley of the Communities

                   Age-appropriate program for children or alternate programming elsewhere.

• Explore Machane Yehuda open-air market where one can see Jerusalem’s human tapestry: people of all nationalities, religions and ages crowd the market’s streets.  Lunch on own in the market with “Shuk Bite” meal tickets.

• Meet Kids4Peace, one of the most successful co-existence projects in the Middle East, and the founder
• (weather permitting) At San Simon Park: Join in with Kids4Peace for an activity on the Jerusalem Ropes Course that includes 3 different stations of varying difficulty.
• Adults: Discussion with Palestinian and Israeli on “Prospects for Peace.”

• Dinner on own

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Descend to the underground City of David for a guided tour through some of the newest excavations in Jerusalem, including the dry water tunnel, the Siloam Pool and the drainage tunnel, which goes under the walls of the Old City to Robinson’s Arch.

• Festive B’nai Mitzvah Ceremony at the Azrat Yisrael (egalitarian section) next to Robinson’s Arch.

• Walk up to the Jewish Quarter

• Celebratory B’nai Mitzvah lunch at the Culinarium offering a” biblical “culinary experience in the old Jerusalem atmosphere.

• Explore the Jewish Quarter to discover the layers of history beneath the surface, including possible visits to the Broad Wall from the days of the First Temple, the Herodian Mansions from the days of the Second Temple and the 4 Sephardic synagogues complex located below street level may trace to almost 500 years ago.

• Dinner on own

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Proceed to the Dead Sea Basin

• Option 1: Ascend Masada on foot or by the 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.
• Option 2:  Ecotourism at the Dead Sea: Learn about the environmental dangers to this natural wonder. [Depending on group size] Sail on the only exploration boat on the Dead Sea or paddle in a double kayak excursion.  Capture images of the magical salt formations, salt treasures and sinkholes as they constantly transform, uncovering new geological phenomena.

• Ride the gondola down and continue to Ein Bokek for an opportunity to float in the Dead Sea and swim in the hotel pool, with lunch.

• Return to Jerusalem

• Kabbalat Shabbat services

• Shabbat dinner at the hotel or home hospitality.

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Morning at leisure or Shabbat services.

• Lunch on own

• Using Biblical texts and Israel Museum exhibits, create a visual midrash based on Parshat VaYechi.
• Enter the Israel Museum through the “Route of Passage” underground axis, where the quality of light angles upward toward a 44-foot rainbow-spectrumed artwork. Using the motif of “Light” explore the:
• – Shrine of the Book: the very architecture evokes the struggles of the “Sons of Dark and the Sons of Light.”  View the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• – Billy Rose Sculpture Garden Space: James Turell’s “Skyspace” performance pieces respond to and interact with environmental conditions and atmospheric fluctuations over time.

• Havdalah & Farewell Dinner

• Depart for Ben Gurion International Airport for return flights home.