I am the first to mock anyone who would call any country a 'wonder,' but there is no other word to describe planting a tree in Israel with your own hands, setting foot upon Masada, standing by the waterfalls in Ein Gedi, floating in the Dead Sea covered in mud, sitting in Israel's independence hall and hearing the recording of "Hatikvah" being performed in 1948, touring Jerusalem's ancient Temple Mount tunnels, Shabbos at the Kotel, becoming lifelong friends with 39 "strangers," and so much more.
Everywhere we went, everyone was Jewish. There was no need to assimilate or blend, a skill I was once so proud of. If you said oy vey, no one would look at you funny. Everywhere, we found historical or religious significance. In eight days of speed-touring, I learned more about Jewish history than in 13 years of Hebrew school.
All of this is with great thanks to Aish HaTorah, Routes Tours, our guide Barry Goldfisher and his lovely family, our excellent guard Ran Farhi and our midrachim, Sarah Castelo, Emily Lerer and David Arenson.
I fell in love with this land, and these people. There is an unseeable force flowing throughout Jerusalem; the energy buzzes at all hours.
At night, when I couldn't sleep, knowing I was in this brand new country, the birthright of our people, I would sit on the hotel's patio and just listen. I found my answers there, about being Jewish and what it means to me: survival, love, respect, honor, courage, Torah, and G-d.
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