9/2 to 9/3 | Shabbaton in the Galilee and the Golan Heights

There is perhaps no place in Israel more serene than the Galilee and Golan Heights.  It is in these places, far away from any big cities, that it is possible to experience Israel's natural side.  While most people associate the Middle East with expansive deserts, Israel is fortunate enough to have high amounts of rainfall in its northernmost region.  For miles in every direction, the land is dotted with hills and mountains, many of which are covered in communal living communities known as moshavim and kibbutzim.

The route we took from Jerusalem to northern Israel.

This past weekend, Hebrew University of Jerusalem students were given the opportunity to take part in a weekend shabbaton at a youth hostel in Tel Hai.  At shesh b'boker (six in the morning) on Friday, two large tour busses departed from Kfar Studentim for a weekend getaway.  For me, it was a kind of calm before the storm that is ulpan: six hours of Hebrew every Sunday through Thursday for the next month.  Our first stop was in the Golan Heights, or Ramat HaGolan, to take a hike on the Gilabun trail.  I had done this hike during my last trip to Israel, so it was quite familiar to me; however, all of the Golan was just as breathtaking as the first time I had seen it.

The beginning of our hike on the Gilabun trail.

The Golan Heights are a disputed territory with Syria.  During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured this strategic highland and it has been in limbo ever since.  Its importance cannot be stressed enough.  Prior to 1967, the Syrians used to shoot down into the valleys of the Galilee, or HaGalil, to terrorize the Jewish occupants of the land.  It is also a crucial source for water, of which there is very little anywhere in the Middle East.  The scenery is still dotted with remnants of war.  Bunkers can be seen everywhere, as well as yellow signs on barbed wire fences that say, "Danger Mines" in English, Hebrew, and Arabic.  Syrian land mines are still scattered everywhere, so the pastoral scenery is quite deceiving.  Occasionally, a cow--parah--will wander out of its pen and *boom*!  Fortunately, the border with Syria has been almost completely quiet since 1973, minus an incident earlier this year, so it is a great place to come and unwind.

The Gilabun trail wraps around a river that turns into a magnificent waterfall.  It is a tough trail, with parts that are very steep, but it provides great views no matter where you are.  This was a great opportunity to talk and meet new students as we experienced the wonders of the Israeli wilderness together.  We did a few icebreakers, but for the most part we were on our own to ask the same questions over and over: What is your name?  Where are you from?  What school do you go to?  What are you studying?  Unfortunately, I almost never remembered names, but it was still nice to get to talk to such a variety of people.  Besides those from the United States, there were quite a few people from the United Kingdom, as well as some from Australia, Germany, and Canada.  There were quite a few non-Jews in the mix, which I thought was very interesting.  They may not realize it but when they go home, they become instant advocates for Israel.  In a world where Israel has a severe image problem, every little bit helps!

Me at the base of the Gilabun waterfall.

After descending to the base of the waterfall, some people took a swim while others just enjoyed the misty breeze from land (my choice).  After about an hour, we slowly made our way back up to the bus, where we had a quick lunch of sandwiches and a plum.  From there, we drove to Mount Bental, where I have also been before.  From this mountain, it is possible to see right into Syria.  It is weird to think that the country I was staring at was undergoing massive unrest, to the point where another Arab revolution might happen.  From the top of Mount Bental, everything was just so peaceful!  There were also some old Syrian bunkers to explore as well as a small restaurant jokingly named Coffee Annan after the former secretary-general of the United Nations.  In Hebrew, anan means cloud.

View of the Syrian town of Quneitra from Mount Bental.

Following our visit to Mount Bental, we arrived at the Tel Hai Guest House youth hostel in the Galilee.  It was surprisingly nice and offered beautiful views of the mountains and valleys of Israel's northern panhandle.  Surrounded by Lebanon, yet another enemy country, and Hezbollah, yet another terrorist entity, there was not a hint of war here.

View from the Tel Hai Guest House youth hostel.

Sundown was fast approaching, so everyone got cleaned up for shabbat dinner, which we were told would be quite a feast.  Before dinner, we had a prayer service in the orthodox style.  Except at the Kotel, I had never prayed with a barrier, called a mechitza, separating males and females.  The service was like nothing I had experienced before; it moved way too fast and without one word of English.  It was a good experience, but not one I would like to repeat often.  At dinner, there were meats, soup, salads, etc. and everything was delicious.  Dinner offered another chance to get to know people, and I met a girl who was planning to move to Israel, called making aliyah, at the end of her year at the Rothberg International School.  I have so much respect for someone that can drop everything to live out their dreams!  We also had an interesting discussion with a girl from London about the surge in global anti-Semitism, and this slowly morphed into talk about the Holocaust.  It is nice to be in a place where everyone has the same interests that I do.  I can talk for hours about Jews and Israel, and so can everyone else!

After dinner, there was a special activity held by our madrichim, Yos, Ido, and Sima, Israeli students who kind of serve as counselors.  We were broken into teams and given activities to do, like create a chant and participate in a Bamba eating contest.  I was so tired that I didn't participate much, which was a shame because it looked like fun.  Unfortunately, the hike took it out of me and I was just ready to lay down.  Before bed, I had an interesting conversation with the German guy I was rooming with about American versus German perspectives on the world.  It was fascinating and I realized why going abroad is so important.  Without experiencing other people's cultures and mindsets, it is impossible to break out of the "American" way of thinking.  This, I believe, is the essence of the study abroad experience: exploring different ways of thinking that may not conform with the "American" way.

The next day, after breakfast, I was pulled into another service in order to make a minion of 10 Jewish men.  Everyone is much more religious than myself, so it was a challenge keeping up with them.  It was nice, though, to get called up to do the prayers before and after reading the Torah, even if I hadn't had any practice since my sister's Bat Mitzvah back in 2008.

After the service, we were taken to Israel's only museum dedicated to photography.  They are constantly changing exhibits, but all the photographs where beautiful.  It is amazing to see how much Israel has grown over the past 63 years.  We were also taken into a dark room to make our own pictures.  After this, we were shown a short presentation about the prospect of using industrial parks and employment as a way towards peace.  The museum, located on the edge of an industrial park, allows Jews and Arabs to coexist with a high standard of living.  It is a great idea, but I'm convinced that peace is far, far away.

Old cameras at Israel's only photography museum.

After we returned for lunch, we left for the monument to Joseph Trumpeldor at Tel Hai.  An early Zionist, Trumpeldor is known for saying, upon his death, "It is good to die for one's country!"  Defending the settlement of kibbutz Kfar Giladi, Trumpeldor died at the hands of rogue Bedouins as he tried to defend the Jewish homeland.  The monument, a roaring lion looking towards the sky, is quite powerful.  Our last stop before dinner was at the kibbutz pool, where we had the chance to cool off after hours of nonstop movement.  After dinner, we did a quick havdallah to end shabbat and headed back on the bus for a three hour bus ride back to Jerusalem.

The monument to Joseph Trumpeldor at Tel Hai.

On our way home, we passed the million man protest, the biggest protest in Israeli history.  At last check, Israeli news sources had put the total at 400,000 people in Tel Aviv, with many more thousand in satellite rallies across the country.  Quite an impressive feat for a country of only seven million!  The protests are about the high cost of living and having lived here for about a week already, I can safely say that I identify with the protesters.  Everyday goods are extremely expensive and I hope the Israeli people can make a real change so that Israel can once again be a state for all its people, not just the rich.

Tomorrow, I will post about my first and second days of ulpan.  There will not be too much going on with ulpan five days a week for all of September, so I expect my postings will be less frequent going forward.  I hope all this Hebrew gets me one step closer to fluent, though!