Audrey's reflection

I don't hate Brooklyn, I just love Israel a lot more.

I can't seem to shake this feeling: Like I need Israel to be happy. The minute I stepped onto the ground of Israel and my eyes saw it, I felt so comforted. I felt like everything was right in the world because we were all in Israel.

Every morning I wake up in my bed in Brooklyn and ask myself why I'm not in Israel. Why I'm not in the ocean of Tel Aviv or touching the walls of the Kotel.

It was so hard to say goodbye. It was harder to get on the plane to go home to my parents and sisters than it was to leave them. I thought that saying good bye to my family in the airport would be the hardest part of the trip, but as it turns out, the hardest part was saying good bye to my home away from home. I miss it dearly. I miss the smell, I miss the way I feel when I'm there. Like nothing can harm me. I miss the people and I miss the food and the stores. I miss all the times Maddy and I called Ilan and Gideon's hotel room just to have a laugh. I miss walking on the streets of Jerusalem. I miss the challenge of having to take a shorter shower. I miss the feeling of not knowing what all the signs meant, I loved being able to learn something new every day.

We got off the plane in JFK and it frustrated me that I knew what everything meant. I loved how easy it was to ask what something was and how interesting it was to learn about it. We got off the plane and I felt as though I could just turn around and go back. I didn't want to get off. Instead of being relieved that we could finally get off the plane I was sad. I had some idea in my head that we would have to turn around and stay for 3 more weeks.

I need to climb Masada again. I need to go back in the Dead Sea with healthier skin and less cuts so that it doesn't hurt so much. I need one more falafel. Please? I need to look out my hotel window and say to myself, "Wow. That's Jerusalem." I need to make one more inside joke and I need to put on my bathing suit in the middle of February just one more time.

I miss the adventure. In the video we made before our trip almost everyone said they wanted an adventure. It was too short- I need more. I need more adventure and I need more Israel. I need more memories and I need more laughs. I can't wait to go again.

But most of all, I miss the friendships I made and strengthened with the rest of our small but incredible group. The seven of us became a family. And seeing each other every Sunday just isn't enough.

Maddy already called dibs on being first on the list to sign up. I'll take second.

Let the record show that Ilan has two oranges, and that I miss Israel. Too much.

I hope Israel misses me too. Audrey.

Reflections from Nora: Especially for Michal Chinn

Being back in New York is really weird. When I first got back, I was really excited to see my parents and tell them all about Israel. But now I just miss it. I loved the freedom of being away from my parents, for one. It’s nice to see them, but it was
also nice just to be with friends and feel so comfortable saying or doing anything. I also, of course, miss not having school. I liked that we were still learning, but in hands-on ways. It’s also really weird to try to explain the trip to other people, and tell them about what we did. It’s hard for people who haven’t been to Israel to understand what we did, and why we liked it so much.








It was also weird for me to adjust to have everybody speaking English. I was so used to everyone speaking Hebrew, and I’m so used to saying “sleecha” if I bump into
someone or “todah robah” if someone gives me something. I also miss how safe I felt in

Who is the American and who is the Israeli?

Jerusalem, not only at the Kotel, or anywhere in the Old City, but just on the streets of
Jerusalem. Even though I was only there for 10 days, I already feel as though Israel is my home. And I already feel as though all the Israelis that we met from Haifa and Jerusalem are my best friends, and I’ve known them for so long.

It would be hard for me to pick a favorite thing that we did, because everything was so amazing in its own way. I loved being at the top of Masada, and being able to say that I climbed it. I didn’t have the best experience in the Dead Sea, but it was still so much fun. All of the sites we saw and the activities were great, but I also loved being with the whole group, and just being in Israel itself. Just to be able to say I went to Israel is enough for me, and everything we did and everyone we met just adds to it.

CBE kids with Kol Haneshema Kids in Jerusalem

I really want to go back to Israel soon, or sometime in the future. I would go back on another trip with friends, or with my family so they can experience Israel like I did, too. Israel is one of the best places, and I hope everyone can experience it.
Michal Chinn, one of the girls from Jerusalem, wanted to be mentioned in this post.

Reflections from Gideon

My Israel trip was great. There were so many fun things that we did. From hiking Masada to even spending time on the bus --  sleeping, listening to the ipod and chatting. I think I had the most fun in the old city of Jerusalem. It was so fun to learn about our ancestors,  all the different cultures and history. I would do this trip again any day.

Maddy's final reflection

Right now 4:00 in the morning I’m jetlagged and miss Israel so much.

Coming back to the states wasn’t easy. I miss all the signs being in Hebrew, and yesterday instead of excuse me I said, “ sleecha” to someone. My family all called me to see how the trip was, and each person asked me
what was your favorite part? To this I answered, "From the outside Israel is small but from inside Israel, it’s huge. Everything we did was so different, for me it was hard to compare them."

I miss the unplanned moments that when I think about, still make me laugh. The feeling of getting to the top of Masada was amazing. And I will never forget how I got to the top and out of relief, excitement, and exhaustion I just fell onto the top. I had mixed feelings about the Kotel; of course I loved it and would go back in a second. But if you’ve ever been, you will notice the men’s side is six times as big as the women’s.

We learned about many things: how the temple was built and destroyed, the story of Masada, and much more. Yes, I remember most of that but what I will never forget is the children’s memorial and Yad Va Shem. As I walked through, and first saw all these smiling faces, of children, then of the reflections of millions of candles that represent child deaths, I kept thinking to myself, I can’t compare to these children, nothing I have ever experienced is even close to what happened to these children.

If another trip were possible my name would be the first on the list. For me Israel is my safe place- my getaway- and yes, you might think that doesn’t make sense, Israel always is in danger- but it makes sense for me, and I think for everyone else whose ever been.

THANKS TO ANDREW FRIED FOR 99% OF THE PICS IN THIS BLOG

Some Reflections...

Final posting by Ilan:

This trip to Israel was so much fun, and I’m really happy that I went on it.  I’ve had too much fun to pick a favorite part, but I can definitely pick some favorites.  One of my favorite activities was the jeep ride through the Golan Heights.  It was really interesting to see all the minefields and get a view of Israel from a military point of view.   It was also just fun to ride in a jeep…and listening to Maddy and Audrey sing High School Musical the whole ride was just an added bonus.

From Naomi:

In Jerusalem, the Mists of Time don’t swirl: they dance frantically and twirl frenetically and settle luxuriously into the cracks in the Jerusalem Stone which is the shell of office buildings and ancient lives and synagogues. The walls of the Old City tower above your eyes as you enter; they loom majestic and dignified and serenely unaware of the passage of time, and with it the bustling and brisk modern city around them. Once inside, you are dazzled by the uneasy mix of religions and time periods which create the splendor of the Old City. There are impossible rabbit warrens of religious laws and etiquette: the Temple Mount is holy for almost everyone, but very observant Jews aren’t supposed to go up there; the Dome of the Rock, being situated on the Temple Mount (and supposedly the Foundation Stone), is holy for many religions as well, but only Muslims are allowed in; the Western Wall is holy for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, but the rules for prayer there are established to fit Jewish law. Mutual disdain is perhaps the most common relation between groups in the Old City: the pilgrims and the tourists at the religious sites palpably look down on each other; the Jews who go up to the Temple Mount and the more observant Jews who don’t clearly each think the other has utterly misunderstood their shared religion. The Old City is splendorous yet uneasy, holy for so many yet divided into infinite infinitesimal slices of belief, dazzling in its history yet crumbling in its age.

Final Shabbat: From Audrey and Maddy

Audrey!

Words cannot describe how I am feeling right now about leaving Israel.  I’m upset to leave my home away from home, but I am also excited about seeing my family.  (Don’t worry guys, I didn’t forget you!!)  Today was relaxing- which was nice. The only weird thing was what I was served for breakfast… they gave me a waffle covered in chocolate syrup and a scoop of ice cream. WEIRD. Oh, and, they gave me hot chocolate too. Okay then. Anyway. Otherwise, our entire day was filled with reflection.

Now Maddy!

So we sit down for dinner at a place called Spaghettim (spaghetti but in Hebrew!) and Gideon looks  at the only other filled table on the balcony and says, “ That’s John McCain.”  Sure enough senator McCain sat at the next table with a guard off to the side. – We asked if we could take pictures and the guard said no, so you’re going to have to trust that we saw him.  After McCain left we went through our favorite parts of the whole trip.  Remembering the funniest lines, (you had to be there) the meaningful parts, and the parts that could have been better.

It’s Auds…

Then we took a short walk to a park where we made havdallah looking out on the Old City of Jerusalem. We were all having a moment with each other when Maddy says… “Who is that guy behind us?” And the we see this weird old man and Shira says, “Just ignore it.” So we basically had our last moments in Jerusalem with an old guy standing right behind us. But then we figured out he was a photographer taking pictures, so we calmed down. 

We walked back to the hotel, everyone’s arms linked together. We had become a family.

Missing home very much, but knowing that I’ll miss Israel more. I love this place, I love this home.

Laila Tov, Jerusalem.