Sunday February 20th: Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa and Tel Aviv

Today was a LONG and fun day!  Everyone came to school with their Israeli peers this morning and got a tour of the middle and high school, and then sat together for a second breakfast while we compared schools and Jewish experiences.  The Israeli kids told us that they go to school Sunday through Friday, with Wednesday and Friday being shorter days, and that after school they do all kinds of activities, from soccer and hip-hop dance to guitar and piano.  Our kids told them about their school and afterschool activities, including Hebrew school . We talked about holidays, and the differences between the vacation schedules in Israel (which go according to the Jewish holidays) and New York, where our breaks are around Christian holidays.

The kids really hit it off and wanted to stay together, but the Israeli kids have big tests this week so they couldn’t miss any more classes.  We drove down the coast to Tel Aviv and experienced what for Israel was a big rain and wind storm.  The Mediterranean, normally quite calm, had waves as high as 12-21 feet!! All of Israel’s surfers came out in wetsuits as they rarely see waves like those here.

We began to learn about Tel Aviv, which was named after Herzl’s book “Alteneuland.”  We learned that a Tel is an archaeological site of layers of civilization one on top of the other, and that Aviv means “spring”—so Tel Aviv is a “ancient layered place reborn,” or Old-New Land. 

In Tel Aviv, we saw the distinctive Bauhaus architecture of the 1930’s, and stopped in the center of the city. We saw Rabin Square and learned about the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin.

In Tel Aviv center we stopped at a monument to the early builders of Tel Aviv, and learned that 100 years ago the bustling metropolis that we were standing in was an empty plot of sandy beach.  We saw photos of the early Jewish pioneers who trucked sand out of the area on wheelbarrows to build the city. 

We then went to Independence Hall, where David Ben-Gurion declared Israel “a State of for the Jewish People in the Land of Israel to be known as the State of Israel.” We heard all about the period of 1945-1948 and the War of Independence. The movie was a little slow, so a few of the kids got a much needed nap, but all were awake to see the spot where our great leaders gathered to declare Israel’s independence.

From there, we went to the beach to look at the wild sea and the surfers, and then to the Carmel Shuk (outdoor market) where the kids were given money and bought their own lunches.  Some chose falafel and others chose rice, potatoes, and kubbeh (stuffed fried semolina dumplings), but all were very satisfied and agreed that the food here is amazing!

In the shuk, we had fun walking through the market and bargaining for t-shirts, candy, gifts and tshotchkes, thought it starting POURING and we couldn’t do our scavenger hunt.  We were pretty wet but didn’t mind since we had so much fun in the market! Most of the kids said that this was their favorite part of the day aside from being with their peers.

From there we went to Beit HaTfuzot, the Museum of the Jewish Peopl e at Tel Aviv University. This was fantastic as the educator there, Catriella, had prepared a special program just for us on the Jews of Iran (Persia) and the story of Purim.  Based on two Talmudic interpretations of Esther’s name, one that said she is called Esther because she had to hide her identity (the word “hide” is with the root “seter”) and the other that said she was like a star, Istahar in Persian.  We thought about the idea of things that are light and open to the world, and things that are dark and hidden, and each person chose an item in the exhibit on the Jews of Persia that represented these two ideas, and were tour guides for the rest of the group. It was a fantastic way to see the exhibit, and we thought a lot about what it meant to have to hide our Jewishness or to be able to be open and proud about it.

We then had a fun program where we looked at Andy Warhol’s representations of famous Jewish icons, and read a portion of the Megillah where Esther and Mordechai have different reactions to learning that Haman was going to kill the Jewish people. We chose a number of modern personalities and did skits acting out how each of them might have reacted to the news. We had fun watching Audrey,  Gideon, Ilan, Jessy, Maddy, Naomi and Nora (as well as Sarah and Shira) play Larry David, Adam Sandler, Sigmund Freud, Woody Allen, our own Andy Bachman, Mayor Bloomberg and also each other reacting to this news. Everyone was cracking up and a bunch of them thought that the museum was a highlight of the day.

From there, we went to a Yemenite restaurant called Maganda where everyone ate their weight in food. We had hummus, salads, babaganoush, Turkish salad, tehina with cilantro and parsley, spicy tomato sauce, Moroccan cigars, French fries, and everyone could choose either two skewers of meat kabab and/or chicken or a vegetarian stuffed vegetable plate.  Don’t worry—ALL of your kids are eating a LOT. They loved dessert too…

One of the must whimsical moments of the day was when we walked out of the restaurant-- we found an outdoor "playground" for adults-- it was outdoor exercise equipment that works using resistance. After a long and pretty "grown-up" day it was phenomenal to have some play time.  It said you had to be 14 to use the equipment. I think we all agreed that our kids are in their 14 year, and have been acting far more mature than any 13 year olds that we know...and even the oldest grown-ups on the trip had a blast playing together with the kids in the dark!

We had a little adventure on the way back to Haifa as our mini-bus got a flat tire on the way. Sami our driver was calm and nice about it, and Yishai our guide helped us work it all out.  We were totally fine, we pulled over to the side of the road and were able to order a taxi van to take us all back to our host family homes/staff to the hotel.  Everyone is happily at their host families and will be sad to say goodbye to them in the morning.

We ended the day by sharing what our favorite thing was about the day and what we would change next time-- they all had a FANTASTIC day and wished that they could have more time at the Carmel Market (without rain) and with their host families!

We ended our day with a poem by Natan Alterman called "Tel Aviv":

Jerusalem people say, Yes, Tel Aviv is just a fling

no professors--not even a few

and no prophets in sight.

Not an inch of history, 

no significance, no weight.

Oh yes, 'tis true Sir and Madam,

No there is nothing to her

Nothing

But...

Even so, there is something, yes, something,

That never was before her

And is all because of her.

For there is some trick about her

A harmless tick about her

And some grace within her

Like no one else but her...

Any stop or obstacle

Will not restrain her

For there is no fear. Somehow

She will get it sorted anyhow 

Not there is nothing to her

But 

Even so--there is something about her.

We’ll add pictures again when we have stronger internet, hopefully tomorrow.

Everyone sends Neshikot (kisses),

Shira