Author Archives: rabbihowardgoldsmith

By Rabbi Goldsmith It is impossible to imagine that our trip has already come to an end. But, as with the rest of our journey, we did NOT let the fact that our trip was ending slow us down. Our last day was JAM PACKED. We did start with a bit more leisure – only meeting [...]

Friday, December 30, 2011 By the Bernsteins The day began with our usual pick and choose from a never-ending breakfast buffet.  Bus loading was at a relative leisurely 8:15 am. Our first stop was Yad Vashem which is the memorial of remembrance related to events leading to the Holocost and beyond.  Even having a knowledge [...]

Blog by the Sheppards’ December 29, 2011 The day started bright and early for a 6:15 breakfast at our hotel.  Henry and Sam finally found bagels and smoked salmon! (Yippee, two nice Jewish boys have never been happier!) After breakfast, we departed the hotel at 6:45 am, heading south to the desert, for a full [...]

By The Rubin Family After being allowed to “sleep in,” our group gathered on the bus at 8:30 a.m. to begin our first day in Yerushaliem shel zahav, “Jerusalem of Gold.”  Jerusalem is the one place on earth that connects Jews directly to their ancestors of thousands of years.  We imagine that whether it is [...]

By the Sheppard-Groh Family This morning started bright and early with breakfast at the Hagoshrim kibbutz at 6:45am (eek!). Wiping the sleep from our eyes, we loaded the bus and had a prompt departure from the hotel at 7:30. Our first stop: Tzfat, the center of Jewish mysticism since the 1500s. Upon arriving, we gathered [...]

By the Cohens The sun is shining today but it is cold!  After an abundant, delicious Israeli breakfast at Kibbutz Hagoshrim, we travelled north to Kibbutz Misgav Am which sits on top of a ridge literally on the border of Lebanon.  On the Lebanon side of the kibbutz’ border fence is a formerly Lebanese Christian [...]

  By the Cohens Our day began with a wild and beautiful sea front storm in the middle of the night, with lightning thunder and wind-whipped sideways rain.  Early breakfast, checkout and then onto Independence Hall in Tel Aviv. There we learned of how Tel Aviv came to be.  Tel Aviv was nothing but sand [...]

We began the day underground. The Ayalon Institute preserves an amazing site where young men and women, ages 16-24, secretly made bullets in preparation for the War of Independence from 1945-1948. Hidden under a kibbutz just south of Tel Aviv, these brave people made life-saving bullets right under the noses of the British. The other [...]

Friday, December 23rd by Bonnie Shyer Our first official day! Following a leisurely morning during which some of us visited the sauna and gym, some ran along the beach, some  hung out at the hotel and others just arrived directly from the airport (but all enjoyed the incredible Israeli breakfast) we met out tour leader, [...]

Thursday was a day of walking. From the hotel along the beach all the way up to the Port of Tel Aviv. From the Port of Tel Aviv down through the city streets to the Carmel Market. From the hotel down along the water to Jaffa and an amazing dinner. In the morning I met [...]