A Trip 13 Years in the Making

Our three-week trip to Israel came and went in the blink of an eye but in reality, it was a trip 13 years in the making.

Ever since Jacob was a baby we knew that we wanted to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in Israel. I had traveled to Israel once before with NCSY, an organization dedicated to connect, inspire and empower Jewish teens and encourage passionate Judaism through Torah and Tradition. That trip, as memorable and meaningful as it was, was for a mere 10 days and to only Jerusalem, Masada, and the Dead Sea. I was a junior in high school and the experience left a huge impression on my then impressionable mind. I returned home a Super Jew in love with all things jewish including the Rabbis son. Oy!

I loved it so much that I was certain that going back, this time with Jacob and Phil, would be just as magical if not more so.

We’re pretty secular so we didn’t make Jacob go to Hebrew school but did insist that he study with a Rabbi to prepare him for a proper ceremony. I didn’t want him to take any shortcuts so we set out to find the perfect guide that met our needs. Ironically, we decided on an orthodox Chabad Rabbi who Jacob had an immediate connection with.

They spent the next 6 months studying Hebrew, discussing Jewish history and traditions, and learning Jacob’s Torah portion. I’m proud to say that when Jacob took the bema he really read from the Torah. No phonetic cliff notes here baby!

While Jacob was studying, I was busy planning. My goal was to make his big day and our even bigger trip EPIC!

First order of business was to find an equally awesome Rabbi to officiate the Bar Mitzvah in Israel. After reaching out to a few, I reconnected with an old friend who had posted fabulous FB photos of her daughters Bat Mitzvah in Israel. Upon speaking with her Rabbi, I was sold. After Skyping with him so were the 2 tougher customers, Jacob and Phil. We knew we wanted the Bar Mitzvah to take place at the Western Wall aka. Wailing Wall, or Kotel, but we also knew that we wanted to be together. Since men and women are separated at the Western Wall our next best option was The Davidson Center. An archeological center that encompasses the south section of the Western Wall together with the Southern Wall (yes, there’s a Southern Wall) of the Temple Mount. It’s the perfect location for anyone looking for a private place as it offers a continuation of the Western Wall without the crowds and organized prayers. Plus, men and women can be together…how modern!

We agreed to a date and picked 9am as a start because August. Who travels to Israel in August you must be asking? It was really our only option because Jacob took part in another CISV Interchange so between hosting and traveling to Brazil, he was busy for most of July. Yes it was hot but as you’ll later read, sprinkling in days at the Sea and pool helped keep us calm, cool and collected as we journeyed around.

Dates booked. Venue booked. We received our marching orders from the 2 Rabbis and were off to the races planning the next Sherman adventure.

Once we decided to take three weeks (a first for us) it took some of the pressure off. Well, not really. At first it felt like we had the luxury of time to see everything but, as I was quickly learning, there was just too much to see and do. Even with three weeks, I was quickly coming to terms that we would have to miss some things and I don’t like to miss things…ever!

Not big on organized group tours, we decided to rent a car and cover the country at our own pace. That alone required a ton of coordination and research. Where to go. How long to stay. Where to stay. What to see and do while there…you get the picture.

Being the good parents that we are we decided to get the Bar Mitzvah out-of-the-way so that Jacob could be done at the start of our trip and focus on having fun. So the plan was as follows:

Fly into Ben Gurion International Airport, aka Ben Gurion aka Natbag and go straight to Jerusalem where we would begin our three-week adventure. Jacob’s Bar Mitzvah would be on day 3 or Monday as you only read from the Torah on Monday’s and Thursday’s. That would give us enough time to recover from the long flight, take in a day tour of the city and reconnect with family and friends before the big event.

After Jerusalem, rent a car and drive to Masada/Dead Sea where we would spend 2 nights in a Bedouin. Yes, you read that right and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

After exploring Dead Sea and Masada, drive to Eilat, the southern most point in Israel where we would spend 3 nights with a full day dedicated to Petra, Jordan.

Leave Eilat and head North through Makhtesh Ramon, aka Ramon Crater/Makhtesh, a geological feature of Israel’s Negev desert and the world’s largest makhtesh. To stay or not stay at the crater was the question as the drive from Eilat to Acre was a long one. According to google maps, it was a 7 hour track AND it was my Birthday which I was NOT going to spend in the car so. I made a last-minute adjustment and booked us in for one night at the Ramon Crater. Not sure now whether that was necessary but we did get to have dinner at the fabulous Beresheet where we couldn’t stay but could eat, ooh, and aah as we dined alfresco overlooking the crater with the stars shimmering above. Worth it!

The drive from Eilat through Ramon Crater and up to Acre was mostly uneventful as it took us through miles and miles of desert land with a few worthwhile stops in between which I’ll mention in a later post. It was however, great to have control over when and where to stop as opposed to when you’re traveling as part of a herd of tourists. The desert may sound like a dreadful and boring place but in fact, it’s full of interesting sights especially when in Israel. It wasn’t uncommon to come across army training facilities, tanks crossing where camels had just passed and the occasional hitchhiker. One in particular was perhaps unaware that his T-shirt read, “Fuck-Off!” Bet he would’ve been fun to pick up!

But I digress…

After 2 nights in Acre, which we would use as a jumping point for Haifa, Rosh Hanikra and other northern sites, drive up through the Galilee and the Golan Heights. En route, we would stop off in Safed and other religious sites along the shores of the Sea of Galilee where ‘Jesus walked on water’, split bread and fish, and other fun miracles.

Arriving at Ein Gev where we would chillax and explore the Golan for 3 nights. If you follow me on social media than you must have seen all of the beautiful sunset photos from the water’s edge. This is where we spent every evening swimming, watching the sun disappear behind Tiberius on the opposite end of the Sea and enjoy the miniature seashells dance in and out of the water.

After Ein Gev, we would hit the road one last time for our final destination, Tel Aviv where we would spend 5 nights. While planning, that seemed like a lot of time but let me tell you. It was not.

So, after months and months of research, planning, and discussions with friends near and far, this was our plan. In a nutshell and in a color coded, multi-tabbed excel spreadsheet. Most of our hotels were cancellable so that we could feel free to make adjustments as we went but, the itinerary was pretty set and we were ready to go.

One last and important detail was how to include the friends and family who couldn’t travel to Israel in the Bar Mitzvah ceremony? Solution…Social Media! Phil (of all people) had the brilliant idea to Facebook Live the entire ceremony and I was thrilled to learn that the photographer/videographer that we hired was up to the challenge! With that, I created a private Facebook event, an evite was sent to our closest friends and family along with a link to the event page and details of the ceremony. I think most appreciated the gesture while others chose to simply ignore it…

With that Now we were ready for the Mitzvah and excited for the adventure that lay ahead.

I hope that you join me as I recount our trip to Israel and the many adventures along the way. My goal is to separate each stop into individual posts but, if at any point along the way you have questions or comments, I’m here for you!

Let’s go!