Second Temple Tiyul, February 21, Judean Desert, Second Temple Period.

Second Temple Tiyul, February 21, Judean Desert, Second Temple Period. Over the course of the day, we learned about the Hellenistic Jews and the Roman/Greek period. After a day of a lot of learning and being told information, it was nice to relax and reflect at this site. We went to the mountain at sunset and individually spent 10 minutes looking at the scenery and experiencing the view ourselves. The wind was very heavy and strong, but over the ten minutes it stopped bothering me and became a part of the experience. It felt like a moment of intense connection between me and the land of Israel. Until this moment, it never really clicked that I was in Israel and that I was on this program. I felt extremely grateful to be there in that moment, and it was interesting to see how differently the experience impacted everyone. I also thought about the big questions in life like the existence of something greater than human beings and the creation of the mountains themselves. I will always remember this inspiring, mesmerizing, and influential moment. - Talia