מיוחד Special 

Israel is a country unlike any other in which I’ve traveled to sites unimaginable in other parts of the world. One trip we have taken that truly led me to acknowledge the uniqueness of this country is our trip to Masada and the Dead Sea in the same day. After sleeping overnight and growing closer to many new girls in my dorm, we were awakened at three in the morning to prepare for our hike up Masada. In the dark of the night we boarded our bus and arrived at the bottom of Masada. Our hike up, which took a total of around an hour, ended with us admiring the beautiful view from the top as the sky changed from the pitch black to a brightly colored sunrise to begin our day. After learning the tragic story of Masada, we walked to an edge of the hill where we were told to yell specific words after our teachers. We recited each word they said: “Masada shall never fall again”. Amazingly, these words echoed strongly back to us. We talked about how these are the words of the Jewish people from Masada and the message they leave for us. After continuing to explore Masada, we ended that trip with a cable car ride down and we saw everything we had hiked before showing how far we had literally walked. Metaphorically, to me this showed how far The Jewish people had gone and how far we will continue to go. Next, we made our way to one of the wonders of the natural world: The Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth. We swam and everyone had an amazing time. Overall, what was unbelievable to me about this day was how we were able to experience both these adventures in one day. Only in Israel, would I do something like this and learn about all the history and culture that goes behind it. Although other countries I have visited have had beautiful landscapes as well, none have also had the mesmerizing and crucial history and culture that I have learned about here. Every place we have visited has a story behind it, regardless of if it is a simple outdoor market or if it is the Dead Sea. Everything in Israel is culturally significant and special to this country beyond compare.