We spent hours atop Masada and learned about the history and life of the Jews that lived there.

On September 26, 2018, our group woke up at 4:15 am at a youth hostel in Arad. We got all of our stuff ready, had some quick sandwiches for lunch, and then got on the bus. We arrived at our stop. We all got out of the bus, and saw Mt. Masada, but not exactly; it was still around five o’clock in the morning and it was still super dark. We started our hike, and this was one of the only real hikes we had done so far, so it was pretty difficult. After the first section of the hike, our teachers told us we had completed the walk to the hike, and everyone got scared by that. Now we know our teachers just like toying with us and it was still, for the most part, part of the hike. We got to the top and it felt like a big accomplishment because by the end I was already exhausted. After I drank some water and relaxed for a minute, I walked to the viewing point and watched the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful and it felt like the prize for finishing that difficult hike up.

We spent hours atop Masada and learned about the history and life of the Jews that lived there. I remember the stories from Masada well even though it was in the earlier part of our program. After our lesson, we took the gondola to the bottom of the mountain, got some snacks, and started to head towards the Dead Sea. We got there and my friend and I bought some mud to share. At first, I was a bit nervous to go in because I heard if you weren’t careful, the water could hurt. I knew if I didn’t go in I’d regret it later, so I went in and it was perfectly fine. I had a great time and took some funny pictures with the mud. Masada and the Dead Sea are two of Israel’s most popular tourist attractions and I can’t believe I was able to do both in one day with tons of friends. That trip is still one of the clearest in my memory even though it was almost three months ago. I will remember that day forever and it is a good example of how much fun this program and the trips/tiyulim can be. I’m so fortunate to be able to be here and to travel Israel like I did.