This week was jam packed, with tiyulim to Jerusalem and the Negev.

This week was jam packed, with tiyulim to Jerusalem and the Negev. I spent last weekend with family in Tel Aviv. We explored the Shuk, enjoying candy and other sweets as we walked. We spent most of Saturday sleeping or lounging around, but we had a great barbecue lunch and then took a walk through Yarkon Park and the Port. It was really nice to relax and bond with my family, and it reminded me that I am truly connected to Israel, I’m not just going to school here. On Sunday and Monday we had core and general studies on campus, but we left again for Jerusalem on Tuesday.

We first visited the Israel Museum to see a model of the Second Temple, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. For lunch and some shopping, we had free time in the Old City, and then we headed off to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. The deserts are my favorite part of Israel, and this was my first visit on the trip so I was happy just to be there. Qumran was beautiful, and it was really interesting to see where one of the most important pieces of writing in history comes from. After Qumran, we drove to a youth hostel right at the base of Masada. The view from our room was breathtaking, with a colorful sunset over the Dead Sea. After dinner, our group went out, away from the hostel and the lights, and watched the stars in silence. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live somewhere where the stars look like that every night, it was surreal. We went right to sleep after that, making sure that our alarms were set for 3:45.

Waking up so early brought a lot of complaints from the group, but we all knew that it would be worth it. We waited for the gates to open at the base of the Snake Path as the sky started to lighten. As we began our hike, the sky lit up with pastel shades of pink, blue and orange, casting a beautiful reflection on the Dead Sea and turning Masada red. The hike was challenging, but we did it together and we had a lot of fun. Once we reached the top, we held a short service as we waited for the sunrise. We watched the sunrise and then had class in different places on the mountain. We climbed down into a giant cistern on top of the mountain, where the sound echoed beautifully.

In the cistern, we had a discussion about what we would have done as the people of Masada. We discussed the three options, being taken as a live captive, killing yourself and your people, or fighting to death honorably. Before we actually started talking about it, I thought I definitely would have wanted to die fighting, but once we started our discussion, I couldn’t help but being horrified by myself for thinking that. I realized I would have wanted myself and my people to be captured, because at least that way we would be alive. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fun that we had managed to have while hiking earlier in the morning. I decided I would rather be taken, because even as a captive, there would be room for smiling, laughing, and enjoying the beauty of a sunrise every once in a while. This idea translates into my goal on this trip, which is to make the most of every single opportunity I am given while in Israel. Even when I don’t think I’ll have fun, like at the Dead Sea later that day, I want to make an effort to appreciate the moments. The Dead Sea was actually much more fun than I thought it would be. This morning we crawled through caves that were used in the Bar Kochba Revolt, and even though I am not a huge fan of such small spaces, I kept remembering how cool it was to be able to crawl through the history of my people, with my new friends. I am so excited to carry this attitude through our trip, and I can’t wait for the next week in Israel!