Meyer Academy In Israel

Final Video...

2011-05-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

The ruach, the spirit, the passion, the enjoyment, the excitement, and the overal incredible experience of an amazing 8th grade trip to Israel!!!

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it together!

nammie

Letter from nammie...

2011-05-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Reminiscing the desert experience...

2011-05-09T13:10:00.000-07:00

When we finally arrived at the desert! Our tents were right next to all of the animals. We could hear the camels and horses from inside our tents. After we settled down and explored for a bit, we got ready to go ride the camels. It was so much fun! Everyone was screaming and laughing at the same time. After our time on the camels, we went to a tent where we were taught many different Bedouin customs; we made music, and learned how they make coffee. Afterwards, we went and ate a traditional Bedouin dinner of pita, hummus, rice, and meat. We even ate it in a traditional manner (without utensils or plates). During dinner, however, we had technical difficulties. We had a short power outage (go figure, it is the desert!), but the lights went back on after a couple minutes.

After dinner we all went back to out tents to get ready for bed. But, before we went to bed, we made a campfire and sat around it and talked and laughed. Then it was really time for bed, so we went to our tents and prepared to climb Masada at four the next morning.

By Liora

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It was our day for Masada and the Dead Sea!!! It was so much fun! We had an incredible night sleeping at the Bedouin Tent together. We sang and told scary stories around the campfire. Unfortunately, we all had to wake up at 4 in the morning so lights out was early!!! But, lights out doesn't always mean bedtime, so we all had a very difficult day in the desert because everyone went to sleep at about 12:30 am. We'll blame the camels and donkeys right outside our tent moaning all night, but I don't think the chaperones bought the excuse!!!

When we reached Masada, it was a long and tiresome climb up (many of us were thinking of taking the cable car...). Although, it was all worth it in the end because just having the opportunity to be able to see the sunrise from the peak of this desert mountain was absolutely astonishing. After we practically ran down Masada, we ate lunch on the patio and changed to go to the Dead Sea. As said by a fellow classmate: “Masada is an amazing place especially when you wake up to see the sunrise...and when I say amazing, I mean AMAZING!”

This trip has been so much fun and I have enjoyed every minute of it!!

By Shani

A look back at the last two weeks...

2011-05-09T02:31:00.000-07:00

Here we are sitting on the plane leaving Israel. We all keep saying how it seems like we just got here and now were so sad to come home. Through this trip, we grew from 8th grade graduates who have been with each other from a number of years, to one big family. We learned together, prayed together, laughed together, and grew together. Although just one memory from this amazing experience can bring up many more, we want to share 3 very special moments from this once in a life time trip.

It was a normal day for the Bedouins. On the other hand, waking up at 4 o’clock in the morning next to donkeys and camals in the middle of the desert was a little out of the ordinary for our class. We started off our morning with the usual tea and crackers from the Bedouins. They were so friendly and kind towards us and made us feel at home. At a quarter to five, we were off to Masada. Since it was so early, we had to climb the Roman ramp in the dark. We all raced to the top of Masada to watch the sun rise over the Jordan River. Spectacularly, the sun rose in a matter of seconds right before our eyes. The view was magnificent! (Even though some of us fell asleep once we got to the top because we were SO tired.)

Next stop was the Dead Sea. When we arrived at the Dead Sea, we were all super excited! As soon as we got in we all screamed from all the salt water in our scrapes and scratches. After we got over the pain, we all started laughing and floating around. Soon after, nammie brought back mud for us to put on ourselves. We had the best time putting it on each other and we were able to laugh about how ridiculous we looked! Although we had all imagined what it would be like floating in the Dead Sea, it was nothing compared to our experience.

As if we weren’t having enough fun, we travelled on to Ein Gedi. The park was breathe-taking and we are sure you guys will love the pictures we took. Finally, we came to a waterfall where we almost knocked the other tourists over running in. We had a splash fight and also couldn’t stop cracking up getting under the waterfall. When we were told to go, we begged our chaperones if we could stay a few more minutes. We couldn’t understand how they could say no to this “punim,” but eventually we had to pack up and hope next years graduating class will enjoy that experience as much as we did.

Remembering the life changing experiences we have makes us realize how lucky we are to have gotten an opportunity like this one. Thank you to all our parents for letting us go; thank you to our whole class for making this trip one we will never forget; and thank you to nammie, Morah Ayelet, and Morah Bella for taking us to Israel. We all recognize how much credit we give you guys for putting up with us for almost 2 weeks! (:

By Jamie and Yossi

Day 11/12 - The return home...

2011-05-09T02:16:00.000-07:00

Wow. Just like that our trip is over. It went by so fast! We have had so much fun these last two weeks while touring the Holy Land. Especially because we had an archaeologist as a tour guide, we were able to learn so many interesting things, and this has been an experience like no other.

Even though we only left Israel eleven hours ago, I already miss everything about it. We took off from Ben Gurion at 1:00 and, due to fuel problems in Israel, we landed in Athens a couple hours later for re-fueling. Now we are nearing the end of our second leg, from Athens to JFK. This is followed by a three-hour layover in JFK, then a three-hour flight to Miami, and finally the bus ride back to Meyer. It is currently 5:15 am Eastern Time.

Mom and Dad, thank you so much for sending me to Israel, I have really connected to this country and our Jewish history. I am so happy to have gotten the opportunity to make my first trip to Israel with people that, for the most part, I have been with since Kindergarten, and some even longer. And if you wanted to know, no I don’t recall ever eating an Israeli banana, though we did pass a banana farm. Love you! See you soon!

Btw, Mikey I hope you behaved for Mommy and Daddy so I can give you the presents I have for you. I’d hate to have to keep them to myself. (:

By Josh P

Day 11 - Our last day...

2011-05-09T02:11:00.001-07:00

Day 10 - Friday in Jerusalem (started with a tour of Yad Vashem)

2011-05-09T02:10:00.000-07:00

Day 9 - The Old City

2011-05-09T01:49:00.000-07:00

Yet another beautiful day in Jerusalem, Starting the day off with Yad Va Shem. It was a sensitive part of the day, we all got to learn individual stories of specific Jews who died in the Holocaust, as well as learn new information about the genocide. I think the way the guide was able to end the tour was just amazing. We entered a room with hundreds of binders containing around four million Jews information (Such as date of birth & death, place born & died, etc.). There were also empty shelves left for the other 2 million plus Jews unidentified to date. As we looked up at the more than 600 photographs displayed in a cone shape with a reflection pond directly underneath. We were able to look down and see our own personal reflection of the pictures as well as our faces, it was an extremely interesting point of view to show us, it felt like we were apart of the families shown through the pictures.

Next we made our way to the Katros House. This house, known in Hebrew as the “Burnt House”, was a tour we had already missed twice before, and ended up seeing this movie 20 minutes late of this presentation’s scheduled time…I don’t think it was meant for us to see (by the time we got there everyone was SO tired almost everyone fell asleep during the movie…not going to lie, I did too!).

In the afternoon we got to revisit Ben Yehuda Street, filled of jewelry stores and delicious foods. I ate at “Moshiko”, which has THE BEST falafel and schwarma (: I also was able to enjoy walking around the market again. We walked by foot to the Machne Yehuda Market which was not only a delicious place to visit, but also interesting because you got to see the rush of the religious Jews buying the foods needed for Shabbat.

We ended the evening with Kabbalat Shabbat at the Western Wall, sharing our favorite memories of the trip, sang songs, & prayed at the Kotel. It was a whole 'nother feeling to be able to experience Shabbat at our Holiest site; being able to touch the Kotel was a once in a lifetime experience for me. It was very special and a memory ill cherish forever. Since no one was ready for bed we had time to socialize, we played Uno, Chess, Gravity, ate candy, and played a few other games. It was a great way to spend our last night in Israel all together as a “family.”

By Erica

Day 8 - Masada, the Dead Sea, & Ein Gedi...as dry, as salty, and as wet as we could get!

2011-05-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

The day started with the traditional 4:15am pre-Masada wake-up. Yes, as much as some of the children wanted to roll back over and go back to sleep, Masada called to them through the brisk morning air...not to mention that the activities of the day were a pretty powerful motivator!

At Masada we climbed the Roman Ramp (a few of us tried running up this steep, but brief, ascent). Then once on top we learned about Masada's two stories, the first of religious zealots and the second of King Herod's engineering and architectural feats. Then, after a few hours, and once the heat was clearly rising, we began our treck down via the never-ending and winding "Snake Path".

After Masada we embarked on the brief excursion to the Dead Sea. Here we swam (make that "floated") and experienced a full-body Dead Sea mud pack...that was certainly an experience! From here we travelled to Ein Gedi and swam in the fresh waters of the natural waterfall oasis. This became an instant highlight of the trip for many. Surrounded by desert, wild Rock Hyrax, and other natural wildlife we dipped into the pond taking turns standing in the waterfall.

Needless to say, there were not many open eyes on the drive north to Jerusalem from here!

Day 7 - The Negev Desert...

2011-05-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

From Ramat Gan in central Israel we travelled south to the Negev desert. First we stopped at Goliath's Tomb for a brief visit and traditional "stone throw" then we travelled on to Beit Guvrin for our course in Archeology Digging 101. At Beit Guvrin we unearthed thousand year old pottery, animal bones, and other "finds" and then went for a brief tunnel excavation underground.

We capped our day at Kfar Nokdim with a camel ride, lesson on Bedouin tribal traditions, an authentic Bedouin meal, followed by a fireside kumzits, and then the required animal, rodent, and bug check in our open tent overnight accommodations...

Wrapping up the day around the campfire...

Making music with the Bedouin coffee grinder...

Enjoying the traditional Bedouin dinner...

Nothing better than eating great food with great friends...

Enjoying the ride on a dessert Rolls Royce...

Look mom, one handed camel jockeying...

At the oasis in the desert...

Sifting through the dirt to identify all "finds"...

Removing all the ancient dirt...

Digging for treasures...

Separating the dirt from the "finds"...

Waiting for the green light to start digging...

Going underground to begin our excavating...

Participating in traditional stone throw onto Goliath's grave...

A quick lesson at Goliath's Tomb

Day 6 - From the north we start to head south...

2011-05-04T22:50:00.000-07:00

We started our day in Rosh Ha’Nikrah, located on the border of Israel and Lebanon. Rosh Ha’Nikrah has caves that were created by the waves eroding the limestone cliffs. The waves broke against the rock face repeatedly and as the water crashed and receded, the caves were eventually formed. To get down to these caves we took a cable car. At the bottom we went into a cave that was once a railroad to Lebanon. The railroad was closed off and a bridge connecting Israel and Lebanon was blown up so that transportation could not exist between the two countries. In the former railroad we spoke about the greater Rosh Ha’Nikrah area. We then went down to the grottos (caves). We saw the crystal clear water inside the caves, it was a beautiful and awe-inspiring visit. From here our group left Rosh Ha’Nikrah and were on our way to Kfar Kedem.

Kfar Kedem was a very interesting place. When we got there a man by the name of Menachem talked to us about the region of northern Israel. We were told to put on outfits as shepherds from ancient times. He first showed us the goats and brought out an adult female goat. This goat had not yet been milked so Menachem showed us how to milk it then surprised us by spraying us with the milk. A man who worked there brought in a pot of hot goats milk. Menachem added fig sap from a fig branch. This mixture boiled and curdled to eventually make goat cheese. We were allowed to eat the cheese bit only a few more gutsy and risk-taking students went for it. Every goat has to be milked at least 1 time a day.

After this, Menachem brought out a baby goat. He put the goat around Nammie’s neck and we took a picture. We all got a chance to hold the goat and take a personal photo. While all this was going on a small puppy ran in and Menachem fed him some cheese. After all this we went over to the donkey stable. Our tour group broke into smaller groups of 2 for this activity. We picked a donkey as a pair. One got on top to ride the donkey and one led the donkey by hand.

Our next stop was Caesarea National Park. Caesarea is an ancient harbor city, built by the Roman King Herod. We walked all over the city. We walked to the theater and the horseracing arena (where Amit, our tour guide, told us that it was built specifically on a base of sand so the blood spilt in the arena would soak up better). After the arena we saw the remains of the kings palace. The walls were knocked down, so we had to imagine where the rooms would be. After another short walk we came to a Roman temple. This building had statues without heads and there was a lot of pottery remains. From here we went back to the bus for our next overnight in Ramat Gan.

At our new hotel, which we had to get to as soon as possible because some of the students’ family members were already waiting, we had the opportunity to relax a little and some of us even trekked out to the local supermarket to buy some snacks and other basic stuff.

We’re all having a GREAT time, this has been so much fun!
By Racheli

Day 6 Photos... Rosh Hanikra, Kfar Kedem, & Caesaea

2011-05-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

Rosh Hanikra

Kfar Kedem

Caeserea

Dinner and a walk around town...

Photos from Day 5...

2011-05-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

Our Tour Guide, Amit!!!

Our Israeli friends and us surrounding the Tzefat Mayor

Day 5 - Boats, Buses, and Center Stage

2011-05-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

Holocaust Memorial Service in Tzefat

Today was our fifth day on our amazing Israel trip. We started off our day touring the Tel Dan Nature Reserve. It was such an interesting experience. We got to walk in a tributary of the Dan River; we took off our shoes and socks and stepped into the freezing cold water. As part of the walking tour we also got to see the remains of an original ancient king’s throne at the Dan Castle. We walked where people walked thousands of years ago!

Afterwards we took a bus ride to go to the place where we would be kayaking and going on a jeep tour. First was our jeep tour. We were split up into groups of six or seven and we piled into jeeps. We drove around trails through the Hula Valley. With the wind in our hair and the screaming in our ears, from all the bumps filled with mud from the recent rains, and having it splash all over us, this tour was lots of fun.

Our next stop was having a great lunch with our Israeli pen pals. There was turkey, bologna, tuna salad, bread, and much more. It was a make-your-own sandwich bar. After lunch everyone got changed for one of the most exciting parts of the day, the kayaking. Again we got split up into groups of six or seven, this time with our Israeli counterparts, and we all loaded into the kayaks so as to float down the Jordan River… and the water was cold!

Once we finished kayaking we headed out of the cold, wet, and muddy boats, some people changed (those who got soaked), and the rest went back for popsicles onto the bus to wait for them. Then it was time to go back and get changed and ready to go to the Tzefat Holocaust Memorial Day Ceremony.

As part of the Holocaust Memorial Day Ceremony Holocaust survivors spoke about their experiences, the mayor of Tzefat spoke, and we (the American teens) along with the Israeli teens performed the grand finale Eli Eli and Hatikvah on center stage. After the ceremony we got to take a picture with the mayor of Tzefat who told us how much he appreciated our performance. In fact, during his speech he switched from Hebrew to English so as to speak to us and the West Palm Beach community directly. It was incredibly kind and considerate!

Then the time came to say goodbye to our pen pals. We all said our byes with hugs, conversation, and laughter in a circle where we all sang O’sey Shalom. It was very sad that we had to say bye, but I am sure that we will all keep in touch. From Friday night when we met our pen pals for the first time, to Sunday night when we said our goodbyes, it was like we had all been friends for several years. On Friday night we were our individual selves, but by our separation Sunday night there was a clear sense of one big, crazy family.

As the days progress in our trip each and every person in our grade is getting closer and closer to one another. We are developing new relationships that are stronger than ever before. This trip has truly been amazing and its only half way through.

By Allison

Pics from Shabbat...

2011-04-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

Day 4 - Shabbat in Tzfat

2011-04-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Side note...We are particularly proud of how our students respected and fully embraced the complete "shutting down" of electronics and the 21st Century lifestyle we are accustomed to, in order to fully experience a traditional Shabbat in the City of Tzfat. The students were amazed at how the streets were completely empty, all the stores were closed down, and children played in the streets because there wasn't a vehicle in sight.

On our way to meeting our Israeli friends...

Finally, the face to face meeting...

The Havdallah circle...

We spent Shabbat in Tzfat. We met our pen pals for the first time and it was a lot of fun to see them after talking to them over the internet for several weeks.

We had Kabbalat Shabbat looking out at beautiful mountains up north near the Kinneret. We also visited two different Synagogues, one Ashkanazi and one Sephardic. We had a special Shabbat dinner at Livnot and L’binot.

On Shabbat morning there was a thunder and lightening storm so instead of going to the local synagogue, we had a special service in a private room at the hotel. We met our pen pals again for lunch and played “Ice Breaker” games. We have really enjoyed spending time with them.

In the afternoon, we took an amazing hike and tour through a Crusader’s castle ruins. First, we walked through the old city of Tzfat to get there. We learned about the old water cisterns as the methods for capturing water, as well as the techniques the Crusaders used to fortify against enemies while being attacked. We did a unique role-play to better understand and experience what happened during the Crusader’s battles. We hiked up to the top of the highest point in Tzafat where the Palmach originally conquered and recaptured the city during the War of Independence.

At the end of Shabbat in Tzfat, we concluded with Havdalah in a room underground that an archeological dig took place (video to follow)… And now, we are hanging out with our pen pals in a “Canyon” (an outdoor shopping plaza). We really enjoyed experiencing Shabbat in a holy and spiritual city like Tzfat.

By Dorit & Alexa

About the Mayumina Show - by Austin

2011-04-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

The night we got to Israel, we went to the Mayumina Show. It was all about music and making it even more entertaining by using very cool dancing and sound effects. One of the songs that they performed, they did it with water. The musicians/dancers took glass cups and by dipping them into the water upside-down, and tapping them at different heights they created music. They also sang great acapella songs. One of the dancers did a lot of flips and aerials, which I thought was very cool.

Additionally, it was cool how the show incorporated the audience as much as possible. One of the ways they did this was by having pull cords randomly hanging throughout the hall so that individual members in the audience could pull them and become part of the performance. Each string produced a different sound.

The show was great and lots of fun. I had a great time and I know that everyone else did too!

April 29 - Day Three...A few photos of our a.m. so far :)

2011-04-29T00:55:00.000-07:00

April 27-28 - Day One & Two...Travelling to Israel

2011-04-29T00:47:00.000-07:00

Catching a little shut-eye on the flight across the globe...

Today, all started around 11 o’clock in the morning at school. We bid farewells to our friends and families and we were off to Miami International Airport. We checked in for our flight from Miami to New York. It “only” took them about 2 hours to check all of us in.

So finally, after all the running around, we got onto the plane with only an hour delay and are currently writing this while on our way to Israel. We are close to Israel, How close? Closer than we were when we left New York. We still have about 7 hours left! It Is about 3:30ish Miami time. We are all ready to see a show and go to the hotel. In summary, everybody is dong well. We will speak soon.

Lila Tov! Good Night!
Matt and Robby

Students arrive safely!

2011-04-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

The students and faculty landed safely today at around 11 a.m. EST. They were all very tired but happy and were looking forward to eating their first real Israeli dinner!

Bon Voyage - 8th graders begin their journey!

2011-04-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

The 8th grade class left today on the journey of a lifetime - Israel. The entire student body and faculty participated in their send off. This trip represents an amazing culmination of their day school experience. Check back to read daily posts of their experiences and travels.

2011-04-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Updated Itinerary 4/26/2011

Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy/ Israel Trip/ 8th Grade

April 27- May 8

Nammieʼs Mobile: 011-972-52-608-4239

Amit Dagan, Tour Guide
Bella Eshed, Chaperone
Ayelet Shochat, Chaperone

Day 1 –27 April - Wednesday

Depart USA

Day 2 – 28 April – Thursday

Welcome to Israel!

Day 3 – 29 April - Friday

Independence Hall – is best known as the site of the signing of Israel's Declaration of Independence. It is located on the historic Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, Israel. Today a museum, it houses exhibits on the signing of the Declaration of Independence and on the history of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. From 1932 to 1971 it housed the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Free time in Tel Aviv: downtown/ Nachlat Binyamin, Shenkin St., Shuk Ha’Karmel
Travel to our P2K community
Overnight: Northern Israel

Day 4 – 30 April – Saturday

Shabbat in Tzfat
Overnight: Northern Israel

Day 5 – 1 May – Sunday

Golan Heights
Tel Dan Nature Reserve / Jeep Tour / Kayaking
Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) Ceremony
Overnight: Northern Israel

Day 6 – 2 May - Monday

Rosh Hanikra – A chalk mountain range on the northernmost point of the Mediterranean shore of Israel.
Kfar Kedem – A recreated ancient Galilean village where students will "relive" ancient history.
Caesarea National Park - The site of one of Herod's magnificent and opulent palaces which has become one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean.
Overnight: Central Israel

Day 7- 3 May - Tuesday

"Dig For a Day" – the students will dig for, sift through, and examine ancient pottery, while touring the National Park of Beit Guvrin. While here they will also experience a once in a lifetime opportunity to crawl through un-excavated ancient cave systems.
Visit to Kibbutz Tzroa
Bedouin Experience & Camel Rides
Overnight: Southern Israel

Day 8- 4 May - Wednesday

Sunrise on Masada – Once the Palace of King Herod, and later a refuge for Jewish Zealots, it is considered by some the Gamla of the South. Masada offers an unbelievable story in a well-excavated site and magnificent view of the Dead Sea and surrounding desert. The students will climb the mountain pre-dawn so as to watch the sun rise over the Jordan River. They will tour the ancient remains which tell the story of the Zealots last stand; including the story of Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai and how different Jewish communities confronted the Roman Empire and how their actions affect how we practice Judaism today
Dead Sea – waters containing a salt content 28 times stronger than any ocean in the world and is said to offer many medicinal remedies.
En Gedi National Park
Overnight: Central Israel

Day 9-5 May – Thursday

Mt. Olives & Mt. Zion
Old City – Jewish Quarter, the Cardo (3,000-year-old Street), the replica of the Menorah
Katros House – the remains of the high priest Catrosʼs residence
City of David – the place revealing some of the most exciting archeological finds of the ancient world. While above ground, the city is a vibrant center of activity with a visitor's center that welcomes visitors for an exciting tour to the site where much of the Bible was written
Rabbis' Tunnel – Hidden layers of the Western Wall are revealed underground.
Overnight: Central Israel

Day 10 – 6 May – Friday

Yad Vashem – The home for the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority
Mount Herzel – the national military cemetery and the tombs of the leaders of the nation
Israeli Museum – Shrine of the book and model of Jerusalem at the Israel Museum
Machne Yehuda & Kabballat Shabbat at the Kotel
Overnight: Central Israel

Day 11 – 7 May – Saturday

Beit Knesset – Shabbat Morning Service
Walking tour of Ancient & Modern Jerusalem

Day 12 – 8 May – Sunday/ Bruchim Ha’Baim!!! Welcome Back!!!

Pick-Up at Meyer Academy!