A Day in Tel Aviv

For our second siyur (day tour) on boneh, we traveled to Tel Aviv and went to the diaspora museum. This museum was built in the 1970's by Abba Kovner, the leader of the Vilna ghetto Uprising in Lithuania. We learned about the history of the Jewish people through the diaspora, and explored the connections that Jews have with other Jews from all around the world. My favorite part of the exhibition was the part of the museum that showcased models of different synagogues from these places around the world. There were synagogues from China, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Holland, Italy, and the United States to name a few. I thought the synagogue from China was so fascinating. I never knew that there was a big enough Jewish population there. And to my surprise there was a model of Beth Shalom, a synagogue located in Elkins Park, PA which is only about 45 minutes from my house.

We also explored the history of where our ancestors might be from. One wall was filled with an Ashkenazi family tree/timeline and a little further down there was one of a Mizrachi family tree/timeline that was originally from Baghdad. We then went to HaCarmel Market, a shuk with lots of cheap clothing and many shops filled with fruits, vegetables, pastries, and of course, falafel. Some other workshoppers met up with their friend Yehuda who they knew from MBI and Gesher. He recently joined the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and so it was very nice for people to get to see him, and spend an afternoon with him. I walked around the shuk with one of my kvutza mates, Hannah Martens. We got falafel for 7 shek, which was such a good deal. I think that's about $3 USD.  We then got an assortment of baklava from one of the vendors, which i devoured soon after the purchase. It was some of the best baklava I have ever eaten and I only which I had taken a picture. This baklava place probably had about 15 different kinds to choose from. We got the standard triangle baklava, but also got one was with cylindrical and one with this green powdery stuff on top. I don't really know what it was, but it was delicious. Afterwards, we met up with Aliyah, Sara, Lindsey, and Liat and then did some more shopping and exploring. At 3:15 those workshoppers who were heading back to Ein Dor boarded the bus, and the rest of us who were planning to stay in Tel Aviv for the night or the weekend stayed. I was one of many who planned on staying for just the night. I then went to beach later on and watched the sunset over the Mediterranean with 6 other workshoppers, Micah, Rafi, Hannah M, Matan, Celia, and Dan. It was one of the most gorgeous sunsets i have ever seen.

The sunset over the Mediterranean Sea

Hannah Martens and Micah watching the sunset

After spending about an hour on the beach, we met up with Sara and Lindsey and then the 9 of us got some dinner. 

Funny story: when we were eating dinner a young man who looked a bit older than us starting talking to us. He later told us he was 19. He told us he just landed in Israel this past week and is on a program geared to prepare him for the IDF. We could all tell he was from the States as he spoke perfect English, although he did add in a few "y'all's" and did speak with a thick southern accent (he was from Texas). He then asked if he could walk around with us for a while. After some initial hesitation, we said yes. It was so strange, but we felt safe. We then walked around the city together and explored Tel Aviv at night. 

Although it was mostly just hanging out in Tel Aviv, it was really really nice just getting out of kibbutz and immersing myself in Israeli society. I don't know hebrew that well, but getting a break from the sort of separated, sequestered kibbutz life was very nice. It's quite different from MBI (the Israel summer program I did 2 years ago) because we actually have the freedom to go places without madrichim (counselors). We used public transportation yesterday, which is something that we would not have been able to do as easily on MBI. 

It's now the weekend again, and after a long day yesterday, I'm using the time today to just hang out on kibbutz and sleep.