Jewish strategies for survival

What an amazing day we had today in Israel!  First, we boarded our bus bright and early and headed towards the Dead Sea basin and we ascended a cable car to Masada, King Herod's mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealot's last stand against the Romans.  Our educator Zvi challenged us to rethink how we view Masada, sharing with us how Israelis today view the mountain and the events that may or may not have occurred. The overriding theme was not the story as we had been taught,  it was rather a solidifying of the theme from yesterday we discovered at the site of the destruction of the Temple that has become our theme for our entire trip: in spite of all we have been through, we are still here.  Israel is still here and is not going anywhere.  And Temple Adat Elohim is here in Israel, seeing first hand how wonderful and strong this place really is.  You should come to Israel and experience it for yourself!  I'll be glad to take you and your family...

After Masada we took a hike to Nahal David, the freshwater spring at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, a lush oasis in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea.  We soaked in a waterfall in the middle of the desert!  It was so refreshing after our hike in the hot summer sun.  Yes, we are drinking plenty of water and using tons of sunscreen...

Next we took the short trip to the Dead Sea and floated in its waters.  Make sure you check out our skin when we return to see how young we all look!  Especially those of us who covered ourselves with the special Dead Sea mud.  Special kudos to Hannah Mach who brought a copy of the Acorn so she and her sister Rachel could take a picture of them floating in the Dead Sea in the hopes of being in the paper...  I am CERTAIN they will make it in!

Lastly, after dinner, we went and enjoyed the Night Spectacular at the Tower of David Museum, where the walls of the Citadel serve as a stage for a night-time show which, through laser lights and beautiful music depicts the story of Jerusalem's history.  It was another day filled with learning and connecting.  We are all tired, but looking forward to tomorrow when our four B'nai Mitzvah students, Sami, 

Hannah, Ryan and Matthew lead us into worship and chant the words of our sacred Torah overlooking the Old City.