Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23, Traveling Home

As the door of the American Airlines 777 closes, I feel a sense of excitement, and a huge responsibility.  I am beyond excited to be going home to Israel again…  So excited to see the sites, feel the antiquity, smell and taste all she has to offer.  It has been almost 4 years since I was there.  And I miss her terribly.  I look to my right and see the excitement Hayley has as we begin what we have dubbed “The Ultimate Daddy Daughter Trip EVER.”  

On the trip 4 years ago, Hayley was a young child, and unable to participate in all the trip offered.  This time, she is a brand-new Jewish adult, having become a bat mitzvah just 4 weeks ago.  She led our community with such poise and grace and took her well-earned place as a leader in our synagogue.  I cannot wait to watch her experience Israel as a new, young woman. 

2 years…  It has been two years of work to prepare for this trip.  This trip literally sold out in 30 minutes…  I couldn’t believe how quickly our 43 travelers signed up to come on this pilgrimage with Hayley and me.  I only hope I have done a good job preparing them for all they are about to experience.  I hope they feel a sense of comfort with the group they are traveling with, as we had numerous meetings to just get to know each other.  I hope they are prepared for the thousands of years of history they will experience.  I hope they are ready to reach out and touch the very roots of Judaism.  I hope they are ready to learn more than they ever thought they could.  I hope they are ready to create lifelong friendships with those in our traveling group.  I hope our 10 travelers who will have the rare honor of chanting Torah overlooking the Old City are ready to have prayer transformed for them forever.  And I hope all of you are ready to come along on this journey with Hayley, me, and the 43 other people from our community.  I will do my best to explain all we are experiencing and share as many photos I can. 

The first leg of our journey took Hayley and me from Los Angeles to London (we will be coming back to London at the conclusion of our trip for a Harry Potter experience).  In London, we were so happy to find two TAE families, the Davis and the Strausman families, who by chance are on our same flight to Tel Aviv.  

It was so comforting to greet these families so far from home.  

Hayley was ecstatic to see Rebecca, one of her best friends since preschool (there are a number of kids on this trip that are connected to Hayley since preschool at TAE).   

Right now we are currently in the air between London and Tel Aviv.  And reality is setting in. Soon, we will be stepping off of our plane and feeling the warmth that Israel greets all of her guests with.  We are exhausted after a full day of travel, but excited and exhilarated to reach our destination.  The tour does not officially start until Thursday, but Hayley and I have some business to take care of, including meetings with ARZA World reps, meeting with Uri, our educator, and, most importantly, the b’nai mitzvah of two TAE boys, Parker and Preston, who just so happen to also be preschool friends of Hayley’s, who will read Torah at the egalitarian section of the Wall on Tuesday.  And Hayley and I will get to do some sight seeing just the two of us as well. 

For me, my personal focus is to watch Hayley take in all Israel has to offer.  To see her embrace the Judaism that TAE has fostered along with Camp Alonim…  To comfort her as she experiences Yad VaShem, the Holocaust memorial to the 6 million victims.  To watch her as she learns how kids not much older than her serve their country as a part of the military.  I promise, Hayley, that I will be present for you on this trip.

Welcome to Israel!!!  How long we have waited to hear these words!

I am so grateful that the 43 people from our community have placed their trust in me to lead them through this pilgrimage to discover themselves.  Israel has a way of holding up a mirror in front of each visitor to enable us to really see ourselves in a completely different light.  It is funny to call a place I have only spent almost 6 weeks in total home… And I can’t wait to share my love of my home with our community and with you all.