Our traveling group will convene today for our “flight to Israel.” Gather on zoom at 2 pm US eastern time to meet our guide and each other, receive a travelers’ prayer, share a transition into the week ahead, and mark the moment of arrival in a space and place like no other. You may still be in your home, but we will use creative elements to add the essence of Israel over the coming days.

Today is the holiday of Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day, and we will focus on learning about the significance of Jerusalem over time. At 10 am our guide, Gadi, will present a fascinating look at how ancient residents of the land, settlers of the 1930’s and -40’s, and the Zionist movement of today have all held Jerusalem as singularly precious. Additional resources will be available to explore on your own that take you deep into Jerusalem’s archaeological sites, and let you leave your prayers at the Western Wall.

Later, at 7 pm, meet Gilad Vital, a musician who will introduce you to the many musical influences that have shaped the sounds of Israel as Jews of the diaspora have moved back to one place and melded the sounds of their birthplaces.

This morning at 10 am, travel back in time with Gadi to experience Tel Aviv’s early history. Meet the founders of the first neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, and watch them work to establish a new nation. Witness the signing of the declaration of independence, and feel the burgeoning potential of creating a homeland.

Later, at 5 pm, join our guide for a virtual tour of Tel Aviv’s vibrant street art. Learn about the strong social movements that live on in Tel Aviv today, and the ways artists act as agents of change. Also work together to create our own digital graffiti and consider what message you want to imbue in your own artistic expression.

On your own time today explore additional views of Tel Aviv and neighboring port city of Jaffa through an Instagram-style photo tour.

Spend the day today in Ann Arbor’s sister community of Moshav Nahalal, in the central Galilee region. A moshav is like a kibbutz, in which all residents live and work in close cooperation for the common good; however, in a moshav families live together in nuclear households and retain economic autonomy. Nahalal, established with a land grant from the Jewish National Fund in 1921, was the earliest moshav in Israel.

This is an especially family-friendly day, planned for travelers and Nahalalis of all ages! This morning at 10 am they will welcome you by zoom into their homes for peer-to-peer conversations about how their lives and yours have been similar and different over the past year (or longer).  Then this afternoon at 2 pm the locals will gather in their community center to teach you an Israeli folk dance, so make some space in your living room to move with them!

On your own time today, go for a video jogging tour of Nahalal to get a sense of the whole moshav.

Israel is geographically nestled among adversaries. At 10 am this morning our guide will meet us from the Golan Heights, the contested territory bordered by Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Israel currently controls this strategic vantage point, and from here you can see across the borders into the neighboring nations. Observing the nearness of the borders drives home the precariousness of Israel’s position in this region.

It will become personal at 2 pm, when we tour a village that straddles the infamous “Green Line.” This is the line representing the pre-1967 border of Israel, and it also divides the portion of Israel that generally is uncontested as Israeli from the land that many consider occupied territory and believe should become a Palestinian state in an eventual 2-state solution: Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. (The Golan Heights is also set off by part of the Green Line, but the territorial dispute over that region is a separate matter with Syria and not typically considered a part of the conversation about a Palestinian state.) Today one of Gadi’s friends, a guide named Joel Meyer, will introduce us to residents of the Arab community of Barta’a, where the line has logistical and practical implications beyond the political concerns most people consider. You may be surprised by some of the perspectives of these locals.

Later, at 5 pm, have a cooking lesson with a thought leader in cross-cultural tourism, Aziz Abu Sarah. Aziz is a Palestinian with residencey in both Israel and the United States. He will talk to us about his experiences crossing borders and building metaphorical bridges while also making dinner with us. Our one-pot meal, shakshouka, is a classic middle-eastern egg-and-tomato dish that itself represents the region’s permeable borders. Every nation and every home from North Africa to the Caspian Sea has its own twist on this favorite.

Before closing out this long day of special activities, join for a tasting of Israeli wines. Learn what makes Israeli wines unique, and compare three different varietals selected for you.

Begin in Tsfat today, Israel’s center of spiritual exploration and kabbalah. At 8 am, meet Chaya Leader, a kabbalistic artist and meditation guide. She will introduce us to kabbalistic meditation and lead us through our own practice session.

Then, at 10 am convene an important discussion on issues of climate and sustainability. Israel has had to develop strategies to tackle climate change on a more aggressive timeline than other countries and has met the challenge with aplomb. Our guest speaker will share perspective on what this has looked like and how the rest of the world can learn with Israel.

On your own time today you might choose from a variety of options:

• Take a virtual hike in the Negev Desert
• Go birding with a presentation of the avian diversity in the Hula Valley
• Video-dive on a SCUBA tour of the Red Sea
• Float away in the tub with a Dead Sea salt soak (perhaps while wearing a mud mask!)

We will reconvene for Israeli-style Kabbalat Shabbat singing at 5 pm, and conclude well in time for you to join your home congregation for evening services if you wish.

There will be no online programming today during Shabbat. Continue in the spirit of our Israel Experience with one or more of the following:

• Explore the Shabbat reflection materials included in your traveler pack
• Consider how Israel is important to your own identity – religiously, spiritually, culturally, ethnically, politically, or otherwise
• Talk with your family about what you have each learned this week, and what questions you have formed
• Reflect on how you want to connect with Israel beyond this week’s virtual trip, if at all
• Reflect on your hopes for the JCC community moving forward

This final day of the trip, we look forward. Israel is known as a nation of innovators, with more start-ups per capita than any other country on the planet. What can we learn from this generative culture to apply in our own lives? This morning at 10 am a group of Israeli entrepreneurs will join us for a workshop where we will learn about their business experiences, and also practice their lessons to jumpstart our own thinking.

Finally, at 2 pm today wrap up the trip with a final opportunity to connect with our guide Gadi, process this very full week, and reflect on what we will “take home” with us.