post-birthright update/first night in yeshiva

So today was the tenth and last day of my birthright trip and it was AMAZING. I learned so much about Jewish identity, Israeli culture, society, and people; made some awesome friends, saw some incredibly holy and cool sites, and had the time of my life. My group grew incredibly close with each other; I thought that it was very unexpected how tight-knit everyone became by the end of the trip and I took something from each relationship that I formed. I also learned a tremendous amount about myself and how I "work".

The trip itself was beyond anything I could've imagined. The first three days were spent in the northern part of Israeli in amazingly beautiful geographic locations (mountains, valleys, beaches, etc.) After spending time in the north, we went to the city of Tzfat, one of the four holy cities. I went to the synagogue of a mystic from the 16th century, as well as to his grave; I was incredibly moved, almost to tears. Afterwards, we went to Jerusalem where we had an awesome Shabbat. On day seven we went to Tel Aviv, which although it wasn't quite my scene (parties, clubs, etc.) it was still pretty nice. We spent the eighth night at a bedouin camp and hiked masada/went to the dead sea on the ninth day. Last night there was a huge party and I only got three hours of sleep, so needless to say, I'm incredibly tired.

However, now I'm at Mayanot yeshiva where I will spend the next month studying. Afterwards, I'll go to another program in Jerusalem, then I'll spend a couple of months in tzfat. Come the fall, I'll officially be enrolled at Mayanot yeshiva for the year. I'm really excited to learn here; it seems to be an incredibly open-minded yeshiva. I believe that I'll be able to be as creative here as I want to (i.e. composing, creative writing) I have no idea what will be, but I think that not knowing is atleast half the fun. Although right now I feel pretty tired and sad about my birthright trip ending, I know that once I spend this Shabbat at the yeshiva, I'll be ready to dive into the experience.
Thinking of you all,
Zach

First days in Israel

So the plane ride was LONG, 10 1/2 hours to be precise. The food was pretty bad, but davening (praying) at the back of the plane with all the chassidim was awesome. I was cramped behind some wall in a space big enough for all five people side to side and I was right near the bathroom. You would think that whatever praying I got accomplished between flushes wouldn't be too great, but there was something about the human experience of that minyan (a quorum of ten people for a prayer service) that brought me kavannah (intention) when I davened. People can really be a great medium for G-dliness to dwell.
I landed in Tel Aviv at 5:15 A.M. Israel time (10:15 P.M. American time). I was incredibly exhausted, but when I looked out the window and saw the sunrise over Israel I was immediately ready for anything. Tel Aviv looked like any other city, but there was something about it that touched me and I couldn't quite place my finger on it. Our group met up outside the airport and we went to a nature reserve that was preserved to look like a biblical agricultural field. Then we went to Cesaria, a 2nd Temple period city built in the style of Roman architecture. The Mediterranean was beautiful, I've never seen a bluer sea! We finished by visiting Mt. Arbel, a REALLY tall mountain with an awesome view.
Today we went to an old army base in the Golan Heights, went jeeping across the Golan Heights, and ended with a nice hike. After showering and getting ready, we went to Tiberius for dinner. Tiberius is one of the four holy cities in Israel; tradition says that went Moshiach (the Messiah) comes to usher in the Messianic age, he will first enter through Tiberius. There's some famous rabbis buried there; unfortunately we didn't get to see them because Tiberius also happens to be a big beach hot spot so our group went out to the bars (yay! except I don't really drink or party....darn) It's ok though, even though everyone was pretty wasted, I'm still enjoying Israel a tremendous amount and get along with a lot of the people. I was so focused on attending Mayanot- the yeshiva that I'm going to next week- that I didn't even think about what the actual birthrite trip would be like. I enjoy how they plan the trip out starting with secular locations so that by the time Shabbat rolls in, we're in Tzfat and then Jerusalem (two other holy cities in Israel). Being on this land is amazing; everytime I look around I think to myself that my ancestors lived here and might have seen the very views that I see.
I'm feeling a lot better about not losing myself, if anything, I think I will grow into who I want to and am supposed to be here. I can't wait, but I'm thrilled to be along for the journey. More to come soon!
Much love,
Zach

First blog post/ last night in Middletown

So I've officially started my blog for while I'm in Israel! (trumpets and thunderous applause) I will try to remember to update this blog at least once a week so I can keep everyone in the loop. This way it'll sort of be like I never left! (sort of....) So this is my last night in Middletown and I have to say, emotions are a bit weird for me right now. Whether I was living here or going to school in Ithaca, this was pretty much my home base for my entire life. This will be the first time that I'll be making a move as big as this. I'm feeling a bit anxious; I've never been across the Atlantic before and the farthest I've been away from the States was Canada, so this is a pretty big deal. I will definitely miss my family and friends, both in Middletown and in Ithaca. I'm hoping that I've made the right decision to take a year from graduate school. I just need to figure some stuff out about what I really want to do and, more importantly, who I am. It's crazy, I haven't even left Middletown yet and already I miss everyone. I will be leaving Monday morning from JFK at 12 P.M. and will be arriving in Tel Aviv 5:30 A.M. Israel time (woah crazy seven hour time difference!) From then I'll be on my birthright trip for 10 days and then, I'm off to Mayanot yeshiva for the year. I hope to learn a lot create a lot, and figure out the answers to some questions. In the mean time, I'll get a pretty sweet trip out of it. That's all for now. Less than 48 hours to go!
kisses,
Zach/Michael (my hebrew name)