Sunday May 15th
Following a fun and restful Shabbat in Tel Aviv, where we had fun on the beach, relaxed by the rooftop pool, and got into a little kerfuffle after Kabbalat Shabbat (don’t jaywalk, folks!), we woke up super early on Sunday morning to head up to the Galilee and the Golan Heights. At our first stop, we walked through an old Syrian bunker and learned about Israeli intelligence agent and war hero, Eli Cohen, as well as the Six Day War. Then, following our last cooler lunch (we’ll miss you, packaged deli meat), we went kayaking – or was it rafting? Some people tried to sabotage each other’s rafts, but it was all in good fun.
Sunday May 15th
Following a fun and restful Shabbat in Tel Aviv, where we had fun on the beach, relaxed by the rooftop pool, and got into a little kerfuffle after Kabbalat Shabbat (don’t jaywalk, folks!), we woke up super early on Sunday morning to head up to the Galilee and the Golan Heights. At our first stop, we walked through an old Syrian bunker and learned about Israeli intelligence agent and war hero, Eli Cohen, as well as the Six Day War. Then, following our last cooler lunch (we’ll miss you, packaged deli meat), we went kayaking – or was it rafting? Some people tried to sabotage each other’s rafts, but it was all in good fun.
After drying off and eating knock off Take Ones (our favorite snack – a delectable and usually stale chocolate wafer!), we headed off to our last stop of the day: Kibbutz Misgav Am, which is located right by the border with Lebanon. While literally looking straight down into Lebanon, we learned about the wars between there and Israel. Finally, we got back on the bus and drove to Kibbutz Gadot where we stayed for the night. The kibbutz was so beautiful and it was the best last overnight, filled with basketball games, TikTok making, and lots of texts in the group chat asking for snacks.
Love, Maytal
Monday May 16th
Today we had an early morning wake up in the beautiful Kibbutz Gadot. We hopped out of bed, packed, grabbed breakfast, and prepared for the day ahead. Our first stop was a beautiful spot called the Valley of Years where we learned about the Yom Kippur War. We learned about Avigdor Kahalani and Tzvika Greengold as we gawked at the breathtaking views and shivered from the chilly northern weather.
Afterward, we went back on the buses and ventured toward our hike for the day. As we approached the spot, we discovered there were many groups ahead of us and, therefore, our teachers made the decision to cut out the two and a half hour hiking section (this was good news for many of us with blisters remaining from Yam Le Yam). Instead, we hiked down a steep climb for thirty minutes to reach a magical waterfall. It was enormous and pooled together for a fantastic swimming spot. Although the water was absolutely freezing, we braved through it to swim, take pictures, and go under the waterfall. On the climb back up we met many enthusiastic Israeli teens who bombarded us with questions (gotta love the Israeli spirit). After reaching the top, an ice cream stand waited for us by the buses.
Although the ice cream was delicious, it did not satiate our ravenous teenage appetites. Luckily, it was lunch time! We headed to a pizza shop and ate endless amounts of pizza hot from the oven. Next up was the Gamla Nature Reserve where we split off into classes and reflected on our time here in Israel. Surrounded by lovely scenery, we shared how we’ve grown and some groups wrote letters to their future selves. It was meaningful and made many of us emotional. Personally, I reflected on my growth as a more adventurous and spontaneous person who is no longer afraid to take risks.
Then, we bussed back to campus. I slept peacefully on the bus and, luckily, did not make it onto the 2022sleepers Instagram account (yay!). At Hod we had sign out time to grab dinner or Wolt. It was a chill end to a very busy day. As I write this, I am watching some of the girls and guys pull pranks on each other on the first floor. Water guns are involved. Just another day at Hod. Goodnight!
Love, Maia
Tuesday May 17th
We had yet another early morning wake up today, with breakfast at 7am! Luckily, as we arrived at the dining hall, we discovered that we did not in fact have bagged lunch, but cooler lunch instead (yay! We love cooler lunch!). Then we hopped on the buses and headed off to Jerusalem, because, after two mishaps earlier in the trip that delayed this tiyul, it was finally Christianity day! On the way we stopped for bathrooms and refreshments at a nice rest stop. Some of us got in line for coffee, and then we were told that we must take food from the cooler lunch and turn it into bagged lunch for later. While we were upset that we were not in fact having cooler lunch, we were satisfied by the fact that we still got yummy schnitzel and real Take Ones! (Take One? You mean take five?)
When we arrived in Jerusalem, we quickly split into two groups at a lookout point on top of the Mount of Olives. We took a tour of a number of different churches and monasteries, and, after a super quick stop to eat lunch in Mamilla Mall, we took a walk through the Christian Quarter of the Old City that ended at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We spent a while walking around the beautifully detailed church, learning about different Christian practices and the history behind the place. It was a very meaningful and informative morning, learning about and being respectful of a different religion.
Following our morning/early afternoon focused on Christianity, we got back on the bus and switched gears. We headed into East Jerusalem to talk to Mahmoud, a Palestinian man who works at the Educational Bookshop in Jerusalem. He talked about his views on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and it was very informative. We really appreciated hearing his opinion.
Afterwards, we boarded the buses for the final time of the day and headed back to Hod. The bus I was on, however, ended up overheating! We had to stop on the side of the road twice to let the bus cool down. The second time we stopped, the driver got out to add water to the engine. We’re still not sure that this is the correct solution to an overheating bus, but it seemed to work for the last twenty minutes of the drive, so we’ll take it.
To our teachers' dismay, because of the bus mishap, we had missed dinner by the time we got back to campus. Thankfully, the lovely kitchen staff decided to give us our dinner to go, so we were able to eat our yummy stir-fry noodles back in the dorm. Following dinner, we headed into the chamber for a meaningful activity that our madrichim had planned for us. They instructed us to write sincere letters to each person in the grade, which we would then put into envelopes labeled with their names. These notes will be read after the trip. We got so into the activity that our madrichim were surprised and made us take a break to go start packing for the airport (yikes!). We were allowed to continue writing letters in between packing, and that’s exactly what we did – late into the night.
Love, Maytal
Wednesday May 18th
Today we got to sleep in until 8:30am (yes, that is considered sleeping in on this trip) before bussing to Old Jaffa. For the first two hours in Old Jaffa we had free time to grab food and shop around the flea market. I was able to buy a nostalgic mood ring for only five shekels! Many of us enjoyed shawarma, malabi, or other local cuisines.
After free time, we split off into two groups. My group first went to the Peres Center for Peach and Innovation where we learned about Shimon Peres, different start-ups, and even played with VR headsets. The VR was legitimately so cool, although I may have accidentally hit the people around me as I was enamored by the virtual world (sorry Jaime!). Then, we went back to Old Jaffa for a tour while the other group switched and came to the Peres Center. We explored Old Jaffa and got scrumptious gelato.
Next, we headed back to campus to get ready for prom (basically a casual party where we watched a short film made by some people in the farming volunteer group, thanked our teachers and counselors, and watched culminating videos of the trip). People dressed in casual funny clothes. For example, I ironically wore my “this is what a yeshiva student looks like” shirt that I bought from Pardes during our volunteer period. Although our outfits were silly, the subject was not. Many tears were shed as we faced the reality of leaving tomorrow.
To have one final hurrah, we had an ice cream and dancing party. Half&Half, our local rap group made up of Noam Zaremba and Lev BenAvram, performed (stream The Half&Half Experience on all streaming platforms!) and we danced the night away. The rest of the night we had time to finish packing and have final shenanigans and late night conversations. I played in a baby pool set up by Rebecca Safra, enjoyed listening to people jam out in the music room, and had meaningful conversations. Now, at 3am, it is time for bed. I don’t want to sleep because that means the trip is almost over. I’m excited to go home and see my family, but I’m going to miss constantly being surrounded by friends and exciting activities. I’ll miss living with my roommates (shoutout to room 64!), exploring Israel, and even the debatable AMHSI food selections. Okay, before I start crying, I should go to bed. Good night.
Love, Maia
Thursday May 19th
Well, here we are. It’s Thursday, the last day of the Irene and Daniel Simpkins Senior Capstone Trip. Groggy and reluctant to get up, we awoke at 7 in the morning to catch our last breakfast in the dining hall and pack our lunch for later. We finished packing and clearing out our rooms and common spaces until around 10, when the buses arrived and we tactfully (for the first time ever – better late than never, right?) fit our suitcases into the bottoms of the buses. Then we had photoshoots in our closets, said goodbye to the dorm, and took one last tearful look at our beautiful campus before heading to Tel Aviv for our Covid tests. Testing took a little longer than expected (picture this: UV index is 10, there is no shade, and 72 hungry JDS students are waiting in line for two hours to get rapid tests), but it did give some of us time to buy lunch at one of the few restaurants in the area, so I guess it was worth it.
Following Covid testing, we drove down to Jerusalem, stopping first at Har Herzl. We learned a little about Theodor Herzl, Yitzchak Rabin, and Michael Levin before heading over near the Old City and splitting into our three classes one final time. In Danny’s class, we reflected on the trip and said our goodbyes as a group. Afterwards, we split into two groups: some people went to the Kotel one last time, and the rest went straight to Ben Yehuda street for DOTS. The group who went to the Kotel also got to see a swearing in ceremony for IDF soldiers just finishing their basic training. It was very interesting to see and a fitting way to wrap up our Israel experience!
After that, we boarded the buses for the last time and were off to the airport. We arrived at the airport, and, in the midst of unpacking our bags, we hugged our teachers goodbye. Emotions were running high with stress about the airport and sadness about leaving each other, and many tears were shed.
Though the check in line took absolutely forever and there were a few mishaps along the way, the rest of our airport experience was not too shabby. Our madrichim were waiting to say goodbye to us one by one as we reached security, and it felt absolutely heartbreaking. We feel as though we bonded with them so much over the course of the trip, and we weren’t just saying goodbye to authority figures – we were saying goodbye to our friends.
Though our tears didn’t dry so soon, our water bottles sure did – as we discovered that we couldn’t bring liquids onto the plane! We settled into our seats, took our last looks at Israel through the airplane windows, and… that was it. We were officially headed home.
Love, Maytal
Friday May 20th`
The morning began as we landed in Newark. The plane ride was surprisingly easy and many of us slept through it. After landing, we breezed through customs and baggage claim. We were ready to get on the buses and leave at 6am, but the buses weren’t ready for us. They were scheduled to come at 7:45 am and did not come until 8 am, so we used the time to buy Starbucks or other food and relax. It was a culture shock to hear English around us, see Starbucks, and not deal with the Israeli spirit I mentioned earlier.
Finally, the buses arrived. We drove halfway and then had a bathroom stop at the Delaware rest stop. The second half of the bus ride was louder and filled with emotions. On my bus, we played Half&Half and other nostalgic music as we sang and danced together. We played charades and enjoyed each other's company. As we drove into the Motis’ parking lot, we played “22” by Taylor Swift as an emotional mark to end our trip. We danced off the buses and greeted our families. It was exciting to be reunited and give passionate hugs. We saw friends from our grade who were not on the trip, teachers, and said goodbye to everyone. It was hard hugging everyone goodbye, but I know it is not really goodbye. It is only see you later. Although it’s cliche, our grade is special. People care for one another and I know that this was not our last time together. We grew on this trip as individuals and as a grade. The Class of 2022 will continue to make its mark on the world and the JDS community. So with mixed emotions of sadness, joy, and pride, I’m signing off.
Love, Maia
- 2022