First dinner and July 4th

Israel Summer 2008 – June 4, 2008 – Independence Day

Flashing back to last night, we ate our first dinner in Israel at Maganda, located in the Yemenite Quarter not far from our hotel (very short bus ride) where we made our way to long tables on the second floor already laden with dozens of small dishes of middle eastern salads, including humus, baba ganoush, parsley tabbouleh, cabbage salads, carrot salad, etc., and lots of fresh pita. The next set of appetizers were “cigarim” (Moroccan meat stuffed fried wontons shaped like a cigarette) and large, savory falafel. For the main course, there were kababs of meat and chicken, whole roasted tilapia fish, and veggie patties. Sweet watermelon for dessert with ample red wine to wash down each morsel, bottled with a label featuring one of the restaurant owners. Sated, we all walked back towards the hotel, towards the beach to meet Tel Aviv’s famous “White Nights”, an evening of music, bars, and people watching on the beach. As it was before nine and entertainment would come only after 11:00, a walk along the boardwalk and in the sand sufficed for most, while some made it to 11:30 before succumbing to first day jet lag. Weather was divine. A real “wow” for day 1 in the Holyland.

Today started with our Israel breakfast in the Dekel (“palm tree”) room of the hotel with almost a ¼ mile of tables covered with (from left to right): omelette bar, morning cakes and muffins, chocolate covered and pistachio halvah, breads of every imaginable shape and texture, salads of every imaginable ingredient and spice, potato bourekas in philo pastry (this blog writer’s favorite), cheeses of every shape and flavor, chafing dishes of more eggs, meats, and roasted vegetables, more cakes, and even a table of sugar free delicacies, not to mention the fresh fruit juice bar, pancake and waffle bar, and the espresso and cappuccino bar. What would you choose to eat at one sitting?

At 8:15 we are off to our day’s adventures. Yakov, our guide, offers a running commentary on Tel Aviv neighborhoods as we take the ½ ride to the Palmach Museum. Only our photos could do this experience some justice. This relatively new museum provides a one and ½ hour multi-media experience for each participant through the journey of 10 young Palmach recruits (Jewish Israeli “Striking Force” dedicated to fighting for the establishment of the State of Israel from 1941-1948). The experience was meant to be authentic as to cause observers (that would be us) to sway and even feel a bit seasick in the “boat room” and almost lose our equilibrium in the “war room.” The museum is all underground as befitting an underground army. We unanimously agreed that the museum provides a powerful look at this momentous period in the history of modern Israel – a must see.

Next stop - Rabin Square, where Prime Minister, Yitzchak Rabin, was gunned down at a pre-election rally in 1995. The memorial, at the foot of the back steps of the building where Rabin exited the rally, is right now shadowed by major construction, perhaps diminishing the full impact of this trajedy. We did walk around to the other side of the building to stand in the middle of the large square where a large sign in Hebrew announced that “opera” was coming soon, while most of us (hampered by the absence of vowels) thought that Oprah was coming.

From the Palmach museum, we made our way to “Heichal Ha-atzmaut”, Independence Hall, an unassuming building on the residential Rothchild Street, a building which initially was the home of Dizengoff, a founder of Tel Aviv and its first mayor, then an art museum, and now the place where David Ben Gurion declared the modern Jewish state to be known as Israel on Friday afternoon, at 4:00 p.m. on May 14, 1948. We shared our visit with several tour groups, including young adults on a Birthright trip to Israel. Crowded or not, in the moderately-sized, slightly underground room, it’s difficult not to tear up hearing the voice of Ben Gurion as he makes the declaration, the rabbi present leading the “Shehechiyanu” and the Israel Philaharmonic (at the time playing from the upstairs rooms) rendering “Hatikva” for the first time as the country’s national anthem. TO THINK WE WERE AT INDEPENDENCE ALL ON THE DAY OF OUR OWN INDEPENDENCE COMMEMORATION.

In the spirit of Friday afternoon in Israel, the bus dropped off some of the group at the open market with all its pre-Shabbat hustle and bustle, and the rest returned to the hotel for a swim, a siesta, or snack.

At 3:00 p.m. (no time for too much relaxing), we were off to Kibbutz Gezer and Pinat Shorashim. The latter is a constructed biblical garden of sorts on the kibbutz, established by educator par excellence, David Leichman, who is dedicated to educating for a Judaism that comprises respect for, and understanding of all Jews and all things Jewish, and their connection to the land of Israel. After a remarkable tour of the garden and much learning, we joined David’s wife, Rabbi Miri Gold, for Kabbalat Shabbat services in the outdoor sanctuary and a buffet Shabbat dinner in the garden. It was an opportunity for us to sit in small groups and enjoy good conversation and each other’s company.

SHABBAT SHALOM!