My First Trip to the Land of Israel
My First Trip to the Land of Israel
This was my first trip to Israel, and I went with a group of Jewish educators of the JECC of Cleveland. My English name is Gretchen A. Shapiro, my Hebrew name is Alyza bat Bitzalel v'Rut. My trip to Israel fulfilled a dream I have had for as long as I can remember. I finally made it to the land of my ancestors, the land of Avraham and Sarah, the land of Yitzkak and Rivka, the land of Yaakov and Rachel, Leah, Bilah, and Zilpah. On December 18, 1996, I took a plane to New Jersey and there boarded an El Al plane for Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. For me it was somewhat of a pillgrimage. I want to share with you some of my trip here on my website.
I have been to all of the places pictured here, though only one of these pictures was taken by me. The trip in the El Al plane was only my second airline flight, the first one being a short trip over Lake Erie from Cleveland, Ohio to Toronto, Canada. The trip to Israel was much longer, but it was worth it, even though I only slept for 45 minutes. I spent most of the trip reading or listening to the same loop of Israeli music over and over again. I learned some new songs this way. I was awake as dawn broke over the Mediteranian sea. We ate breakfast at 5:00 am EST, which is about 12 noon Jerusalem time. An hour later we were on approach for landing. When I saw Israel from the air, coming in over Tel Aviv and the farmland of the coast, I started to cry. It was soooo beautiful! I could almost not believe I had finnally made it! I was finnally home! Yes, Cleveland is home to, but Israel is different, it is home in a way Cleveland can never be for me. I said the Shehechianu, the blessing thanking G-d for reaching this season, this place, right there on the plane.
We touched down in Israel at 1:45 pm Jerusalem time on December 19, 1996 in Ben Gurion Airport. I said Shehechianu again when I steped on the ground of Israel. The whole group went through customs, and then we waited for our baggage. It was not long before we were on our bus driven by Moti Tzuri and on our way to plant trees in the JNF forest near Modiin, the birth place of the Maccabees. I could not help but be reminded of the Torah "And when you come into the land, you shall plant trees..." I do not have a picture of the tree planting or even of a forest that has already been planted at this time. When I either find one or scan one in, this page will be updated. Planting of a tree in the soil of Israel with my own hands, getting the dirt under my fingernails (I did not use the tool we were given, prefering to use my own hands instead), connecting with the land that sang to my soul was a wonderful experience, another Shehechianu moment! The trees that we planted this day were cyprus. Other kinds of trees were planted in the young forest, some older than others. The Tanakh tells us that the hills of Judah used to be covered with trees, and historians tell us that the Romans caused a shortage of trees in the land because they crucified so many of my people. In fact, it is said that no trees, asside from some fruit trees, were to be found in the land because of the Romans. We, Jews from all over the world, plant trees when we come into the land we as the Torah commands us.
Even though I had not slept in over 24 hours, I am running on adrenalene, and my 45 minute nap on the plane. Leaving the Modiin area, we head for Jerusalem, the Holy City. We went through part of Samaria and Judah to get there, always going up hill. We were assending, going up to Jerusalem. It is amazing the stark contrast between the hills in the "west bank" and the hills inside the green line. The hills in what was once Biblical Judea and Samaria are as bare or barer than the Romans left them 2000 years ago. The hills inside the green-line are planted with trees, as commanded in the Torah. Just like the Biblical prophecies, the land was bare when the Jews were all in exile, and blooms when we return. When we finally get to our hotel, the Kings Hotel, it is dark. The sun sets early in the winter, even in Israel. We are allowed to go to our rooms for an hour. I call to let my mom know I made it to Israel in one piece. She passes this on to my husband, who is at work at this time. I also write the postcards I promised I would send. After eating dinner in the hotel, we have a short meeting. Then I finally got to go to sleep after being awake for 30 hours. It was hard to believe that I was going to spend the night in Jerusalem!
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