Leaving on a..well 6 Jet Planes

Bangkok to Delhi. 2 days later, Delhi to Tel Aviv. 15 hours later, Tel Aviv to New York City. Stops in Istanbul and Zurich. I don’t normally drink coffee, but let’s just say I’d be nose deep in the keyboard otherwise right now.

I spent a wonderful last day seeing some last minute sights in Delhi yesterday. I met an outgoing 14 year old kid with good English named Raj who showed me some local stores for my last minute souvenirs shopping. I have been quite resistant to give money to touts, but it was my last day, and Raj and I spent a couple hours walking around town. I bought him lunch and we talked about family, Delhi and Obama. Naturally and ultimately he did ask me for money at the end, and hard as it always is, I had to walk away. That will never get easier.

I’m back in Tel Aviv. I met up with my friend Ben, the soldier whom I roomed with during my Birthright trip. He invited me to his apartment meet his parents over an informal shabbat dinner. NYC in less than 24 hours……..

Israel: The Return of the Schnitzel

Olives

So. Much. Schnitzel.

Good food abounds in Israel, but much of it repetitive. Humus, falafel, olives, schnitzel. Finally, on our last full day in Tel Aviv we encountered a hole in the wall.  A Yemeni family with one English speaker fed us from their kitchen. No menu in English, so the woman just brought us out Tupperware of various meats and dishes until we chose what would go on the grill. Lambburger spiced just right. Humus bowl over warm kidney beans with a sliced hard boiled egg on top. The best? Chopped chicken livers with Israeli salad in delicious warm pita bread. mmmm….

Jake’s Action-Packed-10-Day-Israeli-No-Sleep-Birthright Trip. Part 2.

Prayer during Wartime

But there is more:

Outside of our immersion in a Jewish land, one rich with people hailing from every corner of the world, there is an Israeli culture of its own. The combination of Sephardic, Ashkinazi, and many other Jews coupled with a deep sense of nationalism, Israeli’s are a proud people. Enter the soldiers…

Jake’s Action-Packed-10-Day-Israeli-No-Sleep-Birthright Trip. Part 1.

Masada Sunrise

I’m a bit backblogged.

I’m in dusty New Delhi, but I need to somehow summarize the 10 days in Israel. I’m going to try to do so in 3 parts. Part 1:

For many reasons, I’ve resisted the idea of a birthright Israel trip for a long time. Many of my fellow Jew-Crew have gone, returning  raving of falafel and camels. Just four months shy of my 27th birthday, it was now or never. Timing is everything. Day 1 in Israel, Gaza is bombed. It begins.

From Jerusalem

First: I’m fine. Thank you for those of you who have expressed concern. Birthright has taken great precautions to ensure we are not in harms way ever. That being said, we were quite close to Gaza last night, sleeping in a Bedouin tent, listening to the sounds of Israeli fighter jets overhead for the majority of the night. I’m still processing a lot of what it’s like to be in a country not only in an active war, but so close to the front lines as the body count rises. Many emotions and I’m learning so much every day. It’s an amazing experience so far and I’ll be sure to have a more complete update once I get to Delhi on Jan 6th. Until then, Happy New Years to all and stay tuned…