By Faige, Michal and Zehava
Several brave women from our group woke up early to attend a rigorous morning fitness class. This was followed by a delicious breakfast for all. We spent the morning at Har Ben Tal, an abandoned army post on the Syrian border, with Ilit Eitam, the wife of General Effie Eitam (a war hero, part of the raid in Entebbe, and a member of the Israeli Knesset). She described the history of the Golan Heights and highlighted the heroic acts of many individual members of the IDF and their impact on Israel�s history and future. Her talk was personal, poignant, and powerful. She was able to build feelings of connection between us and our land. We were moved by her descriptions and her invitation to each of us to visit with her and her family in their home on future visits. What a surprise to bump into our fellow Houstonian, Michael Duke, who works for the JH-V. He took our picture- so look for us in the JH-V!
Safed/Tzfat/Sfat �whatever you want to call it, the mystical city perched on a mountain top in the upper Galilee, was our next stop. We visited several ancient synagogues and mingled with the spirits of famous kaballists and scholars. We did our part to support the Israeli economy, by shopping at the funky and artsy shops and attractions.
We enjoyed a scrumptious ten course meal (but who�s counting?) at the Art Caf鬠with an awesome view of the sun setting over Mt. Meron.
On our trip back to our hotel, Ken Spiro, our fantastic tour guide, delighted us with stirring bed time stories about Israeli heroes and heroines and entertained us with a host of Texan jokes.
We are exhausted from our packed day, so signing off for now- can�t wait until Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea- tomorrow!
Faige, Michal and Zehava- 3 overtired and wired Madrichot in this beautiful 3 star hotel
Kayaking on the Jordan River was so much fun! Everyone was such a great sport and had a ball.