Welcome to Israel!

We started our trip at Newark Airport at 9.15am. After being interviewed by El Al officials, we sent our bags away, went through security and then boarded the plane. On the Boeing 777 we found out that everybody was assigned to random seats. There were a lot of Hassidic Jews aboard which was a cool culture shock. The flight lasted a daunting 10 hours.

When we landed, we went straight to Jerusalem on a bus to start our first busy day. There was little nap time and much to do. We started by stopping at a street ledge that overlooked the city of Jerusalem. We said the shehechianu, took pictures and danced. After getting back onto our tour bus, we headed straight to the old city. What a remarkable experience that was.

The city was hustling while getting ready for Shabbat. We toured the old city and saw the old ruins of the original market and city centers. Afterwards we arrived at the old temple in which our tour guide gave a very interesting brief history of the temple and the plaza’s significance and how it shifted hands through different people throughout the years. Next stop…the Western Wall!

Beautiful, historical, breathtaking and powerful are words that describe this landmark. Many of us wrote notes or said prayers in front of the wall and bestowed our wishes and prayers within. We later continued our adventure to the shuk which was impressively busy. The alleyways were crowed with people young and old getting ready for Shabbat. The market included fresh fruit, fish, falafel, candy, spices, breads and desserts. This market was hoppin’!

By this point everyone was exhausted. We headed to the hotel, lit the Shabbat candles and got ready for the Shabbat dinner. Now we are ready for bed!!

~Michael Callo and Jennie Cohen

Don't forget to check out our website. www.hillel.org.vt.edu