Birthright: My First Time in Israel – Day 10
June 9 – My Last Day
The events of the coming day were supposed to be few and far between, but programs and activities nonetheless. Our morning 
excursion was to be to the Bible Museum (the exact name of the museum was never specified, but I’m pretty sure Jenna/Sam/Chen meant the Bible Lands Museum). From what I gather online from their website, the goal of the Bible Lands Museum is to put biblical stories, characters, and locations into historical context. Who were the Phoenicians, Assyrians, and Greeks? What advances did they bring to the world and what relationship did they have with the Jewish people? As a history major, this seemed like a really cool outing! When I think about my connection to Israel and the Jewish people, I don’t think necessarily about spirituality and religion, nor culture and tradition, but rather about the historical lineage that all Jews carry. This is something that I was hoping to learn more about and become more linked to while on Birthright.
So why am I writing about the Bible Lands Museum as if I never went? You guessed it! Because it was Shabbat, and because there were two complaining observant Jews on our trip, the museum visit was canceled. They made a huge fuss to Jenna, Sam, and Chen about how going on the tour would be disgracing the Sabbath. I didn’t get into a conversation with them, but to be honest, I think that Shabbat is exactly designed for these sorts of activities. What do I mean? We all know that the seventh day of the week is the day of rest. I believe (yes, this is my opinion and I might be wrong) that the Sabbath is about learning (Torah) and being closer to God (prayer). Not only is going to a museum a learning experience, this particular endeavor would have been a biblical learning experience! When taking a poll of our entire group, it seemed that only nine students wanted to go out and learn – “not worth it” according to our leaders. And out of these nine students, only one (me) wanted to specifically go to the planned activity. The rest were more disappointed about not going out in general.
So what did we do instead? Only after lunch did we begin heading out to a park. This wasn’t a particularly special park, but it was an Israeli park nonetheless, so I guess one may count it as “going out.” To be honest though, it was the nicest park we had gone to and something which I would consider more nature reserve-y than a desert dirt path. I spent the time on the phone with my sister in America – I needed a rest from everything else and I was honestly just annoyed at what had gone on earlier in the day.
I’m extremely grateful, though, that we got to go to the political seminar that was scheduled later on. The itinerary says our speaker was Neil Lazarus, but looking him up online, I didn’t recognize his picture – perhaps our lecturer was switched last minute. Either way, I really enjoyed the informative presentation about Israel’s place in the Middle East. Though our speaker was Jewish, living in Israel, and pro-Israel, he spoke about many of his friends who aren’t. He gave us the perspective of the rest of the Middle East – not only their view on Israel but about the West. But guess what! My peers couldn’t have been ruder. Half of them were sleeping, and several others were hushing disapproving comments to each other. At one point, two of our group members got into a hushed scuffle! Oh, the lack of respect.
During dinner time, I called my Israeli cousins Azriel and Naomi to come and visit. Their grandchild had just had just celebrated becoming a Bar-Mitzvah that morning, and it was quite a shame that I didn’t have the opportunity to go. I told them about the things I had done, and they told me stories about when my grandparents had come to visit them. We spoke about family – more so about the family in the United States as I don’t know anyone in Israel. They also told me about things I didn’t get to see, and said that I’m always welcome to stay with them the next time I come and visit the country. Unfortunately, because it was before Havdallah, no one was available in the lobby to take a picture of us three.
There was no sleep that night. We were going to leave at 2:00 AM (though we actually left closer to 3:00), so there was no point in properly going to bed. We said our farewells, got some free loot (magnets, more shirts, and prayer books), and took our last pictures. I napped in the lobby while everyone was upstairs packing. Those who extended their trip in Israel rejoiced, knowing they wouldn’t have to be led around to “boring” sites anymore.
And that was the end.
Mara, Cara, Lindsay, Marina
