Still smiling because the group took the cable car to the top of Masada. Tanya Conley, Mandi Firoved, Jen Adut, Amy Lefcoe, Wendy Auerbach, Mindy Brown, Rebecca Tall, and Leah Schwartz
We were jet lagged and out of it when we exited the doors from customs into the arrivals area of the Tel Aviv airport. There was the usual crowd of people waiting for their friends and family. I was expecting a tour guide and a sign, but instead there were women —and lots of them. They were all there to welcome us with hugs, kisses, buses, snacks and water. What had I been thinking? Of course!—we were now Home with 200 of our sisters. Tidewater’s trip to Israel as part of the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project had begun.
Our goal was to transform and grow, and we achieved it in so many ways. Whether it was rafting down the Jordan River or touring the mikveh in the mystical city of Tzfat, we took something from each experience. The Old City of Jerusalem became familiar stomping grounds as we spent our days there in prayer, song and learning. From the top of Masada to the healing waters of the Dead Sea, our souls sang as we immersed ourselves in the power of women being together and values of our Jewish heritage.
Shabbos embraced us with its tranquility and joy as it does so intensely in the holy city of Jerusalem. With a pre-Shabbos concert given by Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser (yes—his brother is Sam), we were already rocking on our way down to the Kotel. Once there, we sang and danced as we welcomed this sacred time of our week. We shared beautiful meals together including the third meal of Shabbos (seudos shlishit) on the roof of a magnificent home in the old city of Jerusalem.
We’ve come back to Virginia with a revitalized sense of spirit. Partly from just being on the ground in Israel, but also from the things we gained. Knowledge, friendships and appreciation for what we as Jewish women hold, are the keys to what is just the beginning of our journeys for the rest of our lives.
For information on the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project or next year’s trip to Israel, contact Amy Lefcoe at amyshuz@aol.com.
This trip was made possible in part by B’nai Israel’s Synagogue-Federation Partnership program funded by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, the Tidewater Jewish Foundation and the Simon Family Foundation.
by Amy Lefcoe