We're in Israel!

After a rather long flight (about 11 hours) we arrived in Israel at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. One of the great things about flying with Israelis is that when the plane lands everyone applauds! It was so exciting to feel as if I had come home!

As we walked through security on our way to passport control I saw a colleague of mine, a rabbi from Nassau County and his wife who works at SAJES (a Jewish Educational resource center in Long Island). I had barely been in the country for 5 minutes and I already saw people I knew!

Next Ruben and I cleared customs, got our bags and went to the ATM. As we were withdrawing money and figuring out how to make our phones work, I all of a sudden felt someone put their hands over my eyes...it was my dear friend Daniela who was meeting us at the airport. Daniela and I have been friends for about 10 years since we met working at Camp Harlam in the Poconos. Before I could call her to tell her we'd arrived, she had found us! After some hugging and catching up we walked to the car. She arranged to take us for a real "Israeli Experience" for dinner. We ate at a little place in Tel Aviv. The restaurant specializes in hummus and believe me...it didn't disappoint us! Ruben, who is a tough food critic was immediately quite impressed and he's had a lot of hummus! After a truly "Tayim" (delicious) dinner, Daniela dropped us off at our hotel- a beautiful place right on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

This morning we woke up quite early (almost already accustomed to the time difference) and went downstairs for breakfast. THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A TRUE ISRAELI BREAKFAST. I have to say, it was one of the most beautiful spreads I have EVER seen (and as you know, I've had my fair share of meals!). There was so much food and it was all delicious. Between Ruben and I, we ate eggs, pasta with mushrooms, all kinds of cheeses, yogurt, burekas, waffles, cakes, salads, fruit, juice, chocolate milk and more. I even said the "shehechiyanu" as I had a persimmon for the first time this year and maybe the first time ever! (At least I think it was a persimmon...).

During our meal we watched as the clouds deposited rain and then hail on the beach. Within a few minutes it all cleared up and it was a truly beautiful day. After our enormous meal (which served as breakfast and lunch) Ruben and I went exploring to Dizengoff Center- Tel Aviv's main mall. We did a little shopping, got some coffee and then headed back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing and warding off as much of the jetlag as possible.

Around 8pm Daniela and her husband Roy came to meet us at the hotel for dinner. (The last time I was in Israel was 2 1/2 years ago for their wedding). They took us to the old city of Jaffa (or Yafo as it is also known) for dinner. We strolled around a bit and then went to another cute, authentic restaurant for dinner. Again I had hummus and falafel and pita (I'm not sick of it yet) and Ruben had schwarma wrapped in a laffa (which is like a gyro wrapped in a giant pita). He says it was good (which again means a great deal coming from him). However, I think we may be on a search for him for even better schwarma. Maybe that's what he'll do to occupy the time while I'm at my meetings. We had a fantastic evening with our friends and now we're looking forward to tomorrow.

As of now, our plans for tomorrow are to enjoy our hotel breakfast (we'll try to take pictures) and then go to Nachla'ot Binyamin- a great artist market and then maybe do a bit of touring in Tel Aviv. By mid-afternoon we'll make our way to Jerusalem for the start of the CCAR (Central Conference of American Rabbis) Conference.

L'hitraot,
Rabbi Emily