Hillel eighth-graders connect
to learning and bond with
each other in Israel.
Hillel eighth-graders pose together before heading to the Kotel for Shabbat prayers. Fifty-five students made the trip with five teachers.
Atara Krakoff
Teen2Teen Writer
I
recently returned from Israel with the
Hillel Day School Class of 2012. This
was my third trip to Israel, although
the first without my family. It was so great
to be together in Israel with the people I
have learned and studied with since kin-
dergarten.
On the last day of school before.
Passover break, everybody knew that the
next time we would be together as a group
would be at Detroit Metro Airport. As we
all arrived on April 16, you could feel the
excitement in the air; we all were eager to
leave for the trip we have been waiting for
since we were in second grade.
After a 12-hour flight to Israel with not
much sleep, we finally arrived and enthu-
siastically applauded as the plane touched
down in Tel Aviv. Spending at least two
Miriam Saperstein, Zoe Kolender, Jillian
Gordner and Gavi Weisberg ride camels
through the desert.
50 May 31 . 2012
hours in the airport, retrieving our lug-
gage and going through passport control,
we finally departed on a three-hour bus
ride to the desert. We went repelling off
the Ramon Crater, which was a challenge
for so many of us both physically and
emotionally, but we trusted and supported
one another, and many of us conquered
our fears.
At each juncture, we bonded even more
deeply with one another — whether at
the Bedouin tent, climbing Masada before
sunrise, floating in the Dead Sea, crawling
through the Bar Kochba tunnels, rafting
along the Jordan River or walking through
Hezekiah's water tunnel.
There were so many spiritual highlights,
but, for many of us, Friday night minyan
at the Kotel created a tremendous pride
in being Jewish, and the ability to pray
together in such a holy place was truly a
dream come true.
Olivia Stillman, Randi Traison, Emily
Levin and Lexie Kay celebrate Yom
HaAtzmaut on Ben Yehuda Street in
Jerusalem.
Furthermore, being in Israel on both the
nation's happiest and saddest days on the
modern calendar was quite memorable
and moving for all of us.
We began Yom HaZikaron with a cer-
emony at the Frankel School, where Hillel
students and Frankel elementary school
students participated by reading poems
and performing dances.
We continued on to the historic battle
sight of Ammunition Hill and concluded
the day at Har Herzl National Cemetery,
hearing stories from our tour guide of
those who lost their lives fighting for
Israel's independence.
As the sunlight faded into darkness, we
found ourselves on Ben Yehuda Street in
Jerusalem where we took part in the cel-
ebration of Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's 64th
birthday. The street filled with people
hitting each other with blue and white
blow-up hammers, spraying shaving
cream and listening to a fantastic concert
at the end of the street.
We hoped this trip would never end,
but before we knew it, we were on our
way back to Ben Gurion airport on our
return trip back to real life. From the
amazing food we ate to the incredible
sights we saw, this trip was beyond our
wildest expectations.
I know we would all agree that these
two weeks really touched us on a pro-
found level and gave us a stronger con-
nection to each other, to our Jewish reli-
gion and particularly to our homeland,
Eretz Yisrael.
It has been said that the only way to
not be sad about leaving Israel is to start
planning a return trip, and I know I can't
wait to start planning mine!
Atara Krakoff lives In Southfield and will
attend Frankel Jewish Academy in the fall.
,
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Rachel Finkel, Sarah Broner, teacher
Jessica Stempek, Atara Krakoff and
Jayne Karp at the Hula Valley Nature
Preserve
Jonah Erlich and Ian Smith in the Galli
Mountains