JUNE 23 • 2022 | 7

to the Dead Sea, where we 
were able to cover ourselves 
in the special mud and float 
in the water. We then began 
our experience in Jerusalem 
with a lookover of the city 
including the Temple Mount. 
We finished the night on Ben 
Yehuda Street, which had 
an amazing atmosphere and 
delicious food.
Many people will say that 
Jerusalem is their favorite 
place in Israel. Whether it 
is the somberness at Israel’s 
Holocaust museum, Yad 
Vashem, the atmosphere of 
Machane Yehuda Shuk or 
the spirituality of Kabbalat 
Shabbat at the Western Wall, 
Jerusalem offered us many 
emotions and thoughts 
throughout our experience. 
Shabbat in Jerusalem 
was like nothing else; all 
were there to enjoy every-
one’s company, truly a day 
to relax and refresh. While 
in Jerusalem, we got the 
opportunity to volunteer in a 
pantry as well as at an archae-
ological dig site. During 

our time in the Old City, we 
enjoyed the Jewish Quarter 
and even got the chance to 
walk through a water tunnel 
in the City of David, the same 
tunnel that was used to send 
water throughout the city 
thousands of years before.
After Jerusalem, we toured 
the north of Israel. During this 
section of the trip, we learned 
about many different reli-
gions and cultures aside from 
Judaism in Israel and how 
they are a part of the 9 mil-
lion people living there today. 
We visited Caesarea and then 
Tzfat, a city known for its art 
galleries and Jewish mysticism 
known as Kabbalah. 
As we approached the Sea 
of Galilee, we went rafting 
on the Jordan River. One of 
the most fun experiences of 
the trip was Aqua-Kef, literally 
translating to “water fun,” 
It was an outdoor obstacle 
course full of slides and 
jumps in the Galilee. I will 
definitely remember the 
memorable time that I had 
there. 

Shabbat in the north was 
a whole different experience. 
Everyone was outside either 
sitting by the pool, playing 
cards or throwing a ball or 
frisbee. We were all enjoying 
the day. That was until I start-
ed feeling ill and then tested 
positive for COVID 19.
Being sick is tough, but 
being sick outside of your 
home country is extremely 
difficult. However, in spite of 
being away from my family 
in America, I never really 
felt the horrible feeling of 
being away from home. That 
was because I knew that I 
truly was home. I know that 
forever and always Israel is a 
second home, but when I had 
to quarantine with friends, I 
experienced hospitality and 
comfort like nowhere else. In 
my previous visits to Israel, 
I have never felt the same 
feeling of Israel being such a 
casual home for me. 
Now that I have returned 
to Michigan, I have taken the 
time to reflect on what Israel 
meant to me. One of the first 

activities we did as a group in 
Israel was to write down two 
facts that you thought no one 
else would know about you. 
My first fact was that Israel 
makes me feel the safest of 
any place in the world. Call 
it a coincidence, but without 
realizing it until my return to 
Michigan, I did not compre-
hend how true that statement 
came to be. I should men-
tion that my second fact was 
that Israel feels like a second 
home to me. 
Although there were some 
downsides to being delayed in 
my return, I now can under-
stand the many unexpected 
benefits that came along with 
my experience. Without a 
doubt, I felt safe in my sec-
ond home, and I know that 
I will continue to feel the 
same way, without hesitation, 
when I have the opportunity 
to return to my Jewish home-
land. 

Ethan Grey is a junior at Frankel 

Jewish Academy and a graduate of 

Hillel Day School. 

his house and casually walk 
to Beth Abraham, the nearest 
synagogue. 
One of us would walk up to 
the front door and check that 
the coast was clear. Waving 
the other guy in, we would 
grab two taleisim from the 
collection and hang them 
up near the bathroom, so 
that it would appear we had 
been present for services all 
morning. Checking ourselves 
in the mirror, we would make 
sure we looked presentable 
(sharing the comb one of us 
had strategically remembered 
to bring along). Then we 
would leave the rest room, put 
on our borrowed taleysm, and 

enter the sanctuary together, 
greeted by those sweet words 
from the bimah: “Will the 
congregation please rise for 
our concluding prayer, Adon 
Olam!” 
After joining the 
congregation in song, we 
would then casually join the 
queue and leave the sanctuary, 
heading over to the kiddush, 
waiting respectfully for the 
bracha before we each claimed 
our rightful slice of seven-layer 
cake. 
What a plan! I still 
remember it in surprising 
detail. The story lives on, at 
least in my imagination. But 
the question haunts me … did 

we really follow through and 
do it? I honestly wasn’t sure. 
So, of course, I went directly 
to the source. With some 
trepidation, I called my old 
friend Wally, now retired in 
Arizona. Did he remember the 
plan? Absolutely. Now the big 
ask: Did we actually pull it off? 
He asked me why I needed 
to know. I explained that I 
was writing an article about 
that time and our relationship. 
I could hear the smile in his 
voice. “It’ll make a better 
story if you write it as if it 
happened.” 
And then, I remembered 
one of our favorite sayings 
from those days of intense 

friendship. When one of our 
friends who had a higher risk-
tolerance than either of us 
teenage wannabes suggested 
a dubious plan, Wally and I 
would turn to each other and 
together in unison say those 
words of wisdom that saved 
us from ourselves more times 
than we could count: “Let’s not 
and say we did!”
Looking back to those 
simpler times, I still remember 
how special it was to have a 
friend like Wally. Sixty years 
later, we are both older and 
perhaps wiser, but, as you can 
see, Wally also still remembers 
those times — and he’s still got 
my back! 

THE GREAT ADON OLAM CAPER from page 4

