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