Israel Poem

It all started Sunday morning with two long flights,

A perfect time to resolve any ongoing fights.

Flying through Israel we had the perfect bird's eye view,

But of what we could see we barely knew!

Then upon landing we all gathered and said the shehechiyanu,

It was such a touching moment- watery eyes did ensue.

Shortly after we were all in for a surprise...

a mountainous dinner- humus, salad, falafel, chicken and fries!

The next morning we visited Independence Hall,

By listening to the guide we realized nothing short of amazing did befall.

Later, armed with buckets and shovels, we dug through the sand,

And uncovered pottery at the Beit Guvrin Caves of an ancient land.

Soon we arrived at the renowned Bedouin tents,

Stories, camel rides and food- all very interesting events!

Then at 3:30 we were up and awake,

The Roman Ramps up to Masada we did take.

And as soon as the little yellow circle appeared in the sky,

Each person was so mesmerized- you could hear even the slightest sigh!

And after climbing down the snake path with shaky legs,

we all floated in the Dead Sea like kegs.

The next day the B'nai Mitzvahs did take place,

An incredible moment, as Jerusalem we did face.

The next morning we mourned for the heros of the holocaust at Yad Vashem,

Knowing that many of us would not exist without them.

That night we shared Shabbat with families in Modi'in,

The immediate bonds could be clearly seen.

On Saturday we enjoyed Shabbat for what it was meant to be-

Sleeping in and relaxing- we bathed in our glee.

The next day we were awed by Seeds of Peace,

A program that hopes to reconcile feuds in the Middle East.

Later we went up to Rabbi Goor's house for dessert and singing,

Which I'm sure to his neighbors was extremely entertaining!

The next day was packed to the limit,

between a winery, rafting, and a jeep tour, there wasn't a spare minute!

Soon we visited Haifa and Caesarea on the coast,

But it was the ice cream at the end that excited us most.

Then later to a munitions factory called the Ayalon Institute,

The methods and cover-ups used told us the people were quite astute.

Friday night we ended with a closing Shabbat service overlooking Tel Aviv,

And almost all of us decided that we weren't ready to leave.

Now as our trip draws to a close,

How amazing our time here has been really shows.

And some would say that we're going back home,

But to me that's exactly where we're standing now.  Shalom.

By Mel