Israel Celebration Tours

One moment of joy is worth a thousand moments of pain

2011-10-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

By Rabbi Lee Diamond

Why didn’t this happen 5 years ago when Gilad Shalit was first captured?

Why didn’t we release these Palestinian prisoners sooner in order to bring Gilad home sooner?”

Why pay the price of 1,000 murderers for one innocent prisoner of war?

What will happen once these released murderers and foresworn terrorists return to their murderous ways?

Isn’t Israel setting itself up for more damage to the entire population in order to save one individual?

Clearly Netanyahu did this for his own publicity! Look at the pictures of him standing with Gilad.

The Shulchan Aruch states:

“Every moment that one delays in freeing captives, in cases where it is possible to expedite their freedom, is considered to be tantamount to murder.”

Maybe I can understand a harsh world view that does not understand the Jewish ethos of the importance of one son when asking the above questions!

Maybe I can understand Palestinian sympathizers who are overjoyed by Israel’s apparent weaknesses when they ask the above questions!

Maybe I can understand Anti Semites world over who take joy in criticizing Israel’s faults and glory in its so called weaknesses when they pronounce the above statements with pride!

However when these questions come from within; when they come from the Israeli political left and right; when they come from Jewish and non Jewish Israelis; when they come from fathers and mothers who have had and do have and/or will have children in the Israel Defense Force—I am bewildered and fear that we have lost our Jewish soul.

“He who saves one life in Israel saves an entire world” (Talmud: Sanhedrin 37a)

This statement reflects the Jewish soul. This statement is not qualified! This statement declares to all, that there is no mitzvah as important that saving one soul

I have even heard Jews criticize the above statement as it refers only to Israel and not to all humanity. Do we not have the right to focus on our values? Have we totally lost our sense of self?

Why can we not focus on the good? Why can we not see the miraculous in our midst? Why can we not appreciate the wonders of life? Why can’t we see beauty and joy without subjecting them to a critical eye or fear of the results? Why can’t we live in a glorious moment and understand that “one moment of joy is worth a thousand moments of pain?”

The return of one of our sons from captivity is such a moment; such a miracle; such a joy; such a wonder; such beauty and as such is a gift of God. Yes I do mean a gift of God.

The only Jewish response to such a moment is to declare a bracha – a ברכה which is the Jewish way of expressing appreciation.

I know of no ברכה which is conditional

I know of no bracha which begins or ends with a prefix or suffix

There are no “ifs or howevers or buts” that accompany a bracha!

A ברכה is peculiar technology developed by our tradition to appreciate the moment; to step out of passing time and to observe what is happening at a moment and to allow us to be aware and inspired by wonder.

A ברכה allows us be in awe and splendor before the One, the Cause, the Redeemer of all and the Redeemer of captives...

ברוך אתה ה' גאל ישראל.

Blessed are You Adonai the Redeemer of Israel

Herodian Mansions and the Burnt House Jerusalem

2011-08-29T01:46:00.000-07:00

Venues and Values

Israel Celebration Tours

By Rabbi Lee Diamond

Holiness of Beauty or Beauty of Holiness?

Herodian Mansions and Burnt House

In the heart of todays Jewish quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem and yet under its present surface is the Wohl Archeological Museum. Here we find the remains of homes of wealthy Jerusalemites from the time of Herod’s Second Temple. Within this vast underground complex we find beautiful mosaic floors, mikvaot (ritual baths), storage rooms, ovens, pottery, coins, wall frescos, furniture, a carved Menorah of the period and much more. All of these exhibitions allow us a glimpse into the life of the Sadducee community of Jerusalem Jews of the time.

An ICT Values discussion:

Our value question has to do with the challenges of this period. These are the homes of a Jewish social strata affected and clearly influenced by Roman culture. Yet they were part of the Jewish leadership of Jerusalem of the time including the Priests, the political leadership and the rich and powerful. To what extent were they assimilated into the surrounding Roman culture? To what extent did they maintain their loyalty to Jewish culture and Jewish autonomy in the land? Is it possible to be a loyal Jew or a Jewish leader and yet be profoundly influenced by the dominant world culture of the time?

A set table in this home of the Kohanim

As we examine the artifacts of these amazing homes, these questions become urgent. But no less urgent is the question for our own time. How do we relate to our own dominant culture? Can we be Jewish or Jewish leaders surrounded by and influenced by an equally powerful culture and yet maintain a strong sense of our identity and connection to Jewish life? Need we be corrupted by the dominant culture? What is "Judaization?" Can we expand our own Judaism from this exposure? As we examine the “Jewish ness or “Roman ness” of this home, one may well ask the following question: “If our homes were to be unearthed 2,000 years from now, would the archeologists know that we were Jews? How would they know this” What would they know about our Judaism and our integration into our society? Have we accepted the Roman or Western world’s view of the holiness of beauty? Have we maintained an unchallenged commitment to the Jewish concept of the beauty of holiness? Or have we discovered the way of integration between these to world views?

In one corner, close to the exit of this underground complex is a burnt section of floor, attesting to the destruction that took place here when Jerusalem was razed by the Roman forces. Here one can discuss the loss symbolized by this destruction, the causes and ultimate affects of this loss to the continuity of Jewish life. Here one can discuss the Jewish concept of self blame for own tragedies rather than blaming an enemy. Here the concept of Sinat Hinam (baseless hatred) which is cited as the cause of destruction can be discussed. Here too we can discuss the reverse concept of “Ahavat Hinam” or the “I-Thou” relationship which perhaps is the way to “right the wrong” of destruction.

A spear used by one of Priestly family defenders against the Roman destruction of Jerusalem

Our future depends on how we choose to live in our present and our present is determined by our understanding of and learning from our past.

Havat Kineret and Rothschild Blvd.

2011-08-05T23:18:00.000-07:00

Venues and Values

Israel Celebration Tours

Changing Destiny

By Lee Diamond, rabbi

Havat Kineret

Located near the south western shores of the Sea of Galilee one can find a living replica of one of the first pioneering efforts in re creating Israel: Havat Kineret. This site served as the training ground for young "chalutzim" of the early 20th century as they first arrived in the land. The farm became the focal point for many of these pioneers who were eager to work the land. Here they assembled, gaining inspiration from the land and drawing strength from each other and from their common ideas and hopes. The simplicity of this site and its buildings till this very day in itself, tells this unique story. These young people were seeking to leave a life style that they had known in Eastern Europe and were seeking the simplicity in life that was and is reflected here.

The old world that they had grown up in; the old values that they had known; the language that they had spoken; the education that they had received; the social and political notions that they had been exposed to; the Judaism that they had known –all of these values needed to be reevaluated and readjusted. This generation of young Jews wanted to build a better world, a better society, a better Jew and a better country. Here at Hatzer or Havat Kineret they began the process of "Re Jew vi Nation"

Here we see how small numbers of young people with a strong will and unmatched commitment were able to change the destiny of the Jewish nation. With their own hands; with their own spirits; and with their own minds they created the infrastructure of all that is Israel today.

Values reign supreme at this site. In its simplicity is a richness that is waiting to be discovered captured and understood. Some examples of potential values to be discussed are as follows:

Youth and idealism

Nothing can stop a strong willed person: אם תרצו אין זו אגדה

A human can change his and his nation's destiny.

Taking on responsibility for one's national future

Tikun Olam is possible

Jewish identity, beliefs and understanding can and do change.

Judaism is a national civilization, with a language, literature, music, art form and religious and moral way that is unique and develops as the civilization evolv

One important insight or question worth discussing at this site is: The Cabbalists of Safed, a few hundred years earlier, attempted to achieve the same goal of changing the destiny of the Jewish people in their time.. They too left their Diaspora homes and environments behind. They too attempted to build a new way for the Jewish people. Why is it that the Chalutzim succeeded in ways that the Cabbalists did not?

And one more very important value question for our times

מה טובו אוהליך יעקב

משכנותיך ישראל

How Goodly Are Your Tents O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel

A contemporary venue and reaffirming our values

Rothschild Blvd Tel Aviv: August 6, 2011

Is this pioneering spirit is alive today 62 years after the founding of Israel? Is this the very same pioneering spirit that characterized the Cabbalists of Safed and the Chaluzim of Havat Kineret!

Tens of thousands of young Israelis have decided to change the destiny of Israel. All the efforts of the Cabbalists and the Chautzim are alive throughout Israel today.

Israel Celebration Tours

Wishes to join force with 85 % of Israel’s population who have returned to the values that created and characterized Israel from its very essence.

This is a value revolution no less significant than the revolution of the Cabbalists of Safed who sought to change Jewish destiny

This is a value revolution no less significant than the revolutionary Chalutzim of late 19^th century and the early 20^th century.

This grass roots revolutionary protest reflects the very values upon which Israel was founded.

A better society

A value based society.

A society that cares for all of its members and not just its wealthy

A society based on the highest values of quality education

A society based on social justice

A society based upon passion and compassion

A society which reflects the idea of Zion being a model society for all mankind

כי מציון תצא תורה

ודבר ה מירושלים

For Out of Zion Shall Go Forth the Values of Torah and the Word of God from Jerusalem

Every day of an Israel Celebration Tours is a dialogue with Jewish Israeli values

Where Else but Israel

2011-07-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

By Rabbi Lee Diamond

“What an amazing place! Everyone is Jewish! Even the taxi drivers are Jewish! Even young children speak Hebrew!”
While clearly not all of the taxi drivers are Jewish, one of the most overwhelming experiences for a Diaspora Jew visiting Israel is the sense of being in a Jewish majority in Jewish space and in the total Jewish environment which is Israel. And yes, children of all ages do speak Hebrew!

While it is somewhat inconvenient for some tourists that shops are closed on Shabbat or holidays, this too is a powerful statement to the Diaspora Jew. Here there is Jewish time as well as Jewish space. Sure, many Israelis are on the beach on Shabbat and holidays. Sure, other Israelis are hiking or traveling on these days! Sure, many Israelis are observing and celebrating the Shabbat and holidays by praying in Synagogues or celebrating at home. But the overall statement is that this is Jewish space and time. “Even our hotel is Kosher and observes the rules of Shabbat! Wow, this is clearly Jewish space and time.”

‘The calendar is Jewish.” Time is measured not only by the weekly Shabbat but by the High Holidays and Succot, and Chanukah, and Purim and Pesach and more and more.

For the Diaspora Jew the Israel experience is about his/her Jewish identity. Israel serves as the environment or if you will, the laboratory, in which the Diaspora Jew explores personal Jewish identity and or growth. The Israel experience is less about Israel per se and more about feeling more strongly identified as a Jew.

Some have said that if you were to simply “drop” a Jewish tourist in Israel for two weeks or so without any tour program, itinerary or plan, the overwhelming message of Israel and of Jewish identity would make its natural impact.

Though there may be some truth in the above statement, there would also be, without a doubt, a major “missed opportunity.” In such a charged environment; at a moment of such high potential impact and motivation; at a moment so open for a life changing experience; at a moment of potential identity transformation, we must be ready to engage the moment and to engage the visitor by focusing on and entering into the a dialogue of heightened sensitivity related to Jewish identity. Potential moments like this are rare and unique and must be transformed into educational opportunities.

Rabbi Lee Diamond of Israel Celebration Tours, accepts this as the basis of all Israel tourism and experience. An Israel experience for Jews or Jews by choice has only one purpose: to link Jews to Am Yisrael, Torat Yisrael and Eretz Yisrael and to maximize this unique opportunity.

Israel Celebration Tours

http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/

IsraelCelebrationTours@gmail.com

contact@IsraelCelebrationTours.com

In ISRAEL :+972 54 800 6820

Tel Chai

2011-07-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

Venues and Values Israel

By Rabbi Lee Diamond

Tel Chai

“It is worthwhile to die for our country”: Yosef Trumpledor

Tel Chai is located in the "finger of the Galilee" at Israel's very northern tip, between Kiryat Shmona and Metulla, (Israel's northern most town) overlooking the Hula Valley. If the chalutzim at the beginning of the last century had not had the fortitude to withstand the battles and hardships of the day, the Galilee as we know it today, would never have become part of modern day Israel. This is unfortunately an ongoing story in our day.

Tel Chai's history is deeply entwined with the subject of Jewish self defense. Throughout many years, the Jewish people had depended upon others to defend them or had simply not taken on responsibility in this sphere. The famous poem of Bialik entitled City of Slaughter refers to the fact the Jews had ceased to be the "children of the Macabees" allowing themselves to be attacked and not defending themselves. Part of the Jewish transformation that took place in the early aliyot to Israel had to do with:

Jews taking responsibility for themselves..

Yosef Trumpeldor

Tel Chai represents the beginning of Jewish self defense in Israel. Yosef Trumpledor represents this in human form.

The values discussion here has everything to do with self defense, self responsibility as it applies to the emergence of the new Jew and what will ultimately become the State of Israel and the I.D.F. This discussion should be the first of many such discussions which deal with defense, war, military, armies, morality and war, power and limits of power and land and peace.

This values discussion should deal with Jewish responsibility, self pride as well as Jewish morality, all of which values are most relevant to the contemporary Jew and the contemporary Israeli.

Israel Celebration Tours

http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/

IsraelCelebrationTours@gmail.com

contact@IsraelCelebrationTours.com

In ISRAEL :+972 54 800 6820

Israel Wine and Dine Tour

2011-06-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Dates 6 – 12 March 2011

6 Nights/7 Days

Tel Aviv David Intercontinental 1 Night

Rosh Pina Mizpe Hayamim 2 Nights

Jerusalem Mamilla 3 Nights

(Above hotels are upon availability only. Similar hotels will be provide in case of overbooking)

Sunday 6 March Ben Gurion/ Tel Aviv

Arrival in Ben Gurion Airport.

Assistance and meeting with an ICT VIP representative at the airport.

Transfer from the airport to Tel Aviv.

Short overview of the city, including the Neve Tzedek neighborhood. This neighborhood was founded in 1887 by Aharon Shlush, 22 years before Tel Aviv was founded.

Enjoy of the Bauhaus architecture that makes Tel Aviv a so special city, and visit its port.

Welcome dinner at the Lilith restaurant in Tel Aviv

Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Monday Galil Wineries

After breakfast in the hotel, drive north along the Mediterranean Coast.

Stop at the Binyamina Winery and taste from its cave wine.

Then, drive north to Galilee hills. There, tour and Lunch at the Cheese Farm in Ein Kamonim, the location of the largest alpine goat herd in Israel. In the hills of the Galilee lies a small farm which raise goat that graze in the nearby pasture. The restaurant offers a dairy meal that includes a rich dish of goat’s milk cheese and other dairy delight.

Then, stop at the Rimon Winery, a truly one-of-a-kind winery, that use pomegranate for the production of their wine (rimon is the Hebrew word for pomegranate). This is the place for gourmets seeking a new and different experience, a good quality, elegant wine that also contains all the healthful properties of the pomegranate fruit even when the natural juice is transformed into wine.

Then, visit the Dalton Winery, that is set in the beautiful green, mountainous country of the Upper Galilee, overlooking the Hermon Mountain.

Drive to Rosh Pina to Mitzpe Hayamim Hotel. The Mitzpe Hayamim is part of the famous and international “Relais & Chateaux” Chain Hotels

In the hotel, enjoy the facilities of the Spa and its treatments (treatments are not including in the price)

Dinner and Overnight in Mitzpe Hayamim

Tuesday Golan Heights Wineries

Have a breakfast in the hotel. In the hotel, enjoy the facilities of the Spa and its treatments (treatments are not including in the price). Morning of leisure and relaxation.

Drive to the Golan Heights and visit the Odem Mountains Winery. Taste its wine and enjoy of a Lunch in the winery.

Then, drive to Ein Zivan in the Golan Heights to enjoy the aromas and flavors of the De Karina Chocolate House, a small Chocolate House that produces hand made mountainous chocolate, liqueur and jam. The chocolate is made with the high quality ingredients, the knowledge and the experience past on for generations, beginning in south America- the source of the chocolate.

Then, visit of the Olive farm “Capernaum Vista”.

Then, back to the hotel for a Gourmet vegetarian cooking demonstration.

Dinner and overnight in Mizpe Hayamim.

Wednesday Tulip and Tishbi Wineries/ Jerusalem

After breakfast, start the day at the magnificent Hula Valley Reserve. Located between the Galilee Mountains and the Golan Heights, the Hula Valley serves as one of the prime wintering sites in the Middle East for a wide variety of birds.

Then, drive and stop at the Tulip Winery, located in Kfar Tikva ("Village of hope"), one of the most unique and exciting projects in Israel has been developed where an exclusive family owned winery that specializes in producing premium wines while at the same time contributing to the community. In 2003 the Itzhaki family decided to establish Tulip Winery.

Lunch in the Tishbi Winery. Set near Zichron Yaacov, at the foot of the Carmel mountain ridge near the coast, the Tishbi Estate is surrounded by its home vineyards which enjoy the cooling breezes of the Mediterranean Sea. The Tishbi family also plants, grows and harvests premium grapes at higher elevations to the North, to take full advantage of the cool mountain night air and the long sunny Mediterranean growing season, and in the Negev Desert to the South, where hot arid days and cool windy nights combine with sandy soils to yield superior grapes.

Drive to Jerusalem and entrance through the mount Scopus for panoramic View of the Old City.

Check-in in the newest of luxury Hotels in Jerusalem, located in the new shopping Avenue, Mamilla Avenue.

Dinner at the well know Eucalyptus Restaurant, one of the most interesting restaurants in the country. Excellent dishes enhanced by masterful use of herbs and not a little soul.
Eucalyptus is a spacious restaurant with a rustic decor that includes 19th century agricultural implements and friendly, efficient service. The renowned chef Moshe Basson owns this restaurant.

Overnight in Mamilla Hotel

Thursday 10 Ella valley

After breakfast, drive to the Ella Valley Winery. The Ella Valley Wineries are considered one of the best and most advanced in Israel, with a production of over 200,000 bottles a year, all of

which are premium quality wines. Approximately 40% of the production is exported, which is unprecedented in Israel's wine industry.

Then, explore the Tzuba Winery, a winery located in the Judean Hills, an area historically recognized as a major wine-producing region since Biblical times.
The local topography of the Tzuba hillside vineyard and climate provide ideal conditions to cultivate the vineyards and produce a variety of prize-winning boutique wines.

Enjoy there light lunch.

Then, have a cooking demonstration by the world famous chef Shalom Kadosh. Dinner is included and we will enjoy what we prepared.

After dinner, visit of the Angel Bakery where hallah is made for the Shabbath.

Overnight in Mamilla Hotel.

Friday Mony Winery/ Shabbath in Jerusalem

After breakfast, drive to the Mony Winery, a winery located 20 minutes from Jerusalem. This place was founded by a Christian Arabic family in 2002, in the Monastery of Dir Rafat. They prepare their wine in caves.

Enjoy from Moroccan delicacies for lunch at Beit Morocco.

Drive back to Jerusalem to prepare for Shabbath.

Friday night dinner at the hotel.

Overnight in Mamilla Hotel

Saturday Shabbath in Jerusalem

Enjoy Shabbat at leisure.

The proximity of the hotel to the Old City allows you to take an optional walk tour to the 4 Quarters of the Old City and to the Kotel (Wailing Wall/ Western Wall). This tour will be on your own.

In the evening, after a Havdalah service, check out and have a festive farewell dinner at the well-known eatery, Olives and Fish before the flight.

Transfer from Jerusalem to Ben Gurion Airport

Arrive in USA.

Quotation

Dates

6 Nights/7 Days

Tel Aviv David Intercontinental 1 Night

Rosh Pina Mizpe Hayamim 2 Nights

Jerusalem Mamilla 3 Nights

(Above hotels are upon availability only. Similar hotels will be provide in case of overbooking)

For Group of 25 +

Rate per person in Double room from $ 2,000

Single Supplement from $ 885

These rates are in US Dollars, per person for the whole trip.

The price includes the following points

· 6 Nights in 5 stars Deluxe Hotels.

· Bed & Breakfast Basis in Hotel, except in Mizpe Hayamim Hotel and the dinner of Friday

· 3 Dinners in famous restaurants including a Final Banquet Dinner on the last day

· 5 Lunches on the road

· Cooking demonstration and dinner

· Assistance in Airport, meeting with the guide

· Hotel and airport porterage.

· Transfers from and to Ben Gurion airport

· 6 days of Sightseeing with a private English speaker guide and private Luxury air-conditioned bus.

· Entrance fees as per program (for all the sites and museums mentioned on above program)

Please also note that we will offer to each of your clients:

· Map of Israel

· Hat

· Certificate from the Tourist Ministry

· Special gift from ICT

They do not include

· Extras meals

· Drinks at meals

· Tips to the guide, driver, hotel and restaurant staff.

· Flight Ticket (can be arranged for you)

· Travel insurance

· Personal expenses

· Spa services and treatments

· Outside guests for meals

Please note that the mentioned hotels are upon availability. In case of over occupancy or any other reasons, we will provide similar hotels.

For any further information or requests, do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you

Lee Diamond, rabbi

www.IsraelCelebrationTours.com

Yoga and Meditation Tours

2011-06-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

Kabala

a. 3 days in Jerusalem—the Spiritual touchstone
b. 3 days in Safed—Kabala and Jewish redemption
c. 3 days in Metzukei Dragot (the Judean Wilderness)The Inward Search

The Program Outline:
I. Jerusalem -- "Jerusalem: Shine your light upon your Children

Jerusalem is the spiritual capital of 3 major faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All of these faiths view Jerusalem as a major source of Spiritual energy and derive strength from its spirit. Judaism speaks of an earthly Jerusalem and a Heavenly Jerusalem.
(ירושלים של מטה וירושלים של מעלה  )
Day 1: Tuesday: Approaching Jerusalem

Day 2: Wednesday: The Center: Mt Moriah --the Mountain of the Lord
Day 3: Thursday: God, Why have you forsaken us?
אלי אלי למה עזבתני?

II. The Galilee –Reaching for Redemption ---Safed.

It was in the Galilee and in Safed that Jewish Kabbalists returned after the Spanish Inquisition and Expulsion of Jews from Spain. Their goal and vision was to change Jewish reality and to bring the Messiah to redeem the Jews. Jewish redemption meant the return of the Jews in body and spirit to their land and their God—from spiritual and physical exile to a reuniting with Eretz Yisrael, Torat Yisrael and Elohei Yisrael.

Day 4: Friday--The ladder from earth to Heaven and from Heaven to Earth.

Day 5: Shabbat: Eternity Uttered a Day

Day 6: Sunday--Spiritual giants and their creativity in the Galilee

III. The Judean Wilderness: The Wilderness and the individual Human spirit

The Judean Wilderness has been home during numerous generations to those seeking inner peace and inner meaning. It was here that the Essenes lived in their community of Qumran preparing texts that are referred to today as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The silence of the wilderness has a power of its own.   It is a spectacular silence that speaks loudly to the focused soul.

Day 7: Monday—the Silence of the Desert and the silence of our soul.

Day 8: Tuesday--Separation from vs.. Integration into society

Day 9: Wednesday--Visionaries of inner and world Peace

Every day features Yoga, Meditation and Soul Music

Join Israel Celebration Tours ICT for this inward search for the spirit and soul of Israel and you own “Pintele Yid—that Jewish Spark.”

For more information contact us at:

Phone: +1 786 284 8413
P. O. Box 801832
Aventura, FL 33280-1832contact@IsraelCelebrationTours.com

Israel Day Tours

2011-06-28T12:31:00.000-07:00

For more details contact us:
Home Page: http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/
Email: contact@israelcelebrationtours.com

Israel Tours - Jewish

2011-06-28T12:20:00.000-07:00

Israel Tours - Jewish - offer you the opportunity to see Israel's wondrous sites and attractions. Each Tour offers 5 different Hotel Plans so can choose a program according to your personal taste and budget.
All tours include Arrival and Departure Transfers from Ben Gurion Airport, Accommodation in a selection of Israel's finest Hotels, Touring and Entrance Fees as per the Itinerary, and the services of one of our Top Tour Guides.

Click on any Tour Name to view its full itinerary:

12 Day/11 Night Israel Tours - Jewish - Wednesday Arrival. From US$ 2073 Per Person in a Double Room

15 Day/14 Night Israel Tours - Jewish - Wednesday Arrival. From US$ 2760 Per Person in a Double Room

10 Day/9 Night Israel Tours - Jewish - Friday Arrival. From US$ 1758 Per Person in a Double Room

13 Day/12 Night Israel Tours - Jewish - Friday Arrival. From US$ 2412 Per Person in a Double Room

For more details contact us:
Home Page: http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/
Email: contact@israelcelebrationtours.com

Israel Classic Tours - A great way to see Israel

2011-06-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

We offer a variety of different Israel Classic Tours, all affording you the opportunity to see Israel's wondrous sites and attractions. Each tour to Israel offers 4 different Hotel Plans so you can choose a program according to your personal taste and budget.
All Israel Classic Tours include Arrival and Departure Transfers from Ben Gurion Airport, Accommodation in a selection of Israel's finest Hotels, Touring and Entrance Fees as per the Itinerary, and the services of one of our Top Tour Guides.

Click on any Tour Name to view its full itinerary:

9 Day/8Night Israel Classic Tours - Tuesday Arrival. From US$ 1289 Per Person in a Double Room

9 Day/8Night Israel Classic Tours - Saturday Arrival. From US$ 1289 Per Person in a Double Room

12 Day/11 Night Israel Classic Tours - Saturday Arrival. From US$ 1962 Per Person in a Double Room

For more details contact us :
Home Page: http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/
Email: contact@israelcelebrationtours.com

Cruise ship excursions in Israel

2011-06-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

As one of leading private car companies, with a large fleet of vehicles and over 250 government licensed guides working for us, we will be able to arrange a memorable tour for you. We offer a range of Shore Excursions in Israel, especially catered to enable you to get the most of your short stay in Israel. These are all private tours; touring programs can be tailor made according to your interests and the sites you wish to visit / leave out.

All the rates include comfortable, air conditioned vehicles (according to your party's size) driven by a professional, government licensed tour guide. The rates do not include entrance fees , meals or tips.

We can also create your own personal tour itinerary. Contact us for a free quote!

Tours from Ashdod

Israel Shore Excursions from Ashdod, the southern port at the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, about 1 hour drive to Jerusalem or 90 minutes drive to the Dead Sea.

(prices quoted are for Tour in luxury vehicle with Private Driver/Guide. Entrance Fees and meals are NOT included)

Tours from Haifa

Israel Shore Excursions from Haifa, the northern port at the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, about 90 minutes drive to Jerusalem, 20 minutes to Caesarea or 120 minutes to the Dead Sea.

(prices quoted are for Tour in luxury vehicle with Private Driver/Guide. Entrance Fees and meals are NOT included)

For more details contact us :
Home Page: http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com

Email: contact@israelcelebrationtours.com

"David King of Israel Lives Forever”

2011-03-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

ICT: Venues and Values

By Lee Diamond, rabbi

Visit the City of David with ICT:—“David King of Israel Lives Forever”

3,000 years ago, King David chose to unite the kingdom of Israel by establishing a capital city for an otherwise divided nation. The ancient city of Jebus was chosen as this capital city, to be known as Jerusalem After conquering this city from the ancient Jebusites, King David decides to bring the Ark of the Covenant from its temporary resting place to a permanent home in his capital city.

His Goal? To transform Jerusalem from a physical capital to the spiritual capital of the Jewish people for all times.

Anonymous: King David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant: as it is carried to Jerusalem

This site is overflowing with values that can be presented in the context of some of these questions:

How has Jerusalem become a spiritual capital for us?

How is this reflected in our prayers and vision as well as our actions and our focus?

What is the concept of “Yerushayim shel Maaleh” and Yerushalayim shel Mata"? (Heavenly and Earthly Jerusalem)

Jerusalem may be translated as a City of Peace or a City of Shalom/Fulfillment.

Has Jerusalem fulfilled its potential as a “City of Peace”?

Has Jerusalem transformed itself into a “City of Fulfillment"?

Has the Jewish people allowed Jerusalem to achieve its meaning?

How does the world relate to Jerusalem today?

If Jerusalem is the capital, why are the embassies in Tel Aviv?

As we address the history, and the value concepts contained in Jerusalem we formulate the question and attempt to provide the first answer to it: “Why Jews have always remembered Jerusalem and kept it above their highest joy?”’

We must also examine the myriad of customs related to Jerusalem including;

The direction of our prayers and synagogues

Leaving a corner unpainted or incomplete in our homes

Breaking of a glass at a wedding

The closure of the Yom Kippur prayer

The closure of the Passover Hagadda with the words: Next Year In Jerusalem.

Clearly from these customs Jerusalem holds a vital place in the life of a Jew to this day. Our value goal here is to try to understand Jerusalem’s place in our tradition and why it holds such an esteemed place.

Finally we raise the issue of David’s desire to build a House of God—a Bet Ha Mikdash and God’s rejection of his desire.

Why the rejection and why does a universal God need a house?

Source on David’s conquest of Jerusalem: II Samuel 5:6-10

Source on David and bringing ark to Jerusalem: II Samuel 6-1-23

Source spiritual centrality of Jerusalem Israel and Jerusalem: Psalms 122 and Psalms 137

"Israel Celebration Tours- We share the real Israel with you!"

http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/

The Knesset

2011-03-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

Venues and Values - The Knesset

by Lee Diamond, rabbi

Few sites in Israel are as significant as the Knesset. This is Israel’s legislature where the laws of the state are determined and changed as needed. Named for the ancient Jewish legislative body, the Knesset Ha Gedola, which was established in the 5^th century B.C.E.; this modern body was inaugurated as the War of Independence, was still in progress, and just as the time that the modern state of Israel was being established. It is this parliament that determines the government of Israel from amongst its 120 elected members, legislates its laws, establishes policies for the state and elects the President.

ICT’s interest is to reflect on its significance of the body to the people of Israel. We will supply below appropriate sources describing the actual working of the Knesset.

For 2,000 years, the Jewish people were scattered in the world, living by the good will or sometimes 'not so good' will of the countries of their dispersion. Jews were sometimes treated as equals under the law and sometimes treated as guests in their national home. Prior to the emancipation in Western Europe and throughout their experience in Eastern Europe as well as in North Africa, Jews were tolerated at best.

The French Revolution was the “shot heard round the world” for democracy and equality. This promised equality gave great hope to the Jewish people world-wide. However the Dreyfus Affair in the late 1800’s and reactions in France and elsewhere to this trial forced many Jew to realize that the promise of emancipation was most uncertain for them. Anti Semitism and ultimately the Shoah made it clear that the Jew was unwelcome in Western and Eastern Europe. It was clear that the Jew was not to be accepted as equal in these societies and in others.

As the modern state of Israel was established the message was a again a “shout heard round the world.” However this message was one for the Jewish people. “Here you are guaranteed freedom and equality as this is your home.” Every Jew the in world was offered the option of return and freedom as a Jew in his/her national state, Israel. The Knesset enacted as one of its first laws, the “Law of Return” which provided automatic citizenship to any Jew choosing to accept this.

Jews were no longer dependent on the will of any nation but their own sovereign nation. Equality was declared for all citizens of the State of Israel. All residents of the State, Jews and Arabs alike were given citizenship and equality by the Knesset. Democracy was declared for all citizens.

For many in Israel and in the Jewish Diaspora, there is no memory of a world without an Israel, without a Jewish state, without a Knesset, without a Law of Return, without Jewish sovereignty and without democracy and equality before the law. These values are taken for granted as our memory fades and our new generations do not remember and can not remember a not so distant past of insecurity.

The Knesset is the clearest statement of Jewish independence as it is governed by this as its founding principle.

Some will find fault with the legislative body and its functioning, and for certain it has imperfections but these exist in all democratic societies. However weaknesses can be corrected and improved upon and our system can be perfected in the context of a free democratic State of Israel. Therefore, the primary value concept to discuss in any visit to or discussion about the Knesset has to do with Jewish sovereignty and independence. (one paragraph) In the process of understanding this concept of Jewish sovereignty we must address the issues that need to be developed and improved upon in Israel’s struggle for democracy.

Among these issues are

Religion and State

Women in Israeli society

Minority rights in our society

Treatment of the “other” in our society

Attitudes and action toward neighboring states and peoples

Human rights within Israel

Human rights in relation to enemies

Peace and security

These are but a few brief examples of the challenges to Israeli democracy which require sincere and thorough effort.However at the base of all of these value discussions is the core value of Jewish sovereignty. This value is what defines Israel.

The Knesset is the body which must lead our sovereignty and struggle with the laws that will make for a just and worthy sovereign State of Israel.

As part of ICT’s visit to the Knesset we spend time:

*Reading

Israel

’s Declaration of Independence

*Discussing these values with a member of the Knesset.

*Listening to a live discussion.

*Enjoying a meal in the Knesset cafeteria

*Visiting the Chagall Wall hangings

*Joining in a discussion regarding the values presented--in the park adjacent to Knesset

*A visit the Menorah outside the Knesset – Symbol of State. This Menorah has become the official symbol of Israel. As one views this sculpture, it is important to recall the Menorah etched on the Arch of Titus as captive Jewish slaves carried it on their backs on their way to exile. Here at this site and here in Israel, this shame has been transformed into the pride of a redeemed sovereign nation.

Relief of Menorah on the Arch of Titus built in 85 CE to celebrate the capture of Jerusalem

Menorah at the Knesset today: Symbol of Statehood

Experience the real Israel with ICT

http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/

The Enemy Within

2011-01-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

The Enemy Within

By Lee Diamond

As a young boy growing up in the USA, I watched the McCarthy hearings on television. I would sit in the back of my father’s liquor store along with my parents and we would watch with horror as person after person was called before the committee and harassed by Senator McCarthy. I should add that many of those who were called before this committee were Jews. Those days and these hearings made an impression on me that I will never forget. It was clear to all of us that this was a witch hunt comparable to the Salem witch trials of the 17^th century. The nation that I was born in, lived in and indeed believed in had been taken over by the fear and hysteria of “communist infiltration” and the very principle of the American constitution which guaranteed freedom of belief and speech had been undermined by this committee for “Un American Activities” under the leadership of the most undemocratic personage that America had even borne, Senator Joe McCarthy.

Lives were broken. Families were destroyed. Careers ended. People hid from exposure. Innocent people feared being involved and hid from exposure. Legitimate criticism was curtailed for fear of the scourge of McCarthy. Many Jews feared reprisals for their liberal political ideas. There was no doubt in the minds of many in the Jewish community that they were part of the target.

Just a few years after McCarthy I found my self involved with those who had the courage to criticize their own society for its treatment of its own citizens in the form of the civil rights movement and what we considered America’s unjust war in Vietnam. Civil disobedience was considered a virtue. Marching the streets of Selma with Martin Luther King and tens of thousands of blacks and whites; participating in demonstrations in Washington against the Vietnam War and even being jailed for such was nothing less than an honor. Again there were Jews among us, indeed many! Again we spoke our minds. Yes we were even part of the radical movements such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Rabbi Professor Abraham Joshua Heschel was with us as we marched with Martin Luther King.

McCarthyism had been dealt a deathly blow. Nothing was more sacred than the freedom of speech guaranteed to us in our constitution. America had learned the lesson tragically from the witch hunt of the mid 20^th century.

Today I live in Israel. No doubt that the McCarthy era influenced this decision. No doubt that the discomfort of being the target of bigotry, hysteria, and the national witch hunt that I experienced contributed to this need to be part of the newest, most dynamic democracy in modern time, Israel. Here I could be politically right, left, center and express my loyalty in my own way to the State of Israel. Here I would never be targeted for my politics or for my Jewish identity. Over my 40 years in Israel I have voted center, center left, left, center right. I have been proud to participate in organizations that demand that we live by our highest standards as they are reflected in the Jewish and western tradition. For me self criticism is a Jewish value and Israel as the Jewish State must be subject to such self criticism.

But today I find myself thrown back into the world of Salem. Witch hunts are being renewed in “Jeru” Salem. A committee of “Un Israeli Activities” is about to be established by a no less destructive force in our very government and Knesset. Together with deeply caring Zionist brothers and sisters who criticize Israel out of love without fear; who send our own children to the IDF and who serve personally in the IDF; who do not know the meaning of the phrase: “I do not do “miluim” or “I don’t do the army” We know and understand that this is the democratic responsibility of all citizens, left, right or center. Yet when we climb the barricades of justice, to bring our beloved Israel to confront its weaknesses as well as its strengths we will now be subjected to this inquisition.

Before it is too late we must call this witch trial, this inquisition, this McCarthyism, this KBG spy trial to task and prevent it at all costs. We must name it for what it is: an attempt on the part of a paranoiac and hysterical political movement and its supporters in our government to gain the votes and support from anti democratic forces within our own Israeli society, who fear democracy and wish to return us to the tragedies that history has ruled unacceptable. The very parties who support such a motion must be investigated for un- Israeli, un -Jewish and un –democratic activities and be prevented from bringing this disgrace upon us.

We must stand together as a nation, right, left and center to demand that this agenda be prevented. I call on my fellow Israelis to prevent this source of evil from destroying all that we stand for.

Yours truly,

Lee Diamond

Kfar Saba

Independence Hall Tel Aviv

2010-08-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Lee Diamond

Israel Celebration Tours

www.IsraelCelebrationTours.com

All of us remember the day we left Egypt. In every generation we see ourselves as if we participated in the Exodus.

All of us remember the day we stood at Mt. Sinai and received the Torah. We were all there! If we dig deeply enough we can connect with the entire nation of Israel of all generations who shared this moment which formed our identity forever.

On Tisha BiAv we remember the destruction of the Temples and of the sovereign Jewish State by fasting and mourning as a nation.

As the last phrase of the Seder and as the last act of Yom Kipper we declare “Next Year in Jerusalem.”

Under the Chuppah we break the glass to recall the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E.

In all of these cases it is clear that we Jews choose to relive our national history by becoming part of it and it is through this “reliving” that we live as Jews.

Exodus and Sinai were two key moments in our history. But there is another which is as key and as miraculous as they are.

The Birth of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 is no less significant

and no less miraculous!

Independence Hall Tel Aviv

On this historic day, David ben Gurion in the presence of the provisional government of the Jews of Israel declared the State of Israel after 2,000 of exile. The Jewish people, world wide, were glued to their radios as this historic event took place. This turning point in Jewish history was heard and felt by the entire Jewish nation. Words like Shecheheyanu or Baruch HaShem were heard throughout the streets of Israel and homes in London, Moscow, and Buenos and New York.

We were all there--the generations before us as well as Jews of the entire world. We knew where we came from. We remembered the recent and distant past. We saw this as the hope of our future. Indeed the words of HaTiqva (the Hope) said it all.

Here in this room, in the former home of Meir Dizengoff on Rothchild Blvd in Tel Aviv our history changed. Just as the Exodus was our turning point bringing us to freedom and Sinai was the moment that gave this nation its content, so too this moment gave us the home that we longed for throughout our exile.

This moment needs to be experienced by every Jew. It is so easy to forget. It is so easy to take Israel for granted. It is so easy to assume that Israel was always here. It is so easy to forget what Jewish life was before being empowered by our own state, our own homeland, our own language; our own holidays our own history and our own literature taught in our schools; our own Knesset or Parliament, our own Israel Defense Force to protect the Jewish people and Israel.

Just as every Jew was at the Exodus; at Mt. Sinai and in Auschwitz, so too every Jew for all times has to relive the moment of Israel’s birth and never allow this moment to be taken for granted or to become prosaic.

Here in the Independence Hall in Tel Aviv Israel Celebration Tours provides this crucial moment of reliving; a moment of “re Jew vi Nation”; a moment for all generations of Jews to discover the miracle and include it in their lives.

*ICT brings this and other moments to life.

*ICT understands the Jewish mitzvah of identification

*We read the declaration of Independence as it was read on this historic day in this historic place.

*We hear the voice of Ben Gurion declaring the State

*We join in singing Ha Tikva with those present and proclaim the Shehecheyanu prayer with the original participants.

*We discuss the values expressed in the Declaration of Israel’s independence and try to determine our success in implementing these values in Jewish life and in our young nation.

*We remember that Israel is a work in progress

We add our names to the signatures or our founders

We stand as Jews, with Jews and for Jews!

And we commit to our next generation to keep the miracle alive and progressing.

To relive Jewish moments in Israel

Contact

IsraelCelebrationTours

www.IsraelCelebrationTours.com

The Burma Road

2010-06-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

November 1947, the United Nations voted to establish two states in Palestine: one Jewish, the other Arab. Jerusalem was to remain a united, international city, independent of either proposed state. In spite of this decision, by early 1948 the Jewish sector of Jerusalem found itself under siege by Arab forces and suffered shelling and bombardment for many weeks. Eventually, Israeli forces secured a narrow strip of mountainous land (the Burma Road), which connected the Jewish part of Jerusalem to the rest of Israel, and the siege was broken.

The story of the “Burma Road” has everything to do with the period of establishing the State in 1948.

Though the State of Israel had been declared in the U.N., the fate of that state was not assured. This battle, in the struggle for Jerusalem, was essential in order to allow the declaration to become more than words.

There were times in our nation building when all seemed so difficult if not impossible. There were times when it is appeared wiser to be “realistic” and to not take on impossible challenges. There were those who advised such realism in the face of impossible odds. But others understood that without an attempt to achieve the impossible or at least the improbable that the nation would not come to fruition. In other words there was not a choice. Such is the story of the Burma Road. Such is the story of “Micky Marcus.” Such is the story of the Burma Road.

David Mickey Marcus

Some might see in this story something of the miraculous. If a miracle is succeeding against all odds, then indeed this is a miracle.

But there are measurable and non supernatural values that this site must raise for us.

*There is a Jewish Israeli value called “Ayn Bereira” (Nor other choice). This value has everything to do with this outnumbered, overpowered nation in the War of Independence.

*There is a value to be distinguished here of having to do with commitment to a greater cause that required seeing beyond what is normally defined as realistic.

*There is a value expressed here having to do with the phrase: “Im Itrzu Ayn Zo Agada” ( if you will it , it is not a dream) or nothing can stand before the will and commitment of determined people.

*The symbolic significance of Jerusalem to the emerging nation is a value that must emerge here.

*The meaning of compromise and where one draws the difficult line, as well as where and when flexibility must reign supreme is a value to be considered here.

All of the values that emerge from the experience of hiking and or visiting this site are rooted in Judaism and in Israel and contain crucial lessons for the lives of our tourists as well as young Israelis today. These are urgent and significant messages for the nation of Israel as it faces its future in the region

Source on biography of Mickey Marcus:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/marcus.html

Loving Israel חיבת ציון David Forman z”l

2010-06-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

There are cloudy days my friend

Just remember not to forget our direction

To keep the connection alive, even when it is cloudy

In your heart, in your deepest inner self, you know

You know where the compass is, where north is.

Don’t lose hope

Keep your smile

Keep your passion

No, this is not a tragedy

It’s a bit cloudy now even worrying

But tomorrow the skies will clear and the stars will reappear on the horizon and sparkle.

יש ימים מעוננים חבר, רק לזכור לא לאבד את הצפון

לשמור על קשר גם כשמעונן

בתחושה שלך, בתוך תוכך, אתה יודע

יודע איפה המצפן, יודע איפה הצפון

לא לאבד תקווה

לשמור על החיוך

לשמור על הפאסון

לא... זה לא אסון

קצת מעונן, קצת אביך

מחר יתבהר, ינצנצו כוכבי מרום

ובאה לציון הגאולה

And Israel will redeem itself

A blog by Rabbi Lee Diamond

“David Forman’s love of Zion was expressed in his ongoing efforts to make Israel an exemplary society,” “He didn’t let his love of Israel get in the way of his criticism of it, nor did he let his criticism of the state ever cast a shadow over his love of it.”
Gil Kariv describes David Forman z”l

In recent days the clouds have covered the sky, day clouds and night clouds

And it is hard to see the sun, the moon and the stars

And I feel pain.

No it is not the pain that one feels when isolated by a hostile world.

Nor is it the pain that one feels about political realities in our Israel.

It is not the pain of threatening enemies

It is a far greater pain.

It is the deepest pain of all.

The feeling of isolation from my Jewish and Israeli family

from my brothers and my sisters of peace; from my friends of Shalom

No one asks that we avoid the clouds. We must be seen for what they are

No one asks that we not worry. We must worry lest we fail ourselves.

But we need to understand that we can not escape

Nor lose hope

Nor forget that Jewish life, history and values are works in progress.

That to be Jewish is to maintain love in the harshest of days (and these are very hard days)

And to maintain not only hope in our future but commitment to it.

For Israel’s future is in our hands alone

I met three friends in these days; brothers and sisters in Zion.

One challenged our very essence of Israel today and saw only clouds on the horizon

The other declared that it was too late for us. “Our day is past.” All hope is lost.

The third could only cry and grimace.

Like Job I feel at a loss. Even fellow lovers of Zion have lost hope. They offer themselves no comfort. The clouds distort Jewish vision to the point that we can not see a better tomorrow.

Our press paints black clouds only!

Who can bear such continuous pessimism?

Our political “left” criticizes as it should, but fails to point out the north, the compass---

the way to see ---and even more so to achieve that silver lining.

Where is the pride that brought us here?

Where are the accomplishments of 60 years, despite all odds and despite our youth?

Where the wondrous and beautiful are faces and souls of our next generation that carry the vision and who see beyond the clouds?

Why do we hide from today’s visionaries----- our own sons and daughters who indeed are the “geula”---- the redemption?

Where is the love that accompanies the search for truth?

Why not struggle to be our best rather than surrender to our failings?

It is said that the second Temple was destroyed by baseless hatred of Jew for Jew. Our tradition declares that our national loss was caused internally, by ourselves and not by our enemies. Not only Sinat Chinam or baseless hatred but self hatred—seeing only the clouds and losing faith in the vision

But it is also said of the future that: Ahavat Hinam -- Unsolicited love of Jew for Jew will bring the redemption.

David Forman’s love of Zion was expressed in his ongoing efforts to make Israel an exemplary society…He didn’t let his love of Israel get in the way of his criticism of it, nor did he let his criticism of the state ever cast a shadow over his love of it. (see above)

Let us learn from David and carry on his legacy as our living legacy.

Lee Diamond, a friend.

A Journey of Jewish Ethnicity in Israel for Interfaith Jewish indentity, Jewish Ethnicity and Israel

2010-04-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

Star of David: Magen David Behold you are bethrothed to me

Two tightly knit triangles

form a profoundly strong bond.

“However, the most incredible effect of the trip has been the affect it had on Louisa, my Chinese wife Since she has got back she has not stopped talking about it, sending photos and e-mails to her friends, and reading one book after another, particularly about modern Israel and the Zionist struggle.She even took the initiative to suggest that we go to Synagogue tonight.
I hope she'll write herself, but she was having a hard time putting her thoughts into words…” Jonathan Ross

These and many more are the comments of interfaith multi generational families who participated in one of the many Israel Experiences prepared specifically for them by Rabbi Lee Diamond of Israel Celebration Tours. Rabbi Diamond is an American born Jew and a citizen of Israel. Rabbi Diamond defines himself as an educator committed to the concept that the Israel experience has the power to change lives and most especially for an interfaith family.

What is it about an Israel experience that is so impactful and indeed life changing for so many interfaith families? Is it just a tour of another country? Is it a travel experience together as a family that creates this affect? Clearly there is more!

The secret power of this experience lies in the amazing potential of Israel to serve as a stage upon which the drama of Jewish Ethnicity may best be presented. Although many today down- play Jewish ethnicity for the American Jew as at all relevant; although many Jewish leaders prefer to discuss and educate toward Jewish “Spirituality”; although many will claim that Israel has little to offer an interfaith family, the fact is that Ethnicity indeed survives as one of the most powerful drives in the Jewish soul, keeping Jews connected in more ways than the leadership of the Jewish community is willing to recognize.

The first Seder by Reuven Rubin.(note the various ethnic groups)

Today 85% of all Israelis attend a Passover Seder.

“Jewish Ethnicity” may be defined as connection to the Jewish people and the Jewish drama; Ethnicity may be related to Jewish memory; Ethnicity may be expressed even in such simple ways as love of Jewish foods or love of Jewish jokes; It may often express itself in the form of strong sensitivity to the Holocaust or to continuing forms of anti Semitism; but more than all of the above ethnicity is the source of the uncanny desire of Jews for their own personal continuity and for the Jewish continuity of their children.

The choice of a life’s partner has little affect upon this deep and almost mystical sense of belonging that so many Jews feel and express in varied ways. Often the non- Jewish partner has difficulty understanding this inner urge in their Jewish partner. How many times have we heard non Jewish partners married to Jews complain that their spouse does little or nothing “Jewshly” and yet s/he wants their next generation to be Jewish? It makes little logical sense and indeed is difficult to explain this urge, and yet there is no doubt that it exists and often burns as a bright flame.

The organized Jewish community of North America also has great difficulty relating to and understanding this urge or flame of ethnicity that burns in the souls of all Jews. So many Jewish leaders dismiss these inner feelings as irrelevant and not at all serious. How can one be in an intermarriage and still feel connected? How can one be a Jew and not identified with institutional Judaism, such as Synagogues, JCC’s or other Jewish institutions? This same leadership although often adopting an open and welcoming approach to the interfaith family fails to understand the profound power of a burning Jewish soul, of ethnicity, of connectedness that defies all institutions all definition and all logic.

However this urge, this soul flame burns brightly despite all the misunderstanding, all the criticism, and all too often the rejection.

It is the claim of Rabbi Diamond and of Israel Celebration Tours that we must not only recognize this love of “belonging” but it is the “mitzvah” (the command of our time) to fan this flame; to allow it to burn; to strengthen it and indeed to add fuel to this inextinguishable fire. Not to do so is to misread the nature of the contemporary Jew and to miss the moment and to fail the future.

Israel is about Jewish Ethnicity. Israel is about belonging. Israel is about Jewish history. Israel is about Jewish future. Israel is about connections. Israel, for the interfaith family, is about understanding and creating Jewish memory. Israel is an authentic non- threatening environment for simply releasing the Jewish soul. Israel at its very core is the natural environment to feel and express Jewish pride and “peoplehood.” Despite all claims to the contrary by so many, who miss the real soul of Israel, she welcomes all and her people open their hearts and homes to the searching, and caring visitor.

Float in the Dead Sea

Israel is about children. It is simply fun to be a Jew in Israel, even for a short visit. Be it swimming in the Med, the Dead or the Red Seas; be in kayaking on the Jordan River; be it a jeep tour in the Golan Heights, skiing on the Hermon, snorkeling in Eilat, camel riding in the Negev dessert. All of these experiences strangely enough come across to children as “it’s fun to be a Jew.” It is this feeling that often allows the child to connect as a Jew after years of not feeling comfortable.

Israel provides an amazing insight for the non- Jewish partner in a blended or duel heritage family into the soul of his/her Jewish partner and into the soul of parents and grandparents. Understanding is promoted and gaps are often closed.

While many may miss this truth, Rabbi Lee Diamond is dedicated to promoting such experiences as the command of the hour. He is convinced that more and more interfaith families need to have such an experience and that such experiences will impact them forever.

The flame must be fed and Israel has an unlimited wealth of this natural energy.

Israel’s natural energy: “Orange Jews”

Perhaps these words of a non-Jewish partners express it best::

Louisa Ross:

I love Israel, its people. I will be back!

Rabbi Diamond invites you to visit the website of Israel Celebration Tours at www.IsraelCelebrationTours.com

“Rachel” and Naomi Shemer - “Souls On Fire”

2010-04-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

“Rachel” and Naomi Shemer

At the Kineret Cemetery, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee close Kibbutz Degania (Israel’s first Kibbutz) lays this peaceful yet powerful cemetery. Here we tell the story of idealistic youth who came to change society, the Jewish people, and Jewish destiny. This cemetery tells the story of individuals souls who lived and often died for this commitment. The Chalutzim or pioneers were only as strong as every individual heroic soul who gave his/her all to this group and to making the dream of 2,000 years happen.

Among the many who are buried here is Israel's unofficial poet laureate:

Rachel Blaustein, known endearingly as “Rachel”

Unlike many of her contemporaries amongst the Chalutzim pioneers, Rachel was ill and physically weak. Her contribution came not from labor in the fields nor in building the roads and the buildings of her time. Rachel's contribution to the newly forming society and state of Israel was her poetic soul and her poetry. Note this short quotation from one of her poems:

“…The Kinneret is not simply a landscape, not just a part of nature; the fate of a people is contained in its name. Our past peeks out of it to watch us with thousands of eyes; with thousands of mouths it communicates with our hearts.”

Another brief poem illustrates her inner love for Israel and the strength of her vision:

Sham Harei Golan

Over there are the hills of Golan,

Stretch out your hands and touch them.

In their stalwart stillness they give the

command to halt. In splendid isolation

grandfather Hermon slumbers.

A cool wind blows from the peak of

whiteness.

Over there, on the seashore,

a low-topped palm tree stands,

disheveled like a mischievous infant that

has slid down and splashes in the waters of

the Kinneret.

How abundant are the flowers in the winter,

bunches of blood-red anemones, the

orange of the crocus.

There are days when the greenery is sevenfold

green and seventy-fold is the blue of

the sky.

But even if I become poverty-stricken

and walk bent over and my heart becomes

the beacon for strangers,

how can I betray you, how can I forget.

How can I forget the grace of youth?

Herein lays the magic contained in this cemetery. Rachel was a soul on fire as were so many of the souls of her generation who are buried here. One candle burning brightly gives light but when many of these flames are gathered in one place it becomes a light unto an entire nation. Every one of us has such a soul. Every one of us can make a contribution. Heroes are those who give their all to a cause and as a result of this have the power to change the world or improve it. This value of the power of an individual to change the world is deeply rooted in Judaism. The value of giving ones all and one's best is deeply rooted in Judaism. The value of a group being only as powerful as the intensity of the souls within the group is no less a Jewish value. The modern state of Israel was born in this way and the continuity of Israel and of the Jewish people will continue to exist, create and make its contribution to the world precisely because of this value.

Among the graves of the founders is a latter day poet whose life and works are deeply connected to Israel’s soul and whose contribution lights the flame of a generation.

Another soul on Fire:

Naomi Shemer: First Lady of Israeli Song

Naomi Shemer gave life to an emerging nation. Of all of her works and they are as numerous
“as the stars in the sky” is Jerusalem of Gold which has become a hymn of Israel today:

JERUSALEM OF GOLD

by Naomi Shemer

The mountain air is clear as wine

And the scent of pines

Is carried on the breeze of twilight

With the sound of bells.

And in the slumber of tree and stone

Captured in her dream

The city that sits solitary

And in its midst is a wall.

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light

Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

How the cisterns have dried

The market-place is empty

And no one frequents the Temple Mount

In the Old City.

And in the caves in the mountain

Winds are howling

And no one descends to the Dead Sea

By way of Jericho.

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light

Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

But as I come to sing to you today,

And to adorn crowns to you (i.e. to tell your praise)

I am the smallest of the youngest of your children (i.e. the least worthy of doing so)

And of the last poet (i.e. of all the poets born).

For your name scorches the lips

Like the kiss of a seraph

If I forget thee, Jerusalem,

Which is all gold...

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light

Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

We have returned to the cisterns

To the market and to the market-place

A ram's horn (shofar) calls out (i.e. is being heard) on the Temple Mount

In the Old City.

And in the caves in the mountain

Thousands of suns shine -

We will once again descend to the Dead Sea

By way of Jericho!

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze and of light

Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

Israel Celebration Tours is HONORED to tell our story at this monument to the nation of Israel. We join you in being Jewish souls on fire.

“Venues and Values” - Zichron Yaakov---ICT style

2010-04-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Gentrified Zichron Yaakov today

Zichron Yaakov is located 35 km south of Haifa at the end of the Carmel Mountain range overlooking the Mediterranean Sea , near the coastal highway. Literally the name means: "in memory of Yaakov” or Edmond James (Yaakov) de Rothschild (a member of the famous banking family) who helped establish this village for Romanian Jews who chose to return to Israel at the end of the 19th century. This return to the land is known as the 1st “Aliyah” and refers to the attempt by eastern European Jews of this time to redeem themselves in the Land of Israel. They no longer saw a future for themselves in their lands of dispersion. They heard the call of the Zionist movement and decided to act upon it.

There were three other villages that emerged as well in this time: Petach Tikva, Rishon Le Tzion, and Rosh Pina. All of these settlements were populated with Jews who wanted to redeem themselves in the land.

Zichron Yaakov today is a reconstructed, gentrified and lovely town in which one can get a sense of Israel's recent past and present. You will be able to visit the shops of local artists and craftsmen. Unique and one-of-a-kind items can be found here. It is here in this village your ICT guide will have the opportunity to introduce you to the early "chalutzim" or pioneers, and on the values that motivated them in making this life decision to change not only themselves but to change and try to affect the destiny of their nation.

What kind of person takes on this kind of responsibility? Why? What are the forces that bring this about? Is it really possible for an individual or a small group of individuals to change destiny or history or a nation?

Some historians say that the first “Aliyah” did not succeed in achieving its goals. However there is no doubt that what they began paved the way for those who followed. Given the times and their challenges, they achieved immeasurably more than they are accredited with.

One such person who paved the way for those to follow wasSarah Aaronson. She and the N.I.L.I. . (נצח ישראל לא ישקר) which was a Jewish espionage network that assisted Great Britain in its fight against the Ottoman Empire in Palestine during World War I. Its headquarters were located here in Zichron Yaakov. Your ICT guide will take you to Sarah’s home and lead the discussion about individuals who take on the cause of their people and who dedicate their lives to it at all cost. Sarah became a model for all time of a woman dedicated to changing the destiny of the Jewish people. She left an indelible mark on the course of modern Jewish History. She was truly a woman of valor.

Eliezer ben Yehuda—the father of Modern Hebrew

The focus of our values discussion in “Zichron” centers on what the first “Aliyah” did achieve and not on its failures. Perhaps the greatest of all achievements is the re-establishing of the Hebrew language by Eliezer ben Yehuda as the spoken language of the new Jew. The rebuilding of our national language in this time is a value that is crucial for our ICT guide to relate to in the context of such a visit. This value discussion leads to the ongoing discussion that is part of any and all ICT Israel experiences, namely our own willingness to change our own world and our own Jewish destiny.

No less important on this day is a visit to the Carmel Winery located in “Zichron”! Here Baron Edward De Rothschild otherwise known as the “Nadiv” (the generous one) supported the Jews of the first “Aliyah” by helping them establish grape vineyards and a winery to provide a productive industry for the fledgling community. As we know today the wine industry in Israel is a most successful one with roots in the caring of the “benefactor” and the hard work of those who planted the roots of our newly emerging nation.

See Israel from within -Bet Shean: Two Worlds –Romans and Jews

2010-02-25T23:20:00.000-08:00

Israel Celebration Tours invites you to

“See Israel from within”

Bet Shean: Two Worlds –Romans and Jews

From the Roman bathhouse in Bet Shean

South of the Sea of Galilee in the northern section of the Jordan valley lies the ancient site of Bet Shean otherwise referred to as Skythopois by the Romans.

Few venues in Israel illustrate more convincingly the presence and world view of Rome.
This Roman city with its magnificent theatre, its broad paved streets, its shrines for worship, its commercial districts and shops, its columns and varying capitols all testify to the power and accessibility of Roman Hellenistic culture in Israel during from 63 B.C.E. onwards. Perhaps more than any other structure in Bet Shean, the Roman bathhouse reflects and expresses the world view and value system of the Romans (and perhaps local Jews) of the time.
The bath house in Roman culture had all to do with the perfection or treatment or perhaps the culture of the body. The physical here reigned supreme. As part of this “value system” is the world of Roman gods and goddesses who accompany and adorn such a bathhouse. The Mishnah in Tractate: Avoda Zarah 3:4 raises the question as to whether a Jew is permitted in such a place. This Mishnah thus asks the contemporary value question regarding Roman and Jewish values and their potential conflict.

Here in this bath house or in the Roman theatre or environs we study this very Mishnah and try to understand the value conflict and the resolutions of the time. No less so we examine similar cultural differences and value conflicts that we have in our lives today and try to determine our own options for resolution in our own time.

To see “Israel from within” contact us: http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/

A New Way to see Israel

2010-02-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

Sunset over Israel

Israel

Celebration Tours

http://www.israelcelebrationtours.com/

A new way of seeing Israel

“What an amazing place! Everyone is Jewish! Even the taxi drivers are Jewish! Even young children speak Hebrew!”

While clearly not all of the taxi drivers are Jewish, one of the most overwhelming experiences for a Diaspora Jew visiting Israel is the sense of being in a Jewish majority in Jewish space and in the total Jewish environment which is Israel. And yes, children of all ages do speak Hebrew!

While it is somewhat inconvenient for some tourists that shops are closed on Shabbat or holidays, this too is a powerful statement to the Diaspora Jew. Here there is Jewish time as well as Jewish space. Sure, many Israelis are on the beach on Shabbat and holidays. Sure, other Israelis are hiking in nature or traveling on these days! Sure, many Israelis are observing and celebrating the Shabbat and holidays by praying in Synagogues or celebrating at home. But the overall statement is that this is Jewish space and time. “Even our hotel is Kosher and observes the rules of Shabbat! Wow, this is clearly Jewish space and time.” “Did you notice the number of people of all ages kissing Mezuzot?” “Did you notice that this gas station gives out free Chalot if you fill you car on Friday?”

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‘The calendar is Jewish.” Time is measured not only by the weekly Shabbat but by the High Holidays and Succot, and Chanukah, and Purim and Pesach and more and more.

The tribes of Israel

The Israel experience for most Diaspora Jews is not about another tour somewhere in the world or another holiday. The Israel experience is about exploring and discovering personal identity. When we hear the oft repeated words, “this was a transformative experience for me” the words refer to the power of the Jewish environment and sense of enfranchisement that Israel provides even the most casual visitor.

Strangely enough, the Diaspora Jew often sees the “Jewishness” of Israel more clearly than the average Israeli. To the average “secular” Israeli it is only natural to live in Jewish time and space. There is nothing unique about this. “Well of course I speak Hebrew with my kids. What language would you have me speak? Of course my life cycle is governed by the Jewish calendar and holidays. This is my culture! Of course my child will marry a Jewish partner! Who else do you expect him/her to marry?” What is natural and so taken for granted by the average Israeli is so obviously Jewish and unique to many Diaspora Jews visiting Israel.

For the Diaspora Jew the Israel experience is about his/her Jewish identity. Israel serves as the environment or if you will, the laboratory, in which the Diaspora Jew explores personal Jewish identity and or growth. The Israel experience is less about Israel per se and more about feeling more strongly identified as a Jew.

Some have said that if you were to simply “drop” a Jewish tourist in Israel for two weeks or so without any tour program, itinerary

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or plan, the overwhelming message of Israel and of Jewish identity would make its natural impact.

Though there may be some truth in the above statement, there would also be, without a doubt, a major “missed opportunity.” In such a charged environment; at a moment of such high potential impact and motivation; at a moment so open for a life changing experience; at a moment of potential identity transformation, we must be ready to engage the moment and to engage the visitor by focusing on and entering into the a dialogue of heightened sensitivity related to Jewish identity. Potential moments like this are rare and unique and must be transformed into educational opportunities.

Israel Celebration understands that we must “maximalize” the Israel experience for the Diaspora Jew through a careful selection of Israel venues and the concomitant Jewish value concepts that are embedded within these sites thus allowing for this experience to have its maximum impact.

To achieve this, we at Israel Celebration Tours understand that our tour guide must be first and foremost committed to Israel and to the Jewish people and its culture; secondly s/he must be committed to his/her tourists and their process of Jewish identity formation; s/he should see the site as the means to this end and not to relate to the site as the end in itself. Finally the tour guide must understand that he/she is first and foremost a “shaliach” of the Jewish people performing a “holy” educational task.

In order to achieve our goals, ICT understands that an Israel program must have a underlying curriculum (plan) that allows for the cogent telling of our story; for the presentation of the Jewish values that emerge from the story and for constructing a program that flows from site to site; from hour to hour and which leads to engagement as well as identity with the Jewish people.

Israel Celebration Tours invites you to share our story. פורים שמח

Who is a great Israel Guide?

2010-02-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

View of Israel from Mt. Nevo as Moses saw it.

Who is a great Israel Guide?

Is Seeing Believing?

or is

Believing Seeing?

“When Moses stood at Mt. Nebo and looked over the land of Israel, he requested of the Holy One permission only to enter the land and see it (briefly).

Is it not obvious that anyone who enters the land of Israel sees it?

No it is not obvious!

Many people enter the Land of Israel and never see it!

Many people enter the Land of Israel and only see its surface!

Many people enter the land of Israel and never see its inner beauty!”

The Israel Tour Guide is a guide to seeing!

Israel Celebration Tours is committed to the concept that the Israel Tour guide is the entry point.

We know that an Israel Tour guide opens doors and opens eyes and indeed can help to open hearts.

ICT understands that an Israel experience is not only another tour of another country or a series of sites.

We understand that the tour guide is in fact an Israel mediator and as such can make all the difference.

What makes for a special guide?

ICT provides you with the following 18 חי checkpoints:

1. My guide is licensed by the Ministry of Tourism of Israel.

2. My guide speaks English fluently

3. My guide has extensive knowledge of Israel both ancient and modern

4. My guide knows me and the world I come from as well as my needs

5. My guide is able to see under the surface; under the façade

6. My guide allows me to see Israel through his/her eyes

7. My guide is able to share his/her emotions as well as his/her knowledge

8. My guide is able to see Israel through my eyes.

9. My guide is a story teller.

10. My guide is a master communicator

11. My guide wants to welcome me into the inner sanctum of Israel.

12. My guide is flexible and open

13. My guide is guiding me even more than guiding the sites we are seeing.

14. My guide tells a story that has a beginning a middle and an end and not a loose collection of unconnected stories

15. My guide is capable logistically

16. My guide takes matters of safety and health as most basic

17. My guide’s greatest reward is sharing the story of Israel

18. My guide is dedicated to his/her own Jewish Israel identity—no matter what the form

18=חי

ALLOW ICT

TO SHOW YOU

WITH OUR EYES

AND THE EYES OF OUR “18” TEAM

ISRAEL

Tel Aviv – A Jewish City or a City of Jews

2010-01-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

We at ICT (Israel Celebration Tours) want to share our passion for Tel Aviv with you.

Some think of Tel Aviv as the secular city of Israel and even describe it as a city of Jews and not a Jewish city. But Tel Aviv is a Jewish city through and through.

Tel Aviv has Myriad Identities

The Hill of Spring; Alteneue Land/Old-New Land, the White City; the Big Orange; a World Heritage site; the City That Never Sleeps; the first all Jewish city in modern times; the Financial Capital of Israel; the Theater Capital of Israel; the musical capital of Israel; the cutting edge of Jewish creativity; a city attracting Israel’s young and dynamic...It is said that just as Jerusalem prays, and Haifa works, so Tel Aviv dances.

Tel Aviv is often called the Big Orange

Israel Celebration Tours is proud to “tel” you about this “tale” of Tel Aviv:

When Herzl wrote his opus entitled “Alteneuland” he envisioned a modern Jewish State built upon the foundations of ancient Israel. His book was translated into Hebrew as “Tel Aviv” and ultimately was the name chosen for this old-new city. A century after its founding, Tel Aviv is indeed the fulfillment of Herzl’s dream. It is second-to-none in Israel because Tel Aviv is unique unto itself and first in so many ways!
The city was founded in 1909 through a lottery (using sea-shells) for plots on the sand dunes just north of ancient port of Jaffa. It was originally called “Ahuzat Bayit” – literally meaning “Estate”.

The lottery on the sand dunes of Tel Viv, 1909

In the words of Akiva Weiss, one of Tel Aviv founding fathers:
“I have a plan as to how we may build 100 percent Israeli cities… The streets will be broad, the homes will have running water and be surrounded by gardens, electric lights will blaze in the streets and houses and industry will have electrical power day and night. A comprehensive sewage system will be established and everything required for a modern city will be installed.”
While Jerusalem will always be the spiritual capital of Israel, Tel Aviv captures the new and developing Jewish soul. Witness the Tel Aviv of our today, the Tel Aviv of our youth, the Tel Aviv of our future and the Tel Aviv of our creativity:
Population of more than 390,000 residents, around 50% of whom are aged 15-40. Tel-Aviv today is a young and vibrant city.
Corin Rotary, International Marketing and Business Development Consultant wrote of Tel Aviv: (http://www.telaviv-insider.co.il/culture-1.php)
"Tel Avivian’s say what they think..."
“In contrast to many other citizens of various nations around the globe, Israelis and Tel Avivian’s in particular tend to give their opinions freely and openly. This applies in basic situations such as saying yes or no when offered a drink, as well as when discussing complex political issues (very common) over dinner with friends or with the taxi driver… Nevertheless, Tel Avivian’s are normally very friendly and hospitable towards tourists. Therefore, don’t be surprised if you will get a dinner or a party invitation from a Tel Avivian’s you’ve just met!”
The Show must go on – Theatre in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv is the ultimate city for theatre. From its early days, Tel Aviv was a great cultural center with an outstanding Hebrew theatre. Moreover, 18 out of Israel's 35 performing arts centers are located in Tel Aviv-Yafo.
Habima Theatre
Israel's national theatre, established in Moscow in 1918, re-established in Tel Aviv in 1931.
The Cameri Theatre
Established in 1944, was the first theatre to produce plays in Hebrew. More than 20,000,000 people have seen more than 400 plays in the past 50 years.
Beit Lessin Theatre
Founded in 1980, it enjoys and has developed a unique and high quality reputation for original drama.
Gesher Theatre - Tel Aviv's youngest theatre
Established in 1991 by new Russian immigrants, it offers plays in Hebrew and Russian.
Other Theatres in Tel-Aviv
While the above are more mainstream theatres, others include the Yiddish Theatre, the Puppet Theatre at Yarkon Park, Hasimta in Yafo, and the Orna Porat National Theatre for Children and Youth.
Music and Dance Centers in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv offers a wide range of music styles and is the home of the famous Israel Philharmonic and of Israel's leading dance companies, Bat Sheva, Bat Dor and Inbal. Suzanne Dalal Center for Dance and Theatre consists of dancing, musical and cultural events with a special atmosphere in Neve Tzedek and the Enav Cultural Center which hosts lectures, concerts and plays, is a cultural center and the new seat of the Tel Aviv City Council.
If opera is your favorite entertainment the new Israel Opera is your perfect show in town. The new high quality venture was relocated in 1994 at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center located next to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Beit Ariela (Sha'ar Tzion) public library.

A performance at the Suzanne Dalal Dance Center

Tel Aviv Museum of Art
As art nourishes the roots of culture, the city of Tel Aviv assists artists to express themselves by being a source of inspiration. Art is an inseparable part of Te Aviv’s culture. Some of the leading museums in Israel are located in Tel Aviv and visitors have the unique opportunity to explore and enjoy both classic and modern art.
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel's main art museum, shows permanent and changing exhibitions in the home site of the museum at Shaul Hamelech Boulevard and in the Helena Rubenstein Pavilion, adjacent to the Mann Auditorium. Among the permanent collections, it is possible to find the best of Israeli painting and sculpture, beginning from creations from the twenties to modern works, European art from the 16th-19th centuries, impressionism and post-impressionism and European and American art of the 20th century.
Eretz Israel Museum
The Eretz Israel Museum, situated in Ramat Aviv, near Tel Aviv University, exhibits a wide range of art collections in the fields of Archaeology, Judaica, Ethnography, Material Culture and the Applied Arts of the Land of Israel.
Diaspora Museum
Beth Hatefutsoth, the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, located in the grounds of the University of Tel Aviv, exists to convey the story of the Jewish people for more than two thousand years as we lived our life in the Diaspora.
Our Favorites Museums
Palmach Museum – Bet Ha'Palmach
Not to be missed, this excellent museum tells the story of Israel’s acceptance of Jewish responsibility—not to be a nation of fighters but a nation of defenders. Never to tremble, never to hide or cower again! Here is the Palmach House we engage in the story of the new Jew and the new sons and daughters of the Macabees defending our freedom while holding out the olive branch of Shalom.
The Yitzhak Rabin Museum—Ramat Aviv

The Yitzahk Rabin Museum

“Shalom Chaver” were the words declared by former U.S. president Bill Clinton after the tragic assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Indeed Clinton’s words captured the feelings of Israelis, Jews and peoples of all faiths world wide. It was Shalom that Rabin struggled for and it was with the word Shalom on his lips that he died.
This is a museum featuring Rabin's life, in the presence of the turbulence and changes which occurred in the Israeli society in the background, while presenting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – with all its complexity and explosiveness, socially, politically and publicly. All artifacts are arranged around a large cylindrical space, located inside the Yitzhak Rabin center for Israeli studies. Not to be missed!!
Tel Aviv: The New Spiritual Jewish Search
Bet Tefillah Yisraelit—the Israeli House of Prayer
Perhaps the best example of Tel Aviv as a thoroughly Jewish city is Bet Tefillah Yisraelit. Not a Reform Temple, nor a Conservative or Reconstructionist synagogue imported from the Diaspora and indeed not Orthodox. This is uniquely “new Israel.” This is an authentic expression of 21st century Israelis, rooted in their land and seeking to connect with God; seeking to connect to their traditions and history and values. It is based upon the natural link of Israelis to their past, their heritage and their holidays while maintaining the firm footing in modernity that Israel represents today.

Erev Shabbat on Tel Aviv's beachfront with Bet Tefillah Yisraelit

Walk along the boardwalk or deck of the northern port of Tel Aviv on a Friday evening at sunset and you will encounter hundreds of young Israelis welcoming the Shabbat with prayer, song and instrumental music. Families with young children; singles and the best of our youth; passer-bys just stopping in for a few moments to join in Lecha Dodi and then to continue on their “shpatzir”; clapping and dancing; a brief “Dvar Torah” or sermonette; contemporary Israeli songs; sunset as Shabbat enters over the Mediterranean; colors galore in the sky – reds and yellows mixed with blue and then darkness and the moon. Shabbat arrives and embraces Tel Aviv and Tel Avivians. Arrive early as the seats are quickly occupied although standing room is always available.

Rothschild Boulevard

Tel Aviv from Yafo

Tzipori: Jewish Creativity, Jewish Renewal, Jewish Future!

2009-12-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

A visit to Tzipori is part of our Synagogue Tours program (see Day 6):

The Sanhedrin Travels:

From Jerusalem to Yavneh
From Yavneh to Usha
From Usha to Yavneh
From Yavneh to Usha
Usha to Shefaram and

Shefaram to Beit Shearim to...

Tzipori

During the first Jewish revolt against Rome in the years 66-70 CE the Jews and leaders of Tzipori refused to enter the struggle against Rome. While the Zealots were in struggle with Roman authority, Tzipori remained non militant and sought the ways of peace and compromise.

After the destruction of the Second Temple and the end of the independent sovereign Jewish state that existed in Eretz Israel, the Jews of Israel, living under Roman rule, had to chart a new course to continue Jewish life.

In Tzipori, in the heart of the Galilee, Rabbi Judah the Prince (head of the Sanhedrin of his time) gathered together the Oral Law that had been developing until his day, edited and published it naming it the “Mishna”. It is this very Mishna that would allow for Jewish survival in this time and indeed would create the pattern of Jewish development for all times.

Tzipori is not just another site in Israel with rich archeology. Tzipori is a touchstone. It is one of the most significant Jewish communities of its time. . It is here that we witness the creativity, the renewal, the ability to adjust and expand and the understanding that the Jewish people must learn to live and create in all environments even as a minority.

According to the Midrash, Judah the Prince was born in 135 CE. on the day that Rabbi Akiva was martyred by the Romans. Some would say that G-d Himself saw to it that the chain of tradition would be carried on.

Judah was a man of his times. He understood the needs of the Jewish people whose future was in danger. Judah understood the world and culture of Rome. He knew that he had to provide the Jewish people with a framework for Jewish life and he knew as well that we had to live with Roman and Hellenistic culture.

Judah was at home in both these cultures and indeed the Mishna that he created attempted to provide a “Guide for the Perplexed” for its time.

Bringing Tzipori to Life in Our Time

Here in this thriving 2nd century town of some Jewish 12,000 residents we find this Roman theatre. What occurred in a Roman theatre at the time?

The performances probably consisted of light farces and animal dancing. Perhaps some gladiators exchanging blows? Perhaps some slaves or criminals being fed to the lions? Perhaps some nudity or some lewdness? The Talmud declares: "Blessed is the man who does not go to the theatres and circuses of the Romans in the Land of Israel.”

Yet in the midst of this community of Jews, under the leadership of “Prince Judah” there would be regular gatherings of as many as 4,500 participants and spectators. The question is rather obvious! Did the Jews avoid the theatre? Did they participate? Did Judah the Prince ever attend? Did he allow the Jewish “Tziporians” to attend?

The Jewish Quarter of Tzipori

It is reported that there were 18 synagogues in Tzipori at the time of Judah the Prince. The streets of the Jewish quarter are lined with mikvaot or ritual baths fully visible to the naked eye. Clearly this was an active and committed Jewish community.

And yet...adjacent to this quarter is the Roman theatre!!! Just a stone’s throw away!
Did the teenagers and young adults sneak off to watch a show? Did young Jewish girls date young gladiators? What about the Roman gods that were displayed in every Roman theatre - were they to be avoided? Were the Jewish kids starting to speak Latin? Any kids being named Alexander or similar? Did all the boys get circumcised? What about the dress code? Togas or Tzitzit? Or maybe Togas with Tzitzit?

Could you go to one of the 18 synagogues in the morning and then to the theatre in the afternoon? And if you did, would a good, wet, dunk in the mikvah purify the soul? So hard to be a Jew!

The Roman Villa and the Mona Lisa

Here in this wonderful villa we discover an overwhelming mosaic floor dedicated to the cult of Dionysus, the god of wine. Panel after panel of this marvelous mosaic is dedicated to this pagan god and its wine cult each depicting the Roman god of feasting, fertility, drunkenness, ecstasy and revelry. Fifteen panels portray scenes such as Dionysus' victory procession to India, his marriage to Ariadne and his drinking contest with Heracles, the largest of the panels. Aspects of the Dionysian cult are also shown, such as grape treading, shepherds and scenes of rejoicing and gift bearing.

A frame of 22 circular acanthus leaf medallions surrounds the Dionysus panels, most of which contain hunting scenes of wild animals and naked cupids holding bows and arrows. Centered amongst the medallions are two portraits, of which the northern one is severely damaged.

The southern portrait depicts a captivating woman adorned with earrings and a laurel garland. Her gaze is riveting; in fact, she appears to look directly at you from every corner of the room. This woman has been dubbed "The Mona Lisa of the Galilee", not because she resembles Leonardo’s subject, but rather because she stares at all of us. Who is she? No doubt the important figure who resided here was a man of great wealth and power and had a "trophy wife" would have been a probable accoutrement to his lifestyle.

So who cares? So what? Romans all lived this way!

But there is a theory that this was the home of Judah the Prince! Is this possible? Could a nice Jewish descendent of Moses have a mosaic like this? Isn’t this idol worship? What about the idea that Jews don’t have human images or images of Roman gods? Is it possible that Yehudah Ha Nasi was assimilated or assimilating?

Let’s get some answers to all these questions raised at Tzipori.

The Famous Tzipori Synagogue and its Mosaic Floor

Herein lies a potential key to our question. Were we assimilated in Tzipori into Roman culture? Did we attend the Roman theatre? Could Judah the Prince have lived in a Roman Villa dedicated to a Roman god and with human images.

Can one live in two worlds? Can one integrate two worlds? On the very floor of this synagogue we find the answer. A zodiac calendar along side Biblical designs! A menorah along side pagan symbols! The answer becomes clearer the more we reflect on our own times. Yes most of us live in two worlds and we adjust to meet the world in which we live. Life is not black and white. Life is dynamic and changing. Just as the human develops in mind and body, so too does our culture and our religion develop. Judaism grew from the time of the Temple to the time of Tzipori. Realities changed and so must we.

And this is the key lesson of Tzipori for the serious student and tourist!

Judaism grew and adjusted to the new realities of the times. The Mishnah reflects this change and Tzipori is a lesson in Jewish Creativity–Jewish Renewal—Jewish Future. Anyone who wishes to discover the real and all too often missed Israel may contact:

Israel Celebration Tours where every site is a hidden value.

Chanukah Happened Right Here!

2009-11-29T02:55:00.000-08:00

A Different View! Jew against Jew
Rabbi Lee Diamond

It being Chanukah season, I believe it is appropriate to discuss the Macabees and the Hasmoneans.

Close to today’s new city of Modiin, halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, are the ruins of what may be a Hasmonean burial site. While it is not archeologically established that this is indeed an authentic Hasmonean site, this was the area in which much of the activity of the Macabean rebellion took place during the Greek period [C 166 BCE.]

The Greek Hellenistic period in Israel is one of the most challenging that we experienced in our history. Many Jews assimilated or were deeply influenced by this major and enticing world culture. The Hasmoneans, or Macabees, represent an attempt to reclaim control over the land and Jewish culture from the Greeks, Hellenistic culture and Jewish assimilation.

Here in this region, in site of what may be the graves of the Macabees, we retell the story of Hellenism and Israel in the second century BCE and the attempt on the part of this group to stem the tide of assimilation. All too often we relate to Chanukah as a holiday celebrating Jews defeating the Greek empire in Eretz Yisrael and the freedom that comes for this. In fact the real story of Chanukah is the struggle of Jewish culture in Israel against rampant Greek Hellenistic influence.

One definition of Jewish identity is that in order to stay within the Jewish culture, Jews must maintain three things: their language, their names and their national dress. If we think about the influence of Greek Hellenistic culture in Israel in this period it was exactly these very cultural symbols which were changing and being lost. Greek became a dominant language among the aristocratic Jew; They began to prefer Greek names to Hebrew names and they began to dress similarly to the Hellenists.

Thus Chanukah was a struggle of Jew against Jew. It was an attempt to prevent Jews from assimilating into their surroundings and celebrates the rededication of the Temple following Judah Macabee's victory over the Seleucids.

After Antiochus issued his decrees forbidding Jewish religious practice, a rural Jewish priest from Modiin, Mattathias the Hasmonean, sparked the revolt against the Seleucid Empire by refusing to worship the Greek gods. Mattathias killed a Hellenistic Jew who stepped forward to offer a sacrifice to an idol in Mattathias' place. He and his five sons fled to the wilderness of Judea. After Mattathias' death about a year later in 166 BCE, his son Judah Macabee led an army of Jewish dissidents in a guerrilla warfare victory over the Seleucid dynasty, which at first was directed against Jewish collaborators, of whom there were many. The Macabees destroyed pagan altars in the villages and circumcised children. The term Macabees as used to describe the Jewish army, is taken from its actual use as Judah's surname.

The revolt itself involved many individual battles, in which the Macabean forces gained infamy among the Syrian army for their use of guerrilla tactics. After the victory, the Macabees entered Jerusalem in triumph and ritually cleansed the Temple, reestablishing traditional Jewish worship there and installing Jonathan Macabee as high priest. A large Syrian army was sent to quash the revolt, but returned to Syria on the death of Antiochus IV. Its commander Lysias, preoccupied with internal Syrian affairs, agreed to a political compromise that restored religious freedom.

The story of a powerful culture such as Hellenism and its struggle with Judaism is a story for all time and all generations The “Kulturkamph” (struggle of cultures) that ensues and the subsequent “miracle of the few against the many, the strong against the weak” is the theme of our discussion. Here we have the opportunity to relate to the symbolic meaning of the “Chanukiah” and the way in which Chanukah is celebrated today as well.

The issues that arise in this period and at this site, foreshadow many future discussions during this period and continue as issues of our own day. Chanukah and dedication to Jewish continuity, are a key catalyst for this discussion.

The victory of preserving Jewish culture in an enormously enticing environment of Hellenistic culture was the primary victory of Chanukah. Each candle is a symbol of Jewish pride and appreciation of our own inner Jewish flame.

Have you ever considered experiencing this narrative on the very site of Modiin where the struggle began? Discussing this story "on site" kindles the inner Jewish light and pride that we all need for our Jewish souls.

To book a Celebration Tour to Israel, where the sites and sounds of our culture, history and biblical narrative come alive, click here.