Written by Leah Beck
On January 18th, the Nachshon Project went out into Tel Aviv and I finally got to see something in Israel.
The day was based around Tel Aviv's history and we spent a lot of time in the city discussing how we felt about it being the first Hebrew city, even though it has so many possibilities for relaxing away from Jewish customs.
Because I am the only member of Nachshon who has never been to Israel before, throughout the day I was reminded that everything I saw was unique to our trip. I wouldn't have gotten these experiences on any other Israel trip.
Jaime, our guide and mentor for the day, began by bringing us to an art instillation in an alley of a tree suspended between three buildings, growing out of what I took to be a concrete seed. I personally appreciated this stop because it was something I hadn't seen of Tel Aviv so far - beauty in art. I had previously only briefly experienced the city as a dirty place, and the tree brought a beautiful perspective to it that I wouldn't have otherwise seen.
Throughout the day we discussed different texts relating to the founding of Tel Aviv. We learned that the first main building built was not a Jewish one, but a school.
One of our stops later in the day was a cemetery where I believe our group of 21 camp counselors bonded the most by realizing our differences. At the cemetery a discussion arose that showed our passions for different values between Ramah and URJ kids. It got heated in the moment, but as the day went on, we found ourselves continuing to discuss it, and by doing so, coming closer together as a group.
For me it was a day of many firsts. First schwarma. First time spending shekels. First time seeing all of Tel Aviv from the 49th floor of the mall at sunset. First time feeling like I was really making friends here.
This trip to Tel Aviv confirmed for me that I made the right decision by coming to Israel.
