Eva

On Monday, May 1st, our day started with an early wake up in our Bedouin tent experience. From there, the class of 2023 drove even further into the Negev (Israeli desert). We began with climbing the mountain Masada via the ‘Roman Ramp,’ which was a path up the mountain created thousands of years ago by Romans, who besieged the mountain and the Jews on it. At the top, we prayed in one of what is believed to be one of the world's first synagogues, creating a new connection between us and our Jewish roots - through location. We also uncovered the story of the siege. The Jews had debated fighting back, surrendering, and running away from the Romans, but all ideas resulted in their genocide. To go out on their own terms, by their own hand without torment, the people atop Masada decided on a mass suicide of themselves. With that information locked away, our grade began the long hike down the mountain via a ‘snake path.’ The hike took over an hour with a lot of turns and steep (not to mention scary) sections, so we were obviously all in the best mood we’ve ever been on the way to our next destination. 

Our second stop was the infamous Dead Sea, but when we arrived, all we could think about after that hike was food. I was towards the back of the lunch line and they ran out of pita, which was unfortunate- but alas, life goes on. We then got ready to burn (go into the Dead Sea). For those who are unaware, the Dead Sea is a body of water with a high concentration of salt. This is because there is no water flowing into or out of the Dead Sea, so as the water evaporates in the desert heat, the salt concentration in the water grows higher. Because the water is so dense, we (humans) are able to float in the Dead Sea. But the heavily salted water also has a downside - the burn. Most people in the grade could not stay in the water due to the salt seeping into every wound they had. Me personally, I fought through the pain to experience the floating and  for the restorative qualities of the minerals (and I must say, my legs have never felt smoother.)

To end our day, we drove to a kibbutz for our last night on Tiyul. Most of us slept well for the long last day ahead, and had an amazing time in the desert of Israel - well, except for the sunburn.

Eden

Throughout the two week Tiyul, there were many amazing experiences we had, but one of my favorites was the Dead Sea. Before I left for Israel, I was very afraid to go in the sea. When we arrived at our destination, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go in our not. However, the teachers encouraged me to go in, even if it was only one minute. I listened to their advice and got in. I immediately fell in love. For those who are unaware, the Dead Sea is a highly concentrated salt water sea, which is the lowest place on earth. Since the density of the water is very high, everyone floats no matter their weight. My friends and I floated on the water and used the salt from the bottom of the sea to exfoliate our skin. I am extremely grateful I got to have this once in a lifetime opportunity, and hope I can go back soon.

Caleb

Yesterday we had an amazing day! We started our day bright and early waking up from our sleep in the Bedouin tents. Then we got ready and ate breakfast preparing to hike Masada. Before we left we bumped into some scary geese. They scared us away and onto the bus. When we got there we soon began to climb up the Roman Ramp to get to the top. At the top we explored and learned about the king’s palace. After some exploration at the top we began to descend down the mountain on the snake path. It was a long journey but a good hike. After our hike we headed to our next destination, The Dead Sea. We drove the bus to the Dead Sea and got ready to float. When we got there we had lunch and then it was time to float. When we got into the sea, the salt started piercing our feet and we were already burning. We got through the salt and started float. We were floating and screaming out of pain at the same time. We were in the sea for a little bit because everyone felt pain. After we got out we dried off and headed to the kibbutz. At the kibbutz we had dinner, played basketball, and reflected on our Tiyul. After we packed and prepared for the flight.

Lev

Yesterday we started our day off with hiking the Masada. It took about 15 minutes to hike up, while hiking it was really cool to see the views from all the way up. We all spent about an hour and a half on the top. Something we learned was that there were about 300 Jews living on the top, and 10,000 Romans were attacking them. The Jews had three options: fight, surrender, run. And the Jews decided to all kill each other. They did this because the knew that they could not win the fight, there was nowhere to run, and if they surrender they would still be killed. But a mother and her kids hid. Then we hiked down, which took about 45 minutes, and we were behind these really annoying kids so they were slowing us down so we had to pass them. When we had finished the hike we went to the Dead Sea. The dead see was amazing and painful. When we were all walking in it hurt our feet, but once we all got far enough we were all floating. Lot of us got out because we got water in our mouth, eyes, or if you had cuts it had hurt enough. We then had a quick pit stop at a mall, then went to the kibbutz where we will have our last night.