I had a dream a few days ago that I brought a loaf of bread with me in my suitcase, and when I showed up at customs in Tel Aviv they screamed at me. "You think you can bring bread into Israel during Pesach?? You want bread?! Go back to Canada! Lots of bread there!" So we have eaten much matza- but it's Israeli Matza. And that's what you get for asking for "Next Year in Jerusalem."
When we got to Toronto, we met up with the Calgary clan who are a delightful group. Their Morah Esther was my Dad and Aunt's babysitter many moons ago, and many of our kids and their kids were already acquainted from camp and BBYO. Our tour guide Dafna was the guide for our joint trip in 2010. We have an incredible group, and everyone was very excited to get to Israel- and just in time for Shabbat.
If you've ever seen a Kabbalat Shabbat in my classroom, you know I like to have songs. We arrived in Tel Aviv with only a few hours until Kabbalat Shabbat. Mickey surprised everyone at the airport for a short visit, but we did have to get going quickly for an opening introduction to Jerusalem and Shehechiyanu. There was barely time to shower before hustling to the Old City to do Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel. Singing for Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel was one of the nicest times I've had leading a trip in many years. I can't say how grateful I am to be here with this group, and we're just getting started......
I will usually hand off the computer to one of the kids every day, but they are tired today so I wanted to share my own opening thoughts. If you want to see the full itinerary, it's available at http://tinyurl.com/ttisrael2014
The kids are doing great, and here is some proof.
Shabbat Shalom!!
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