“If It’s Thursday, It Must be Rebecca’s Bat Mitzvah”

Back in 1969 there was a movie entitled “If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium”. It was a star- studded cast featuring Suzanne Pleshette, Ian McShane, Murray Hamilton, Peggy Cass, Michael Constantine and a host of others. It was a romantic comedy involving all of the stars on a bus tour through Europe and each day was another spot. Some of the stops were for minutes or glances in order to give those on the tour a lot to speak about. Nine Countries in 18 days. Our tour was much more “up close and personal”.

When Jane and I were told that Rebecca, the youngest of our grandkids, was going to have her Bat Mitzvah ( celebrating adulthood, at 13, in the Jewish religion) in Israel, we began to save. We knew that Israel would be expensive ( from flight to dining) and the plan that the kids had was even better than we could have expected. A private mini-bus for the 7 of us and our own personal guide. Our driver was great knowing all the backroads and ways to get around the very congested cities we visited. Our “guide” Oren, was magnificent. Besides being an Israeli who speaks Hebrew fluently, he is also able to speak English perfectly as well as Spanish. He has been guiding family and company tours for years ( except during the covid period when NO tours were allowed) and is someone who wants the people of the tour to feel comfortable and enjoy the experience.

The trip we were on could never be classified a vacation! In fact, I think, now that we are back, we might think of taking a two or three day respite somewhere near as a vacation from that I might call a “once in a lifetime experience” rather than vacation. We visited for a total of 11 days arriving on the first night of Chanukah and seeing how the locals celebrate the festival of lights. They truly celebrate with great feeling and festive hearts.

Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s at places like the West Wall, where Rebecca had hers can only be done on Saturdays, Mondays and Thursdays. There are sections of a terrace facing the wall that are geared for the prayers and reading of the Torah. Girls are primarily Thursdays as in Israel ( in particular Jerusalem) Male celebrations come first. Oren was able to educate us on the difference between Orthodox, Ultra Religious, Reform and secular as we visited much of THE JEWISH State. His knowledge is top notch and his way of bringing us all into the discussion is powerful. I think all of my grandkids and my wife became better educated on traditions of our people and our history.

Talk about “history”, Israel is loaded with it. Ruins that show how people lived thousands of years ago. Restorations that are allowing the world to see some of the beauty of the people in a time before computer technology. How did they bring water to new settlements? We learned the answers to this and many others. We stayed at three different hotels during our excursion- King David in Jerusalem ( the longest stay), followed by two nights at a hotel on a working kibbutz, The Pastoral ( a cultural getaway) and the last two nights in Tel Aviv at The Alexander ( a modern, downtown hotel that lacked the charm of the others but was very close to where we were visiting).

I cannot tell you all that we did in detail, but I can tell you that for our family it was the experience of a lifetime. We covered the Old City of Jerusalem, followed by the New City on day two. On the third day we went to a fake kibbutz that was built to hide an ammunitions company during the War of Independence. We followed that with our first cave , the Stalactite Cave ( these are thousands of years old). From there, we went to an Israeli Military training post where we learned a great deal about the greatest army in the world. We engaged in some target practice. I was shocked by my scores. I got them all!  BTW- The dining experiences we had were wonderful.

Of course, great Middle Eastern food! On our first day we visited a market that was as busy as could be. We had a coupon that had 6 food stands and went from one to another to claim our item- fun, exercise and great yummies- what fun! The food, from little stands to 5 star restaurants was great- lots of great flavors and wonderful people in every place we visited. They need to learn how to make a better martini, but otherwise we were very happy.

Thursday was the BIG DAY- Rebecca became an adult within the Jewish community. The weather was perfect and the setting amazing. The Rabbi worked with his ZOOM  student to make sure that all was sheer perfection. There were three other services going on at the same time, and yet not one interfered with another. Rebecca was flawless in conducting the service, her own speech and in showing the world ( and her family) that she had indeed become an adult. After the service we went to the other side of the wall where we all wrote notes to place in the wall and watched the lighting of candle 5 for Chanukah. Which in Israel is a major production.

The next day we did the Camel ride, the Masada and the Dead Sea- talk about a day of learning and having experiences never considered in life ( at least for me). On Saturday we went to The Jordan Valley where we visited  the ruins of a sixth century synagogue and I was able to stand on its stage and do a little song from, what else? “Fiddler on the Roof”. ( take note- I grew a beard on the trip so Tevye was easy).

The Masada was another amazing hike. On this one, Jane and I rode up on the tram while the rest of the family did the hike. Everything is Israel is UPHILL and for us older people, downhill is far better. Jane and I did join the family on top where we all learned a great deal about the history of this monumental space. Oren showed us the rooms and explained the story of Lots where the people took their own lives rather than have the Romans kill them. Seeing the ruins and what was uncovered shows just how clever the people of the past were. They created many of the things that we take for granted today ( running water is one and steam baths another). There was no technology, just NEED and I suppose the old saying we heard growing up, “when there is a will, there is a way” came out of what was done thousands of years ago.

There is a marvelous bird sanctuary in Israel as well. These birds migrate to the warmth of Israel from all over and the state feeds them and protects them for their winter retreat. We saw thousands of them and witnessed the feeding when the feed is delivered. This allows the area farmers to keep their crops as the birds are well satisfied at this sanctuary.

The next day we were off to The Golan Heights where we went by jeep through the area where the 6 day war took place, stopping to explore the bunkers. I got to ride shotgun in the 28 year old Jeep and had a ball. Our driver is a survivor of that war but did lose his right leg. We also visited the Banias Waterfall and did a hike that included some 9,500 steps ( mostly uphill) before heading to to a local winery with some good tasting products Monday and Tuesday (days 9 and 10) were along the beautiful coast of the Mediterranean Sea, visiting Acre (over 2000 years old). We also got to see its underground tunnels and then on to Haifa and the Baha’i Gardens ( I never knew that there was another garden other than the one we enjoy in Wilmette. It rained on us, so we did not get to see it, but knowing what they have in our area, I can only imagine the beauty in Israel.

Our last day was a bit complicated as we spent the day visiting Modern Tel Aviv and Old Jaffa finishing the day with a wonderful Jewish History Museum- a place that easily needs four or more visits to truly see it all. Between these things we went to the Carmel Food market- almost as exciting as our first food market, but not quite as much.

In Jaffa, Oren showed us an amazing theater cultural center- Na Laga’at Center ( please touch is the translation). The theater is the only one in the world where all the actors  are deaf, blind and deafblind. They also have a restaurant that is called Blackout Restaurant, offering gourmet meals served by waiters who are either blind or visually impaired. The patrons are completely in the dark- no lights and no cell phones or flashlights. Now I have a reason to return to Israel as they were not offering any plays and it was to early to dine. Oren made sure I was made aware of all the theaters as we drove through cities- I knew culture would be strong. The Jewish Museum also had loads of theater, music, television, movies and other arts.

Day 11 was early rise, pack and load and then back to the airport for our return from the warmth and beauty of our heritage to our homes. As I said earlier, not a vacation, but a love affair  with our history. All of the names I heard in Sunday school and the Rabbi’s sermons now fell into place. I could put a picture to them and now understand what I learned decades ago. There is indeed a great deal more that I could say about this fabulous experience, but these are the highlights.  We had the time of our lives and celebrated a special day in the life of a special young lady ( no longer our “little girl”). Thank you Rebecca for choosing to do the Ceremony in Israel and thank you for allowing your grandparents to be a part of the experience. An experience we will all share for the rest of our lives! Shalom!

NOTE: There are many places we visited that are not mentioned in the above, but were of great interest to all concerned. Of course we visited Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Museum, spending several hours on the tour. We also went to several churches as we learned about all the different religions that come to Israel. Thanks to our guide, Oren, we missed nothing! Most of the article is centered on the day to day visits and items that stood out. The caves, the ruins, the hikes, the meals and of course the celebration nightly of Chanukah and last, but not least, the Bat Mitzvah of my granddaughter, Rebecca.