Top 10 Family Activities in Israel

Striking the balance between serious and fun when planning family trips to Israel might at first seem difficult: there is so much to experience in Israel yet a limited period of time to do it all. It doesn’t have to be. In fact, striking the balance is increasingly easy with activities across the country that effortlessly educate in a way that’s fun, memorable, and often inspirational, for everyone!

1: Jerusalem Scavenger Hunt:

Explore Jerusalem’s famous Old City and quaint Nachlaot neighbourhood in a different light with a Jerusalem Scavenger Hunt. These Israel tours allow you to forge your own individual memories and relationships with Jerusalem. Split into teams, participants use clues and a map to explore the city, stopping at designated sites along the way. Offering a unique way to experience a unique city, Jerusalem Scavenger Hunts are fun and very memorable for children and adults alike!

2: Archaeological Dig for a Day Experience:

The hills near Jerusalem offer the chance for you to become Indiana Jones for a day. The Dig for a Day experience gives you the opportunity to learn to dig, sift, and excavate, three key archaeological skills in the real-life archaeological excavation at Beit Guvrin National Park. Participating in an archaeological dig for a day literally gives you the chance to dig through history and maybe even uncover something of great importance.

3: Masada Challah Baking & Torah Workshop:

Primarily a feature of Israel Bat Mitzvah tours, this is a unique experience in which an oven is taken to the top of the iconic and important site of Masada, which stands majestically alongside the Dead Sea. The ceremony of baking challah is thousands of years old and, in separating the challah as you customarily do, and in so designating a small portion for holiness, you are symbolising the giving of one’s self, a perfect thing to do at the time of a Bat Mitzvah.

4: Genesis Land Camel Rides & Desert Dinner:

Experience and partake in the story of Genesis! At Genesis Land, we can meet Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, who will welcome you aboard his camels taking you to Abraham’s tent where you will enjoy Biblical hospitality in the midst of the Negev Desert. You can meet Joseph and his two brothers just before they throw him into the pit, witness the matchmaking of Isaac and Rivkah by Eliezer, and experience many other familiar stories from the Bible. You can even stay overnight in the desert in style if you like.

5: Otzar HaStam Scribe Center in Tzfat:

The Otzar HaStam visitors center in Tzfat is the only one of its kind in the world. It opens a window to the fascinating world of “STaM” – the ancient art and tradition of the Jewish Scribes, writing the Sefer Torah (Torah scroll), Tefillin and Mezuzah.

Board the moving seats and embark on a fascinating journey: Learn the mysteries of the holy letters of the Hebrew alphabet, starting with… Creation, on to Mount Sinai, and right up to our own day! Meet a hologramic scribe living in ancient Egypt. Watch a 3D presentation about the process & secrets of parchment and then, on a giant 180-degrees screen, see an amazing presentation, celebrating the annual cycle of Jewish life. Don’t miss the Trivia Game Show and the Scribe’s Workshop,where you will meet a real scribe and - with real feather-quill and parchment - will try out writing for yourselves!

6: Friday Night at the Western Wall & Old City Shabbat Dinner

The Western Wall, the last remaining wall of the Temple in Jerusalem, is the holiest place in the world for Jews. Experiencing this on Friday nights, as Shabbat begins, is somewhat magical. In a typical week, this is the busiest time to go to the wall, and the magical tunes of the many hundreds of religious Jews who come to welcome the Sabbath can be heard for some distance around. This unique experience can be enhanced even further with an Old City Shabbat Dinner experience whereby you will be able to enjoy Friday Night in the hospitality with a Jewish family living within the Old City!

7: Banias Waterfalls Nature Walk:

A quiet walk is always a great way to spend time with the family. Whilst Israel is criss-crossed with hiking trails, the Banias Waterfalls Nature Walk is one of the most special passing through the shaded forests which pass by the cool, refreshing waters of the iconic Banias waterfall in Israel’s Golan Heights region. This will surely be one of those (many!) magical moments on your Israel tour where everything in the world seems just right.

8: Kfar Kedem Talmudic Village: Donkey Rides & Pita Baking:

In the Galilean Hills lies Kfar Kedem, a recreated village originally dating from, and mentioned in, the Talmud. Great for kids, this village brings the Bible to life with the opportunity to dress up, ride donkeys, and even bake pita bread. Kfar Kedem is a unique Israel travel attraction that might not be for everybody, but is certainly somewhere that nobody would forget.

9: Jerusalem Old City Ramparts Walk:

The walls of Jerusalem’s Old City were rebuilt in 1538 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and rise up to fifteen meters above the windy lanes, stone houses, and places of worship below. Two sections of wall can be explored in person providing an adventure through which visitors are rewarded with a panoramic view across the rooftops of the Old City and beyond. From up above, it becomes far easier to understand the development and layout of the Old City.

10: Temple Mount Sifting Project:

Take part in the first ever archaeological project examining finds from the Temple Mount, the holiest spot in the world for Jews, and also holy for Muslims and Christians. Following a botched construction project in the 1990’s in which earth was unsympathetically dumped in the Kidron Valley, the Temple Mount Sifting Project was established to literally sift through in order to identify archaeological artefacts. The process has been ongoing since 2004, and is reliant upon the help of volunteers, so why not take a day on your Israel trip to help in an important project which will undoubtedly be educational, fun, and deeply meaningful.

Shalom Stark

Visit our original blog on Shalom Israel Tours at http://shalomisraeltours.com/category/shalom-israel-tours-blog/

Rockets into Roses

When you’ve got lemons, make lemonade. And when you’ve got rockets, make roses.

A fairly unconventional tactic for dealing with the hardship of life, Israeli artist Yaron Bob has done the impossible- making something that is a symbol of death and destruction into a sign of rebirth.

How? With a hammer, anvil and furnace, Yaron sculpts rocket metal from Kassam rockets fired from Gaza into stunning, hand sculptured flowers.

As Yaron states, “I take the Kassam Rocket, the instrument of death and I change it, I transfer it into something of beauty.”

Traveling in Israel with its beautiful landscape and serene nature, you would never realize the proximity Israel is to its unfriendly neighbors, unless your Israeli tour guide tells you news stories about Israel’s past and current situation. On your Israel vacation, your Israeli private group tour will probably also not visit Sderot, a town that is in dangerously close proximity to the Gaza Strip. Some background information: Despite Israel’s removal of its citizens from Gaza in 2001, over 12,000 rockets have been fired into Israeli soil, specifically the town of Sderot, with profound trauma as the result.

Yaron seems to be continuing the tradition to “turn swords into plowshares”, as he quotes from Isaiah 2:4 on his website, making something productive from the chaos that surrounds him.

Yaron’s roses have been given to dignitaries around the world including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator John Kerry, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, to gain support and awareness for Israeli victims of terror.

What’s more- on top of the opportunity to commemorate the past, remember the victims, and stand firm not to let it happen again, by purchasing one of Yaron Bob’s roses, you can actually help prevent any additional Kassams from making a mark on Israeli lives.

As Yaron Bob explains, by the time the siren goes off, the residents of the town have about 15 seconds to run for cover. And with few bomb shelters, that means that there are a lot less places to find safety in a crunch. Yaron is determined to change that as well, with consumers’ help.

Proceeds from every sale go to help build additional bomb shelters, specifically in Ashkelon, a nearby also in dangerously close  firing range to Gaza. The projected goal is to raise $300,000 for Operation Lifeshield. If you are on an Israel bar mitzvah tour or Israel bat mitzvah tour, this is an amazing project that your child can participate in when he returns back home; raising awareness of the Rockets into Roses project and collecting money on its behalf.

You can purchase your own flower at www.rocketsintoroses.com, complete with a Certificate of Authenticity that your flower was made from a Kassam rocket that was fired from Gaza.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

And additionally, advises Yaron Bob, when life gives you rockets, make roses.

Shalom Stark

Visit our original blog on Shalom Israel Tours at http://shalomisraeltours.com/category/shalom-israel-tours-blog/

Jordan River Kayaking

Do you remember that high moment in Jewish History when the Jews crossed that river with Joshua as their leader, finally stepping foot into the Holy Land? A momentous event, to be sure, complete with Red Sea-style sea- splitting fun.

That river was called the Jordan River. Fastfoward in time thousands of years and……..

Does it still exist? Can we find it in our modern Israel geography while on your Israel vacation? Is this something you can include on your Israel bar mitzvah or Israel bat mitzvah itinerary?  You better believe it.

And now, instead of wading across it biblical style, you can KAYAK across it in the beautiful landscape of the Upper Galilee. Now that’s what I’m calling a redemptive experience!

There is one kayaking option that is more white-water rafting, complete with exciting rapids. If you are on a more cautious Israeli private group tour or on an Israel bar mitzvah tour, you can opt for the relaxing family-style version. If you’re looking for extreme sports, this option isn’t really your scene.

On the family- style travel route, all around you will be nearby residents chilling on the sidelines and little Israeli children splashing each other and you (careful with your urge to go swinging your oar in protest). You can control the speed you would like to go, and holler at nearby kayaks for some friendly competition if desired. A lazy river ride gone biblical.

You can also get a 6 person raft, which would add to the collective singing opportunity as you go on your merry way down the luscious snaking path of the Jordan River. The family style route is about 1 hour and fifteen minutes long. For speed kayaking, you’ve got yourself a 2 and a half hour adrenaline filled  bonanza that passes through small waterfalls and and exquisite scenery.

The Jordan River Kayaking experience was the brainchild of Kibbutz Kfar Blum member  Pini Almog in 1986 .

The kibbutz is located in the Upper Galilee region around the area where the Hasbani, Dan and Banias rivers join together to form the Jordan.

Grab your oars and start paddling!

Shalom Stark

Machane Yehuda Market - aka "The Shuk"

The shuk.

If you’re traveling on a private group tour of the hottest spots in Israel, there is no way you are not going to pass through this intense, bustling marketplace in the heart of Jerusalem, between Agripas and Yafo street.

So to be a truly informed Israeli tourist, you gotta know the lingo. Technically, the market place is called “Mahane Yehuda”, so jot that down in your tourist notebook for your Israel vacation. But to be one with the natives, call it simply, “The Shuk”, arabic for marketplace.

The shuk is well known all throughout Israel. It contains within its assorted narrow passageways 250 vendors all beckoning at you to buy their precious merchandise. This merchandise includes everything from juices believed to enhance your concentration, to diamonds (yes, there is now a diamond store!) to assorted knick knacks, kitchenware, clothing, bistros, boutique wines and cheeses.. you name it. And lots and lots of choices for fresh fruits and meats.

The infamous “Marzipan” dessert store is located on Agripas, about a hundred feet away from the opening of the shuk.  It’s rugales, hot and oozing chocolate, are enough to make you think that you have reached the highest possible place separating Heaven from Earth.

Unlike America, it is still possible to do some good old fashioned bartering here, if you’ve got the nerve.  Watch your Israel tour guide for Israeli bartering tips.

The shuk, or Machane Yehuda, has been in existence since the late 1900s.  Three business partners decided to get together and establish a neighborhood that they called Mahene Yehuda ( the tribe of Yehuda) after one of the partner’s brothers. The neighborhood consisted of, in its infancy,  162 families. The marketplace established there, between Machene Yehuda and the adjacent neighborhood Beit Yaakov, was originally called Shuk Beit Yaakov. When the British in their cleanliness decided that the Shuk needed to be sanitized and reconstructed in the 1920s, the newly renovated marketplace complete with more permanent stalls and roofing was given a new name; henceforth the place was known as Mahane Yehuda. All types of people from the rich to the poor to all of Israel’s ethnic groups and the spectrum of Israeli’s tourists, including families on Israel bar mitzvah tours and Israel bat mitzvah tours, frequent the shuk. You’ll be sure to find all sorts of characters selling random things and playing instruments on the side streets.

Be sure to find yourself at the shuk on any day of your Israel travel except Thursday nights and Friday before Shabbat. Unless you really like being stuffed in like sardines, moving around at a snail pace, grumbling at all of your fellow shopper who are, like you,  pushing their way to delicious pre- Shabbat festivity purchases. Those times are the hottest hours for people to do last minute Shabbat shopping.

However, if you are at the Shuk right before they close down for Shabbat, you’ll be witness to a hilarious comedy show, as vendors desperately try to get rid of all of their produce before closing up shop, dropping prices and competing with each other in good humor to attract the final straggling customers to their shops.

Shalom Stark

Visit our original blog on Shalom Israel Tours at http://shalomisraeltours.com/category/shalom-israel-tours-blog/

Israel Bar & Bat Mitzvah - Give Some Love

How to Affect Children in Israel from your Living Room; Israel Bar and Bat Mitzvah Tour Ideas with Ahava

When you come to Israel with your family and your little one (and your growing, bigger ones) on your Israel Bar Mitzvah or Israel Bat Mitzvah tour, you will, understandably, expect to gain a lot from your experience. Being part of the luscious landscape, celebrating Jewish sovereignty, taking in the wonderful atmosphere, and relishing your child’s big day performance as he/she moves on to the next stage in his Jewish journey.

But have you ever thought about the opportunities to give as you tour around Israel? While receiving is wonderful (and well needed and deserved for exhausted families that want spiritual and cultural rejuvenation), there is nothing more uplifting and heartwarming than giving back when you return back to the US of A.

And, not surprisingly, kids love to be a part of the giving back process.

One interesting way in which to get your children, your family, and your whole American community involved is through an organization called “Ahava Village for Children and Youth”, located in the town of Kiryat Bialik.

The facilities on this campus include fifteen apartments,  education buildings, and places for the children (Kfar aged 6 to 18) to go to relax and spend time with each other. Two hundred children, all from high-risk, difficult home situations, live with foster parents in the apartments, and receive personal care, support, and necessary training, while also attending school in the village. It is the intent of the organization to help children from dysfunctional backgrounds ( terror, violence, abuse, drug victims) receive the tools and support to become empowered members of Israeli society.

The center began in 1938, when 50 European children entered what was then Palestine, in need of a home in the midst of their communal and familial destruction.  Now, the growing Ahava community serves children from all backgrounds and emotional and personal needs.

What does this have to do with you?  Plenty.  Because Ahava operates primarily on donations, it is in need of constant support. Their facilities are desperate for rehab, the dining hall is still in the finishing stages of reconstruction, and Ahava wants to create an emergency intervention center for traumatized children, with rooms for therapists to live, and more. But they can’t do it without you.

Discuss Ahava with your children before you leave for Israel, host a parlor meeting to get your community involved, organization a family fundraiser, and then visit Ahava on your Israel Bar/Bat Mitzvah tour. The significance of giving back in the spirit of Jewish renewal will alter your chidren’s perceptions of responsibility and  Jewish peoplehood forever.

Shalom Stark

Visit our original blog on Shalom Israel Tours at http://shalomisraeltours.com/category/shalom-israel-tours-blog/