From Sea to Shining Sea

Heller High students hike from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean

by Brad Kaplan,     10^th grade,       Indianapolis

It sounds crazy walking from one side of Israel to the other. Going to the highest peaks, to the lowest caves, we as a collective team went through it all. It was an unbelievable experience seeing the land of Israel and sleeping in nature. With the most beautiful sight, I have ever seen in my life without a phone to get a picture of it. And just being with some of the best people in the world.

   Day One. After everyone got picked up from their host families for Sukkot we all head down to our start point. All except one of us, Cyle Ginsberg missed his train and came later that night. We arrived at the start point which is a river that flows off of the Kineret. We met out guide Shachar (which means sunrise), and our security guard Shye. We sat down in a circle to talk about the trip and do an icebreaker where we each said our name and favorite place in Israel so far. Then we got changed into our bathing suits and went on our first walk. We went to the river and before we began we filled a water bottle with the water from the Kineret and would carry it with us until the Mediterranean and dump it out there. As we went to the water it was super slippery and almost to our waists, and when we got almost halfway we did an activity where together we went under the cold water and got soaked. It was a lot of fun and there were trees everywhere and the rocks were so hard to walk on. I walked with my friend Joe Rosenberg and we climbed on almost every tree sticking out of the water. As we got out of the river that was about 45 min, we all changed back and got some snacks and started to head to our first campsite on the bus. Once we got there we took all of our bags and took them to these mats, which we soon found out that we would be sleeping on them. Then we had about 20 minutes of free time, then we had a very large discussion about the equipment and the groups and a lot of safety. Then once everyone got into their four subgroups and got all of their materials, dinner began. We started with soup which was good and cooked by the company, which every dinner is cooked by them. It was very good, but the dinner after was chicken with some salad and some rice. After everyone ate and group one cleaned the dishes we got changed into warm clothes and met in a straight line at the edge of the campsite. Then we started to go on a walk, and one by one we were told to sit in a spot separate from others and to think for around 30 minutes. This was a great reflection activity and then picked up one at a time to head back as we all sat down to have a discussion about how our experience went. After that, we went back to the campsite which was small compared to the others but had a lot of different water sources. Most people would sleep on the ground with their sleeping back, but some like me slept in a hammock. But even with this comfort, it was extremely hard to sleep with the cold weather and being outside. I didn’t fall asleep until 3 am which caused for a very hard day of hiking tomorrow at 5:30 am.

   Day Two. Getting up this early wasn’t even the hardest things of the day. We got up and had some tea with biscuits. It was a good way to warm up. Then, we got all packed up and put our bags on the bus. We got dressed and ready to hike. We were walking by 6:45. For a while it was easy, calm flat terrain going down. Then we got to the bottom of the trail to a mountain that wasn’t even the main mountain we were climbing. It was one of the hardest days of my life. Especially have very unsupportive blundstones that made me not be able to feel my feet. There were beautiful views before breakfast with incredibly tall trees that protected us from the sun. We stopped for breakfast on the side of a large road under some trees with rocks. We had some break with a chocolate spread and peanut butter. Not much for breakfast but still tasted good. We started the hard part of the hike where it was so hot and dry with no trees and all uphill. We stopped 15 minutes later and I already was drenched in sweat. We continued but as it got steeper the view got nicer. It was getting harder and my very little energy, to begin with, was draining. After an hour or so of hiking, we stopped for a snack under a very large tree with a well under it. We sat down and had explained to us that we would finish the hardest part of the hike with our groups and learn how to use a map and walkie-talkie in case we get lost. We were off and I was doing good for a while about even an hour or so. However, we just got to the bottom of the mountain that was huge. It got extremely steep and I simply had no energy and did not think I could make it. I fell back in the group ever so slightly, but I just kept one foot in front of the other. I eventually after a lot of hiking made it to lunch, and it was under a lot of shade and had tables which were nice. I just collapsed after that hike for a bit, but it was the hardest part of the trip. We had an ok lunch with uncooked salami which was still good and uncooked rice. It definitely could have been better. It was also a very late lunch because other groups got lost and we were not allowed to eat until everyone got here so it was around 2 pm when we started and 3 pm when we finished. Then after going to the restroom and filling up our water, I felt a lot better considering the hike was a piece of cake after that. I was walking with the security guard Shye and Mili having a very good conversation and learning some Hebrew. We got to the top about 20 minutes after and it was incredible. Honestly a life-changing view. I was blown away and finally say where I came from and the true, prosperous land of Israel. After around twenty minutes of viewing the view, we started to descend the mountain which only took around an hour and a half and was very easy. We got the campsite greeted by Rabbi Lauren. We sat in a circle all exhausted after a hard day and gave each other a massage which was nice and bonding. The campsite was on the side of Mt. Miron and was shared with another group. We restocked on food and water and were fed soup again but this soup was much better this night. For dinner, it was schnitzel and couscous. It was a lot better and probably the best dinner in my opinion. After I ate I rinsed off in the sink and brushed my teeth and started to get into warm clothes and set up my hammock again. We waited for the second group to clean the dishes while we all got some candy. After everything we all go next to the sleeping mats and set up a campfire. We talk about the day and make smores and listen to music later. Right after I go to my hammock and fall right asleep after a long day.

Day Three. I had the greatest night sleep in my life. I was so warm and did not wake up once. I was refreshed and excited for the day. I got out packed up everything and had the same tea and biscuits made by the company. I forgot to mention before that cooking the food was not hard our group worked together well and we all have gone camping before. The food was good and the sleeping arrangement was terrible just would have been better with tents. We continued to go down the mountain and eventually stopped for breakfast fairly short but in that time we walked in a dried out river covered in very beautiful green trees and was a joy to hike in. Then we stopped in a great flat area and had a wonderful breakfast which consisted of the same things as the previous days except with some apples. Then continued, this day was much easier than the day before with more breaks and easier hiking. We sat and did a game where we closed our eyes and smelled unknown items and attempted to identify them we took a lot of breaks and not a lot of hiking after until we got to lunch where we had a great lunch and a very fun game after. It was called king of the roju where you have to be on one leg and hold your ear and pick up a bottle cap with your mouth on a rock tower and would get harder and harder when the rocks got taken away until there was one left. I was not so good at it but Justin won. Then we split into our groups again and our group was getting together a lot better now and were called the “hanemarim”, or tigers in English. Again we were by ourselves and went down this rocky area, and I did not have good shoes on and I slipped and fell which hurt at first but was funny and we laughed about it. Our leader Mili told us that whenever we see a good view that we should do a mental picture with our fingers were you make a square and say click, so we did. We walked together very easily. It got a bit hard in the end because it was hot and I was out of the water but Shye gave me some. Then we got on the bus to our third campsite. Once we got there the floor was a bit orange and cool. The biggest thing about it was its’ size. It was huge and wide open and nowhere to put up our hammocks. As we all sat together on the sleeping mat having our cooldown of the day the counselors had a really big talk about completing the trip together and respecting one another and I think that it really changed things. As we got situated I found a good corner of the mat and set up my mat and sleeping bag and got some soup. It was the same as the night before and really good. I can not remember what dinner was but it was good. I ate with my wooden silverware for all three meals and it was starting to get dirty. There was an important companion, a beautiful dog named Mitzi. He was on the trip with us for a couple of days. That night was our groups turn to clean the dishes and make sure the area is clean. We all got drenched in water and also was a great bonding experience. After that, we got all changed and dry. We all went away from the sleeping area and did a bit of a meditation under the stars which was very calming and beautiful. We talked about constellations and l layed on my friends and relaxed. After that, we went straight to bed for an interesting night.

Day Four. We wake up, wet as water. Everything is drenched in water. Everything from your sleeping bag to your underwear. After trying to dry everything I pack up my things and have a normal morning with “petibear v te” and was on our way. Before we left we played a game that woke us up. We walked for a while in a muddy trail and was hard avoiding it but it made it more fun. We stopped for breakfast in a beautiful place in the middle of the woods covered in leaves. The crazy thing is that there were these giant cows everywhere and these giant cow leading cows. The food is just getting better day by day. After we walked after that in the woods we stopped by a small pond and learned to filter water to make it drinkable. And we practiced and it was so much fun. Before lunch, we stopped at a place to go swimming in a huge pond with a giant tree. It was such a blast having fun with our friends. At the same place, we made an amazing lunch with cooked salami and peppers with onions. It was amazing. Also, that lunch was an iron chef where we have a competition of who can cook the best food. We came second but I think we had the best food. After almost 2 hours of a break, we got back onto the road. We walked straight up a mountain almost vertical and was very challenging for a short period of time. It was very accomplishing getting to the top with another great view. Also, there was an ice cream truck where we all ate some ice cream. We were literally a minute away and it was the greatest campsite of them all. There were plenty of trees for your hammock. But the ground was so comfortable I did not need it. It was not cold and there was no dew. It was wonderful. The food was good and a great night with no complaints. It was Shabbat so we did a short service. We hung out listening to music and was a great time. We had a fire competition for who could create the biggest fire and could burn a string 3 feet above. After the activity, we just hung out and went to bed in between my best friends.

Day Five. We got up doing our normal things with refiling everything and drinking tea. But today we made a packed lunch for the bike ride. Also, turning is all of our equipment. After we got a safety course about riding bikes. We rode bikes instead of walking all day. After the safety talk, we got on the bikes. At first, it was awesome being on a bike again feeling like a child. But then for a while, it was uphill and was challenging. Then, we were on the street and seeing the town next to my friend Jordan was awesome. Then we hit the open highway. I let go of the brakes and sped up in front and was going almost 50 mph. It was a giant rush and I felt so alive no care in the world. Then we biked on a banana farm which was interesting to see, but Joe fell off the bike and got hurt. After that, it was no time that we were at the Mediterranean Sea. We sat in a circle and got our certificates and talked about the trip. The company left and we went swimming, dumped the water from the water bottle, and had an amazing lunch outside. It felt amazing with everybody just swimming there with such a sense of accomplishment and that we did it together.  We concluded everything by 2:30 and were on our way to a different kibbutz for Simchat Torah. And that is my Sea to Sea.

Some questions that get brought up on this trip is how does this experience strengthen my Jewish identity and my connection to the land of Israel. As I mentioned earlier I really saw the roots of where my people were from and that I got to grow as a person, learn new things, and get out of my comfort zone. This also represents walking in the desert to obtain our freedom and that pain that we suffered. I also got to be with a lot of good people during Sukkot that helped strengthen my identity. Every day I spend with these people strengthens my Jewish identity but this was just amplified. It also works with the holiday because when you put your phone down for a while you connect with people and with god and with earth. And most important with yourself. This was a wonderful experience and I am glad I went from sea to shining sea.