Ein Kerem 

by Kayla Pressman 11th grade Fairfield, Connecticut

The Church of the Visitation in Ein Kerem

Another great day out in Jerusalem to see the Ein Kerem Churches. Everyone rolled out of bed early Friday morning ready to stand in a ח. We were all dressed modestly and respectfully preparing ourselves to see John the Baptist’s said-to-be birthplace and Mary’s spring. It was a beautiful sunny day out and we climbed up many many stairs to finally get to this beautiful church. We walked around, learning about John the Baptist and how interesting his childhood was. I have been to churches in the past but never during mass. Fortunately, our class got to witness a mass and experience another religion in its truth.

As we walked around the Church of the Visitation in Ein Kerem, I noticed on the large outside many frames with different languages on them. I had always known that Christianity was practiced on a global scale, but I had never stopped to think about just how accepting that really makes it. This was a pretty powerful and eye opening thought. All of these languages together on one wall. My friends and I slowly walked down to see how many languages we could recognize. 

 Learning about another religion that you personally do not practice is important for understanding that religion and deepening your understanding of your own. In many ways Judaism and Christianity are closely related. As I learned about Jesus and John the Baptist, I learned about Judaism and the importance of accepting religions not your own. As my classmates and I stood in the back of the Church mass, I learned about their way of having services. They spoke Latin and some prayed while resting on their knees. Learning about Christianity was fascinating and strengthened my ideals and reminded me of why I’m Jewish. As loving and accepting Christianity can be, it grew from our traditions that I look forward to pursuing, both while I’m here at Tzuba and when I return home.

Gadna:  Experiencing the IDF

by Sasha Pullman              11th grade         Southern California

After a day of Jewish History class and a meeting with Rabbi Rick Jacobs on the kibbutz, we left for a 2-hour bus ride south to Sde Boker. It was pouring rain the entire way, and I watched out the window as the landscape turned from grassy fields to dry deserts. When we pulled in to the army base, I was nowhere near sure what to expect. In the weeks prior, I was constantly being told to stay positive and smile, which was reason enough to be scared. We were immediately rushed to put our things down, grab our hats and water, and run over to the basketball court. I was told to stand in achshev, a position that now feels very natural due to constant repetition. It was done with our feet together in a V-shape, and our left foot must be touching our water bottle. Our hands also had to be behind our backs in a diamond. Every part was very crucial, as the resulting punishment for not being in the exact position was pushups.

The Semalet, or the Sergeant came to our lines and randomly assigned us to one mefakedet, or commander who was the leader of our team of fourteen girls. We went to our tents and I was struck by how serious everything already was. We got our clothes which were a pair of pants, a button-down shirt, and an army liner. What the tents looked like when they were rolled up during the day. It began to pour as we were getting ready and our tent filled with water. It was an interesting way to start the week. We got our mattresses and made our beds. The tent was extremely cramped, not exactly a place I wanted to be spending most of my time. We practiced getting into a chet, and standing in achshev. Anytime we finished a break or meal we had to be in this position at a certain time.

The first night was somewhat rough. Many people did not like the amount of rules we had to follow or the living situation. We were also in very close quarters and had no personal space. Nevertheless, we made it through the night. Me and my friends in our uniforms one morning. The next day we began to talk about weapons. It was difficult talking about guns in a military context. I think many of us previously viewed guns only as a source of violence, not protection, and it was evident that ideas about firearms are very different in the U.S. than in Israel. It was interesting talking to our Mefakedet and explaining to her that guns were a source of fear and mourning for a lot of us. The state of gun violence in America is one that I am sensitive to, and it was very hard for me to view guns outside of that context. When we went to the shooting range, I was surprised at how much the sound of gunshots had scared me even though it was in a safe and highly controlled environment. I think this experience brought out the issue of gun violence in America and compared the difference in culture very well. Many people expressed that it was difficult as well, and it was very interesting to see how people viewed the experience of shooting a gun when they are such as source of anxiety and polarization in America at the moment. I also came to the understanding, however, that they are a vital source of protection, and extremely important in protecting the land of Israel. This is what the shooting range looked like.  Everyone was lying down in the position we learned the day before.

I learned many things, though being somewhat uncomfortable. I learned to appreciate the comfort that I do have, and take advantage of experiences like this one, and embrace what is unfamiliar. I also came to the understanding of the importance of the IDF to many Israelis. The fact that many of them spend multiple years of their lives following orders and giving up some freedom and individuality in order to protect their country. It is very admirable, and I grew to appreciate the system much more through this experience.

We learned about the difference between a national army and a professional army and understood the pros of a national army. It heightens national identity and connects almost all citizens. It also highlights the importance of protecting the country and being active in the nation. This seemed to be very important since Israel is a small and somewhat new country surrounded by conflict and the national army helps to aid citizens in uniting themselves and creating a national feeling.

A big highlight of the experience was kitchen duty. A wonderful four hours of cleaning the dining hall and kitchen after lunch on Tuesday. It was most definitely a time of bonding and plentiful complaining. It was also, however, very satisfying to have cleaned up after every person who ate lunch that day, and I understood the importance of working together to complete tasks. Some of us putting dishes away after eating In the end, we had the chance to meet with our Mefakdot, and they were all full of so much joy and laughter, even though the entire week they had to remain serious and impersonal. By the end, I learned to embrace the uncomfortable, and appreciate the amount of comfort I possess regularly. I also was able to learn how to view uncomfortable experiences as privileges since I gained so much knowledge from this week. Most importantly, I learned to have a greater respect for the Israeli Defence Forces, and I admire the passion that many have to protect Eretz Yisrael.

Ancient Burial Cave at Tzuba

by Yoni Spiliopoulos 11th grade Raleigh NC

an agricultural terrace at Kibbutz Tzuba where the ancient burial cave is located

Today was another fantastic day at Kibbutz Tzuba. We went on another tiyul during Jewish History class to learn about an ancient burial cave that relates to chapter 23 of the Book of Genesis. Getting out of the classroom and experiencing the Jewish history is an amazing opportunity to not only get out of the classroom but get a true hands on experience. For this specific tiyul we didn't even need to leave the kibbutz, all we had to do was walk 15 minutes up a little hill and there we are at a burial cave on our very own campus that we get to live on for the next 4 months. Kibbutz Tzuba has so much rich history and interesting facts about it the burial cave is only scratching the surface. Kibbutz Tzuba has several places where they grow different kinds of fruits, ancient terraces and places where people used to step on grapes to make wine. But this time we saw 1 of 27 ancient burial caves that are located around all of Tzuba.

The ancient burial cave we visited was in a little hole that you had to climb through. Once we got inside you see a hollow room with 2 bed like sructures where people were buried and on the left there was another room for more bodies to be buried. Right underneath each bed for the people to lay once dead there was a hollow hole where people could go back and put the bones in there after the bodies decomposed. We visited the cave while studying chapter 23 of Genesis because in this part of the Bible Avraham buys a cave for 400 silver shekels which he paid for in full and this then starts the official ownership of the land of Israel. Even though, according to the Bible God gave us the land of Israel, when Avraham bought the cave, it was now legally official. Since the Jewish people do not get cremated, a burial cave was helpful to properly honor and respect those who have passed. Not only is the cave the first legal ownership of Israel but this is where Avraham buried Sarah. Plus all the patriarchs and matriarchs were henceforth buried in there in Hevron.

I believe that using the Tanakh as an accurate way to learn about our history as a people, but other than that the Tanakh is not a resourceful way to study modern history or US history. 

my classmate Jack inside a ~2700 year Jewish burial cave at Tzuba

Avraham bought a cave for silver and he paid the full price and this starts the true ownership of the land even though God gave us this land, Avraham signed a deal and bought the cave and the surrounding land and he eventually was buried in that cave and Jewish people don't get cremated when they die so this was also a way to respect our dead because Sarah dies in chapter 23 of Genesis.

a view of the neighboring village of Ein Rafa next to Kibbutz Tzuba

the agricultural fields and orchards of Kibbutz Tzuba

Tel Gezer

by Ava Levinson 10th grade Natick MA

This morning was our first real tiyul at Tel Gezer!! This did mean waking up at 6:15, but it was 100% worth it! When we first arrived at the site, it was beautiful. There were so many green fields, and the view was amazing - you could see everything from where you were standing. We are halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, by the village Karmei Yosef.

This is me on the left, and my friend Sasha on the right. Isn’t the view amazing?!!

One of the first topics we talked about was what is a Tel, because we are at Tel Gezer. David explained it in a really cool way using snacks. Unfortunately I do not have snacks to show you, so here is an explanation, without the yummy snacks :)


If you go back about 5000 years ago, you will be in the Copper Age, and back then, there was a civilization. They had created these structures right where we were, and the civilization started to thrive. Then during the Early Bronze age, they built the first cities. Not too big, but big enough to be an urban settlement.  They thrived for roughly 1000 years until a new civilization came around, and they conquered them. All the buildings that the civilization had created were destroyed but still, the material(pottery) was still there. Then centurey’s later, a new group came. They thrived, and then they also were conquered. Now, we have the remains of two different civilizations. Then a new civilization comes. They build all these structures, and they thrive for about 1000 years , but even then, they still get conquered. Finally, a new really successful civilization came along, and they made these huge walls, and they build on top of all the other civilizations. But sadly, they also get crushed too. Long story short, 4000 years later, we have archeologists, and they see that we weren’t just standing on a hill, but it is actually a  Tel. An archaeological Tel is an artificial hill or mound made up of many layers of civilization on top of each other. Archaeologists find each layer of pottery, and that tells us when villages and civilizations were around. At the site, we found thinner and thicker pieces of pottery. More recently in histiory, there was an Arab village called Gezer. Depending on the material the civilizations used for pottery, you can see all the layers and who came first, and the archaeologists can tell what year it was from. An example we used to describe this was breaking a wafer cookie(it was very yummy). When you bite into it, you can see the different chocolate layers, and the wafer layers. This was what a Tel looked like. There are actually 26 layers of civilizations at Tel Gezer. Isn't that amazing?

My initial impression of the Canaanite people was how successful they were. One of the cool sites, and creations of the Canaanite people we saw at Tel Gezer, was an ancient water system. The Canaanites at Gezer built a shaft that penetrates below the water table and therefore fills up with water. The water flowing in the lower level gets trapped by the impermeable upper level, creating a reservoir. As the water flows downward with no outlet, pressure builds. This is also all sedimentary limestone rock. When you go lower down, you get a different stone, chalk. The water can’t seep through, and the water collects in a basin. The flora we could see around, is an indication of where the water was. The Canaanites were very smart, and they knew where the water sources were. They would dig down 40 meters. The iron age Israelite water system is built on the Canaaite system 1000 years ealier. There 3 cities with similar water systems are Gezer, Megido, and Hazor. These are the 3 Canaanite cities.

David taught us the four D’s: Drink, Dinner,  Dollars, and Defense. The first key ingredient to a civilization is a water source, and the Canaanites were very good at finding water sources, and making them, like the Aquifer. The second D id dinner, as in agriculture. Around Tel Gezer, you can see that there is a lot of flat land. This was flat arable land, which means really good fertile soil in the coastal plain.   This was very good for growing and harvesting food and crops. Next was dollars, and trade routes. Trade routes were very important because they helped exchange goods and provide the community with an economy. Lastly, is defense, as in walls and towers. An example of this would be the Canaanite tower. This tower was part of the Middle Bronze Age. It protected the area of the city gate. It was 16m wide, made of large stone blocks. It was the largest Canaanite tower ever to be found.