Why Birthright?
The funny thing is, that I knew about Birthright a long time ago, it was a trip several people from my high school went on after graduation. At the time, after several Zionist camp experiences, I didn't really want to get involved in a Jewish-themed tour of Israel. I'm glad that I didn't go on the trip back then, mainly because I would not have embraced all that the tour had to offer. Instead, I moved to Sydney and never got involved in the local Jewish community. After this I moved to Toronto, where for three years I was completely isolated from the Jewish community.
Then, I was at a bar for a Couchsurfing event, and the girl sitting next to me started telling me how she had just come back from Israel. She was telling me all about her trip, and I was stunned because I had no idea I could still be eligible at 26 years old to go! I had totally forgotten that Birthright was a free trip to Israel and was even available to me. I was so incredibly lucky, that I was able to apply for the winter trip - the last trip I'd ever be eligible for - within a month of hearing about it. This time, I was so excited at the prospect of visiting Israel, travelling and bonding with the IDF soldiers, remembering some of my stale Hebrew, and learning about the history of the country, the conflict, and the Jewish people. At a time where I felt I had lost my Jewish identity in the madness of work, daily life and travel, I met this girl who gave me the exact opportunity I wanted, at the time I needed it most.
What is it?
So the following posts are going to cover a lot. Yes, I'll show you some sights (and we saw A LOT), I'll talk about the places we visited. There will be no logistics this time - we just got on the bus and everything else was taken care of for us so honestly, I don't know the best way to see certain things.
This journey was more than sight-seeing and history lessons. We also explored our faith, identity, values and I even managed to take a real step back from my daily life and see it from an external perspective. This goes well beyond anything religious, this trip provided an escape from reality in which I could examine my life and myself, and really learn something. Usually I keep this blog fairly objective, but for my posts in Israel, they will reflect part of my personal journey and connection to the places visited.
As you can tell, the tour was demanding. Most of the participants slept less than 5 hours a night for 10 days straight. And okay you could sleep a bit more if you really want to, but you won't want to. We saw a crazy amount of sights in each day, and above that we also had group activities and then we'd stay up late chilling out.
The tour I was on was a bit out of the ordinary; extraordinary if you will. It was a joined tour between the Canada Israel Experience and Shorashim, so we had Canadian and US participants. Moreover, we had a special November tour date, specifically so we could participate in the General Assembly that happens in Israel once every five years! We were even more privileged that Shorashim arranged for us to travel the full 10 days with IDF soldiers (most tours have the Israelis join for just a few days). To me, this made the trip the best one I possibly could have gone on.
I can't wait to write about this journey, and before I get started I will have to give a big thanks to Canada Israel Experience, Shorashim, and whichever one of the many philanthropists that funded my last-opportunity position on the trip.
If you're thinking of getting involved in a Birthright trip, you don't need to read the rest. Seriously, just do it!
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