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Jewish Community News
News: February 2006
My Birthright trip to Israel
By Leya Babchin
Last
December, my little sister Jessica and I made the venture to Israel on
the Oranim Birthright trip. The El-Al security woman checking our passports
asked why we wanted to go to Israel, and my sister answered, “We’re
Jewish and we’re going home!”
As the plane landed in Tel Aviv, I couldn’t believe it – I
was finally in Israel. I was ready for the entire experience: to see Jerusalem
for the first time, to party in Tel Aviv, to climb Masada, to ride a camel,
and to fulfill my mother’s greatest nightmare of falling in love
with an Israeli and never coming home.
Nothing compares to seeing Jerusalem for the first time. There is something
magical and spiritual about the city with so much Jewish history, made
entirely of limestone. As we ventured though the old city and made our
first visit to the kotel, I was overwhelmed with a sense of serenity and
Jewish pride. I walked closer to the wall. I saw women from all over the
world with one thing in common, prayers in Hebrew coming from their lips.
In Tel Aviv we went to the Independence Hall. It wasn’t fancy like
the White House or Buckingham Palace; it was in fact a bomb shelter. But
it was where Ben Gurion stood and declared the state of Israel as the
homeland of the Jewish people. It was such a humbling experience to hear
that Yitzhak Rabin, only 25 years old, was the general of the Israeli
army in the Independence War, just a few short hours after Ben Gurion’s
declaration.
I spent 10 days on a big red tour bus with other young adults who had
never been to Israel. Eight Israeli intelligence soldiers joined us for
the last half of our trip. In just a few short hours, the vision of their
uniforms and M16’s melted away, and they became Jewish young adults
just like us. That evening, we spent the night in a Bedouin tent. The
officer of the group, like myself, was of Russian descent. His mother
called him when we arrived at the tent and I heard him telling her, “No
mom, don’t bring me a jacket!” Different continent, same Jewish
mother, we laughed later. I spoke Russian mixed with broken Hebrew-school
Heb-lish to communicate with the Israelis. When I spoke Russian, I was
immediately complimented on my great English! “Thanks, it’s
my first language,” I told them.
The next morning, we climbed Masada. My sister told me a midrash she just
heard from a girl in our group. The mountains ripple when you look out
from Masada because Hashem ran his fingers through the hills and created
them. Our bus would stop at the most random places. We would walk out
to what was just a stone in the desert and our tour guide would tell us
a story from the Torah that took place on that very spot. It was incredible
to stand right where everything happened.
I’m so grateful for the gift of Oranim Birthright Israel. Birthright
re-cemented a purpose for my involvement in the Jewish community. I gained
tremendous respect for the Israeli soldiers who keep Israel safe for all
the Jewish people: they are heroes. Any Jew age 18-26, who has never been
to Israel on an organized trip, can go to Israel for free on Birthright.
I encourage all of you to please take advantage of this generous gift
of the Jewish community. Go home!
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