Day 4 - "Next Year in Jerusalem"??? How about TODAY in Jerusalem!

Our Day Four report was written by Cathy Baum, trip organizer extraordinaire! (And slightly edited by Rabbi Gerber...)

We awoke early (as usual), extremely excited to fulfill our "Next Year in Jerusalem" dream, which began for us, as a group, last year.  After the typical sumptuous Israeli buffet breakfast we said "Shalom" (in this case, "Good bye") to Kibbutz Ginosar and traveled around the magnificent Lake Kinneret.

We crossed the "mighty" Jordan River, which - in reality - was about the size of our own Crum Creek! Then we crossed the Golan Heights to the Israeli border with Syria. What an amazing sight! And (to our great surprise), how safe we felt!

The next stop was the Majrase Nature Reserve by the Sea of Galilee, where we walked in (not on) water. 

This was a truly unique and wonderful experience for the young and the... older! The water was cool, bordering on cold, and went from ankle deep to waist high! Ellie and Geena had a ball actually swimming in it! No need for a towel since this HOT air dried us in a matter of minutes!

After all that exertion, what could be better than a tasting of wine at the Golan Heights Winery with it's full bodied Red Cabernet, dry Chardonnay, and delicately sweet Muscatel? We toured their facility, learned about French oak barrels, and were then treated to some great wine samples. And to top it all off, we each got to keep our wine glass from the tasting!

Leaving the Golan Heights, we stopped at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, a dati (religious) Kibbutz, unlike Kibbutz Ginosar (which is chiloni, meaning "secular"), for a tour of the grounds and a short film. 

There were acres upon acres of crops, including date trees. We also met a herd of donkeys! The kibbutz and its Bio Bee Biological Systems is "buzzing" with technology and a leader in insect technology for agriculture.

We then drove through the occupied territories in the West Bank on our way to Jerusalem.  The Aliyah (ascent) to Jerusalem was emotional and spectacular! 

The view from Mount Scopus brought tears to my eyes. An unbelievable view/experience in a multitude of ways.  A dream come true!