11 Day - Israel - A Jewish Spiritual Quest - A Journey Through The Land and Soul | Tours to Israel
 Sunday. Depart the USA to Israel arriving Tel Aviv the next day. Your international flight will include meals, drinks, and in-flight entertainment for your journey. FLIGHT
Monday. Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport. Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities. Depart for Northern Israel. From the Four Corners of the Earth: Introduction and orientation at the Caesarea Aqueduct. Drive to Safed. Check into the Hotel. Festive opening dinner at the hotel. Optional moonlit walk through Safed by night. (D) SAFED
Tuesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Judaism and Spirituality: Where do they Connect? - Opening program overlooking the basin of Jewish spirituality from the top of Mount Meron. Jeep ride through the Birya Forest with time for meditation and contemplation. Visit Kadita, a mountain-top village with a spiritual atmosphere for a unique poetry workshop. LaDa'at: The Hidden Secrets of Safed. Explore Safed, where reality and mysticism intermingle on every corner. Meander through the alleyways of Safed using the writings of the mystics and contemporary Israeli pioneers to guide you on a journey, combining the visions of yesterday with the challenges of today. Guided visits to the Ari, Caro and Abuhav Synagogues with their great stories and mystical messages. Stroll through the quaint art galleries and shop in the artist colony. Return to the hotel for rest and relaxation. Dinner at the home of Genine and Ronnie Bar-El in Safed a unique combination of Jewish artistic creativity and gourmet culinary expertise, located in one of Safed's oldest and most special homes, with invited guests. (B, D) SAFED
Wednesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out of the hotel. Walk through the Tel Dan Nature Reserve, located on the largest tributary of the Jordan River and the Biblical settlement of Dan. Explore Israel's security situation on the Golan Heights while overlooking the Hula Valley from former Syrian fortifications. Cross the Golan Plateau to the border with Syria and observe the abandoned city of Kuneitra and the United Nations outpost located nearby. LaDa'at: Kinneret Cemetery - Enter the world of the early Zionist pioneers. Experience their hopes and dreams, trials and tribulations, and the vision of their ultimate success through visits to the graves of great Zionist personalities such as Rachel the Poet, Ber Borochov and Noami Shemer. Drive through the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem. Welcome to Jerusalem. Enter the vibrant and colorful 3,000 year old city of Jerusalem and experience the convergence of the old and the new. Stop at Mount Scopus to recite the traditional "shehechiyanu" blessing upon entering Jerusalem. Check into the hotel. Free time and dinner on your own. (B) JERUSALEM
Thursday. Breakfast at the hotel. Heavenly and Earthly Jerusalem: Where do they Meet? - Dialogue with a scholar from the Hebrew Union College. Walking tour through the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem for guided visits to some of the sites excavated over the past 30 years. This includes: A Walk along the Rooftops of the Old City for a behind the scenes look at the various communities in Jerusalem and how they live together. The Cardo, a Byzantine street that is now the oldest shopping arcade in the world. A guided visit through the 2,000-year old Herodian Mansions in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. Guided visit to the Davidson Archaeological Park with a special visit to the Davidson Center, to view the new three-dimensional computer generated presentation of "Life During the Time of the Temple," followed by a guided visit to the Southern Wall Excavations. The Kotel (Western Wall). Visit the Western Wall Tunnel - the underground continuation of the Western Wall along the Temple Mount. Mifgash Spiritual Quest: A spiritual journey and food for the soul through the alleyways of the Old City of Jerusalem using the writings of Judaism's spiritual masters and the power of meditation with Rabbi Levi Weiman Kellman and members of congregation Kol Haneshama, in the Judean Hills. Return to the hotel for rest and relaxation. Free time and dinner on your own. Optional late night visit to the Western Wall. (B) JERUSALEM
Friday. Breakfast at the hotel. Guided visit through the newly renovated Yad Vashem complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, which includes: The Avenue of the Righteous, the new Historical Museum, the Children's Memorial, the Room of Difficult Questions Learning Center, and a concluding Memorial Service. Art, Poetry and the Memory of the Holocaust: Dialogue with artist and poet Rivka Miriam in her mural adorned home. Friday afternoon nature walk in the Jerusalem Forest to the Sataf Spring with time for meditation. LaDa'at: Jerusalem Erev Shabbat. Experience the unique atmosphere as Jerusalemites hurriedly prepare for Shabbat as you drive through the city, exploring the numerous traditions Jews have brought with them from the world over. Free time to prepare for Shabbat. Kabbalat Shabbat with a Reform congregation in the Jerusalem area. Festive Shabbat dinner at the hotel. (B, D) JERUSALEM
Saturday. Breakfast at the hotel. Optional Shabbat Services. Free Shabbat in Jerusalem with optional visits to: The Museum of the History of Jerusalem at David's Citadel, for a walk through the history of Jerusalem from the time of Abraham 4,000 years ago to the end of the British Mandate over Palestine. The Israel Museum, one of the most creative and innovative museums in the world with a wide and eclectic collection, ranging from Judaica and archaeology to Renaissance and contemporary Israeli art, concluding with a visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Shrine of the Book and the newly restored Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem. The Old City Ramparts for a walk along the ancient walls of the city. Free Evening in Jerusalem on Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall or on Emek Refaim Street in the German Colony. (B) JERUSALEM
Sunday. Breakfast at the hotel. Check out of the hotel and depart for the Dead Sea Basin. Bathe in the relaxing and healthy sulfur springs at the Ein Gedi Spa and float in the Dead Sea. Ascend the cable car or walk up the snake path to Masada, Herod's mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots' last stand against the Roman Legionnaires. Discuss Masada's role as a symbol of Jewish defense and its current significance in modern Israel. Descend Masada via the Roman Ramp. Drive into the Negev Desert. Walk through the Wilderness of Zinn to the Ein Avdat Spring in the heart of the Negev. Drive to Mitzpe Ramon. Check into the Ramon Inn. Dinner at the inn. The Night, The Desert and My Soul: Evening meditation program on the edge of the Ramon Crater. (B, D) MITZPE RAMON
Monday. Breakfast at the hotel. LaDa'at Ramon Crater. Enter into one of the world's special places, the Ramon Crater, which offers a glimpse of a multitude of geological phenomena and vast expanses in which to meditate, explore and discover the hidden secrets of nature. Visit the home and gravesite of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, located at Kibbutz Sde Boker overlooking the Wilderness of Zinn in the Negev Desert. Drive to Tel Aviv. Check into the Hotel. Free time and dinner on your own. (B) TEL AVIV
Tuesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Visit Independence Hall, site of David Ben Gurion's monumental proclamation of the State of Israel in May 1948. The Streets of Tel Aviv: Pathways to My Soul - Special program with Beit Tfilah, the "Secular" prayer group of Tel Aviv. Visit the Nachalat Binyamin pedestrian mall with its restored buildings and sidewalk artists and walk through the colorful Carmel Market. Then continue onto Shenkin, one of Israel's most avant-garde streets. Free time to enjoy the Spirit of Tel Aviv. Festive farewell dinner with Rabbi Meir Azari of the Beit Daniel Congregation. (B, D) TEL AVIV
Wednesday. Breakfast at the hotel.
Check out of the hotel.
Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport.
Departure flight to the USA, arriving the same day.
Your international flight includes meals, drinks, and in-flight entertainment for your journey. (B) FLIGHT
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