Alec Ring 15
It was an early morning for the members of Mayanot trip 233. Many of us traveled from far and wide to arrive at Newark International Airport for our flight to Israel. Flying El Al is an experience unto itself, featuring 10 hours of Jewish Geography between the numerous bubbulas, those making aliyah, and us Dartmouth Students. But upon taking that first breath of fresh Israeli air, it is a relief and pleasure to know that all of us are in for a tremendous adventure in our cultural and religious homeland.
We spent the majority of our day wandering the beautiful ruins of Caesarea, an Ancient Roman city whose most prosperous years were under the rule of King Herod. Monumental structures such as the amphitheatre, hippodrome, and mosaic baths served as introduction to the history of the land of Israel itself, and how the Jewish people are intertwined with this land. Our trip guide Daniel told us a nice proverb that I think describes the relationship between the Jewish People and Israel, “Caesarea and Jerusalem can both fail, Jerusalem can thrive and Caesarea can fail, Caesarea can thrive and Jerusalem can fail, but both Caesarea and Jerusalem cannot thrive together.” I think that this proverb means that the Jewish People must maintain their autonomy as people in this land, and when persecuted or removed from their holy land it is impossible for the Jewish People to prosper. This is significant in contextualizing our millennial history in the land of Israel.
We continued our journey through Israeli history today by exploring the Ramat Hanadiv Park discussing themes such as Jewish Migration to Israel in the 19th century, and how those kibbutzim were able to prosper with the help of the Rothschild Family. Without the Rothschild tremendous investment and love for then Palestine it is unlikely the trajectory of the country would remain the same.
As we got to know each other better over the course of our first day in Israel, I think the group is extremely excited for the 9 days to come, and is ready for a great nights sleep!