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From the Valley Land to the Holy Land
By Talia DeFranco '11, courtesy of Kent News |
Two Kent students, Emily Cohn, ’11 and Tyler Wind, ’11, altered their usual holiday festivities this year by visiting Israel, where they had the occasion to learn more about Israel’s traditional customs and rich history. Although the two students traveled separately, they both visited some of Israel’s most established communities, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Golan Heights, and Tiberias. Both students experienced many practices native to Israel, including praying at the Western Wall and swimming in the Dead Sea.
Cohn and her family traveled to Israel with the Temple Emanu-El, which she regularly attends in New York City. The ten-day trip was entirely organized through the temple and a tour guide service in Israel. The trip began in the city of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean Sea. There, Cohn and her family participated in a Shabbat service, which is a day of celebration and prayer. She also had the opportunity to visit different kibbutzim, which are small collective communities. In addition, the family visited the Louis Weisfeld Early Education Center, which is a local school. There, they painted murals on the outside of the school building with a local artist and children who attended the school. Cohn also visited Misgav-Am, a northernmost kibbutz, which is located on the border of Lebanon and looks down on a Hezbollah-occupied valley. In 2006, the Hezbollah, from the valley, attacked Misgav-Am for a total of 34 days. Cohn comments, “Being in Israel was an amazing experience. It was truly tranquil and picturesque. Being on the border, however, reminded me that despite the peaceful appearance of the Jewish state, there is still a large amount of struggle and internal strife. It is astounding that an area which is smaller than the United States’ East Coast can have so much conflict.”
Simultaneously, Wind traveled to Israel with seventeen of her family members. The Wind family visited Tiberias, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv. In Jerusalem, she and her family visited the Holocaust Museum, called Yad Vashem. They also paid a visit to the Western Wall which flanks the second temple. Wind states, “It was a very emotional experience visiting the wall. Everyone was praying and crying for their loved ones. It is a place of pilgrimage, and knowing that made the experience almost surreal.” The Wind family practiced the tradition of planting trees for the dead, in their case in memory of their great grandmother. They also performed a Bat Mitzvah for their daughter on Mt. Masada—a two thousand-year-old historic landmark, which is famous for its deep roots in the Jewish faith. In addition to the Wind family’s festive Bat Mitzvah, they also participated in an archaeological dig, in which they found two thousand-year-old pieces of pottery.
For both Wind and Cohn, the trip was the event of a lifetime. “It was a truly incredible experience,” Wind reflects. “It was amazing to see the cultural differences; this trip reminded me of the many diversities which exist just within cultures and also within Kent School itself.
