Yesterday, we woke up at 6, had a quick breakfast this time of yogurt mixed with fresh fruit and granola as well as coffee. The coffee is outstanding here and I literally can't get enough of it. We finished the meal and headed out to the bus for the 5 minute ride south to Gaash. Gaash is a little cow patch of a golf course that is very very short but correspondingly narrow. If you don't hit the ball straight like a...very straight object, you can score high numbers with the ease of a college student sliding down a greased goalpost on game night.
Somehow I was given the responsibility to pick the teams, so I did, and as I read them out, everyone individually came up to me with request for how to make the teams better. Oh well. But I held my ground as the teams were pretty fair (one open young guy, one older open player, a junior, and a woman on each team) and we teed off. I'll spare the exceedingly boring details except to say I shot even par, was very pleased with the way I was hitting the driver (long fades and long hooks as fit the hole and wind) didn't three putt, made a 20 footer for birdie, and even just missed holing out a 200 yard 4-iron from the desert bunker for DOUBLE eagle. Even par was good but several players were under par so it looks like we've got a good team.
Anyway, we headed back to the Kibbutz for a quick lunch and back to touring with Izzy. We headed towards Jerusalem (about an hour ride) and learned of the history and importance of the road into the city which winds and bends around the hills. Our first stop was a beautiful spot overlooking the Old City with views of the Dome of the Rock and other ancient landmarks. We took group pictures and pictures of the view and then went back to the bus.
On the way to Yad Vashem, the National Holocaust Museum, Izzy explained us a little about politics and demographics of Jerusalem which I found very interesting. I did not know that Jerusalem is 35% Arab and that as residents of Jerusalem, are allowed to vote for Mayor (although most don't) though they can't vote for members of the Knesset which makes sense. We arrived at the museum and walked around the outside where pictures are permitted.
It seems a little weird to me to go and rehash the entire experience because words won't even begin to capture the intense emotions the museum elicited. One fact that stuck out was that only now, 65 years after the Holocaust, the world Jewish population is approaching pre-Holocaust levels. I'm having difficulty finding any words right now, so I'll just move on and say it was one of the most powerful experiences I've had and it motivates me to connect much more with my heritage.
From the museum, we took a short hike to up to Mount Herzl where Israeli soldiers are buried. As our tour was going through the site, groups of Israeli soldiers (most of whom looked not a day older than 18 or 19) were being led through the same site by their leaders, I assume learning about fallen heroes just as we were. I was kind of surprised that each and every soldier carried a huge and I mean huge weapon that looked armed with extra ammunition clips strapped to their waists.
All in all, it was a very memorable day. I really never thought I would visit Israel as I am not the most religious Jew, I barely speak a word of Hebrew and Judaism generally does not play a role in my day to day life. So I am surprised at the sense of connection and community that I am experiencing again and again in just the first few days of this trip. I literally can not wait for today and tomorrow and the next day and the one after that. And soon, I will wonder when I can return. s
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