Snorkeling & water sports in Eilat and Shabbat at Kibbutz Lotan

On Friday, we started by heading south from Kibbutz Lotan to Eilat where we were going to be snorkeling in the Gulf of Eilat followed by time on banana boats, paddle boats and kayaks.  Everyone had a blast and saw some incredible fish they have never seen before.

From Eilat, we went back up to Kibbutz Lotan where we had an amazing Shabbat together.  Our Kabbalat Shabbat service was outside as the sun was going doing and by the time we finished the service, it was completely dark and yet filled with the voices of our IST community.  We had the chance to sleep in and catch up on much needed rest for Shabbat.  Today we relaxed at the pool, played volleyball, water polo, laid out in the sun or took advantage of an  afternoon nap.  We concluded Shabbat with a wonderful Havdalah service (excerpts from some students are quoted within the pictures) and then went down to Eilat for the evening.  Tomorrow we are off to float in the Dead Sea and an overnight at a Bedouin Tent where everyone will have the chance to ride camels and experience Bedouin hospitality.

Snorkeling & Water Sports in Eilat

For many of us this trip is about more than experiencing the culture and food of this country, but also about planning our future. A few kids on the trip, myself included, have considered serving in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) either before or after college. For some of us this thought has been a casual one from time to time, while others are basically committing now. Our experiences here have greatly impacted our thought processes: from the graveyard of Mount Herzl where an American IDF soldier Micheal Levin has his final resting place, to our physically and mentally exhausting hike though the Negev. Even last nights Shabbat experience helped change our minds, the common bond of the Jewish people over our weekly day of rest showed to all of us the importance of maintaining and protecting our Jewish state. As a side message, parents, know your children are safe and happy and growing everyday with excitement instilled by this land. Don't miss us too much and Shabbat shalom - Bruce Margoshes, 2014 ISTer

 Kabbalat Shabbat at Kibbutz Lotan

You know when you're taking a picture and you have force yourself to laugh, or tell someone to go make a silly face or do SOMETHING to get a somewhat natural looking smile? Well I got a call from my mom yesterday after she saw some of the blog and Facebook pictures, and she was just going on and on about how my smile was glowing and how beautiful it was. At first I had the initial "well she has to say that, she's my mom" reaction. But after thinking about it, being surrounded by people who make you happy in a place that makes us even happier is the reason for the glow and beauty of our smiles. So thanks to all of you for making my smile glow.

-- Emily Kohn, 2014 ISTer

7 people ---- That's how many I knew when I stepped into the airport (10 minutes late, sorry josh) with my parents protectively beside me. I'm not a Shwayder kid or a Ranch Cmp kid or a BBYO kid or a NFTY kid. I am a Jewish kid.And 2 weeks ago I got on an airplane with 7 Jewish kids that I knew and 64 that I didn't, Most of whom knew each other, some of whom were like me, scared and alone. Dan asked me to write about my connection to Israel being a Jewish American teen, but my connection has as much to do with the place that I'm in as it does with the people I'm with, and this indelible experience will stay with me not because of the bangs at the Kotel but because that was the night a student got his head mangled, (sorry I mean shaved,) not because of the heat of the Negev, but because Robyn had tiger balm and we all smelled like menthol and sweat for 2 days, not because I'm Jewish and your Jewish and we are in the Jewish homeland, but because we're Jewish and we're in the Jewish homeland together. There are Shwayder kids and Ranch camp kids and BBYO kids and NFTY kids, but we are all IST kids, and just remember for the next 3 weeks nothing you do, you do alone. Literally nothing.

--  Emma Baumgarten, 2014 ISTer

IST Poem - by Isabel Morris, Leah Sidell & Ali Koff

We went on the banana boat,

Hoping we would stay afloat.

With our friends we just met,

We talked, bonded and we broke a sweat.

Off to Aroma we got a drink,

The coffee is even better than you would think.

The trip so far has been a blast,

But we are said it's going by so fast.  

Shwayder Camp

JCC Ranch Camp

Rodef Shalom

Bonai Shalom

BMH-BJ

Temple Emanuel

Temple Sinai

Unaffiliated

Har HaShem

HEA

\

B'nai Havurah

The IST 2014 Staff!! 

Back row L-R (Robyn, Amos, Avigail, Reut, Elaun, Jacki & Adar)

Front row L-R (Josh & Dan)

Writings from ISTers at Havdalah

• Some famous guy once said "to travel is better to arrive" and I guess you could say I was a little confused. I used to think that there was only one path to take you to where you want to go in life. But, if you choose that path it doesn't mean you have to abandon all the other ones. I realize it's what happens along the way that counts; the stumbles, the falls and the friends. It's the journey and not the destination. This is our time to enjoy ourselves and spend our days smiling and laughing. Although at times we find ourselves complaining about the temperature, the food and the water, all the amazing experiences we have triumph all the itty bitty complaints that we stumble upon. Our journey is what we make it. So I only hope that we make every second count. I mean cuz we only have 21 days, 3 hours and 17 minutes left. --- Stephanie Schiff, 2014 ISTer

• IST has unbounded potential. Potential to be a life changing experience or potential to be but a drop in a pond of forgotten Jewish experiences. The differences in what we make of this endless opportunity come in our ability to combine the identities with which we have become so accustomed at home with the search for a new purpose in the others around us. Hillel once said, “If I am not for me, who is for me; and if I am (only) for myself, what am I.” So, lest we forget the importance of forging a new community, remember that all value in individuals comes in their ability to reveal value in others." -- Jack Glaser, 2014 ISTer

• Brian Andeas once wrote "Time & the world stopped for a moment while they danced &; it never did start up quite the same way after that." We will come home and say that it was an "IST thing" and honestly no one will understand what we did. No one will understand the incredible friends we made or the embarrassing nicknames we received. But that doesn't matter. All that matters is this, our time. Brian Andeas aid it perfectly when he said time has stopped. It has stopped for us. Lets make this once and in a lifetime opportunity count because this is our time, our paused time, as troy Bolton once said, its now or never.  --Marlena Geller, 2014 ISTer

• We think that what were doing is no bigger then a drop in the ocean, but if that drop isn't there, then the ocean would be missing something. It's easy to feel lost in such a large group, and it's easy to feel insignificant in such an incredible place. Although as we end another week on this miraculous journey, we discover we need every set of hands, every mind, and spirit to make this family feel whole. We need every body present, and every idea spoken to encourage each other and ourselves to live every day to the fullest. If we don't have you, just remember we can't complete count off. -- Paige Segall, 2014 ISTer

• Before I came here I was sort of nervous but I never knew why. I wasn't scared to travel or to be in a war zone or even to leave my family and friends. After these past 2 weeks, I know now that my fear was unnecessary because this trip never ceases to amazed me. Whether it be the sites we see, the things we do or the friendships we form, every moment on this trip is precious. Even though I still can't fully pinpoint my pre-trip nerves, I can pinpoint why I'm enjoying this trip so much and that's because we all get along really well. Thank you all for helping me make this the trip of a lifetime! -- Elise Kramer, 2014 ISTer