Home from Israel

Monday morning our  cousin drove us to the airport. Now we know why we saw so little security personnel in and around the terminal (as we see at US airports). In order to enter the airport complex you must pass through a security checkpoint. It was easy going through immigration -- we received an exit receipt and were on way. Check in was also easy. And because it was still fairly early, there weren't long lines going through the security check. We did some last minute shopping in the "duty free" shops (that just meant we didn't have to pay the VAT).

It's a longer flight back to the US (about 12 1/2 hours). They were more generous with food on the return flight -- lunch (fish with pasta or beef with rice), sandwiches about 2/3 of the way through the flight, and then breakfast about an before the end of the flight. That seemed odd as we were landing at about 5 pm -- not when we would expect to eat breakfast. I watched two TV shows ("NCIS: and "Big Bang Theory") and "Sabrina" (the original with Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn) and read a lot.

The last photos are things I bought (some referenced in earlier posts). The dreidels are Israeli -- instead of the letters standing for "a great miracle happened there", they stand for "a great miracle happened HERE". The large, colorful hamsa is from the Tzuki design studio -- I've seen works from this studio at a shop here in the US and was delighted I could buy some things in Israel.The pomegranate with the cat was from a local artists' booth at the Market in Jerusalem. The fiber artwork was purchased in Jaffa. And the hamsas also came from Jaffa -- Adina Plastelina designs; the smaller one has the Shma on the front and a blessing for the house on the back while the larger one has a blessing in Portuguese on the back and will be given to our Brasilian friends.

photos

Almost from the time I arrived in Israel, I was asked for my reaction to being in Israel -- whether it met my expectations, what was best, what was a challenge. In all honesty, I'm not sure what my expectations were. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't like it, but that was quickly dispelled. My overall reaction is that the trip was incredible -- walking in King David's Palace, visiting places I've only read about in the Bible, being somewhere surrounded by Jews. My initial reaction was that Israel is a real place with real people. Because much of our trip involved being with family, it helped to make things more personal and less touristy. When I told the rabbi at the Conservative Synagogue that it was my first trip to Israel and he responded "What took you so long? Welcome home!", there was a sense of yes, I'm home. And it did feel very special to be praying in Jerusalem.

I'm certainly not planning to make aliyah (move to Israel) but I am looking forward to visiting again (hopefully at a time when it's not snowing). I want to see more of Israel and I want to spend more time with family. Our synagogue is planning a trip in October. If things work out, my husband Mike and I will go on the trip, probably going over a few days early so we can spend time with family.