I can't believe it's almost here! I remember when I found out and it was in the area of 70 days. Now it's a mere 19 days away!! Yes, my concentration at work has been awesome! Because who would ever get excited about a trip to Israel!?
My itinerary is below...
Monday Oct 24
6:05 am, arrive in Israel.
8 am - to be announced (ooh!)
12:30 transfer to Israel's North (Tiberias)
2:30 - check in at hotel.
5:30 - welcome: "Gossip, Lies and Lessons" with Lori Palatnik
6:30 - depart for welcome dinner
7:00 welcome dinner at Decks
8:30 - depart for hotel
Tuesday Oct 25
Breakfast opens at 7
Check out, bring suitcases to lobby, breakfast, pack lunch.
9:15 am - "World Perfect" with Ken Spiro
11:00 am - depart for Tzfat
12:00 am - tour of Tzfat
Tour, Shop, Snack
3:00 pm - Meet back at bus to depart for lunch (hence the snack, I suppose)
3:30 pm - Lunch at the Red Hahn (A Musical, Ethnic Culinary Experience)
6:00 pm - Depart for Jerusalem
9:00 pm - Check in to hotel in Jerusalem.
Wednesday Oct 26
6:30 am - Breakfast opens at the hotel (I am going to be expected to be up for breakfast at 6:30 in the morning. gah!!!)
8:15 am - Walk to the Aish HaTorah World Center opposite the Western Wall in the Old City.
9:00 am - Welcome to Aish HaTorah
9:30 am - Breathtaking view from the roof of Aish HaTorah World Center
Group Photo
10:15 am - "The Kabbalah of You" Lori Palatnik
11:15 am - Break and opportunity to buy Judaica Art by Rebecca Shore
11:45 am - Meet your Aish Hosts
Rabbi Noah Weinberg Tribute Film
History of the building film
JWRP Film
1:00 pm - Visit the Kotel
Lunch on our own
2:30 pm - "Next Year in Jerusalem"
4:00 pm - Depart for Old City Tour
6:20 pm - Western Wall Tunnel tour
7:45 pm - Free Evening
Thursday Oct 27
6:30 am (AGAIN?!) - Breakfast opens at the hotel
8:15 am - "Why the Jews" Ken Spiro
10:00 am - Depart for Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Memorial
10:30 am - Visit Yad Vashem
1:00 pm - Salad Lunch (huh?)
1:45 pm - Depart for Chesed Project
2:15 pm - Visit Shalva
4:15 pm - depart for Hotel
5:00 pm - Free Evening
Friday Oct 28
7:00 am - Breakfast opens at the hotel
8:15 am - depart for Old City
9:00 am - "Light up your Life - the Mitzvah of Candle Lighting" - Lori Palatnik
10:00 - 12:00 A Mitzvah of Body and Soul: Challah Baking Class
Time to prepare for shabbat - don't forget to buy wine - Friday Night Dinner is BYOB
2:30 pm - Depart for walk to Old City from hotel lobby
3:00 pm - Pre-Shabbat Concert with Yom Tov Glaser
4:20 pm - Candle Lighting
Dancing at the Kotel (Western Wall)
5:30 pm - Meet back at the back of the Kotel Plaza by flag poles.
Shabbat Dinner at the Aish HaTorah World Center
Bring your own bottle of wine and share with "Lone Soldiers"
8:15 pm - Walk back to the hotel
Shabbat Oct 29
6:30 am - Breakfast opens at the Hotel
Optional walk to Yemin Moshe Synagogue, Kotel or Great Synagogue
10:30 am - Putting the "Jewish" into values - Lori Palatnik
11:30 am - Shabbat: Heaven on Earth - Rabbi Gavriel Friedman
12:30 pm - Shabbat Lunch at the hotel
2:30 pm - Depart for Old City
3:15 pm - The Four Things you Never Knew About Judaism Lori Palatnik
4:15 pm - Depart for Claman's
4;30 pm - Seudat Shlishit - the Third Meal of Shabbat
Havdala
7:15 pm - return to the hotel
Enjoy the nightlife on Ben Yehuda
Sunday Oct 30
6:00 am - Breakfast at the Hotel
7:15 am - Depart for Masada
8:30 am - Cable Car up Masada
Naming Ceremony
11:30 am - Depart for Dead Sea
Lunch and Shopping for Dead Sea Products (hmmm)
Dead Sea Swim
3:00 pm - Depart for Erets Preishit
4:50 pm - Camel Rides and Festive Dinner in Abraham and Sarah's Tent
7:00 pm - Return to Jerusalem
8:00 pm - Judaica Sale Rav Gil Eisenbach
Monday Oct 31
6:30 am - Breakfast opens at the hotel
7:30 am - Depart Hotel for the Old City
8:30 am - Letter to Myself
9:15 am - "The Inner Beauty of the Jewish Woman" - Chana Kalsmith
10:15 am - Love, Intimacy and Soul Mates - Lori Palatnik
11:15 am - Lunch on your own
1:00 pm - Bus departs for Givat Shmuel
2:45 pm - Mikvah Tour
3:30 pm - Depart for Army Base
4:00 pm - Meet "our" IDF Soldiers (and present them with care packages)
5:00 pm - Depart for Jerusalem.
5:45 pm - Arrive in Jerusalem
8:15 - Optional but highly recommended - Israel Advocacy: How to answer difficult questions
Tuesday Nov 1
6:30 am - Breakfast (again with the 6:30 am breakfasts!!)
8:30 am - Bringing it all home How to share your inspiration with friends and family without blowing it
Opportunity to purchase CDs and JWRP t-shirts
9:30 am - Survival Kits and Evaluations
10:00 am - Story and Departing Words Pamela Claman
10:15 am - Our Mother Rachel: Shepherding Us Along the Way
10:30 am - Check out, Load the bus and free time
3:30 pm - Depart Hotel
4:00 pm - Rachel's tomb
5:15 pm - Final Banquet at Gavna(you'll have to translate the page - it's in Hebrew)
Depart for Ben Gurion Airport
However, apparently the flights are arranged for my group that we are actually staying over Tuesday night and flying out on Wednesday night - so apparently I have the entire day to myself on the Wednesday.
And that's it in a really, really huge nutshell.
