LifeTimeline

Neshama '24

    • FEB 21

      Neshama '24 begins

    • FEB 24

      Majdanek Death Camp

    • FEB 26

      Auschwitz I and II: The Worst of All

    • FEB 29

      Arrival in Israel: Our Homeland

    • MAR 06

      The Artsy Side Of Israel: Southern Tel Aviv

    • MAR 07

      My First Experience of Terror In Israel

    • MAR 08

      3-Day Desert Experience: The Negev

    • MAR 14

      Many Faces of Israel Seminar

    • MAR 16

      Why is Masada important?

    • MAR 17

      The Golden Dome: A mosque or a shrine?

    • MAY 20

      Neshama '24 ends

    2016
  • 3

    Neshama '24 begins

    Warsaw
    Poland
    We had a goodbye ceremony, where our choir sang. Then we went to the airport. We had a stop over in London, which was exciting because i'd never been to England. It was really weird watching cars drive on the opposite side of the road. Then we visited a couple of cemeteries when we finally arrived in Poland. We learned the meaning behind each symbolic image that was on each of the graves. Some of them symbolized that the deceased was a Cohen or that the person was a woman. Then we ate a delicious meal at the local Chabad.
    By Veronica Slater
  • 2

    Majdanek Death Camp

    Lublin
    Poland
    After setting foot in a couple of the bunkers, multiple people broke down into tears. I didn't. I focused on the fact that we were able to walk around in these death camps and then leave. Hitler's plan failed. Our survival proves that our nation will continue to fight for our belief and that no one can strip us of that right. As we started to head back onto the bus, I looked around at the large, ugly piece of land and thanked God that I was able to leave.
    By Veronica Slater
  • 3

    Auschwitz I and II: The Worst of All

    Krakow
    Poland
    Auschwitz. I'm not going to pretend like I wasn't scared, because Auschwitz was the hell of all concentration camps. Auschwitz I was more of a museum setting with videos, music, and powerful quotes written on the walls of the rooms. There was this one white room that at the first glance looked empty, but when observed at a closer proximity, it would reveal miniature drawings that children in the concentration camps drew when they had time to think. There was a building in Auschwitz I that was recognized as the "Canada" building because Canada has the nickname "land of plenty" and since there were so many bodies transported to gas chambers, there were plenty of belongings like shoes, hairbrushes, suitcases, etc..The decision of life and death in these camps were so random; A 15 year old boy was told to stand on his tippy toes if he wanted to live and because of those extra few inches he was directed to the safe side.
    By Veronica Slater
  • Arrival in Israel: Our Homeland

    Jerusalem
    Israel
    Not only was this day a special day because we were arriving in the holy land, but it also happened to be Leap Day! We had to change out of our many layers into shorts and a tee shirt because it was 78 degrees outside. We then went on the bus, jammed out to Israeli music, and visited the Kotel. Although most of us had already visited Israel in the past, there were still a few people who hadn't and therefore this was their first time at the Western Wall. It was amazing to be there when they were visiting one of the holiest places in Israel.
    By Veronica Slater
  • The Artsy Side Of Israel: Southern Tel Aviv

    Tel Aviv
    Israel
    As we walked around Souther Tel Aviv, we were informed about the message behind some graffiti and then about the different types of graffiti surrounding the city. There was this one period of time that people used to spray paint dog poop that was on the sidewalks to highlight the fact that it wasn't supposed to be there. This influence dog owners to pick up their dog's poop. There was also a graffiti painting of the 27 club. The artist also painted himself in this mural, but his sister sprayed white paint over his face so that he wouldn't be inclined to kill himself at age 27. It was a very interesting story. There was also a painting that illustrated the Rabin assassination; It included a circle around Rabin, representing a target, and a duct tape creating a shape of a dead person around יגאל, the assassin, because he's dead to our nation. It's incredible how much power a painting has in portraying a story.
    By Veronica Slater
  • 2

    My First Experience of Terror In Israel

    Tel Aviv
    Israel
    Today we went to the Palmach museum, where we we followed the lives of 7 individuals who were soldiers in the Palmach. After walking through this exibit, I started to understand how many lives were sacrificed in order for us to have a Jewish state and therefore started to appreciate Israel's history even more. We then went on a culinary tour in Jaffa, where we tried shakshuka, Boreka's, and schwarma.Then we went to the Jaffa beach, where we played sports and relaxed. Little did we know that a couple days later there would be a stabbing there in the restrooms. As soon as we heard about this attack, we started panicking and started giving "what if" scenarios. We became paranoid and it began to sink in that we were currently in a war zone.
    By Veronica Slater
  • 2

    3-Day Desert Experience: The Negev

    Negev
    Israel
    We started our desert experience by cooking our own lunch. We had limited ingredients and limited supplies. When we finished our lunch we were told to put dirt and rocks on top of our plates and bowls and then shake it from side to side. Then the dishes would be "clean." We then went on a "short hike", which was around 3 and a half miles. Our tour guide was unique and whenever she saw animal poop she would pick it up and dissect it. A lot of us were still weirded out by the idea of pooping in the desert, so we weren't too fond of animal poop or rather poop in general. We then had dinner and then went on a desert solo experience, where we were able to soak in all of the beauty that the Negev had to offer.
    By Veronica Slater
  • 2

    Many Faces of Israel Seminar

    Jerusalem
    Israel
    Today we met with a woman named Helen Gottstein, who challenged our belief systems in ways that we didn't expect. At first she condemned those who make Aliyah in order to serve in the IDF(Israeli Defense Force) and then she continued saying how the Jewish people have already fought for Israel and that it's now the Muslims and the other nationalities' turn to fight. This angered a number of people in my group because they were planning on doing just that. Then the woman took off her head covering and revealed she was just an actress and that she would be portraying the views of each political perspective. We were all in shock because of how believable she was. Then she continued with the belief that the Jewish people deserve to have the one sliver of land, Israel, for themselves because the Arabs already have 22 or so pieces of land. It was very interesting to listen to each side that she portrayed and it gave me a better understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We then went to a school that's integrated with Arabs, Muslims, Jews, Christians, etc..Their goal is to inform their students about each religion and to prevent them from being brainwashed into thinking that a whole nationality is bad because of stereotypes. We then met with a Haredi Jew, where we discussed issues like the Arab-Israeli conflict, homosexuality, and his view on conservatives and women praying at the Kotel.
    By Veronica Slater
  • Why is Masada important?

    Jerusalem
    Israel
    Today we embarked on a very challenging hike up the snake path to get to Masada. There was an option to take the cable car up, but most people felt like that was cheating and therefore hiked instead. We were told that there were some individuals in the past who thought it was a good idea to try and run up this path, but that nobody could actually do it and that they would be regretting it the rest of the way. One guy in my grade decided to fight this theory and started running up the hill. He stopped within 1 minute and then was one of the last ones to finish. It took people between 25min-1 hour to finish. Then our tour guide began to explain Masada's symbolism. He said that 960 people committed suicide because they had nowhere to go and that this was a metaphor for how Israel is the Jewish people's only safe haven and that if the Palestinians take it away, the Jews will have no place to go. Every year the Israeli army is brought up to Masada to remind them of what they are fighting for.
    By Veronica Slater
  • The Golden Dome: A mosque or a shrine?

    Jerusalem
    Israel
    Before this trip, I never really thought about what the Golden Dome actually was. It looks like a mosque, but I have been told that it's important to the Jewish people as well as muslims. Therefore, when my tour guide told me that it was actually a shrine that had both a purpose for the Jews and for the Muslims, I finally understood. He said that the Golden Dome was originally built to mark the place that the temple once stood, but then later on the Muslims claimed that it was also the place where Mohammad ascended into the heavens. Ironically, there are passages of the Koran surrounding the dome. The texts were put there to prove the falseness of Christianity. Therefore unifying Judaism and Islam as true religions.
    By Veronica Slater
  • 2

    Neshama '24 ends

    Jerusalem
    Israel
    Today was bittersweet.There are lots of things i'm going to miss, like my Madrichim(counselors) because I don't know when the next time i'll see them again, and going out to eat and being able to assume that the food will be kosher. I'll also miss being surrounded by my Jewish community and not feeling like an outsider. In America, the majority of the population believes in either Christianity or Islam. In every single town sport i've taken a part in, I was the only or one of the only Jews. It's hard to be proud of your culture if everyone around you believes in something different. However, after this trip I realized how little other people's opinions matter and how important it is to be proud of my nation. This is why i'm excited to return to America. I'm excited to show everyone my Jewish pride and influence them to love Israel as much as I do. I want to convince others that Israel is important to the Jewish people not only because it was our promised land, but because we deserve it. We have fought countless amounts of battles, and have lost many people in the process. Our Zionism is the reason why we never complain about the war, because we will be happy as long as we have our home. Neshama was an amazing experience that helped me discover my Jewish identity and I will never forget it.
    By Veronica Slater