program dated: March 7,2016
ISRAEL ARTS WITH ARZA CANADA TOUR OF ISRAEL LED BY RABBI LAWRENCE & CHERYL ENGLANDER May 3-15, 2017
Day One: Wednesday, May 3, 2017 DEPARTURE
. Depart from Canada.
Overnight: Flight
Day Two: Thursday, May 4, 2017 ARRIVAL
. Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport. . Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities. . Enter the city of Tel Aviv, known as the “city that never sleeps,” with its centers of culture, recreation and national history, great beaches and fine stores. . Check into the hotel and time to freshen up. . Enjoy dinner in Jaffa at Dr. Shakshuka, a unique ethnic experience.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
Day Three: Friday, May 5 , 2017 VISUAL AND LITERARY ARTS IN TEL AVIV
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Literature and Narrative: Reflections: Meet with scholar Dr. Rachel Korazim, for a conversation and reading on the role classic Israeli literature has had defining periods of time, people and places. . Depart the hotel and walk down Bialik Street in Tel Aviv. Visit the Rubin House, the former residence and studio of Reuven Rubin and delve into the special world of this pioneering Israeli artist. . Foundations of a City and a State, Ahad Ha’Am to Bialik: Zionist ideology and the revival of the Hebrew language come alive as we walk past Bialik’s house and through the Trumpeldor Cemetery. . Lunch on own en route. . Art in Tel Aviv: Special gallery tour led by Vardit Gross, a leading art critic, including a dialogue with artists or gallery owners. . Free time on the Nachalat Binyamin pedestrian mall, with its bi-weekly crafts fair and eateries. Alongside is the colorful Carmel open-air market and across the way Sheinkin Street, with its hip cafés and funky chic shopping. . Kabbalat Shabbat services with Kehillat Darchei Noam in Ramat Hasharon, followed by home Hospitality Shabbat dinner/communal Shabbat dinner with local congregants OR Shabbat dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
Day Four: Saturday, May 6, 2017 SHABBAT IN TEL AVIV
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Free Day in Tel Aviv for an opportunity to: . Take in the grand art collection at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. . Visit some of Tel Aviv’s legendary Art Galleries. . Enjoy the Ganei Yehoshua Park on the Yarkon River. . Crash the waves of the Mediterranean Sea. . Walk or bike the Blue Route in Tel Aviv, with its beautiful coastline and Mediterranean atmosphere, from the Jaffa Ridge in the south to Tel Aviv Port in the north OR take the Green Route, passing through Ganei Yehoshua along the Yarkon River . Walk along the trendy Tel Aviv Port. . Havdallah and music workshop with the musical Beit Tefilah Yisraeli, including music, prayer and poetry. . Dinner on own at the renovated Old Port of Tel Aviv, with its wonderful restaurants, cafés and shops, right on the water’s edge; OR at the Tachana, Jaffa’s Old Railway Station, renovated and restored as a great pedestrian complex, with restaurants, shops and open spaces for people-watching.
Overnight: Tel Aviv
Day Five: Sunday, May 7, 2017 THE WORD IN THE STREETS
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Urban Culture Tours of Tel Aviv, Combining Street Art, Language & Graffiti: Join Guy Sharett, a local resident, to explore the urban culture of the city. . LaDa’at Ethnic Tasting Tour: walk through Tel Aviv’s famous Levinsky Market, where you'll find a combination of foods and sweets from all over the Mediterranean and hear the unique stories of the individuals who sell them; lunch on own if still hungry! . Architecture in Tel Aviv: A view from a Middle-Eastern “eclectic” beginning, through the international Bauhaus style to the skyscrapers of modern Tel Aviv. Walk along Rothschild Boulevard, and through Neve Tzedek and the new Tachana compound, for new insight into how changes in the urban landscape reflect the surrounding culture. . Dinner on own. . View a production of Lo Al HaLechem Levado – Not by Bread Alone OR Luna Park, performed by a deaf/blind theater group at the Nalaga’at Theater..
Overnight: Tel Aviv
Day Six: Monday, May 8, 2017 PERFORMING ARTS IN THE NORTH
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Check out of the hotel and drive north along the coastal plain. . Guided by a local resident, visit the famous Ein Hod artist colony south of Haifa, and explore some of the many galleries throughout the village. . Visit Kibbutz Ga’aton to meet with the dancers of The Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (KCDC) from Israel and around the world. Hear about the cultural renaissance that is taking place in the Galilee, participate in a dance seminar, take a brief tour of the kibbutz and view one of their rehearsals for insight into the “working world” of a dancer. . Lunch on own en route. . Meet with Galilee Circus: The Galilee Circus is a youth circus for Jewish and Arab youth (6-18). It’s a moving display of intercultural cooperation including participation in an Informal workshop where the circus kids help the audience learn various juggling and balancing skills . Possible meeting with the Carmiel Reform community. . Check into the hotel. . Dinner at the hotel.
Overnight: Kibbutz Hotel, Lake Kinneret
D ay Seven: Tuesday, May 9, 2017 THE BEAUTY OF NATURE AND ART IN THE VALLEY
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Check out of the hotel and drive to Kibbutz Ein Harod Art Museum one of the first art museums established in the country. . Hands-on experience in modern-day goat farming at the Az-Iz Goat Farm, including cheese-tasting. . Drive south to Jerusalem, either via the Jordan Valley Rift OR the Trans-Israel Highway for a close-up view of the ‘Security Barrier’ along the seam zone between Israel and the Palestinian Territories. . Lunch on own en route. Enter the vibrant and colorful ancient city of :ברוכים הבאים - Welcome to Jerusalem . Jerusalem, and experience the convergence of the old and the new. . Upon entering Jerusalem, stop to recite the traditional “shehechiyanu” blessing. . Check into the hotel. . Dinner on own, perhaps at the Old Train Station Plaza, a central neighborhood hub for food, entertainment, culture, and enrichment.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day Eight: Wednesday, May 10, 2017 CREATIVITY IN JERUSALEM
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Experience the sights, smells, and tastes of Jerusalem while walking through the Machaneh Yehuda open air market, with a local chef, choosing the best and the most fresh the shuk has to offer in order to return to a kitchen in the market for an interactive cooking session, followed by a delicious lunch. . Engage in a dynamic experience at the Kol Ha’Ot Art Gallery. Through the magical power of the arts and the special atmosphere of the location, grapple with Jewish texts in a transformative, interactive program that will leave you with a long-lasting family memory. . Return to the hotel. . Enjoy a dairy dinner (on own account) and browse through the bookshelves at the cosy T’mol Shilshom Restaurant, which combines a good eatery and a second-hand bookstore where Israeli authors and artists meet. We will meet with an author to discuss his/her works in an informal setting.
Overnight: Jerusalem Day Nine: Thursday, May 11, 2017 THE ART OF COMMUNITY BUILDING
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Challenges and Triumphs of Religious Pluralism and Social Justice in Israel: Dialogue with Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC). . Proceed to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City for visits to: . The four Sephardi synagogues, which reflect the richness and diversity of Diaspora Jewish traditions. . The Karaite Synagogue and meet with representatives of the community. The Karaites recognize the Tanakh alone as its supreme legal authority in Jewish religious law and theology. . Lunch on own. . Visit the renewed and wonderfully creative Israel Museum, with its wide-ranging and eclectic collection, from Archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls, to Jewish Life and Art, European art, contemporary Israeli art and the open-air model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period. . Dinner on own at the Zappa Club or other cultural venue (supplemental cost).
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day Ten: Friday, May 12, 2017 AT LEISURE IN JERUSALEM
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Day at leisure to explore on own and perhaps experience the sights, smells, and tastes of Jerusalem while walking through the Machaneh Yehuda open-air market . Late afternoon depart for Gedera for Kabbalat Shabbat service at Kehillat Yuval. . Festive Shabbat dinner, either with congregants OR at the hotel.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day Eleven: Saturday, May 13, 2017 SHABBAT IN JERUSALEM
. Breakfast at the hotel. . Attend Shabbat morning services at Hebrew Union College, followed by a dialogue with faculty and students (pending HUC’s schedule). . Lunch at Beit Shmuel with guest musician Sha’anan Shitrit. . Putting our Thoughts into Prayer: workshop with leading writing teacher and poet Alden Solovy. . LaDa’at Hebrew Writers: Guided walk through the streets of Jerusalem, using the writings of Jerusalem’s poets and authors, such as Yehuda Amichai, S.Y. Agnon and others. . Rest of the afternoon at leisure. . Ben Kodesh Lechol: Havdallah overlooking the Old City. . Dinner on own.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day Twelve: Sunday, May 14, 2017 THE JUDEAN HILLS
. Breakfast at the hotel and briefing by Gilad Kariv. . Meet artist Oshrit Raffeld at her studio at Hutzot Hayotzer. . Drive out of Jerusalem and take part at a woodcraft workshop at the Kakado Gallery and meet owner and artist, Reut Shachar. . Lunch on own en route. Take part in a Vintner’s Journey along the : כי יין ישמח לבב אנוש – LaDa’at Central Israel Wine Route . Ella Valley and the Judean Hills wine route, exploring some of the new and very successful wineries that have sprouted in recent years, among them Elah, Tzora, Flam, Kastel, Tzuba and Katlav Wineries. Conversation with wine-makers and connoisseurs, as well as wine tasting included. . Return to Jerusalem and wrap up of the week. . Festive farewell dinner.
Overnight: Jerusalem
Day T hirteen: Monday, May 15 , 2017 DEPARTURE
. Breakfast at the hotel . Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport and check in for the departure flight to Canada, arriving the same day.