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Taglit-Birthright Israel: Livnot Program Sample Itinerary
 Day
1
Arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport. We'll meet the Israelis who'll be joining
us for the first few days of the program (and who can provide an interesting angle
on Israel). We'll take a bus via the ancient Judean Hills to Jerusalem - our home
for the next week. Although jetlagged and tired, we'll still get to meet each other
and the staff in our opening circle. After a meal and some rest, we end the day
with a visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City.
Day 2
At 630am, we're up! After listening to the Israel Radio news (in English), eating
breakfast and hearing a short program orientation, it's finally time to do some
hiking!
We drive to the scenic Judean Foothills and see the scenery that is our history:
ancient villages, roads and landscapes that look like they came straight out of
the Bible (they really did).
After a picnic lunch, we'll be going underground to ancient limestone tunnels in
which Jews hid 2,000 years ago in a dramatic revolt against the Romans. It's fun
and it's serious at the same time…just like many things in Israel.
Back in Jerusalem, after dinner and a shower, we'll break up into small groups and
discuss our experiences.
Day 3
After news and breakfast, we leave to do some community-service volunteering in
Jerusalem. We might be packing food for the poor, or painting homes of the disadvantaged,
or working with
handicapped children, or visiting a hospital.
In the afternoon, we'll be touring the Old City of Jerusalem, and finishing with
a visit to the walk-through Kotel Tunnels - situated right underneath the Western
Wall. Like many things in life, what you see on the outside is only a tip of the
iceberg…
We'll have dinner in the Old City, and taste the great falafel that's made Israel
famous.
Day 4
Today, we'll hear some news commentary by a local journalist. Ask questions…and
leave with even more questions.
We'll make a solemn and meaningful visit to Yad Vashem, Jerusalem's Holocaust Museum.
We'll be walking, seeing, experiencing and discussing our reactions to this shattering
event that still affects and influences the Jewish People.
In the afternoon, we'll meet a lively educator from the Pardes Institute who will
offer some insights on the significance of Shabbat (how comforting it is to know
that Jews invented the "weekend").
From there, it's back to the Jerusalem campus for dinner. After eating, we'll split
up into two groups: one will be preparing food for the upcoming Shabbat meals, and
the other will be preparing a short talk on the Jewish subject of your choice. The
idea is to choose a subject about which you're passionate, and to explore/research
it in small groups, drawing from the great wealth of Jewish sources and our own
personal life experience as guides.
 Day 5
This morning we'll be going to visit Har Herzl - Jerusalem's Military Cemetery.
We'll learn about the people who helped make this country exist in 1948, and still
do today. After the tour, we'll say goodbye to our Israeli friends, and go to a
nearby park for a picnic lunch.
Then it's back to the campus for some rest and final preparations for a traditional
Shabbat celebration as only Livnot knows how.
A little before sundown, we'll meet for candlelighting, singing, dancing, and sunset
ceremony on the roof. After that, we'll meet for a festive meal with great food
(hey, we cooked it!), time to reflect, more singing, listening to our fellow participants'
Words of Wisdom, and then…an after-party with a chance to make a L'Chaim!
Day 6
Sleep in! This is your chance to get some serious shuteye; just be up for lunch,
because you and another participant will be the special guests at the home of a
Jerusalem host family in the area. Here's an opportunity to meet Israelis and ask
myriads of questions. The hosts are nice, the kids are fun, and the food is great
(no, there are no doggie-bags). You'll come back with many interesting stories.
After a traditional afternoon rest, we'll meet again to mark the end of the Shabbat
festivities.
And at night - we hit the town!
Late that night, we take a busride down to the Judean Desert and stay the night
in a youth hostel. In the morning, you'll get up and look out your window and see:
Day 7
Nothingness! It's amazing how much nothingness this desert can have. After breakfast
with a great view, we'll be hiking up Masada, and trying to understand what happened
at this fortress/palace so many years ago. When we're finished, we'll take the cable
car down to the lowest place on earth - the Dead Sea. We'll be floating on the salty
water, putting mud all over our bodies, and in general doing things we just can't
do in North America…
That night we're back in the desert youth hostel with a good warm meal, and it's
early to bed because tomorrow we're getting up at…
Day 8
330am! While it's still dark, we'll be groping our way to the trailhead, and at
first light we'll be climbing a mountain so high, that when you finally peak it,
you won't believe your own strength - as you look down below at the specks that
are supposed to be other humans.
Afterwards, we'll be traversing riverbeds and rock faces until we arrive at Ein
Gedi - an oasis with real palm trees, waterfalls and natural pools. When we eat
our picnic lunch at the end of the trek, we'll be proud that by 1pm, we've already
been hiking for 9 hours…
Then we board the bus in good spirits and most of us will sleep as the bus makes
its way north towards the mystical mountaintop city of Tzfat.
Day 9
What a change in scenery! After sleeping in, we'll wake up to cobblestone alleyways
and ancient stairways and mountain air. The Livnot-Tzfat campus will be our home
until the end of the program.
We'll take a tour of ancient Tzfat and hear about the Kabbalists and the miraculous
survival of the Jewish community here 400 years ago, as well as in 1948.
We'll do community-service at an Absorption Center for Jews from Ethiopia. You can't
not fall in love with the kids here; they're just too cute.
In the afternoon, we'll have a short seminar on the Jewish Family. This will include
discussions on "Making Love Last" as well as "Myth-Breaking - The
Jewish Attitude towards Sexuality."
We end the day by splitting up into small groups and talking about "Family"
in a more intimate setting.
Day 10
After breakfast and news, it's time to hike again in the Golan Heights! We'll be
visiting the famous site of Gamla - home to vultures and waterfalls and an ancient
city. We'll ascend to the peak of Gamla and take in the great view and the dramatic
story of the fall of Gamla.
After a picnic lunch, we'll stop at some freshwater pools at the foot of the Golan
and bask in the sun as we stand underneath a powerful waterfall. You don't get this
kind of refreshment every day…
Back in Tzfat, after a shower and dinner, we'll have a fun evening of The Great
Tzfat Treasure Hunt. If you haven't mastered the winding alleyways of Tzfat by now,
you will by the time you're finished…
Day 11
Today is the Northern Security Seminar. After breakfast, news, and a class on the
current Middle-East conflict, we'll meet an expert in military history and see -
with our own eyes - the border of Israel with both Lebanon and Syria. This includes
a visit to an ancient volcano which doubled as an army base, and a view of the Great
White Grandfather Mountain - also known as snowy Mt. Hermon.
Then it's back to Tzfat for our Thursday night preparations: half of the group cooks
for Shabbat and the other half prepares Words of Wisdom.
Day 12
Our last Friday will be spent baking Challah (yes, even you can do it), meeting
a local Tzfat Kabbalist-artist and seeing/understanding his works of art, shopping
in the famous Tzfat Artist Quarter, resting, and getting ready for our final Shabbat.
Again - before sunset - we come together for candlelighting, singing and dancing,
experiencing the breathtaking sunset ceremony on the roof, and visiting (optional)
some Tzfat synagogues.
Then we sit down for the Shabbat festive dinner, eat the works of our hands, and
hear our fellow participants give their presentations. A meaning after-party again
brings another great day to an end as we spend our second Shabbat together in a
traditional atmosphere.
Day 13
We sleep in and then go to lunch with a friend, hosted by a local Tzfat family. You'll eat well, hear great stories, tell a few of your own, and return to the Tzfat campus for some mellow Shabbat rest. In the afternoon and evening, we'll say goodbye to Shabbat with a ceremony of wine/fragrance/fire, and dance once more on the roof - this time under the stars. We'll celebrate our last night in Tzfat with some good Jewish music and Israeli ethnic food and drink.
Day 14
Our last day begins with a drive to the Golan for an amazing hike. This takes us into the Yehudia Canyon complete with waterfalls, secret pools and some very challenging crossings. Time to head home to Tzfat and prepare for departure. After packing, we'll join for one last time - for the Final Circle. Here we'll say our parting words as our journey comes to an end. We might not meet in this forum ever again, but we just may discover that we've created a small community of friends that will stay together - perhaps in spirit - forever.
As we board the bus to the airport, we don't say "goodbye," but rather "Lehitraot" - see you again…
(Please note- this is only a sample schedule. Each program schedule is subject to
variation)
NOTE: To get a better taste and feel
of The Livnot Experience you can take our Virtual Tour.
This trip is a gift
of Taglit-Birthright Israel.
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