Beth Ahabah Voices

By Vicki Lynn

This summer Miles and I traveled to Israel—a trip that has long been on our bucket list. Our trip was made possible through the Charles E. Noell '70 Travel Grant from St. Christopher’s School, where I have worked for 30 plus years.  This grant was awarded to me (and Miles) for the sole purpose of visiting Israel to learn more about Israel’s history, to connect with our faith and traditions and to rejuvenate my energy for the next and probably my last campaign at St. Christopher’s School.

Miles and I often talked about the places we wanted to visit in Israel—from the Old City with all its history, to the Machpelah (tomb of the patriarchs) in the hills of Hebron, floating in the Dead Sea, seeing the Dome of the Rock (from a distance). When planning this trip with our tour guide B.G. Beifield (our former Rabbi and Ina’s oldest son), we were happy to find out that almost every place we dreamed about could be toured. Our goal was not only to see the important and meaningful precepts of our religion and culture; we also wanted to visit sites that are important to other religions in Israel.  We were not disappointed.

Our adventure began as soon as we arrived in Tel Aviv and continued for fourteen more days! We were fascinated by everything and place we visited. We had dinner with old friends and made new ones. We met interesting people and some we will never forget. We traveled to the Golan Heights and learned more about the Yom Kippur War and we watched a short film called “Courage 77” about a brave tank division that was outnumbered by hundreds Syrian tanks, but after four days of battle, prevailed. We went to many of the same places most first-time tourists tour such as Masada, Caesarea, the Dead Sea, the Yad v’Shem Holocaust Museum and too many other places to write about in this article.

True to our mission to see sites that are important to other religions in Israel, we visited the al-Jazzar Mosque in Akko.  In the Old City of Jerusalem we walked the Via Dolorosa to see a few Stations of the Cross where Jesus walked on the way to his crucifixion. We walked through the Muslim area of the Old City of Jerusalem and ate lunch at one of the restaurants there. While touring all these sites, B.G. continued to tell us about their history and culture (he is best guide). Toward the end of our trip, Miles and I even crossed the border to Jordan to visit Petra. 

However, what we will never forget about on our trip is how it felt to spend Friday evening services at the Kotel. We had been visiting historical sites since Monday, but nothing felt more Jewish to us than being at the Western Wall on Shabbat. After following various groups of people and not getting to the Wall, a young man with his baby son strapped to his chest came to our rescue. When we arrived at the Kotel, this young man shook our hands and said “welcome home.” I still get teary just thinking about that moment. 

Editor's Note:

“Voices” is a series written by and about the members of Beth Ahabah. If you would like to submit an article about a friend or family member at Beth Ahabah, or your own adventures, avocations or interesting career, please contact Lori Allen in the Temple office at l.allen@bethahabah.org.