Have you experienced DeJa’Vu where you feel as though you have seen something before and are reexperiencing it at the moment. It is a strange feeling, to be sure. I had that same experience the first time I visited Israel. Somehow it felt I had been here before. Many of the people looked vaguely familiar, like I attended a Jewish summer camp with them, and the Hebrew letters, written on so many street signs, reminded me of the prayers I learned in Hebrew school.
In a few short weeks, many members of our congregation will be gathering, many for the first time, as they experience Israel. We are excited to have several guests joining us on our trip, this summer. Some of our members are being joined by other family members from around the country, and other participants found our trip and will be joining the TAE family, at least temporarily.
This ten day trip is more than just a gathering of people going on vacation together, rather we are like pilgrims, exploring the possibility of discovering deep religious, historical and cultural significance in the ancient stones and modern sky scrapers of this second home of ours. It is a strange feeling to travel to a new place and feel like one is returning home, but that is exactly what many people feel when they land at Tel Aviv airport.
I hope you will join Sandy and me along our journey through Israel as we discover its beauty, understand its struggles, and work for its betterment.