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Reprinted from the Jewish Exponent

Stuck in a late-afternoon Jerusalem traffic jam just a few weeks ago and looking for ways to pass the time, Rabbi Steven C. Wernick of Adath Israel in Merion began to answer questions from his congregants and fellow travelers. One of them asked what the rabbi felt was most meaningful about this trip to the Jewish state.

"I find the traffic meaningful," replied Wernick. "Here we are stuck in traffic ... it tells me that Israel is still alive and still kicking. People are living their lives."

Two recent trips to the Jewish state sought to better acquaint Philadelphia-area residents with Israel's place in Jewish history, as well as the realities of present-day life there. One was a family-oriented trip organized by Adath Israel; the other was tailored toward 11th- and 12th-graders, and sponsored by the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Philadelphia.

Forty-two people from nine families joined Wernick from Dec. 23 to Jan. 4.

They did everything from rumble through the Golan Heights on a Jeep tour to camp out for the night in a Bedouin tent and enjoy a Shabbat dinner at a Masorti (Conservative) synagogue in Jerusalem.

Terri Hartman of Penn Valley approached Wernick more than a year ago, saying she wanted the synagogue to organize a trip where parents and children could experience Israel together. Hartman had last been to Israel in 1985 on her honeymoon with husband, Bruce Goldberg, and the couple hoped to return with their three children and synagogue friends.

Still jet-lagged from the return flight from this most recent Israel trip, Hartman said in a telephone interview that she did not fear terrorist attacks and felt very safe while abroad. And she stressed that Israelis seemed to be going about their lives despite the constant threat of suicide-bombing attacks. As an example, Hartman said that "the restaurants were packed. You needed reservations."

While the Adath Israel trip crisscrossed the entire Jewish state, the 12 teens who participated on the JCC Israel Teen Encounter stuck mostly to the Negev and Jerusalem.

"You don't learn anything by jumping off the bus and being in a place for 10 minutes," said Beth Razin, director of the JCC's Community Youth Initiative.

Razin explained that the Dec. 23 through Jan. 1 trip emphasized depth of experience, rather than the number of different places visited.It was 17-year-old Sarah Plumridge's first trip to Israel, and she liked this approach. "It gives me more to see when I go back next time," said the junior at Springfield Township High School.

The group spent several days with Israeli teens from the town of Netivot, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's Partnership 2000 city. Most of those young Israelis had visited the Philadelphia area last summer as part of an exchange program. Plumridge, who hosted one of the Israeli teens in her home, went on the trip in part because she wanted to see her friends again, explained the youth. The Americans also spent a Shabbat at their Israeli counterparts' homes. Barak Kassutto, 17, of Cheltenham, told us, "Despite obvious differences such as mandatory armed-service duty after high school Israeli teenagers are not so different from American ones." He noted that they go to the same kinds of parties, listen to the same kinds of music, and have some of the same concerns about life, school and work in general. Said Kassutto of the recent trip: "It was a really awesome experience ... to see how Israelis live."

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