Day 15 - Lehava - Adam
Today was our last day in the Golan Area, and we started with a decent breakfast. The chocolate pastries were a hit, however they were heavily outnumbered by some... subpar foods.
We left the kibbutz and headed for the Syrian border, which was only a surprising 20 minute drive. Our guide, Daniel, gave us lots of information about the Golan as we drove through it on the way to our destination; Kibbutz El-Rom, which is situated 1065m above sea level, and only 3km from the Valley Of Tears. During the Yom Kippur War, a massive battle took place in this valley, between antiquated Israeli forces which were outnumbered 20-1 by modern Syrian forces who had trained under the Soviet Union.
At Kibbutz El-Rom we watched a movie which detailed the Yom Kippur War alongside some overly friendly Canadians. It was a very engaging and inspirational movie which deepened our understanding of the Yom Kippur War. We only stayed in the Kibbutz for a short while to see the movie, before we continued our journey to עז, which is 77, and represents the tank brigade which defended the north of Israel during the war. It was an exciting and welcoming place where we climbed into and onto tanks left over from the battle, and paid tribute to the fallen soldiers through tehillim.
This led us to go visit the ancient city of Gamla, which was on a hill shaped like a camel’s back, with two peaks. The city was destroyed during the Jewish Rebellions in 67 CE and was only uncovered in 1967. The city was first founded around 5000 years ago but became famous for its role in the defence of Israel during the Roman conquests. The story is vaguely parallel to that of Masada as during the Roman siege many of its 9000 citizens jumped off the cliffs instead of surrendering to the Roman Legions.
A small bus bus drive away was Katzrin Park, which is where we were treated to pizza and pasta for lunch. Unfortunately this was scheduled right before we visited the De Karina Chocolate Factory, and naturally this required us to eat a small lunch.
The De Karina Chocolate Factory is literally a stone’s throw from our rooms and the smells are incredible. We were shown the factory where Karina and her chocolatiers work, bringing joy to Israel through their creations. After the small tour we were all sat down at tables covered with large bottles filled with milk, white and dark chocolate. There was also jam and caramel for those with exotic tastes. As you can imagine, 30 kids surrounded by chocolate... everyone was well behaved, well mannered and respectful of each others space... right.
We put our creations in the fridge to set and were sent off to prepare for the day’s final activity where we would dress up in Talmudic clothing and experience an ancient excavated village built around 2000 years ago. The Katzrin Village was an eye opening experience as we played the drums, watched olive oil production, and experienced sitting in an ancient synagogue where we davened Maariv and finished off our time in the Talmudic Village.
Overall it was a fun filled day with chocolate, laughs and amazing views of Israel’s north, and a bit of learning thrown in to top it off!
Adam Schildkraut - 2.12.2019
