Honeymoon Israel: On their way

Twenty couples from the Valley are headed to Israel today through Honeymoon Israel, a trip to Israel for couples that is being piloted in the Greater Phoenix Jewish Community by Valley Beit Midrash. Larry Hirsch, one of the participants, will be a guest blogger, sharing his experiences from the trip. Here is his first post.

The monitor in the airplane shows the route to Israel.

Honeymoon Israel has officially commenced, albeit quite early.  The gang all arrived at Sky Harbor for our 6 a.m. flight – although one of the couples forgot their passports and had to head back home to retrieve them; there has been no disclosure as to the guilty couple, it is the first secret of Honeymoon Israel.  However, all 20 of us, Shmuly and Erin are all on the plane and we are on the way to the armpit of America, that being picturesque Newark, New Jersey.  Thereafter, we have a 2.5 hour layover before boarding the 10-hour flight to Tel Aviv.

My wife and I are both excited and admittedly, slightly nervous.  Leaving family and our beloved dog behind is always unsettling and so too is going on a trip with 38 other people who we don’t yet know.  The nerves will soon be replaced with intrigue and familiarity.  Today is going to be a long day to say the least, but once we step foot on Israeli soil at Ben Gurion it will undoubtedly be worth the 18 hours of travel time.  We are looking forward to 10 days of learning and have no doubt this will be an experience of a lifetime.

More to come from Israel.

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