Michael Medved Trip to Israel 2020

Wednesday, September 2, 2020 – Divine Providence in Modern Israel

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Divine Providence in Modern Israel: Meeting with Jon Medved, Michael’s brother and one of Israel’s leading entrepreneurs.
• “The wilderness will rejoice and blossom… it will burst into bloom” (Isiah 35). Visit the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. We will witness the miracle of a 72-year-old country in the Middle East, bursting with energy to be a world leader of technology and solutions for wildernesses of all kinds.
• “I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to me” (Exodus 19): Visit the Immigration Pier in Jaffa, where tens of thousands of immigrants took their first steps upon their arrival in modern Palestine – Eretz Yisrael.
• Walk through the beautiful alleys of the artist colony of ancient Jaffa, the port of Jerusalem from the times of King Solomon to the times of St. Peter.
• Lunch on own in Jaffa
• “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them” Joshua 1.
  Visit the Palmach House to engage and learn about Israel’s struggle for a state in the War of Independence
• Meet a Palmach fighter from Israel’s War of Independence in 1948
• Tour Rothschild Boulevard and hear the story of the immigrants who built the first Modern Hebrew city on the sand dunes at 1909, as well as the story of Israel’s Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv in 1948.
• Travel to Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev Desert.
• Dinner at hotel
• Michael Medved Live Radio Broadcast

Overnight: Kedma Hotel, Kibbutz Sde Boker

Thursday, September 3, 2020 – The Abrahamic Advantage

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• The wilderness and the parched land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice, even with joy and singing” Isaiah 35:1-2. Visit the home of David Ben Gurion, first Prime Minister of Israel, at Kibbutz Sde Boker. Continue to his grave overlooking the Wilderness of Zin. Explore his vision of the re-birth of the Biblical Children of Israel and the Zionist endeavor, struggling to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy of making the desert bloom.
• Hike the trail of Ein Ovdat in the Zin Valley, where the 13 tribes of Israel made their way through the desert to the Promised Land.
• Modern Homesteaders in the Desert: Visit a modern Solitary Farm in the Negev to learn about pioneering life in the 21st century, and taste the produce of the farm.
• “Slice your bread for the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter” (Isaiah 58) Visit Beit HaShanti, a desert home for Youth at Risk including dinner and meeting with the founder Mariuma Ben Yosef.
• Michael Medved Live Radio Broadcast

Overnight: Kedma Hotel, Kibbutz Sde Boker

Friday, September 4, 2020- An Ancient Blessing

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Visit the world heritage site of Tel Be’er Sheva, the city of the patriarchs and a wonderful example for daily life and water technology in Biblical times.
• Abraham’s First Purchase in the Land of Canaan: The Cave of the Machpela. Visit the city of Hebron and visit the contested burial site of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs.
• Home hospitality with residents of the Hebron Hills.
• Continue to Jerusalem
• View the city of Jerusalem from the Haas Promenade and try to see it through the eyes of Abraham “On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar” (Genesis 22).
• Pre-Shabbat (Sabbath) session with Michael Medved on the meaning of Shabbat observance.
• Visit the Kotel (Western Wall) with dance and prayer as Jerusalem welcomes the Shabbat.
• Walk back to the hotel through the streets of Jerusalem to absorb its unique Shabbat atmosphere. (Bus will be available to take you back if you choose not to walk).
• Enjoy a festive Shabbat dinner with Michael Medved and family.

Overnight: Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Jerusalem

Shabbat, September 5, 2020 – Dawn of Christianity 

• Breakfast at the hotel

OPTION 1: Mount of Olives

• Tour the of Olives, the mountain of the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday and of the Ascension. We will visit the Chapel of Ascension, Dominus Flevit and the Garden of Gethsemane.
• Lunch in the old city on own.
• Visit the Garden Tomb to remember the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus.
• Walk through the Christian Quarter and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, layered with history and religious significance.

OPTION 2: Bethlehem and Ein Kerem

• Visit the Spring of Mary at the village of Ein Karem in the Judean Mountains and continue to the birthplace of John the Baptist.
• Lunch in Bethlehem on own
• Tour Bethlehem, including the Church of the Nativity and Shepherds’ Fields.

OPTION 3: Shabbat in Jerusalem

• Shul hopping in Jerusalem
• Shabbat lunch at local families
• Walking tour of the New neighborhoods of Jerusalem

BOTH GROUPS:

• The Third Meal (dinner): Enjoy a shared dinner towards the end of the Sabbath.
• Havdalah service, commemorating the conclusion of Shabbat followed by a free evening

Overnight: Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Jerusalem

Sunday, September 6, 2020 – Jerusalem in the Times of Jesus: the Second Temple Period

• Breakfast in the hotel
• Tour the Model of the Second Temple at the Israel Museum.
• Tour Jewish homes from the Second Temple Period in the Herodian Quarter.
• Lunch at the Jewish Quarter.
• Visit Aish HaTorah to learn about the spiritual meanings of the Western Wall.
• Walk where Jesus walked to the Temple environs of the Jerusalem Archaeological Park.
• Dinner overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem with former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. and former MK, Michael Oren.

Overnight: Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Jerusalem

Monday, September 7, 2020 – Jerusalem, the Eternal Capital

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Meeting at the United States Embassy in Jerusalem with Ambassador David Friedman.
• Tour the Ammunition Hill with Yaki Chetz, veteran of the Battle for Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War.
• Melting Pot Israel: Culinary tour of the Machneh Yehuda Market to meet the different groups of immigrants that have come to Israel and created its rich ethnic tapestry.
• After lunch we’ll have 2 options:
  • Option 1: Visit and stand in solemn memory at Israel’s Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust including the Children’s Memorial and the Historical Museum.
  • OR
  • Option 2: Tour Capitol Hill, including visits to Israel’s Supreme Court and Knesset (parliament). Continue to the National Cemetery and Military Cemetery at Mount Herzl.
• Visit the Friends of Zion Museum, celebrating non-Jewish Zionists and their contribution to Israel.
• Visions of Redemption: Visit the home of visionary spiritual leader, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook to explore his understanding of the hand of Providence in the founding of the modern State of Israel.
• Time permitting: Visit the Israeli Twin Towers 9-11 Memorial, the only such memorial outside of the United States.
• Free evening and dinner on own.
• Michael Medved Live Radio Broadcast

 Overnight: Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Jerusalem

Tuesday, September 8, 2020 – The Judean Desert

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Visit the Inn of the Good Samaritan to discuss biblical morality and see the collection of mosaics from ancient synagogues, churches and Samaritan sites throughout Judea and Samaria.
• Swim at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth and world-famous medicinal swim site.
• Visit Qasr El Yahud, site of entrance to the Promised Land by the people of Israel, the ascension of Elijah and the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
• Visit Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu to learn about the Kibbutz and see how its spirit of innovation continues into the needs of the 21^st in the new industry of “Bio Bee“.
• Travel to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee for a sunset cruise and dinner.
• Michael Medved Live Radio Broadcast

Overnight: Pastoral Kfar Blum hotel

Wednesday, September 9, 2020 – In the Galilee

• Breakfast at the hotel

Today we’ll have 2 options in the morning through the early afternoon:

OPTION 1:   Jesus’ Ministry around the Sea of Galilee

• Tour Capernaum, home base of Jesus’ Ministry.
• Visit Tabgha where the miracles of the loaves and the fishes is commemorated.
• Continue to the of Beatitudes to remember and see the geographical context of the Sermon on the Mount.
• Explore the newly excavated Migdal Synagogue, home town of Mary Magdalene with Associatate Director Father Eamon Kelly

 OPTION 2: Ancient and Modern Israel

• Begin the day at Tel Dan the northernmost city of the ancient Kingdom of Israel. We will walk by the beautiful landscape of the Dan River to one of the most important sites of Biblical archeology
• Continue to Kibbutz Elrom for an introductory movie on the last pan-Arab attempt to destroy Israel in 1973.
• Overlook the Emek Habacha (Valley of Tears) battle site from the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when a handful of Israeli tanks stopped over 500 Syrian tanks.
• Visit the incredible ancient synagogue at Um el Kanatir.

BOTH GROUPS:

• Meet at the Talmudic Village of Katzrin, an ancient Jewish city in the Golan Heights to visit its reconstructed buildings and participate in workshops on Jewish life in ancient Israel.
• Early farewell banquet at the ancient Synagogue.
• Continue to Ben Gurion International Airport for departure back to the US.