DAY ONE: Monday
INTRODUCTION

Early-arrivals option

Meet in hotel lobby at 1:30 p.m.

Campus or Sanctuary: Between Ideals and Reality
A special exploration of the Hebrew University, Mount Scopus campus

Evening

Opening Dinner

Who Are We and Why Are We in Israel?
Introductions and Reflections

Overnight: Jerusalem

DAY TWO: Tuesday
FATEFUL DECISIONS DURING THE FIRST AND SECOND TEMPLE PERIODS

Morning  

Why Jerusalem? Study session overlooking The City of David
Field trip to the Jewish Quarter

Group lunch in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City  

Free time

Afternoon

Days of Glory; Days of Destruction
Exploration of the Herodian Mansion in the Old City   

Summary Session: Why Was The Temple Destroyed?
Tour of the Western Wall Tunnels

Evening

A visit to the Israel Museum and The Shrine of the Book (optional)

Dinner at leisure

Overnight: Jerusalem

DAY THREE: Wednesday
IN APOCALYPTIC TIMES

Morning

Early departure for Dead Sea region

The Dead Sea Sect: Rejecting the Center in the Struggle for Light 
Field trip to Qumran

Afternoon

Masada: Fighters for the Future of the Jewish People? 
Field trip to Masada 

Swim in the Dead Sea  OR

Study Session: Bar Kochba: True or False Messiah?

Evening 

Group dinner in Jerusalem

 Overnight: Jerusalem

DAY FOUR: Thursday
NEW CITIES FROM OLD - JEWISH CULTURE REDEFINED IN A CHANGED REALITY 

Morning

A City Rises From the Dunes 
Explore earliest neighborhoods beyond the walls of Jaffa

"We Hereby Declare the Establishment of a Jewish State…" 
Explore the growing city, including Rothschild Boulevard, where Ben Gurion declared Israel's Independence

Lunch in central Tel Aviv

Afternoon

Can We Build Anew by Learning from Our Past? 

Bialik in Tel Aviv- Then and Now 
Study session in Bialik's house in central Tel Aviv 

The Day the Music Died... 
A visit to Kikar Rabin

Reflections

Evening

Group dinner in the Yemenite Quarter of Tel Aviv

Overnight: Jerusalem

DAY FIVE: Friday
FATEFUL DECISIONS - THE CITIZENS' PERSPECTIVES

Morning

Symbols and Signs - Mapping Jerusalem's Multi-faceted Population
Study session, followed by field trip to Jerusalem neighborhoods

Afternoon

Free time; Preparations for Shabbat

Evening

Lekha Dodi Likrat Kallah
Candle-lighting at King David's Tomb on Mt. Zion

Evening service at the Kotel   

Traditional dinner: Se'udat Shabbat

Group discussion and reflections

Overnight - Jerusalem

DAY SIX: Saturday
SHABBAT

Morning Services at Synagogue(s) of choice

Study session: Parshat Hashavua: A Look at the Weekly Torah Portion   

Group lunch

Afternoon

Choice of Walking Tours:

• The Poetry of Yehuda Amichai  OR   
• Along King David Street: Three Buildings, Three Faiths, Three Agendas
  

Se'udah Shlisheet  - late afternoon snack and schmooze

Havdalah

Evening

Dinner and evening at leisure

Overnight: Jerusalem

DAY SEVEN: Sunday
FATEFUL DECISIONS IN THE WAKE OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SECOND TEMPLE

Morning

Travel north to Caesarea   

Between Caesarea and Jerusalem - Two World Views 
Field trip and study session at Caesarea 

Lunch at leisure

Afternoon

The Period of the Mishna: Responding to New Jewish Realities 
Field trip and study session at Beit Shearim OR Tsippori   

Drive further north to Tsfat

Evening

Group dinner

Study session: The Fable of the Goat

Overnight: Tsfat

DAY EIGHT: Monday
FROM OLD TO NEW (ZIONIST) JEWS: TWO VISIONS OF REDEMPTION

Morning

Building Community in Anticipation of Redemption 
Exploration of story and synagogues of Tsfat   

Lunch at leisure

Afternoon

"Deep River; My Heart is Over Jordan…" 
Rafting on the Jordan River (weather permitting)

Of Farmers and Poets: What Motivated the New Jew?
Field trip to Kinneret Farm and Kinneret Cemetery

Evening

Group dinner in Tiberias

Overnight: at the Kinneret

DAY NINE: Tuesday
FROM 67 to '67... AND BEYOND: FATEFUL DECISIONS - THEN AND NOW

Morning

Options on the Syrian Front
Study session   

"From Here you Look Seven-Fold Larger..." Overview into Galilee Panhandle from Golan Heights and examination of the period leading to the 1967 War

Yom HaDin: What Went Wrong?
Stop at sites connected to the Yom Kippur War and examination of outbreak of Yom Kippur War in 1973. 

Lunch in Katzrin, “Capital” of the Golan

Afternoon

My Past; My Future/Our Past, Our Future
Meeting in Katzrin with resident of the Golan 

What Do We Learn From the Story of Gamla?
Visit the Golan Archaeological Museum in Katzrin 

Summary session

Make our way back to Jerusalem

Evening at leisure

Overnight: Jerusalem

DAY TEN: Wednesday
DIFFICULT FREEDOM: DILEMMAS OF SOVEREIGNTY

Morning

Israel and the Holocaust: What Meaning Has Been Given to the Holocaust in Israeli Collective Memory?
Site visit and study session at Yad VaShem 

Lunch at leisure

Afternoon

Free time

Land and Compromise: Addressing one of Israel's Central Challenges 
* Study session at hotel
* Departure for home hospitality and dinner 
* Encounter with differing viewpoints on the issue

Overnight: Jerusalem

DAY ELEVEN: Thursday
BACK TO THE FUTURE

Morning

Symbols of Sovereignty 
A visit to Mt. Herzl   

"And the Children Will Return to Their Borders..." 
Stop at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel

S.Y. Agnon as Symbol 
A visit and study session in the home of the Nobel Laureate

Lunch at leisure

Afternoon

Free time

Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going To? 
Closing activity evaluating the seminar

Evening

Festive farewell dinner

NOTE: Please try to arrange flights from 11:45 p.m. on, so as to enjoy the dinner with the group.

Note: Itinerary subject to change. Museum visits and personal shopping time may be disrupted due to unforeseen circumstances or the many religious, state and local holidays observed in the destinations being visited.