Jacob's Ladder

After the week of Israel Advocacy, it was our last free weekend (I know, your brain is exploding that this year is already almost over...don't worry, mine is too). As all the Nativers vowed to make the most of it, Misha, Kesha and I had already had our plans figured out for quite some time. Misha's cousins, including Raya, together form "The Epstein Family Singers." This Jewish VonTrapp quintet consists of Misha's uncle, her cousin Yoni who is 28, Raya, her cousin Rina who is 22, and her cousin Avital who is 10. They sing some traditional Hebrew songs and a little bit of folk music. When we found out, months ago, that they were to be performing at a 3-day music festival in the north, we decided we simply had to go see them.

The festival at which they were to perform was called Jacob's Ladder, and is a folk music festival that attracts mostly English-speakers and is held north of Tiberias on the Kinneret. We were all really excited to go, until we found out that the cost of the three day pass was about 350 shekels - over $75, which was money we definitely didn't have. However, Misha's aunt told us that there are volunteers who work there and get free admission. We quickly called the people in charge and signed up to be volunteers - we were to work two six hour shifts each in exchange for a free ticket, two free meals, and a free t-shirt.

Loaded up with a tent, sleeping bags, clothes, and food for the weekend, we left bright and early Thursday morning - we caught a bus to Be'er Sheva that left Yerucham at 5:30 AM to be exact. We had to be up north by 1:00, since that was when our shift started, so we had no choice but to leave at that ungodly hour. After switching buses in Be'er Sheva and again in Jerusalem, we finally made it to Tiberias around noon. By that time, Misha had made a friend on the bus: an old lady who was also going to Jacob's Ladder. The four of us shared a cab to the camp site and then said goodbye, as we had to go report for duty. While we had hoped to be working together, our minimal Hebrew skills ensured that we had to be split up and paired with Hebrew-speaking strangers. We were each given neon vests that made us look very official, like security. I was given the job of gatekeeper, meaning I had to stand at one of the gates that cars could go through. Only guests of the hotel or people with certain privileges could go through this gate, so the girl I was working with and I were in charge of making sure that the people attempting to pass through the gate had the right documents, and turning them around if they didn't. However, with my limited Hebrew, I was unable to ask most drivers for their information or why they were attempting to park in the hotel parking lot, so I was in charge of lifting and lowering the gate while the girl I worked with spoke to all the drivers. Although I did get a nice tan, and the girl I was working with was really sweet, I was pretty much over working after about two hours, despite the fact that I had four hours after that. Needless to say, it was a very long day, especially considering what time we had woken up that morning.

When our shift FINALLY ended, we decided to walk around and check out the festival. There was a pool, a beach that led into the Kinneret, a main stage, a smaller side stage, and a lot of various places where people were selling food or crafts. There were also tents EVERYWHERE, so we were glad that we got there early and claimed a good spot. After we did some exploring and used our food coupons to get dinner, Misha's cousins arrived, so we helped them set up their tents next to ours, and we actually had a very nice area with a mat in the middle for all of us to hang out on. That night the actual concerts started, so we laid down our blankets - Misha's cousins, old pros at this, managed to get us a spot right up front. There was strawberry red wine and snacks, and after our long day of work it was really nice to just be able to lay down and relax in the middle of the huge crowd and listen to the music. A lot of the music there isn't what I'd normally listen to, but there were a lot of talented musicians and performers so it was really interesting to see them from so close up.

One of the coolest things about the festival is that everyone was really friendly. It's definitely an open community of like minded people who just want to celebrate for a weekend, and there are a lot of impromptu jam sessions that take place in random spots. Knowing this, when Kesha and I were sitting outside of our tents and smelled some coffee, we decided to follow our noses and invite ourselves to partake. The tent ended up being right next to ours, and we introduced ourselves, told them our story and were invited to sit down. There were three guys a little older than us, all soldiers in the army, and one of them even knew Misha's cousin. We sat around and drank coffee while one of them played the guitar, and it was really nice. What always shocks me about kids like this is that I'll be talking to them for a while, and they're just like me, totally normal, really nice, and then we'll start talking about the army. And when I asked one of the guys what he did in the army, his answer was "Oh, I'm an engineering commander and I'm in charge of all the mine fields from here to the Golan." It's just so crazy to me that this nondescript kid my age is a huge hotshot in the army...I was just like, "Oh. I'm intimidated."

So after a lovely night of falling asleep in our tent to the sounds of the concert that drifted our way from the main stage, we woke up fairly early so that we would have time to hang out before our next shift, which was again at 1:00. After a light breakfast we immediately changed into our bathing suits and headed down to the Kinneret to get some swim and sun time in. We put our chairs in the water and all three of us enjoyed some time just reading our books in the sun with our feet in the Kinneret. Sadly, before we knew it, it was time to go back to work. None of us were particularly looking forward to it. I was assigned the same job, however today I was working with two other girls instead of just one, so we rotated so that every three hours we got a one hour break, which was really nice, especially since on my break I got to spend some time by the pool. However, even though it was much less busy than on Thursday so I even got to read during my shift, it was a lot harder to be at work with all of Misha's cousins there hanging out and the festival in full swing. We were all very grateful by the time 6:00 rolled around. 6:30 was when The Epstein Family Singers were set to perform, so we quickly rushed over to the performance area and took our seats near the front. Misha's family was performing the Kabbalat Shabbat session, which is the service that ushers in Shabbat on Friday afternoon. They sang a bunch of really nice songs and encouraged the audience to sing along, which most people did gladly. They then made Kiddush over the wine and said Motzi over the bread and their set was finished. The best part of it was that you could tell they were really having fun performing.

After the performance we set up some tables and chairs by the stage and pulled out everyone's random assortment of food for Shabbat dinner. It was a simple, lovely meal just because everyone was so obviously happy to be there and enjoying themselves, and toasts were given all around. After dinner we spent some more time laying on the blankets by the stage, and I was so exhausted from my day in the sun that I even managed to fall asleep there in the middle of the crowd while the concert was going on, which caused me to get made fun of by my friends.

The next morning we woke up extremely happy to be done with work and completely free for the day. We spent most of our time swimming in the Kinneret or reading on its bank, but we also did some looking around at all the crafts for sale and listening to the music on our blankets. However, the day was soon over as we had to take the first bus that left Tiberias after Shabbat in the hopes of getting to Yerucham at a semi-reasonable hour. Thus we had to start packing up around 4:00. Usually at the end of trips like this I'm really ready to leave, but at the end of Jacob's Ladder I definitely felt like I could've stayed for another day or two. Regardless, it was definitely the best way I could've imagined spending my last free weekend.