New Life,
Timeless Destination
ANDREAS FJELLMANN/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
What better place
to begin a Jewish
married life together
than in Israel?
By Deborah Fineblum Schabb
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The sun shines on Lake Kineret in Tiberias
fter Bernie and
Yonah Miriam
Schulman’s wed-
ding in 2004,
the Baltimore
couple took off for their dream
honeymoon—in Israel.

“We couldn’t imagine being
anywhere else,” Bernie says a decade
later. “And with the natural beauty,
the feeling of being in a Jewish
country with Hebrew all around
us, and the people, too, the entire
experience turned out to be even
more amazing than we’d imagined.

We couldn’t have planned it.”
As a matter of fact, they didn’t.

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18 APRIL 9, 2015
Th e couple fl ew into Ben Gurion
Airport, rented a car and took off ,
letting the trip evolve spontaneous-
ly. After three weeks, they’d fl oated
in two inches of water in the Dead
Sea, reached the peak of Masada
just as the sun was peeking over the
mountain, communed with ibex at
Ein Gedi and much more.

In 1999, Josh Tolub and
Tabitha May-Tolub took a similar
newlywed journey, an adventure
they can still enjoy thanks to the
video camera they received as a
wedding present. “We wanted to
record everything we saw for my
mother-in-law, who’d never been
there,” says Josh.

In fact, Israel is a popular hon-
eymoon destination for newlyweds
from all over the world. Just look
online for honeymoon packages for
a sampling of the off erings, ranging
from back-to-nature backpacking
tours to fi ve-star opulence.

Traditional Jewish couples stay
pretty close to home after their
weddings for a week’s worth of she-
va brachot (celebratory meals) with
family and friends. Nevertheless,
these couples often wish to take a
few days away before getting down
to the business of being married.

Th e 10-day honeymoon of Josh
Tolub and Tabitha May-Tolub in
Israel also served as an introduction
to Jewish life. As an initially inter-
faith couple (Tabitha has long since
converted to Judaism), they shared
the transformative experience of
enjoying the Jewish state together.

“It was a wonderful place for
a honeymoon,” says Josh, whose
family now resides in the Boston
area. “It was a true emotional high,
going to the Kotel, walking around
Ben Yehuda Street, eating kosher
Kentucky Fried Chicken, and see-
ing it all through [Tabitha’s] eyes
and the wonderful emotions of her
fi rst time in Israel.”
SIMCHAS A new program makes it even
easier for couples to experience the
magic of an Israeli honeymoon.

Th is spring, Honeymoon Israel is
sending pilot trips of newlyweds on
heavily subsidized nine-day hon-
eymoons. Honeymoon Israel’s co-
CEO, Avi Rubel, says the chance
to honeymoon in the Jewish state is
“an opportunity to take people out
of their normal atmosphere and
give them a Jewish experience.”
However they are able to get
there, opportunities abound for
newly minted couples to celebrate
in Israel and unwind from the wed-
ding hoopla. Here is a sampling of
10: architecture, and historical and re-
ligious sites. Moshe ben Maimon
(aka Maimonides or the Rambam)
and other giants of Jewish thought
are buried here.

For history buffs: Caesarea
Standing in the ruins of the
Hellenistic and Crusader periods
— when Caesarea was a port city
and, for many years, the capital of
Israel — might be practically the
closest thing to time travel. Caesar-
ea was named for Augustus Caesar
and was a gift to him from King
Herod, complete with a huge port
and a thriving metropolis. In addi-
tion to a birds-eye view of 2,300
years of history, Caesarea also of-
For art lovers and mystics: Tzfat fers such modern attractions as golf
It can also be Tsfat, Zefat, Zfat, courses, deep-sea diving, live music,
Safad, Safes, Safet, or Safed. But an art museum, horse racing and a
however you spell it, this ancient large national park.

northern city is elevated enough to
command majestic views in every For nature lovers: Israel
direction: from the Golan to Mt. National Trail
Meron to Lebanon, Tiberias and
Th e Israel National Trail invites
the Kineret (Sea of Galilee). For hikers to traverse the country from
couples seeking to kick off their south to north, from the Gulf of
marriage on a spiritual high, Tzfat Aqaba in Eilat all the way to Dan,
is also home to the mystical Jewish near the Lebanese border. Th e trail,
tradition of Kabbalah. In fact, tra- which measures some 620 miles
dition has it that the Messiah will and takes a decidedly scenic path
come from Tzfat on his way to Je- through the country, was the cre-
rusalem. Mystic Rabbi Yitzhak Lu- ation of journalist Avraham Tamir
ria (1534-1572), known as Ha-Ari who, having hiked the Appalachian
HaKadosh or the Arizal, is among Trail, decided Israel needed its own
the greats buried in Tzfats Old national trail to show off its natu-
Cemetery, and Zohar author Rabbi ral beauty. Th e trail was offi cially
Shimon bar Yochai (100-160) is opened in 1995.

buried in nearby Meron.

For water babies: Tiberias
For wine afi cionados:
Zichron Ya’akov
Perched on the shores of Lake
Kineret, Tiberias gives honey-
mooners a chance to warm up
nearly year-round, in sharp contrast
to the bracing air of Tzfat, a short
ride to the north. Here one can en-
joy water sports and a marina along
the extensive waterfront, ancient
You don’t need to love wine to
honeymoon in Zichron Ya’akov,
but it certainly helps. Blessed with
the golden sunshine to facilitate
grape growing, Zichron was es-
tablished at the tip of the Carmel
mountain range in 1882 with the
help of Baron Edmond de Roth-
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM