My Israel Wine Tours Launched!

Hello friends and family,

I am very happy to announce that My Israel Wine Tours is officially launched! The website is created, the accounting is done and clients are already being booked! www.MyIsraelWineTours.com

Please share this one-page blurb with your friends and family so they can take pleasure in a Wine Tour of Israel.

My Israel Wine Tours

www.MyIsraelWineTours.com

Esther Cohen, 052-738-6923

MyIsraelWineTours@gmail.com

Join My Israel Wine Tours for a unique journey through Israel.

My Israel Wine Tours provides high-quality, individualized wine tours for those who crave a delightful and different Israel travel experience. Israeli wines are becoming a worldwide and world-class phenomenon. Through wine and its culture you can discover the past, present and future of Israel! Tours are customized for you, according to your choices, which include:

· Which region do you want to visit? (Golan Heights, Lower or Upper Galilee, Mount Carmel, Shomron and Central Coast, Judaea Plain and Hills, and the Negev).

· What are your wine preferences? (kosher, non-kosher, boutique)

· What are your travel needs? (personal, corporate, price, length)

Based on your criteria, the experts at My Israel Wine Tours build an itinerary designed expressly for you! Your tour may be a one-day jaunt or a longer trek that lasts several days. We provide you with a tour director, transportation, entrance fees and other logistics. The price depends upon the length and the number of participants. You will know all fees upfront, with no hidden costs.

Each bottle of wine tells an intimate story. Join My Israel Wine Tours to see, hear and taste the flavors of Israel in a timely and timeless way!

Other Israel/Aliyah blogs that I recommend

Hello Friends and family,

One thing I have not shared with you is all the other Israel/ Aliyah blogs that are similar to mine, but with a little twist. It is always good to get another perspective about what is it like to live in Israel as a new immigrant from the US.

Three of my favorite blogs are:

What War Zone by Benji Lovitt. Benji is a comedian that made Aliyah from Texas four years ago and he takes the littlest things in Israeli society and turns them into a hysterical satire. http://www.whatwarzone.com/

Israel by Day, American by Night by Danny Brothers. Danny is in the IDF and he made Aliyah 2 years ago from Virgina. His blog is about his experience as a new immigrant in the IDF.
http://www.israelibyday.com/

Moving to Israel by Ari Strauch. This blog gives information on which organizations and companies to reach for all your aliyah questions. It is very informative and also witty.
http://israel.shippingconsolidators.com/movingtoisrael/

Enjoy them!

Lots of love,
Esther

My Israel Wine Tours Update

Hello friends and family,

It has been a few months since my last update and I am glad to report that life in Israel is still enjoyable, energizing, and fulfilling. It was wonderful to see the people that I was able to visit during Thanksgiving and in early December, and I hope to see some of you in Israel soon, maybe for Passover and during the summer.

I’ve been up to a lot in these past few months. I worked my way up the “ladder” at Tishbi to co-managing the Visitors Center and conducing English tours two to three times a day (I paced myself with the drinking!). However, when I returned from the States I decided I needed to develop myself professionally in Israel more than I could gain at Tishbi and I started my own Wine Tour Company called, My Israel Wine Tours www.myisraelwinetours.com.

The company is geared towards English speakers that want to enjoy a day or two days touring wineries in Israel. I customize the tour for them depending on their desires and hire them a tour guide, transportation and do all the logistics beforehand so they can enjoy their time and not worry about directions or any logistics. The website is not 100% completed and the business will be up and running by February 15^th.

I also have another part-time job at a relocation company called Dolphin Express www.dolphinexpress.com, which relocates people from Israel to USA and visa versa. They are very nice to work with and I mostly do their English marketing and sales. If you know anyone that wants to relocate to Israel have them contact me.

Last but not least, I met a wonderful, kind and loving mench, named Jonathan. He is 28, from CA and made Aliyah 6 months ago. He is in the film industry and lives in Tel Aviv. Life is going really well!

Even though there is facebook, I always love to receive a nice personal email letting me know how you are doing and what is going on with your life.

You can also find me on Skype at EstherMolly.

I attached 2 pictures, one of the Temple Mount, since I just recently experienced this for the first time a couple of months ago, and the other picture of Jonathan and I in Tsfat as the sun was going down behind Mount Moron.

Happy 2010!

All my love,

Esther

Rosh HaShanna Update

Hello friends and family,

Shanna Tova (aka Happy New Year in the Jewish calendar)

It seems as if the summer just came to a close yesterday as I was sitting on the porch with good friends eating a delicious Rosh HaShanna meal when all of a sudden a dark cloud passed over and rain began to pour down in Israel. It was a Rosh HaShanna miracle for us because we have not seen rain in 5 months and we need all the rain we can get to fill up the drying out Kinneret (one of Israel’s main water sources).

As some of you have seen from facebook, life at the Tishbi Winery is going very well for me. I was promoted to co-managing the Visitors Center and Restaurant, my Hebrew has improved immensely, although I still find myself nodding, smiling and saying “ken, ken, b-seder!” (yes, yes, okay) when I do not understand what an Israeli has said to me which makes me think I’ve agreed to do some illegal things. My biggest improvements in Hebrew are understanding the Pilates instructor, going to the government offices and explaining to them what I need and getting it done efficiantly in Hebrew and the hardest thing of all in my opinion is understanding Hebew over the phone, which I am beginning to feel comfortable with doing.

As of right now, I do not know where this job is going to lead to but the Israeli wine industry is developing rapidly and I want to stay in this business for a while. I still get a feeling of excitement when I tour people around the winery and educate them about the history, progress, and advancements in Israeli wine. It makes me feel like I am a part of a long tradition of Jews cultivating the lands and developing new ideas for the Jewish people and Land of Israel.

I’ve realized my ideas of religion have shifted and I am becoming “more Israeli” in how I feel about the organized Jewish religion. Last year I was living in Jerusalem so I went to the Kotel for the High Holidays, which was an extraordinary experience. However, this year I did not go to synagogue because I feel that I do not need to sit in services and sing songs to feel connected to God or be thankful for a New Year. I believe my daily life in Israel is all about leading a Jewish lifestyle and I do not have to think to be Jewish, I just am in my daily life. Also, this past week, every morning over-looking the Carmel Mountains I heard the Shofar being blown from the religious men who work at the winery, which was an indescribable feeling for me.

On that note, I wish you all a Healthy and Happy New Year!

The pictures attached on this email are of Carignon grapes being processed at the winery and the one with friends is a Shabbat in Abu Gosh last weekend.

I will be in Boston visiting November 20^th to December 4^th so I look forward to meeting up with most of you.

Lots of love,

Esther

One Year Aliyah

On Wednesday June 24^th I celebrated my One Year Aliyah Anniversary. It was a normal day at the winery touring around some tourists and serving delicious food to some locals. After work I went out for a couple of l’chaims at a local bar with work friends. Life in Zichron Yakov is simple and magical.

During the day of my one-year anniversary I thought about how incredible my journey has been thus far and all the interesting people I’ve met and opportunities I’ve experienced. I did not know what was in store for me when I landed at BG Airport last year but I knew that Israel was my home. The feeling has not dissipated, in actuality it has only grown and I feel more connected to Eretz Israel and Israelis more than ever.

When I made Aliyah I knew I was going to Ulpan for 5 months, which made me think I would be fluent in Hebrew, then I thought I would get a job in the Diaspora Relations field but after a year of lessons learned I am in a completely different place than I ever expected to be in my life. Even though I do not work in Diaspora Relations and my Hebrew is not even close to perfect I feel when I give tours I am inspiring people about interesting aspects of Israel, and educating them about the long history of the immigrant Jews from the First Aliyah in 1882 to the modern day process of wine making.

After this first year I know that this is only the beginning and there are wonderful treats ahead for my life in Israel. I have created a “chevrai” (tight group of friends) in Israel that have become my family and we really look after each other like we are “achi” and “achote” (brothers and sisters). I’ve also accumulated a few adopted parents which inspire me that my Aliyah experience will be a success and even though there are some majorly frustrating aspects of Israel, it is worth it and there is no other place I would rather want to live.

I attached 2 pictures, one of the me at the Tishbi winery near the Wine Vats and the other picture is of me and my mom at Ramat HaNadiv (Rothchild’s park) which is 5 minutes from my house.

Shalom!

Esther

Life Up in Zichron

Hey all my friends and family,

So life here in Zichron Yakov is pretty much perfect for me. I am very happy living here and working at the Tishbi Winery. My Hebrew is improving everyday and my confidence to use Hebrew is growing, which was one of my goals of moving up to Zichron Yakov. The other goal of working at a winery was to learn the process of making wine, which yesterday I demonstrated by giving my first tour in English to two American guys. Valerie, a Scottish woman that made Aliyah 25 years ago, has taken me under her wing and taught me almost everything she knows about wine, so with her guidance I am learning a lot about wine making and the industry. Today, I also received my first Israeli paycheck which is a milestone in my Aliyah process.

Now that I've started to give tours I expect all my friends in Israel and who visit from America to book a tour with me at the Tishbi winery in Binyamina - we finish with a great wine tasting :) It is only 15 NIS per a person so get a car load of people together to come and visit me! We are open Sunday-Thursday 8:30am-3:30pm, no tours on Friday but the restaurant is open. It is kosher chalavi and serves breakfast all day.

On a serious note, I experienced my first Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom HaZicharon (Remembrance Day for the fallen soldiers) and Yom Haazmaut (Independence Day for Israel) in Israel. For Yom Ha Shoah and HaZicharon there are sirens that blast all around Israel for exactly one minute and at this time everyone has to stand still in their place, no matter what they are doing.

For Yom HaShoah I was at the grocery store at the check out line, and for Yom HaZicharon I was walking through the Tishbi restaurant. It is a strange feeling to suddenly stop, look down, and automatically think about all those Jews that have died throughout time because of all the external forces that have wanted us exterminated on so many occasions.

After Yom HaZicharon, within minutes, the country goes from one extreme of sadness to another extreme of happiness because of our Independence as a Jewish state. I celebrated my first Yom Haazmaut with my friends dancing in the streets of Jerusalem and eating all those yummy Israeli treats.

I am immensely enjoying life in Israel and during the patriotic holidays I felt proud and overjoyed to be a citizen of Israel and contribute to the Jewish State. After 10 months of living in Israel I wake up everyday, walk along historical parts of Zichron Yakov, take a bus to work overlooking the scenery of the Carmel region and go for a run in the afternoon where my view is the Mediterranean Sea on my left and the beginning of the Carmel mountains on my right.

I hope all is well with everyone and see you soon at the Tishbi winery :)

All my love,

Esther

Mindy, Michal, Debbie and me in Jerusalem on Yom Haazmaut

First day of real work at Tishbi Winery

Ok so a little run down of my first day working at the Tishbi winery. The kitchen workers are Arab and one guy from South America that continuously flirt with me but they do not speak any English so I am forced to speak Hebrew although a smile with them goes a long way :)

The other waiters are all 20-22 year old Israeli boys, very cute, who already did part of their army service or ended their army service and are saving up money to travel to South America. One of the boys, Yaron, I staffed his Dor L Dor trip Summer 2005 - very small world!

The woman I am shadowing to learn how to give english tours is amazing, she is sooo sweet and is taking me under her wing and teaching me everything. She also gave me a ride home from work and invited me for Shabbat dinner.

So, during lunch we toured around an American couple and sat with them afterwards to do some wine sampling. After about 5 samples I felt myself get a little tipsy so I stopped and ate some bread and drank some water- I have to be a bit responsible!

The funniest thing that happened to me is there is a big vat of Petite-Syrah wine in the front of the store. Anyone can come and fill up empty wine bottles with 17 NIS wine - an alcohols dream. Anyways, I thought I knew how to work the system but I turned it in the opposite direction and wine went spritzing everywhere! My clothes, hair, the walls, counter! It was a big crazy but very funny and supposedly every new person does it and it is like an initiation.

Ok love for you all.,.,off to walk the strip before it gets dark
Esther