Discover Israel with Hannah (2024)

08/05/2024

This year, for Yom HaShoah, I was honored to utilize my storytelling skills and my ability to speak in front of varied audiences to share my Zayde's story with three separate audiences, thanks to . (Two pictured here)

I am named for Zayde's mother, and my son is named for Zayde, and I have missed him tremendously since he passed away in 2017. It was very important to my grandfather that he tell his story and give testimony as often as he could; I was able to use three different recorded accounts of his experiences in the Holocaust while preparing.

"Hannah", one neighbor wrote to me afterwards, "I just wanted to tell you that I still have the image of your Zayde smiling before my eyes. You told his story so beautifully and with such love. Thank you. "

#זיכרוןבסלון

16/04/2024

Two months ago, the incredible invited me to guide a group of young adults doing a year of National Service through the Tzofim. Some of them had rarely spent any prior time in Jerusalem, but they were all here together for a multi-day seminar on Challenges in Israeli Society.

To start that off, we took a walking tour of Musrara, a neighborhood just outside the Old City walls which began as vacation homes for wealthy Arab families living in Jerusalem during the Ottoman Era, but became immigrant housing after the establishment of the State in 1948, due to its then undesirable location right next to the Old City walls.

It's a neighborhood that is often ignored when people plan Jerusalem itineraries, but it was a perfect spring board for some fascinating conversations with these young adults about the way that we treat others in society, who is considered worthwhile in society, and how we make changes in the world around us.

Here's to all of us learning to ask those questions, and to being willing to really listen to the answers....

11/04/2024

This week, I spent two incredible days with A, B, and their daughter C 🧡 Although A and C have been here recently, B hasn't been to Israel since 1986, and it was so special to see it coming back to life through her eyes.

We began with the City of David, and talked about what it means to be in a place with 3000 years of Jewish history. These two brave adventurers walked with me through Hezekiah's tunnels -- much easier with headlights than with the candles B used 40 years ago 🕯️ We saw archeological excavations happening before our eyes, and we visited the Davidson Center and the Kotel.

For Day #2 we wanted to experience more of the different aspects of the Old City, so we began with a meaningful visit to where we learned about the incredible work that they do and saw some of the workshops. 🎨 From there, we entered the city through the New Gate and explored the Christian Quarter and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After lunch, we went back to the Kotel, snuck in a quick visit to the Hurva Synagogue Roof, and made our way back to Jaffa Gate via the Armenian Quarter.

Don't wait too long to come back, friends. I have a list of things to do together already in progress! 📒

05/04/2024

Sharing this review of a tour I gave back in September (before the war) as I get ready to show A and B around Jerusalem on Sunday :)
So excited to be back in the field again soon!

Shabbat Shalom 🪻🪻

05/03/2024

It's been a long time since I posted. Since the war began.
How could I share things about touring when the situation was so horrible, especially posts about tours from before the war?
But we are 150 days in, and this is our new reality.

But it's also the reality that Armon HaNetziv is covered in breathtakingly gorgeous purple lupines, and that the sky is blue, and that life goes on.

There are even a handful of tourists, small beams of light reminding us what was and what will be again.

So for now: have these lupines, and imagine that you're here smelling their gentle scent under the blue, blue sky

#סגולבארמון #ארמוןהנציב

28/09/2023

When you're coming to Israel all the way from Australia, you really want to make sure that you see as much as you can! T and L wanted to see the spiritual highlights of the Old City, and also to understand the complicated political situation here -- while also keeping their teens A and L engaged on the hot day!

No easy feat, but scroll to see some of what we saw: the Kidron Valley, the modern mosaic matching the ancient mosaic in the Church of All Nations, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall, and the one and only Bilal ✨

21/09/2023

The goal of today's whirlwind tour with students was to share some different perspectives on this incredible city.
We spoke about how the words that we use affect the very story, we spoke about how inspiring I find pilgrimage of any sort and every sort.

We heard the sound of the Second Temple, we saw models from 150 years ago, we encountered a 700 year old family business, and we explored how maps tell us a story no less than the words we use, and we finished with a poem about "Jerusalem on the shore of eternity". (Can you name that poet?)

20/09/2023

Last week, I was privileged to take the incredible Karen Dine to the Israel Museum -- below, you'll see her casually holding a 500,000 year old hand ax 😅 and you'll also see a book from the fascinating new exhibition in the Archeology wing about false coins and our long-standing desire to own a piece of the past.

Can you tell which is the real shekel, and which is fake?

14/09/2023

All of the milk cartons have had new year's greetings on them for weeks now, so I guess it's time to accept that Rosh Hashanah is almost here. 🍎 Here's to a new year full of exploring, blue skies (except for when we need rain), finding what we need, and learning more 💙

11/09/2023

I toured with this incredible family back in March, and I am honored to remain such a valued part of their Israel memories 💚

10/09/2023

WELL my kids are all back in school, and I suddenly have time to sit at the computer and get organized. I've emailed my accountant, bought everyone new pajamas .... and it's time to get back into the Instagram game as well.

Last week, I went to a local women's networking event, and realized I never posted about a tour I led for them -- back in June 🙈

Although I've been living here for almost eleven years, and even though I studied for my tour guide license in Hebrew, it is still hard sometimes for me to guide in Hebrew. I worry that I won't sound articulate, that I won't be funny, that I won't be able to show them anything new....

👟The networking group, called עסקיות תלפ"ז, organized by , asked for a tour of the Old City. I worried a bit that it might be hard to show them something different, and yet *every single participant* told me that they learned something new and experienced something new during our time together 💛

Plus, we finished with a picnic lunch outside of King David's Tomb 🥙 Hard to beat that!

24/05/2023

Thank you Andy!!! Looking forward to next time ☀️

17/04/2023

After our initial plans got cancelled due to the torrential rains last week, I met up today with S and T for a second attempt at sharing some of the history surrounding the modern city of Jerusalem.

And as it turned out, the weather today was absolutely lovely, and it was really an honor to walk with them and to be able to share this with them on their final day here in Israel

Pictured: the Old City walls from the inside, in the distance is the Haas Promenade where we began our day

13/04/2023

Sometimes, you get completely unexpected and unseasonal thunderstorms in April ⛈️ .... And it turns out to have been the perfect way to give an overview of the ways that dozens and dozens of different cultures have made an imprint on the material finds archeologists have uncovered in Israel and beyond 🏺

The tourists I worked with today were at the very end of their visit here, and they were unsure I would be able to add enough value after three weeks of exploring -- and instead, not only did I bring these ancient cultures to life, I helped wrap it all together and help them realize how much they had seen and learned.
...

"This really helped just put everything in perspective, and you really experience Tanach and history differently when you can see things from that time, so thank you" - S

05/04/2023

💚Fresh garlic in the markets is always a sign of spring...
Wishing you all a wonderful Passover, Ramadan, Easter, and spring 🌱

Love from Jerusalem,
Hannah

#חגשמח

25/08/2022

I cut this testimonial roughly in half, they had so many good things to say about touring with me that it wouldn't have fit on one screen 😉💪🏼⁠
⁠

02/02/2022

✨ NEW TOUR ✨

Have you always wanted to go up on the Temple Mount but you weren't comfortable going alone? You're curious about this site that is so important to billions of people but just felt unsure about visiting by yourself?

Come join me at 8AM on Wednesday, February 16 for a special small group tour of the Temple Mount and its surviving walls. Suitable for both shomrei halacha and those without a religious background, this tour will give you greater insight into the history, archaeology, and wonder of this incredible place.

75NIS/person, minimum of 8 participants required

Be in touch to secure your spot or with any questions 🌿🌿

19/01/2022

Hi there! Long time no see :)
As I shared on Instagram, after last summer's experience guiding Seminar for Ramah Israel, I took a few months off guiding to focus on the newest snuggles in our family. She's now three months old, and I'm ready to get back in the game... but COVID-19 isn't making that easy!

Still, today, I got to lead a group of Israeli fifth graders around שילה הקדומה Ancient Shiloh in a virtual tour on the Dive platform. Using the "5 W's" (who, what, where, when, why) as our guiding questions, we learned about what a Tel is, the intersection between archeology and the Biblical text at Shiloh, and some of the people whose famous stories occured there - including Joshua, Hannah, and Samuel.

It's hard to stay positive after the two years that we've had, but it's so energizing to be able to share this inspiring site with others. I really just love what I do 💜

If this sounds like an experience you wish you could have had, be in touch! I'd love to guide you there too 😊

30/12/2021

It's always such a unique experience to go up on the Temple Mount!

This time, I went up for the first of three scheduled tours through a course I'm taking on Har haBayit with כפות המנעול.There is so much to say and know here that even a two month course can't possibly cover everything that this 150,000 m2 site has to offer, but I'm having a great time learning more and refreshing my knowledge about this incredible site 📚

Want to go up together? Be in touch 🗯

08/03/2021

❇️ I don't know about you, but my feed has been full of posts about . Lots of inspirational quotes, mildly encouraging statistics, and photos of women who have achieved incredible things against all odds.

📰 Well, here's a screenshot of a article about Afghanistan's first and only female tour guide. It's hard enough in many ways to be a here in Israel, so I can only imagine how hard it is for Fatima. That she could have taught herself all about her country's rich history and created space for herself in that way is truly inspiring.

I always say that I have the best job in the world, but I could never do what I do without lots of help from my family and colleagues.
💬 "Unlike some kids, Fatima didn't grow up dreaming of working in tourism -- not only was it not traditional for women to work, she says she didn't even know that giving tours was a job."

I'm honored to be a part of the group of women, including Fatima, who get to share their country's culture and history with others.
.
Full article here: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/female-tour-guide-afghanistan-fatima-dst/index.html

27/01/2021

Got out of the house for a few hours today to guide a virtual field trip at the Bible Lands Museum. ✨ The kids were so excited to get to see some genuine artifacts from Mesopotamia and Egypt, and to connect that back with what they learned in class!

One of the first questions I asked them was "So how do we know what happened in the past?" And right off the bat, one fourth grade student said "Sometimes we do archeology and dig it up and sometimes we read what they wrote" 🔥🔥
YES! BINGO! We know about the past because we can study the way they lived, how they dressed and what they are, but also because they wrote it down! (In fact, that's the official distinction between "pre-history" and "history"; history begins when we start to write it down 😉) We're so used to the idea of writing/typing/sending emojis that we sometimes forget that thousands of years ago someone (or someones) had to make a switch and think to themselves "I don't need to _remember_ how much barley I've traded for a sheep... I could mark it down!"

When we learn about the past, it helps us understand our present.
It's true that we may be physically distant from people we love these days. But when we reach out to write them a message or send them a picture, we're participating in one of the coolest ideas in history: the written word 🖍️📝🖊️🖋️✏️✒️✍️

Discover Israel with Hannah