The Kolel Food for Thought Tour, Oct 8-18, was so much more than just food! (Although truth be told, the food was amazing!) It was an experience of culture, sights, sounds and people that touched every participant’s heart. From standing at the spot where in May 1948 the State was proclaimed; to the Tel Aviv family of 5 who sold their successful restaurant in Tel Aviv; to open a goats cheese farm in the desert; from the Beduin women who, against all odds, opened a rug-weaving workshop in Lakiya; to peeling potatoes with volunteers at a soup kitchen in Jerusalem; from the Safed chef who took us into his home for a cooking lesson and a story of how the katushas fell just meters from them during the war; to the Druze young man so proud of being an officer in the Israeli army; from a funny and earnest bee keeper to a heart-warming workshop for the elderly, it was, over and over again, the stories that we will remember and that filled our minds and souls to the brim.  But let’s not forget the food!! People still do not understand how fantastic the food in Israel is- they still think of falafel and humus...but the food we ate rivalled anything people have had in Paris, Rome, San Francisco, or New York. We met the finest chefs, tasted the most remarkable dishes, and made new friends over the most gorgeous and delectable food and wine. L’chaim!