We are Ketty and Bas Korevaar, from Schenectady NY, and the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School Israel seminar was a big part of our honeymoon.

As Ketty was born in Israel and Bas had never been to Israel before it was important for Bas to understand better where Ketty was coming from and to try to understand some of the observations he has made at his in-laws. (Bas now knows for example that it is completely normal to be pushed to eat more and more, and where the great sense of hospitality comes from.) When we found out two weeks after our engagement there was an Israel Melton seminar, the decision was quickly made to make it a big part of our honeymoon as we both had so enjoyed our Mini-School classes in Schenectady NY. For us these classes had empowered us with knowledge and a way of thinking that enables us to better define our religious and spiritual beliefs and practices.

After three days in the Negev snorkeling in the Red Sea, camel riding, and sleeping in a Bedouin tent, we spent three days with Ketty's family in Ashdod and Haifa, before the Melton Israel Seminar started. And for us this was the perfect way to spend the rest of our honeymoon: being able to experience very inspirational lectures and dialogues that really allowed you to learn and think about situations, often complex conflict situations. Not only were our intellects challenged, but also our innermost feelings. The connection we established with the Land and the various sites we visited spoke directly to our hearts, of course some more than others.

The success of this seminar is mainly attributed to our highly outstanding instructors, a great focus on communication within the group, and of course, the wonderful people that made up this group, of which some were celebrating their 40th and 49th anniversary. For a young couple like us it is wonderful to see people that are married for so long and that are still holding hands: may their love last for at least 90 years. Besides, weather in Israel in July was fantastic, sun, sun, sun, and mostly not humid, which made it really comfortable (at least for us). Overall a wonderful experience that brought us as a couple much closer contact with the Land: a perfect honeymoon.

Ketty and Bas

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