Life changing travel experiences (with Ari Shaffir): Walking across Israel

Dec 14, 2020

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“A lot of people seek out spiritual travel-sites without any ties to a specific religion: When they’re in Israel and they’ll go to the Western Wall and feel so spiritual there; a month later they’re in Thailand and they’ll go to a Buddhist retreat. They just glom on for a minute and play pretend.” – Ari Shaffir

Note: Rolf is giving away copies of books by Deviate guests (like Paul Theroux, Kate Harris, and Chris Guillebeau) for people who buy Tortuga backpacks online, or who buy copies of Vagabonding at local independent bookstores. Just email a receipt (and, if applicable, a photo of yourself at your local bookseller) to deviate@rolfpotts.com, and Rolf will share a list of available books and mail a free copy of your choosing to any USA address.

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Ari discuss Rolf’s pilgrimage across Israel 20 years ago and why he took it, and Ari’s experiences there in a yeshiva and on a kibbutz as a young man (4:45); what it was like to walk in the agricultural north of Israel near the Sea of Galilee, and navigating the Jewish versus Arab cultural aspects of the country (15:00); longing as a part of travel, and what it was like to go to Israel as young man and see women in swimsuits after traveling in conservative Arab lands (29:00); the proliferation of Christian sites throughout Israel, getting picked up by Israeli girls while hitchhiking and going to Tel Aviv (36:00); the difference between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and what it was like to visit sites like the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (51:00); Rolf’s experience of canvassing for a pub in Jerusalem as an act of self-abnegation, and fasting on the Mount of the Temptation near Jericho (1:13:00); and the tendency of some travelers to superficially embrace the local spiritual tradition in places like Israel and India and Thailand, and how travel is in itself a spiritual act (1:26:30).

Ari Shaffir (@AriShaffir) is a comedian, writer, podcaster, and actor. He is the current host of the Skeptic Tank podcast. For more information on Ari, visit his website.

Notable Links:

Galilee (region in northern Israel)
Orthodox Judaism (traditionalist Jewish sect)
Yeshiva (Jewish educational institution)
613 commandments (tradition from the Torah)
Messianic Judaism (sect that combines Christianity with Judaism)
Oslo Accords (1993 Israel/PLO agreement)
Yardenit (baptismal site on the Jordan River)
Saint Helena (influential 4th century Christian pilgrim)
Megiddo (ancient city site in Israel)
South Lebanon Army (Christian militia)
Jerusalem Syndrome (mental disorder)
Wailing Wall (site in the Old City of Jerusalem)
Al-Aqsa Mosque (Muslim site in Old City of Jerusalem)
Via Dolorosa (processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem)
Souvenir, by Rolf Potts (book)
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Christian holy site)
Tom Rhodes (American comedian)
Zion Square (public square in Jerusalem)
Jericho (Palestinian city in the West Bank)
Mount of Temptation (Christian pilgrimage site)
Pai (town in northern Thailand)
Yetzer hara (in Hebrew, the inclination to do evil)
Karen people (ethnic group in Myanmar)
Rohingya people (ethnic group in Myanmar)

This episode of Deviate is brought to you by Tortuga Backpacks, which set the standard for the best, most durable, organized, and comfortable travel backpacks. Tortuga products also include daypacks, duffels, and other travel accessories, which are all made with the traveler in mind and have been featured by Wirecutter, The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Business Insider, Carryology, and many other industry outlets.

This episode is also brought to you by AirTreks, an industry leader in multi-stop international travel. AirTreks is a distributed travel company with employees working from all corners of the world to help with your flight planning, specializing in complex routes with up to 25 stops. The AirTreks website offers suggested pre-planned travel itineraries to help you get started, but can customize to fit your journey.

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lu mber.

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