By Rabbi David Wilfond, Director of Education
The group has been trekking through the Negev Desert. Like the Children of Israel that wondered through the desert for 40 years, Bus 1 and Bus 2 have been travelling through the breathtaking beauty of the desert. On Friday, after a hike in the Eilat Mountains we travelled to our campsite to get ready for Shabbat services outside in nature. During services, we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever seen. When we sang the Shabbat Blessing over the wine our guide explained that the Hebrew words we sing every Friday night “Zecher L’Tziat MiMitzrayim” are about Shabbat being a time we remember leaving the slavery of Egypt and becoming a free people.
Being in the desert is a powerful reminder of what it must have been like for the first Jews who left Egypt and then hiked for years through the desert, just like our teens on Bus 1 and Bus 2. In fact, just as our teens experienced their first Shabbat in Israel, the first Shabbat that the Jewish People ever experienced was celebrated in the desert. We know this because the Ten Commandments, which tells us to celebrate Shabbat, was given in the desert.
Celebrating Shabbat in the desert is an unforgettable experience. Since there are no cities in the desert and no “light pollution” the sky was both extra dark and at the same time extra filled with the lights of thousands and thousands of stars. I believe this night before going to sleep, we saw more stars than ever before. The counselors told the participants of that this is like the Blessing for Abraham that your “Children should be bright like the stars in the sky.” Our participants are like those bright desert stars and are the fulfillment of “Abraham’s Blessing.”
On Saturday morning we tried to sleep in but almost all the participants got up at sunrise. The group had Shabbat morning services outside and then began an amazing hike up Mount Solomon. From the top of the Mountain, we had an awesome view overlooking the Red Sea. Afterwards, we went snorkeling at Eilat’s Coral Beach, which was definitely a highlight of our desert experience. We got to use masks and snorkels and with the help of guides we were able to explore the coral reef and see tons and tons of very colorful fish. We finished Shabbat how we started, outside in nature for Havdalah before cooking dinner together and going to sleep.
Today, Sunday, we are going to play in the sand dunes at a place called Casuy. The dunes here are huge and the teens will get a chance to have fun running, jumping, rolling all around in the sand dunes. It will be good at night to be able to take a shower, get the sand out of our ears, and out from between our toes.
On Monday we will Kibbutz Yahel, the first Reform Kibbutz in Israel before beginning our drive to Jerusalem. In the afternoon, the buses will go to a park looking out over the Walls of the Old City and will have a “Welcome to Jerusalem” ceremony with Challah and Grape Juice. We will sing a lot of Jerusalem songs (that we learned in the desert) to celebrate our first view of the Holy City of Jerusalem. We are excited to continue our journey throughout Israel. Our schedule offers everything, but never “a dull moment.”
