Monday July 18, 2016

Let me tell you about the best birthday ever. Today we woke up all together in Bedouin tents and headed to a delicious breakfast at chan hashayarot, grabbed our hat, sunscreen and water bottles and made our way to the incredible hike in the valley of Ein Ovdat. We started it off with a short walk to a beautiful oasis in the middle of the Negev where we followed patterns from Yoni of snapping clapping and stomping to imitate the sounds of the waterfall. Then we started heading up to the top of the valley. The hike was a mix of uphill pathways, steep stairs and ladders. We sang all the songs we could think of about climbing.  The view was absolutely stunning at the top. We could see the whole valley, the waterfall, the trees and rocks and the path we climbed to get there. At the top we were treated to ice-cream and popsicles and cold drinks.

 

We got back onto the bus and went to a look out over the Negev where David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, and his wife Paula are buried. We learned about the accomplished life that he had. We heard about the importance of the Negev, how this is where we can build and where we can make something from nothing. Ben-Gurion envisioned this for Israel and after completing his time as prime minister he moved to live in a kibbutz in the centre of the Negev, Sde Boker, with his wife. When his time in this world was over and he had completed what he was put here to do. David Ben-Gurion asked in his will to be buried beside his wife in the Negev. And that is where he lies until this day. After stoping at the grave we placed a rock on it. This is meant to symbolize carrying on a legacy from generation to generation, from father to son. Later we went to see a short film about the Ben-Gurions life and visit his house in the kibbutz. As well as asking to be buried in the Negev, in his will he also asked for his belongings in his home to be left as is and to not be touched.

 

After touring Ben-Gurion’s house we headed to lunch right outside the Ramon crater. We had delicious shnitzel sandwiches and refreshing drinks. To start the afternoon we went rappelling down a cliff in Machtesh Ramon. We were very nervous at first but once we got started we had a blast. After everybody had gone rappelling and had faced their fears we started our journey to Eilat.  Half way there we made a pit stop in Yotvata, a dairy factory where many of us bought delicious ice creams and all different flavours of shoko. After davening a quick mincha we got back in the bus and drove to Eilat where we had a tasty dinner of burgers and fries at burgersbar.

 

We walked to the hostel and started off the evening program with judiasm 101. We received classes from the advisors of all different subjects such as Shabbat, holdiays, kosher laws and great Jewish leaders. Following that, we concluded another amazing and action-packed day with cake wars. We were split into teams and had to decorate a cake with an Israeli theme to it. The cakes were judged by the creativity of the name, the creativity of the cake and the appearance of the cake. I had a once in a life time birthday and I can’t wait for another great day tomorrow in the Red Sea!

-Talia Widrich