*this post should have been up a week ago, but my computer dropped and broke, so here it is...update about Pesach in Russia soon!*
Hello Blogos!
I have recently returned from two big trips: our 4 day class trip to the Negev followed by Ride for Reform. This will be a two part post.
Negev Tiyul:
I wrote a detailed blog on the bus back from the tiyul on a friends blackberry, but it got deleted...gr. So here goes again...
The trip was very nice- there was a lot of relaxation and bonding time with the desert. A bit too dry for my taste, but for a few days it was a nice change. The first day we stopped to visit Ben Gurion's grave, drove by Mitzpe Ramon, the largest crater in the world, and did a challenging hike with gorgeous desert views. We spent the night in a Bedoin tent. A 5 star tent as Nancy says...The tent was ok (eek), but I don't do the group sleep situation very well, so I rented a little hut on the grounds. (Thus begins my 2 weeks of bonding with nature...will get to that soon...) We had a brief evening program in the tent with some Bedoin guy who played lots of bizarre instruments and told a Bedoin story, followed by a delicious home-made dinner. Awesome hummus and Israeli salads and some main dish mish-mash of chicken, rich, sweet potatoes, and zucchini. After dinner, some classmates led a fun program called, "Who wants to be a star-HUC-JIR." We danced and sang and made fools of ourselves. We made s'mores and sang songs around the camp-fire. It was exactly what I had expected my year in Israel to look like. :-)
Thursday, the class divided into two groups: the hard-core hikers and the non-hard core-hikers. I went with the "non" group in hopes of sparing my knee before the big ride. We spent a few hours hiking in Timna Park and enjoyed more beautiful desert views. We checked into Kibbutz Yahel in the late afternoon and had some down time before dinner. YahelKibbutz Yahel was founded in November 1976 as a joint venture of the United Kibbutz Movement and the movement for Progressive Judaism. The kibbutz Economy is based primarily on field agriculture- dates, pomelos, onions, melons, watermelons and peppers. Before dinner we had a brief program in the Pomelo fields, adjacent to the Kibbutz. Pomelos are grapefruits on steroids with a very thick outer peel. It would never fly in the States because they are big and bulky and hard to peel and Americans are too lazy! Personally, I like grapefruit better, but people LOVE these things here. I certainly snapped some cool photos in the fields...The pomelo blossoms smelled divine. They should bottle it and sell that scent in department stores!
Friday morning, we went for a visit to Kibbutz Lotan, another Reform Kibbutz in the South. This is one of the few remaining kibbutzim that still functions as an economically equal unit. This means that every family that lives there has the same income, despite what their job. A school teacher has the same income as a seamstress or as someone who works in the fields on the Kibbutz. This Kibbutz is very eco-friendly and boasts a wonderful center for creative ecology. They have been working very successfully over the past few years on recycling and alternative methods of building and electricity. The coolest part about Lotan are the compost toilets. Instead of wasting water with indoor flushing, they turn all of the bathroom waste into fertilizer. AKA- you go to the bathroom into giant collecting bins. It was a bit weird to not flush after going to the bathroom, instead sprinkling some saw dust into the toilet, but it was surprisingly clean and smelled better than a regular bathroom! Over the last four years Lotan, through its composting and recycling efforts, has reduced its overall waste disposal by 70% each year. Don't worry, I made my mark in the Lotan bathroom! And they even have relaxing classical music for your concentrating pleasure, playing in the bathroom at all hours of the day...
That afternoon we took a short bus ride down to Eilat to catch some rays and enjoy a bit of beach time. I took a detour to go visit Benny, my family's tour guide from last summer. He hosts a 60's themed radio show every Friday afternoon, playing lots of Beatles and Elvis, so my friend Adam and I went to keep him company. I normally listen in on Friday afternoons so it was it was awesome to join him! We got to pick our favorite oldies and even spoke a bit of Hebrew on air. It was great hanging out with Benny- he's one of the most incredible people I've ever met, in case you haven't picked that up from previous posts...
Friday night I led services with a few of my classmates and we all had Shabbat dinner together in the dining hall.
Saturday was relaxing. We had services in the morning in the desert (beautiful!) and basically had down time the rest of the day. The only drawback was that we didn't get back to Jerusalem until late that night. Josh and I were being picked up at 5:30 am for Ride for Reform...It was definitely not ideal and we were exhausted for the first day of the ride but adrenaline kicked in and we survived!
Part II- Ride for Reform-
This experience has been the highlight of my year so far. I can not say enough good things about the ride. I will try to re-count the 5 days, but there will be no way to communicate the beauty of the Golan Heights and Galilee regions where we rode. Even the pictures do not do it justice.
We started training with a big group of riders last summer and in the end, Josh and I were the only two students from the Jerusalem campus to do the ride. From HUC Jerusalem, it was the two of us and Gingy, our teacher. (That's the nickname he goes by- Israelis affectionately call red-heads, "Gingy") I was convinced last summer by my friend Amy that I could do this ride and I am so thankful that she pushed me to sign up for it. I felt such a huge sense of accomplishment by the end, and I've gained a hobby and passion in bike-riding in the process.
There were 32 riders. About 8 Israeli kids from the mechina program- it's a gap year after high school before they enter the army that combines learning and volunteering. About 6 North American Rabbis from different cities- Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Orlando...Some random American supporters of the Reform Movement and many active Israelis in the Progressive Movement in Israel. Also, there was a young girl from Australia doing a gap year program who signed up to do the ride having barely rode a bike before and not knowing a single person on the ride. The Israeli kids adopted her into their group on the first day, so she was very well taken care of. There was even a blind woman who rode on the back of a tandem- she does the ride every year. Amazing.
There were a number of people who have done the ride multiple years and even some who have rode all 6 years. I got the feeling on the first day that it was like a reunion for them, a wonderful yearly tradition. The riders ranged from incredibly experienced, phenomenal riders to riders who were athletically inclined and wanted to support the cause. The ride was a mix of on and off rode riding, but mostly off-road. I think we averaged about thirty five miles a day- it really wasn't a far distance, but the terrain made it challenging. Israel just finished its rainy season so the Golan Heights were wet, lush and bright green. Gingy kept joking that we were in Ireland. It was amazing to see it like that as opposed to the dead yellow color that usually dominates the North in the summer. However, the water made parts of the ride very challenging. We had many water crossings and tons of mud. It was so gross. Some of the guys liked trudging through mud, re-living their child-hood days, but I could have done without that part. My shoes were RUINED, I had to throw them away the last day. Bye-bye adidas star sneakers.
Each day we were up by 7 and on the road by about 8:30. We road most of the day, stopping between 4:30-6pm. The bike company that the R4R hired was awesome- they were organized and took great care of us. The guide, Ron, was like Superman- he has split his chin open like 8 times riding and doing other crazy stunts. We had a truck with a flat bed for bikes and a mini-ambulance trailing us throughout the ride for safety and bike maintenance/repairs. There were constantly things going wrong with the bikes because of the terrain and the bike technicians were superb.
We stopped mid-morning for a snack break and in the afternoon for lunch. The snack breaks consisted of lots of carbs and high calorie foods- power bars, granola bars, halva, nuts, dried fruit, bananas, apples. They always had freshly brewed tea and coffee, energy drink, and tons of water. Lunches were a variety of sandwiches, a huge home-made vat of amazing soup every day, cut up vegetables with tehina, and then a variety of preserves, chocolate, and peanut butter spreads. Every breakfast and dinner was a buffet of sorts...We were so well taken care of! I'm pretty convinced that Josh, Gingy, and I came back heavier than when we left because of the insane amount of calories we consumed each day. We always stopped for snack/lunch breaks near beautiful look-out points. Did I mention how gorgeous it was?
Day 1
from Mount Hermon to Kibbutz Merom Golan – the North Eastern Golan Heights
The journey began 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) above sea level, on Mount Hermon—the highest mountain in Israel, in the north eastern part of the Golan Heights. We began by riding south in the breathtaking scenery of the Northern Golan, passing by the Druze town of Majdal Shams. We stopped to take in the view of some Syrian-turned-Israeli fortifications on the boarder, and continued south through the Odem Forest and the Oz Monument, commemorating 77 Israeli soldiers killed in the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War. We finished the first day in Kibbutz Merom Golan, situated 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level.
We were picked up by bus at 5:30 am, picked up other riders along the way, and reached Mt. Hermon by about 10:00 am. We started the actual ride at about 11:45, descending the snow covered and COLD mountain. I was freezing for the first hour, but as we descended it warmed up and I was glad I didn't have extra layers to deal with. We stopped for a late lunch and stayed over at a nice Kibbutz that night. I had my own beautiful cabin- I was ready to move in permanently!
Day 2
Crossing the Golan Heights
The second day we crossed the eastern parts of the Golan Heights, going south along the Golan Path. We rode through Bashanit Ridge, along the Syrian border. Some of the highlights along the way were the Fachem Springs and the remains of a mysterious site from the Bronze Age. We also visited the remains of a synagogue and a Jewish settlement from the Talmudic Era, and to top it off, we rode along the cliffs of Semech and El-al streams, enjoying their wonderful scenery.
The second day was the hardest to get back on the sadle. My butt was so sore from the first day...But after that little struggle, I became totally used to it. One of the coolest things about day 2 was riding by the windmills that produce energy. I have some great pics of them! I remember a lot of mud and water crossings on second day which I was not a fan of. In fact, I had a brief stint riding in the truck during the really muddy sections because I couldn't even pedal- too much mud stuck in the breaks and gears. After riding that day we stopped at a beautiful winery called Chateau Golan for a tour and wine tasting.
Day 3
Southern Golan Heights
We continued riding in the southern part of the Golan Heights with exceptional views of the Sea of Galilee. From the location of our morning snack stop we could actually see from one end of the Galilee clear across to the other end. It looked pretty small from that angle, but I hear it takes almost a whole day to bike around the whole thing. The third day was hands down my favorite- it had the most beautiful picturesque views. There was an awesome downhill coming out of the mountains, followed by an exceptional view of the Galilee- amazing- one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Another highlight of day 3 was making it all the way up a very steep ascent- I was pumped. We also rode through some amazing smelling orange groves and green houses filled with banana trees. That afternoon we went to the natural hot springs of Hamat Gader. It felt great soak our muscles in the hot salt water and we all needed to relax! We headed to one of my favorite places in Israel for group dinners-- "Decks" in Tiberias. Another "food bomb!" They just kept bringing out huge platters of food...falafel, hummus, chicken wings, salad, focaccia, and then huge assortments of grilled meats, portobello mushrooms, french fries, and sweet potatoes. Very fun evening.
Day 4
Down to the Jordan Valley, Up to Safed
Day 4 was the most challenging one, beginning 200 meters below sea level and culminating 700 meters (2,300 feet) above it, in the mystical city of Tzfat (Safed). We cycled along the Jordan river and tackled a few very difficult uphill climbs. That evening, we rode into S'fat singing various L'cha Dodi melodies and other Hebrew songs. We stayed at a really nice hotel in S'fat that night. It was probably the best shower of my life. One of the nice things about doing a ride like this is that it makes you appreciate the little things in life- like showers and bathrooms...A Rabbi on the trip made a nice slide show for our last night together. Will be up on youtube soon hopefully to share with everyone.
Day 5
From Safed in the Galilee to Kiryat Tivon on Mount Carmel
Exhilarating downhill ride took us through the terrains of the Lower Galilee. We ended at Ma’alot Tivon, an IMPJ Congregation in the town of Kiryat Tivon (near Haifa).
Day 5 was a bit challenging...The morning terrain was very difficult riding, a lot of off-road downhill with dangerous rocks. I walked most of it because I didn't feel comfortable riding. Unfortunately, one of the Rabbis from Orlando took a bad fall and dislocated his shoulder and broke his arm. Another Rabbi had to go to the hospital after she fell off her bike and his her head on some rocks- she had a rockin' bruise. The afternoon was riding was a bit more enjoyable and ended in the small town of Tivon. A few friends from school came to cheer Josh and I on as we crossed the "finish line." They had a lovely closing ceremony for us in Tivon and presented us all with certificates and pictures, and of course dates for next years ride.
It was an awesome experience- biking through Israel is the best way to see the beautiful country and I was incredibly proud of myself for riding as well as I did. It was a pleasure getting to know all of the amazing people who participated in the ride and I look forward to doing it again next year. It was a bit sad to leave everyone at the end of the 5 days. We spent a lot of time together- the majority of which focused on team work, building relationships, and lots of positive encouragement. I got to know one particular Rabbi very well from Glencoe, IL. He provided me with much insight into the Rabbinate and Cantorate, offering tons of advice and helpful pointers for what lies ahead. In fact, his tid-bits of advice from the ride are in the process of becoming a sermon (which I can't wait to read). We shared many laughs and sang a ton of songs (despite the fact that I can never remember any lyrics)- everything from James Taylor to show tunes.
If I didn't already mention it in the Negev portion of this blog, one skill that I have gained this year in Israel is the amazing ability to pop a squat anywhere. Absolutely anywhere, anytime. Not having access to real bathrooms all day on the ride made me appreciate them so much more at night in the hotel!
That was the Ride--phenomenal. A huge thank you to everyone who supported the ride and enabled me to enjoy this awesome experience. Come ride with me next year!
Unfortunately, the computer snafu might prevent me from posting pics to my blog. BUT, I did upload all of them to my picassa website. Check out the latest 2 albums, the Negev Tiyul and Ride for Reform.
Love to all! Hope you had a Happy Pesach! Blog post about Pesach in Russia on its way...
Love,
Leslie
