"HaNitzanim Niru Ba'aretz!"

Shalom family, friends and esteemed donors!

"HaNitzanim niru ba'aretz, et hazamir higia!" -"Blossoms have appeared in the Land of Israel; the time for song has arrived." -Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs)

It’s green, it’s lush, the flowers are in bloom and the scent of Spring is in the air! How lucky do I feel that I get to experience it firsthand?!?! To say I’m ecstatic to be back in Israel is an understatement. I am so happy when I'm here.

I arrived safely in Jerusalem Friday afternoon and have not stopped yet for a moment!

Friday and Saturday were dedicated to an abundance of fabulous friends, delicious food and enjoying a quiet and restful Shabbat in Jerusalem. It was lovely and the weather was perfection.In fact, the second I hopped off the plane, it felt like I never left.

Friday night I had the great pleasure of attending services at Nava Tehila. It’s a renewal congregation that has cultivated an authentic and deeply moving spiritual prayer experience led by many incredible musicians and a Rabbi with a true vision of a unifed prayer community.Some of my thesis research will be connected to the type of prayer they’ve created at Nava Tehila. Exciting stuff. Great music. You can buy their CD online on their website- check it out.

Today was the first day of the bike ride! And a phenomenal day it was. I was picked up in Jerusalem at 6am along with an enthusiastic group of bikers ready to ride! We made our way to the starting point of the ride at Muchraka Monastery in the Carmel Forest. The Monastery belongs to the Carmelite Order and its courtyard contains a statue dedicated to the Prophet Elijah, who according to tradition, fought against the Prophets of Ba'al there. After registration and bike distribution we had a brief opening ceremony- sang a few songs as a group, introduced ourselves, recited the traveler’s bike prayer and we were off!

Most of the first leg today was off-road- lots of bumps and very steep hills, but nonetheless, fun! There were some gorgeous views along the way. Unfortunately it was very dusty today (apparently from the Sahara) so the views were compromised. Normally you can see very far, but today it wasn’t happening. We also went to the brand new Carmel Forest Fire monument.The fire in December of 2010 was the most severe Israel has ever seen and had a devastating impact on the area. Much of the forest was ruined. 250 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, 17,000 people were forced to evacuate, more than 12,000 acres were burned and an estimated 5 million trees were lost in the fire. It’s incredibly sad to see the aftermath. Whatwas once a green, vibrant forest, full of life and historical roots, is now a charred empty space with dead trees. 44 lives were taken in the fire, mostly Israeli Prison service officers. The officers were called in to help evacuate a nearby prison. Apparently a tree fell in the road and trapped the bus in a fireball. Tragic. The recently opened monument to honor the memory of the victims is designed in the shape of the road where the officers were killed. You can see the burned area in my pictures. Hopefully they will serve as a before and the after picture will be taken in a few decades when the land has had a proper chance to heal and re-grow.

Post-lunch ride was also wonderful. We biked through open fields and banana groves, alongside stretches of beautiful flowers (check out the birds of paradise in my pictures) and lush greenery. We even had a rockin’ downhill fly. It was awesome.

We reached one lookout point, overlooking the water that was truly stunning. Each of us found our own spot among the rocks and had a few moments of silent reflection. As soon as I sat down and took in the view, I start singing Ilu Finu to myself. It’s a prayer from the Shabbat morning liturgy that says, “even if our mouths were full of song as the sea, we still could not thank you enough, oh God.” The next time I lead this prayer in Shabbat services, and probably the time after that, and the time after that too, I’ll have this beautiful image in my head. After the silence, we sang Ilu Finu as a group. It was a nice shared moment.

We biked along a gorgeous beach, right on the sand (difficult if not wet!), as the sun began to set, taking us all the way to Kibbutz Nachsholim, where we’re spending our first night.

It’s been an exciting couple of days. The ride has a small number of participants this year, but a great group. It’s been fun getting to know everyone and sharing stories.

Can’t wait for tomorrow!

A special thank you to my incredible sponsors for supporting the ride and enabling me to immerse myself in this rich experience.

Lila Tov to all!

B’ahava,

Leslie

PS- My loyal readers might have noticed the absence of food mentions in this post. Fear not, they feed us like Kings on this ride. The goal by the end of the week: TO BREAK EVEN.