Museum to Tent
Day 6 was quite the diverse day. Air conditioning to desert air, contemporary architecture of the last decade, to sleeping in tents of earlier decades.
City to Desert.
We began the day visiting the Israeli Holocaust memorial -- Yad Vashem. The beautiful and modern building sat atop Mt. Herzl, surrounded by lush gardens and sculptures. Each member of the group left with their own impression of the museum, though all affected emotionally. I personally was very shocked to see urns made by the Nazi’s that held the ashes of Jews. The lids of the urns contained the names of the deceased. I had never seen that before. It was a lovely building, architecturally speaking. I may have resorted to taking note of the building itself, because of the grim images inside. Looking for the good. It is a big part of the history of modern Jews and the museum does a very extensive job of keeping records of all who had been affected by the tragic event. It was a learning experience.
Following a wonderful lunch we traveled to JNF / KKL’s Zanoach Forest where we were sent into the woods to trim some trees. The trimming’s purpose is to protect the trees from over growth and potential fires. To our delight, once we finished trimming several trees, our KKL guide challenged us with several funny competitions. The sun was shining bright and all were enjoying themselves. As we began our journey, the road seemed to be taking its toll on everyone. Many were taking advantage of the sleep time on the bus in between destinations. So, we headed south, into and through the desert. The cities wore thin and the desert and its vast character presented itself. We arrived at the Bedouin village -- Chan Ha‘Sayarot. It looked like I was on the set to a movie shoot. Nothing fancy, but I felt safe and was surrounded by some exotic trees and desert. We explored the site knowing you will not get too lost…as the site was enclosed. Participants took advantage, of the ability to roam around on your own. It was definitely a sense of freedom we all shared. We ate a great traditional meal and visit with some Bedouins. Our guy, whom I didn’t get his name, was humorous. He told a Beduim folklore story with an ending that I didn’t necessarily understand, but I like stories like that sometimes. He was nice and let us try his musical instruments. Afterwards, the group gathered for a great evening event, which included games that focused on our experiences thus far. All sorts of funny jokes were remembered, even though it has only been about a week. The group has bonded and it showed. I don’t know if there is a single person that isn’t comfortable with what is going on. Sure, everyone has their own concerns, but overall, each participant seems to be happy in this 50 person experiment. Pretty impressive. Another nice thing is the bonding that is going on between the different Shorashim groups. I have made plenty of friends from the Chicago trip. We don’t spend too much time with them, but enough time that you see familiar faces and you get to see how their day was. We ended the night, like many, sitting around the fire and singing songs. I am glad that I got to sing some songs that I learned from my old camping days. I thought they were a little more appropriate for the fire, and I think everyone else thought that too after a few songs. Nothing like a good camp song. So, another day. Another day maybe learn something, reach a goal, contemplate, and relax. The trip is a success so far!
