Roller Coaster Week

There are different kinds of days.  There are happy days, sad days, solemn days, weird days, and typical days.  Sometimes a day is as it is because of what happens, and sometimes it’s a holiday and determined to be a certain way by history.  The time between the last two Thursdays has been a roller coaster in moods of days.  With Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Shabbat, all of Nativ joining together for a week, joining together to learn about Israel Activism, Yom HaZikaron (day in honor of those who have died in battle and terrorist attacks), and Yom Ha’Atmaut (Israeli Independence Day), this has been a unique week.

Yom HaShoah

On the night of Yom HaShoah we had Nativ programming.  We read personal stories of youth survivors of the Holocaust and then had a presentation and discussion about Holocaust denial.  We all wore white for the night and the day. 

In the morning while we were working, a siren went off throughout the whole country.  I’m glad that I wasn’t with the school at their ceremony where everyone was thinking about the Holocaust already or in a busy intersection to see everyone stop and stand next to their cars.  I was working.  I was walking with Jake to the rabbit cage.  I was talking with Harari on the other side of the fence about the loose parakeet.  And the siren went off and we all stopped walking and talking.  Harari placed the rope he was holding on the ground.  Looking around I saw that some people were looking straight forward, others looking down.  Everyone took this minute to think, to remember.  It was a powerful moment.

That night we went to Kibbutz Lochamei HaGetaot which was founded by Holocaust survivors.  There was a ceremony specifically for youths.  I think there were about 2000 people there.  We sat together with the Karmiel track (the Yerucham track was at a different ceremony in the south), and it was strange to be happy to see our friends we haven’t seen in a few weeks on one of the saddest days of the year.  The ceremony included some songs, a dance representing going to gas chambers, a performance (for lack of a better term) by Habonim Dror (socialist youth group, very influential in the creation of the state of Israel), and singing Hatikva (Israel’s national anthem).  It was very interesting, but I could not understand everything because it was all in Hebrew.  Sadly, I felt I could not fully appreciate this ceremony, or anything else we had done for Yom HaShoah, after being in Poland.  Nothing can compare to that experience, and I don’t have the emotional strength to try to feel more right now.

Then Friday was a normal day.  I stayed at the kfar for Shabbat, so it was relaxing to not need to leave early to go somewhere else.  I’m impressed with myself for almost napping and watching a movie (honestly- I usually can’t find the time to relax like this).

We had nice Nativ services that night, and then joined the whole kfar community for dinner.  It was a closed Shabbat for the students who board here, so everyone ate together in the cheder ochel for dinner, lunch, and seudah shlishit.  Shabbat afternoon, we went for a walk to a spring with some students and a group of high school volunteers from a school in Maryland who are here for 3 weeks.  The spring was actually a very polluted stream, but it was a pretty walk.  I’m glad I finally know about this trail to go running there.  It was great to spend a Shabbat at the kfar again.

Israel Activism Seminar

Sunday morning, a bus came to take us to Maale HaChamisha (the hotel where we spent Purim) for our Israel Activism Seminar.  I was excited to see my Karmiel and Yerucham friends, but I was not particular excited to leave my petting zoo and sit in lectures about politics (far from my favorite subject).  (I was especially excited to room with my friends Dana and Becca, and we quickly learned that there is no possible better rooming situation than the 3 of us together.)  It turned out, though, that the whole seminar was fantastic.

Still, this was a confusing, complex week.  Some things that people think and say about Israel simply disgust me.  How can people say it is an apartheid state when the Arab minority has full political rights and Arabs serve in the Knesset (Parliament) and courts?  Why does Israel get accused of so much belligerence because their death toll is lower than the Palestinians when Israel protects its civilians with things like the Iron Dome and puts soldiers in tanks while Palestinians protect their offenders (I refer to those against Israel) with civilians and schools full of children?  Then there are issues like violence at check points (between West Bank and Gaza and Israel proper and other high risk places), which I cannot justify at all, but I understand how soldiers use violence because it is easy to maintain control, and the check points have proven extremely effective in preventing terrorist attacks.

The first afternoon Neil Lazarus, head of Awesome Seminars who worked with Yossi to create our week, spoke to us, and just from the way he spoke I knew this would be a good week.  We looked at everything rationally (not emotionally), and I’ll tell you about the programs I found most meaningful and interesting.  Among what we learned in this first presentation:

• “If you can’t convince them, confuse them.”
• “Whoever says they want peace the most wins.”
• “Always end a speech/argument with some combination of the words ‘hope,’ ‘children,’ ‘peace,’ and ‘future.’ 
• Example: ‘I hope that in the future there will be peace for our children.’”

first day, with Neil and 88 other Nativers

Our following session was “Dealing with H.O.R.S.E.”  There are simple arguments: [Human rights] it sucks that some people experience human rights violations through things like check points, but more people are protected than harmed.  [Occupation] No one can “occupy” a land that is in dispute/not a sovereign nation, as the West Bank is.  [Racism] Declaring Israel is an apartheid state is delegitimizing the past politically supported racism of South Africa.  [Settlements] Jews and Arabs both get permits to build in the disputed areas. [Extreme force] Israel does all it can to protect its citizens, and it faces a lot of attacks.

The next day we had some non-spectacular programming on public speaking and debating, but I think part of its spectacularlessness was due to the leader for my third of Nativ (we were split up into a smaller groups for most sessions) and large content overlap with the Intrapreneurship track of BFL.  Luckily, we had a much more interesting program that evening with the Parents Circle, a group for both Arabs and Jews who lost a family member in the conflicts here to have dialogue about the issues and what they have experienced.  One Arab and one Jew spoke to us about their experiences.  It was interesting to see what they had gone through, and there is no way I can put myself in either of their positions.  I found the Arab woman that spoke to us particularly interesting: she was Christian from Barbados, married a Muslim man, and upon living with him and their children in the West Bank felt more at home there than anywhere else she had lived before.  Her husband was killed in an act of unnecessary and illegal violence by an Israeli, and since then she has felt closer to her Arab community and has started doing things to show that she is part of this community, such as wear a hijab.

Tuesday, we heard from a representative of Stand With Us, which has since been redeemed in my mind (before, I disliked the organization for calling anti-Zionism anti-Semitism, but this presentation did not make such a claim).  I learned a lot from this session.  I learned that the US supports foreign armies, sending the most support to Israel’s army, followed by Egypt’s, followed by Lebanon’s.  I also learned that Dr. Khalil Shikaki performed a study on Palestinian society and found that 70% of Palestinians want to be under the government of Israel.  This was just very interesting.

I think I learned a lot from these 3 days, but still I question statistics and I question intentions and I am not completely convinced of much (note: I do strongly believe the points I made in the  2^nd paragraph of this section).  Unlike many of my friends, I’m not excited to defend Israel at college; as much as I love debating, I get so frustrated by this topic that I don’t like to argue it.  However, I realized this week that I do feel obligated to defend Israel.  I know I won’t change the opinions of the anti-Israel activists, but maybe I can affect those who don’t know what to think.

Yom HaZikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut

Tuesday night, once we finished learning about how to advocate for Israel, we went to a Masa ceremony for Yom HaZikaron.  For this day, too, everyone wears white.  This ceremony was in English, but it was not the best kind of ceremony for me.  We heard stories about people making aliyah, joining the army, and dying in service.  A family member spoke to us for some of the stories.  On this day, there is a siren at night and in the morning.  We were at the ceremony for the first siren, and though we were all together and certainly thinking about its significance, I did not find it particularly meaningful.

In the morning, we went to Har Hertzl, a cemetery for victims of terrorist attacks and soldiers.  While walking up from the bus to the cemetery, the siren went off and everything stopped.  It’s amazing how everyone stops at the same moment, in the same way, but when everyone in the area is walking to the same place, we all know the same thought was in each of our heads anyway.  We had some time at the cemetery.  Netanyahu was speaking, but I just heard him in the background as I was walking around with Becca.  One sentence stuck out to me, though: “Kulanu mishpacha gdola echad,” “We are all one big family.”  But, again, I didn’t feel that way.  I felt out of place at Har Hertzl.  All Israelis know someone who has died in a war or in a terrorist attack, but I do not.  I understand the significance of the day, but I cannot relate.

The night when Yom HaZikaron (the solemnity most comparable to that of Yom Kippur) ends, one of the happiest days- Yom Ha’Atzmaut- begins.  People wear white and blue at night and during the day.  Services have some pieces like the final Yom Kippur service, plus some synagogues do Hallel (psalm readings for holidays).  I went to Roz’s Minyan that night, which was incredible.  We started with singing a psalm with a Shabbat tune, then did normal maariv (skipping things my siddur had for Chag Atzmaut).  There is always plenty of time for one to read everything at Roz’s minyan (in many services, everything silent is rushed), but I read the first 2 blessings of the service quickly, before the shaliach tzibur (leader) read the final line of the first blessing out loud (as is the custom).  Having read the following blessing, I did not read it again, but just listened to the room.  The sound of everyone singing to themselves was beautiful, incredible.  I could not have been happier in another service.  Near the end of the service, we sang Hatikva.  Then we sang one more psalm, and danced and jumped and clapped until it was time to leave.

From around 9 pm to dawn, the city of Jerusalem was one huge party.  It reminded me of Purim with candy and toy booths in the crowded areas.  Bars and restaurants were packed.  There were outdoor concerts every few feet (at least it seems that way).  I heard that around 2 am the shuk party (party at the outdoor market) finally began, and this was crazy.  There were fireworks (Israel doesn’t seem to understand that the most impressive part of the show is the end, not 8 individual fireworks spread out over a minute after the most impressive explosions) over Gan Ha’Atzmaut (Independence Park).  I hung out with Nativ friends almost everywhere within a 10 minute walk of Beit Nativ, where most of us were staying.  It was a fun night.

Around 1:45, I returned to Beit Nativ.  Some people paid for rooms for the night, but most of us took advantage of the 3 large rooms (not bedrooms) rented by Nativ to hold our bags, and slept on the floor.  At this time, around 20 of the 60 or so people sleeping at Beit Nativ were there.  I wasn’t too tired, so I stayed up later with my friends.  Finally, around 3 am I settled onto the floor of the room in -2.5 (unlike the 2 rooms in -3, it has a carpet!), and with my sweatshirt as a pillow, went to sleep. 

I did not sleep well on the floor of a cold room without a blanket, but the day of Yom Ha’Atzmaut was a lot of fun despite my fatigue.  We had an optional barbeque, but about 80 of the 89 Nativers were there.  It was a fantastic day to sit in the grass of Gan Ha’Atzmaut, eat a lot of food, and talk with friends.  Everyone wore blue and white in honor of Israel’s birthday, and I doubt the day could have been more fun.

the picnic, me with Lucy, Maya, Julia, Deena, and Maddy

Many people have said that this was the best week of Nativ.

Trivia: Upon returning to the kfar Thursday night, I found that the eggs under one of our petting zoo hens hatched!

Passover and Stuff

Before Passover

The Thursday about a week before Passover was a fairly exciting day.  In the petting zoo, Arielle and I watched a rat give birth to 6 babies!! Well, we only saw the births of 2 of them, but at the end of the day we had 6.  From this, I now know for certain that rats are cutest straight from the womb.  (Today, as I write this, these babies have already reached full fur, heads as large as bodies, and greater mobility.)  Then Thursday afternoon, I left for Tiberias with Lucy, Maya, Julia, Mia, and Deena to later meet Teri, Jess, Dani, Sandi, and Molly to celebrate Deena’s birthday weekend.  Thursday night and Friday, we all hung out and wandered around the city.  On Friday morning I woke up early and went for a run by the water, but it wasn’t a good run until I started my way back because I was too distracted by the beauty of the Kineret on one side and the mountains on the other.  It was nice being with everyone, but it really became a good time with Shabbat.

Together with Deena's B-day cake

We ushered in Shabbat by walking a short distance to a nice hotel where we knew there would be candles we could light (unlike the cheap hostel where we stayed).  Are we supposed to light candles at a place we aren’t staying?  No, but the only cost was a few strange looks.  Then we went by the water for tfillot (services), which were full of great singing (by this I mean fun, spirited singing…we did not sound so good) and made me feel really close to everyone there.  I remember thinking, if the people from Yerucham hadn’t gotten there so late Thursday night, if we hadn’t argued about what to do earlier that day, if I had eaten pizza for lunch instead of falafel, then we would not have had these moments just as they were.  I think that if it had been different in any way, it could only have been less wonderful.

We went back to the hostel for dinner, mostly eating chumus, guacamole, and fruit salad (the latter two dishes we made that afternoon), and we talked for hours together, but it felt like no time at all.

The next day, we all slept a little later.  We ate more.  Then we wanted to go to the beach, but there aren’t nice public beaches in Tiberius, as we learned that day, so instead we read and rested on a nice grassy hill we found.  It was a restful, peaceful Shabbat.

From Saturday night after Shabbat until the seder, I had a considerably worse time.  These days consisted of head lice (very common in Israel), an ear infection, and sleep deprivation to make everything worse.  But there were some good things about this week.  Tuesday, for Yom Nativ, we went to Tzfat where we did a clay workshop: we each had a small ball of clay to form into something with redemption in mind.  Every 30 seconds, we passed what we had to the person next to us, and we would add to and adjust the new piece while keeping its essence.  At the end, we took our original pieces back to see what they had become, and we combined all of them at the table to have one theme related to redemption.  It was a really cool activity.  Then we had a short study session in small groups in which we contrasted Kabbalistic sfirot (difficult to describe accurately, but something like 10 aspects of G-d) to the 10 plagues.  That night, back at the kfar, we had a campfire singing session, that is, if you substitute campfire with petting zoo firepit fire and campfire songs with Passover songs (I missed Chad Gadya because a baby goat had escaped and I brought him back to the right place…oh the irony).

Thursday, in preparation for Pesach, we thoroughly cleaned all of our rooms and halls to get rid of chametz (leavened foods that we cannot eat, own, or derive benefit from during the week of Passover).  (The kitchen staff had to do a lot for about a week in the kitchen, and even in the petting zoo we had to finish a certain food and clean up any bread in cages.) Thursday night we did the ritual search for chametz, and Friday morning we did the ritual burning of that which we found.

Throughout Friday morning, everyone left the kfar but me.  It was eerie seeing literally no one around.  But I was only alone until my friend Sarah arrived early in the afternoon.  I gave her a tour, and we rested until it was time to go just past the gate of kfar hanoar to meet Gadi (aka Yankel, the person from Yankel’s shtetl if you remember my first blog post on the kfar).

Pesach

We walked together to the synagogue, and afterwards returned to his house for the seder.  Everyone was really nice and it was a lot of fun.  It would have been better if I didn’t have an ear infection inhibiting my hearing (I can manage Hebrew, but not so well when I can’t hear clearly).  It was great doing everything in Hebrew, but this experience made me appreciate seders in English.  I usually love how Israelis read quickly, but the seder felt a little too rushed for me.  We got back to my room around 1:45 Saturday morning and went straight to sleep.  Then during the day we went back to Gadi’s for lunch and again for seuda shlishit.  Overall, I had a great time with the family, playing with the little kids, and eating yummy foods. 

Saturday night post-yom tov was even more fun.  I hung out with Sarah and the many kfarmers that came back that night (a different Sarah, Maya, Julia, Julian, Leah R., and Leah S.), but we all went to sleep way too late.  Sunday morning I worked out, fed the animals, finished packing, and went to Karmiel to meet Mia, Deena, and Teri.  We bought food for dinner and everything we’d need for the next 3 days.  Deena made matza lasagna for us (yum!), and we hung out with everyone who was still in Karmiel that night.  Unfortunately, Teri got sick, so she couldn’t be with us during the week. 

What were we doing?  Hiking Yam L’Yam (aka Sea to Sea)!  This hike, from the Mediterranean to the Kineret (or the other direction), is extremely popular, especially during Passover.  Done in 3, 4, or 5 days, I’m guessing a couple thousand people walk and climb at least part of the trails across the whole country.

The Hike

Early Monday morning, I bussed with Deena and Mia to Nahariyah, a city on the Mediterranean Sea, north of Haifa.  Because we didn’t know how long it would take to get to our first night’s campsite, we took a cab to the beginning of the trail (so we didn’t quite hit the first sea).  Then we started hiking- it was an easy, very flat start.  We crossed little streams, and I am thankful for my water shoes relieving me of the stress of balancing on rocks.  We sang Disney and non-Disney songs, and we passed our madrich Simeon (hiking with 3 of his friends) while singing Build Me Up Buttercup.  In a few places along the trail, we hung out with a group comprised of a South African, a German, and an Aussie. 

Me, Deena, and Mia starting to hike

We made very good time, but got a little lost by continuing walking after the end of one trail (it’s not continuous), so we decided to take a cab to our planned campsite in Ma’alot to spend the night with the other Nativers doing the hike (we originally didn’t want a big group because it is more difficult to plan, but once we were all there, and we happened to all be fairly good friends, joining forces sounded like fun).  Well, with an unfortunate miscommunication, we ended up at a different camp site, farther along the trail.  So we didn’t hike from sea to trail, and we didn’t hike a chunk in the middle, but on the bright side this was better for our backs and we were able to sleep more. We didn’t spend the night with the other Nativers, but we did spend it with TRY (the Conservative high school semester in Israel program) and EIE (the Reform high school semester in Israel program)!  We played some Jewish Geography and met Lucy’s younger brother.  Then we slept under the stars, able to sleep late- until 7ish (which was especially great because it’s difficult to fall asleep and easy to wake up when you’re freezing).

The plan for Tuesday morning: wait for the other Nativers to meet us, then start hiking again.  I’m very impressed with the other 7 people for hiking 4 more hours than us this morning- we were all exhausted by the end of the day.  Ari, Eric, and Smalls met us first (but Lainey, Alysa, Gila, and Neal weren't far behind) and introduced us to balloon time.  Eric brought balloons to blow up and pop for whenever we finished a good hike, including after their hike to get to our campsite.  We mostly hiked that day in two groups: I was with Mia, Deena, Ari, Eric, and Smalls, and about 15 minutes behind us was the other group.  The beginning of the hike (for Deena, Mia, and me) was a difficult uphill, going up Mount Meron, the second highest peak in Israel.  We rejoined at lunch, then continued hiking. 

Balloon Time! (TRY and EIE in the background)

We passed the cave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.  This was a known landmark, but we didn’t know that this was going to be a party.  Music was playing (mostly “Na Nach Nachma Nachman Me’Uman,” for Rabbi Nachman of Breslov), and a lot of people were around.  Most of the guys in our group went to see the grave, but Gila was the only girl to because we didn’t want to bother with changing out of our shorts (places like this require a certain level of modesty that hiking does not).  We took a nice break here: we filled our waters, many people took advantage of toilets, and almost all of us bought popsicles or ice cream.  It is so great that we could be certain that all of the popsicles, ice creams, and other foods being sold were kosher for Passover.

After not too long, we found where the trail continued and hiked more.  After not too long, the trail we were to follow was a nature reserve, Nachal Amud, in which it is illegal to camp.  Somehow, we got the idea that we should just keep hiking and finish in 2 days, going into the dark.  Well, luckily people told us we couldn’t because it would not have been possible.  We hiked a little farther, then turned off to another trail line to take us out to a campsite.  Sleeping here required a 20 shekel payment, but it was worth it because they had bathrooms that didn’t smell, flat places to sleep, and we had no other options.  (What I mean by this is we don’t need these luxuries, but if they come up, we won’t reject them.) 

We left a little before 7 the next morning, but to us this was too late because we were allowed to get back on the trail at 6:45.  This day, I walked mostly with Lainey and Alysa.  It was the most fun and most challenging day of hiking- a lot of crossing and re-crossing a stream, climbing, and scary cliffs.  This section was absolutely beautiful- the mountains on our sides were full of trees, it was sunny but we were usually in shade, and there were places where we could see far in the distance but see no other groups.  Out of this section of the trail (which took a few hours, but we were making good time), we met up again with the other Nativers and walked for a long stretch through a jungle-like trail: it was mostly flat, but we had a very narrow path with long weeds on both sides.  We sang In The Jungle with a group from post-college Masa programs that we frequently met on the last 2 days.  By the end of the jungle, all of our little groups had re-split.  But we met again at the end of the trail (this was our final trail!) to do the last stretch of the hike together.  We walked through 2 orchards, and then got split up by a large group of Scouts (a youth group) also walking to the sea.  Well, we met again at the Kineret, where we rested and enjoyed a few minutes of lying down, watching the water, too tired to go to a cleaner beach.

I learned a lot on this hike.  I learned that I should never hike with complainers and never hike with people who want to hike at a considerably different pace.  I learned that though I love hiking, I don’t love carrying a heavy backpack, so if I’m doing a multi-day hike, I shouldn’t also have clothes for the days before and after on my back.  I learned that you can’t go so quickly that you don’t give yourself the chance to look around you.  I learned that two minutes of talking with a good friend can make any annoying event not matter at all.

By the end of the hike, I had sore and blistery feet and sun-burnt shoulders.  I was tired, dirty, and smelly.  I had eaten very little besides almonds, matzah, cheese sticks, cucumbers, and bananas for 3 days.  And I could not have been happier.

Most of us in the orchard, almost at the sea.

Post Hike

The majority of us then went to the Tiberius central bus station to return to the kfar, return to Karmiel, go to Tel Aviv, or (for me) go to Ashdod.  I love how here I was able to go to a kosher McDonald’s that was kashered for Pesach and buy a sundae.  It was also nice for the people around me that I was able to “bathe” with wipes and change clothes in the bathroom. 

It was great to see Rachel and her family in Ashdod, but the first thing I did when I got there was shower.  They fed me matzah ball soup, a dish that somehow had not been served at my seder, and I stayed up far later than I should have playing with the kids and talking.  Luckily, I was able to sleep late in the morning.  During the day we went to a park that is also a zoo (obviously I loved this), and then to the beach.  But too soon, I had to take the bus to Jerusalem

Most of kfar, plus a couple people from other tracks, stayed at Beit Nativ for the last day of Pesach and Shabbat (different days in Israel because Pesach is only 7 days).  I rested until dinner that Thursday night, but I made myself stay awake for the meal, and I’m glad I did because it was honestly the best meal I ever ate there.  On Friday during the day, we all read and rested, for a long time outside at the park across the street from Beit Nativ.

After Pesach

On Shabbat (Pesach ended about an hour after Shabbat began), I went to Roz’s minyan for both evening and morning services.  It was great to be at such a spirited service again.  Saturday morning was a bat mitzvah, too!  I had never been to an Orthodox bat mitzvah before.  The girl’s extended family was there, so there were a lot of kids.  She did not lead services or read Torah as is done in egalitarian communities, but after services she gave a davar Torah and we threw candy at her.  Walking out after the service, I heard someone who I am guessing was her father or uncle say (in English- this was an American family), “It’s a good thing she gave the davar Torah in Hebrew because you can’t get away with talking so quickly in English.”

We all returned to the kfar late Saturday night, but there were many, MANY, more people traveling to Haifa that night.  Luckily for us, they provided a second 8:30 bus, but not everyone waiting even fit onto this one.  This was my first bus ride without a seat (they let the buses overfill here), so I was in the isle.  It was extremely comfortable!  I first sat leaning against Deena, then leaning against Mia with Deena leaning on me, and then leaning against a backpack with Mia leaning on me.  When we finally made it to the kfar it was about midnight, and I went straight to sleep. 

Sunday was a normal day of work, slightly hindered by a lack of bread and cereal at breakfast because there had been no opportunity for the kitchen to be restocked.  Before Passover, the petting zoo workers and gardeners had been upset about working in the hot afternoon, so we decided to start working 6am to lunch with a break for breakfast starting Monday.  We left work a little earlier than we should have this afternoon because of the heat to rest, but I feel I made up these hours because later in the afternoon in accompanied Sarah to the refet!

The refet was weird.  Then it was overwhelming.  Then it was smelly.  Then after a while I finally got the hang of everything and it was a lot of fun.  Wearing rubber boots and a water-repelling apron, I learned to wipe, iodine, and re-wipe the udders, and then attach the suction tubes to the udders.  I quickly learned to run to the other side of the little room when a cow started defecating, too.  The older cows produced a lot of milk- upwards of 20 liters (often more than 50 liters for the whole day), and the younger cows produced less.  I think I’ll join Sarah or other Nativ refeters a couple more times in my last few weeks here.

Monday was one of the best days at the kfar.  Starting work early was great.  We were extremely productive, it was cool outside, and we were able to go to breakfast around the time we were starting to get tired.  We had baby guinea pigs, and another chicken started sitting on eggs so we should have more chicks in 3 weeks.  Akiva took us on a tractor ride to dump all of the leaves, weeds, rocks, and garbage we cleaned out of the petting zoo in the past 2 days and from the week before Passover.  We picked up Steph and Deena along the way, too.  It was a bumpy, scary, prickly tractor ride, and I cannot describe how much fun it was.  After we dumped everything, Akiva made tea in the foresty area next to the kfar and we sat laughing and drinking tea until it was time to go to lunch, and we were done for the day with some remaining energy.

Half of Moshe, Jake, Deena, Arielle, and me in the tractor

Finally, today was Yom Nativ- Yom Start Up Nation.  We had activities to teach us about using our resources (for 2 of these activities [making a boat to hold agarot coins and protecting an egg from a boot] we used our physics knowledge!), encouraging creativity (always great to decorate cakes), and getting sponsorship (Harry Potter agreed to endorse my group’s cake).  We also learned about creative Israeli military technology and the correlation between Talmud study and problem-solving skills.  It was a fun and interesting day.

Trivia: Israel’s military developed a bandage that does not need to be wrapped several times around a wound that will still put enough pressure on the wound.

Happy Birthday Mia!!