The Negev and the wonders and the change

The wonders of the ocean and the sky are endless. There are countless amounts of discoveries to be made in each regions and each one has a different awe aspect to them. Personally, both of them intrigue me. I find myself staring into the sky or staring into the ocean in amazement and marvel. They both lead your mind into thought. Not only about you, but also about everything pertaining to life. Why am I saying this?
For the past 4 days I was on one of the most amazing trips I have ever been on. I went with my program to the Negev. The Negev is the southern region of Israel that consists of amazing scenery, a variety of activities, hikes, and desert. A new wonder that has appeared before me is the vast sand world; aka the desert. This amazing part of the world has led me to dive down into the deepest parts of life; your mind, your soul, your heart. What makes each one go, what goes in and out of them, and my personal stories.
Day one. Departing Ramat Ef’Al at 7:15 AM, we were on our way to the gravesite of the Baba Sali. The Baba Sali was a Moroccan kabalistic prayer miracle worker. We prayed the morning prayers there where the one most important thing on my mind was rain. Israel suffered from a horrible fire in the North and no rain was to be seen. There were fast days and community praying services to try to get it but it still had not come. After we departed, the hike of Ein Ovdat was our next stop. This hike consists of amazing desert scenery where you start at the bottom of a mountain and work your way up. A few months ago, I hiked it with birthright, more importantly my brother. When we were on the top, I saw him admiring the amazing view and walked over to him to find him in tears from the site. A true sibling bonding moment when we put our arms around each other and both were just tearing (he was also telling me how much he was going to miss me when I moved to Israel in the next few months). Anyways, I was really glad I got to re-experience that sight that brought back that amazing memory. Camel riding was after that. We were probably the last group of the day to go, so the camels and donkeys were all disheveled and probably really tired. That is probably the reason why our tour was growling camels, screaming girls, and complete laughter. That night, we slept in the Bedouin tents. (Ben and I on our boring camel that didn't growl or do anything, still really fun though)This was my third time there, and the experience really never gets old. The biggest highlight this time though was surprising not the stargazing but the singing of the song that consisted of the three words “Ein Od Milvado” (there is no one else apart from him). The definition is not only saying that there is one G-d. The deeper meaning, explained by one of our Av Bayis (“father of the house”), is that everything that G-d does is with a motive. There is no luck, no coincidences, no mistakes. No matter how hard, or how amazing something is, G-d gave it to you because that is how it is meant to be. Repeating this phrase to yourself could save you from the simple question of why me? The song sounded something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PXgt-WJDC8, but a bit slower.
Day two. It was about 4:30 AM when we were woken up in the tents to depart to climb the Masada Mountain to watch the sunrise. Running up the mountain (or trying), we made it about 30 minutes early before we saw the actual sun. But when it came, of course it was beautiful. That came with morning prayers again. These prayers that are usually prayed 3 times a day, many times brings me deep into real emotions and decode my soul. I am constantly in deep thought that is training me to be real to others and most importantly to myself. After we were done on top of the mountain we went down the snake path which just consists of a lot of stairs. I chose to run most of it down so I could use my quads instead of my calves since they are stronger anyways. It was pretty empowering getting to the bottom and looking back up to see the people I was walking with way behind. The rest of our day consisted of the Ein Gedi hike and the dead sea, oh and how could I forget the amazing Chanukah gift and miracle of rain! We were departing from lunch and we walked outside and the desert was covered in dark clouds! One of the hikes was even canceled due to fear of a flash flood. (The photo is some of the people that were brave enough to go into the freezing water on a pretty cold day)Hearing this honestly sent chills down my spine. I was so so so happy. That night, we traveled to yerucham to sleep in a hotel for the nest two nights. One of the night activities that night was “In the Negev with Ari” (Our Av Bayit), where I got this wonder of the desert from. He brought up the concept of Mirages and where they come from. Essentially, when you are at your lowest, when there is nothing else around you begin to create; building up images of hope. I paralleled this to my coming to realization at UCF, when I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror because I couldn’t stand who I was. That was when I decided to come to Israel. When I couldn’t even bear to look at myself is when I made the best decision of my life.
Day three. The most amazing hike I’ve ever been on called the Nachal Peretz hike. We started the day on a small hike in the desert that ended in rappelling. Of course this was fun, but it didn’t top the hike that followed. It was about a 2 and a half hour amazing opportunity to climb up mountains, see amazing scenery, and test your fears. There was a group of guys on our program, I think that called themselves ‘the mountain men’ that literally got up so high on mountains they looked tiny from afar. Maybe I’ll build up my physical endurance some more and go back because I climbed up a small hill and saw an amazing view. I can’t even imagine what it looked like from up there. After that we went back to the hotel, ate dinner, and had an unexpectedly high profiting charity auction. This is how it worked: our activities director came up to us and would ask us what we could offer in order to raise money. People offered things like making home-made dinners, a personal chauffeur for the night, a piano lesson, being able to be followed by two of the built kids for the day in black suits sunglasses and ear pieces, and one that raised the most money, a kid offering to a do a mitzvah (good deed) of the winner’s choice for a week. I offered to put someone in my blog who I will mention another time in order for it not to seem like I’m only doing it because I have to. Just about 9200 shekels were raised. I donated about 140 shekels to the causes and won two home cooked meals and chipped in for the weekly mitzvah bidding since it was about an 850 shekel bid.
Day four. Leaving Yerucham, we were off to Eilat for a few hours to enjoy some shopping and a 2 hour glass bottom boat lunch and cruise. Seeing everyone together smiling and happy was simply just amazing. I found myself reflecting, and maybe getting a little bit sad when I was staring into the ocean.But it’s ok to feel sad once in a while; don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.
This trip all in all brought a lot of us closer, made some serious memories, and gave some real life learning that will stick with me wherever I got for the rest of my life. (Just want to add that I committed to doing all of these hikes in skirts. If someone would have told me to do that a few months ago, I would have laughed at them. It's really crazy how things change. I couldn't love it more)