Taglit Birthright Winter 2012 - Day 4
Posted on 12/19/2012 @ 11:00 AM
A beautiful day in Israel to harvest bell peppers for the hungry, meet our awesomely awesome Israeli soldiers and explore historic caves.
The day began at Leket, an organization that focuses on collecting produce for the needy. We thoroughly enjoyed spreading out among the rows picking bell peppers of all colors and sizes, throwing and sometimes chucking them to each other to place in baskets, and tasting the freshness of the vegetables. Although we managed to laugh, eat and throw peppers, we were still quite productive for such a short time. We collected over 2,000 kilos of bell peppers for the homeless.
After our efforts we hopped on the bus and drove to Beit Shemesh to have lunch and meet our six new Israeli friends. After some long waits for Aroma lunch and some Aroma coffees, we went to the Marasha caves.
We had some fun ice-breaker activities such as passing an imaginary bunny around, Carlos, to each other and "doing something" to it each time. Let's just says that Carlos was not in very good condition by the end of the activity. After getting to know our soldiers a little bit more, we checked out the Marasha caves, which were amazing underground tunnels and spaces used to raise pigeons for food and sacrifice, as well as for living spaces during more turbulent times. We spent some time walking around the area and got to breathe some fresh air overlooking beautiful mountains and an amazing sunset.
We ventured onwards to our hotel in the Negev desert for the evening, ate some dinner, and then went to a presentation in Yerucham, the Miami Jewish Federation's sister city, to hear about Ayalim. The village that is being built there by these young adults is inspirational. They are putting their efforts into forming an intentional community which focuses on bringing people into the Negev desert, a piece of Israel that rightfully belongs to the Israeli citizens, and making them feel home. Also, these post-Israeli soldier men and women are volunteering in the high schools in the area helping at-risk teenagers find more motivation in their lives through gardening, volunteering and building the new village. We enjoyed our time there and are packing for the next two nights of fun-filled adventure!
Chelsea Gifford
Comments
Leave a Comment