Between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur

It begins with a story. Everything begins with a story. Parents long for a child, but are unable to conceive. The father in particular needs a son to take delivery on promises made to him earlier by G-d. A still-hoping-to-become-mother makes a selfless act – as mothers will always do.   She appoints her handmaiden Hagar as a surrogate. A child is conceived. Yet even before the son is born, selflessness has spawned contempt and jealousy. Hagar’s pregnancy makes her triumphant, and she looks down on Sarai. Sarai responds by blaming her husband, who takes – perhaps – the easy way out, cedes control of the handmaiden back to her. It appears from the text that Sarai does everything she can to make Hagar’s life miserable. To the point where Hagar flees and is found in the wilderness by a running stream. A new set of promises is made. Hagar’s son shall be her own and produce a multitude of descendants. Why? HaShem has listened and heard Hagar’s affliction. She must only return and submit to her mistress. This seems to go well for a time. The physical symbol of the covenant is cut into all the men of the extended family, including the son, Ishmael. In fact, as this chapter of our story ends, the Torah speaks of him as -referring to Abraham – Ishma’el his son. In the background is simply the reiterated promise that Sarah will have her own son. Amidst laughter and rejoicing the new son is born. He is called Yitzhak – whose name can mean many things; laughing, or playing, or rejoicing. When he has grown sufficiently, he goes out into the field to play with his brother. The text is deliberately ambiguous – we do not know what they were doing; only the reaction it causes. Sarah demands that Ishmael and Hagar be kicked out of the family. G-d agrees, and Abraham goes along. The story that began with love, sacrifice and selflessness has turned to love lost, estrangement and banishment. A story of a family torn apart, each fulfilling its own destiny. Yitzhak is followed by Yakov who produces twelve sons from four women; two wives and two handmaidens. There are good times and bad, and eventually worse. They have their own Great Recession, and preceded by Yosef, take refuge in Mitzrayim. In this story things are going very well, but then… וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ-חָדָשׁ, עַל-מִצְרָיִם, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַע, אֶת-יוֹסֵף There arose a new king – over Mitzrayim – who knew not Joseph. In the background, a jealous fearful king develops an attitude toward the not-yet-known-as-the-Jewish-people Israelites. There are too many of them to live here, they are a danger, but if there is a chance during war, they might leave. Soon mothers – the midwives – are commanded to kill but instead safely deliverf new-born Israelite sons. Asked to explain themselves, they claim that Hebrew women deliver babies to fast; before the midwives can come to help them. The midwives, and the people, prosper. But soon the story takes a turn for the worse.  We descend into servitude, but we are rescued and set free. And we are commanded to tell the story of our escape, and to fulfill the purpose of our freedom. We take our own walk in the wilderness. Moshe climbs a mountain.    We find out where we are going, and why we are going there.  In the words of Devarim …כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, מְבִיאֲךָ אֶל-אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה: אֶרֶץ, נַחֲלֵי מָיִם–עֲיָנֹת וּתְהֹמֹת, יֹצְאִים בַּבִּקְעָה וּבָהָר וְאָכַלְתָּ, וְשָׂבָעְתָּ–וּבֵרַכְתָּ אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, עַל-הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַן-לָךְ HaShem your g-d brings you into a good land, a land of flowing water, of springs and fountains in the valleys and the hills (a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranites, a land of olive-trees and honey, a land wherein you will eat bread with no shortage, you won’t lank anything at all, with iron in the ground and brass in the hills. And you shall eat, and be satisfied and bless Adonai Elohecha for the good land which he gives you. And to bless HaShem we have, among other practices, the celebration of Shabbat, an echo of creation and apiece of the very design of the world. This is turning into a good story! We set up a nation, we struggle with building a just and righteous society. Kings and priest and prophets all try to set the course for the Israelite nation. We have our ups and downs. Battles with hostile forces. We are invaded, conquered and sent into exile. But in almost no time we are set free to return to what we now call aretz yisra’el. Not everyone goes back, but everyone adopts the story “Next year in Jerusalem”. Even before we are completely defeated and exiles, we already have a story of returning. The Great Defeat comes at the hands of Rome who view the Jewish nation as this strange people unlike any other. Worshiping an invisible g-d and giving over one day in seven to an unseen master. This is what our story looks like to people living outside of it, people living in a story mostly about power, triumph and mastery to a human ruler. Yokhanan ben Zakkai creates a new story, turning Temple Sacrifice into study and tefilah. Biblical Judaism turns into Rabbinic Judaism. Roman occupation is only a “small” problem in ben Zakkai’s story. Bar Kochba – last of the revolutionaries – wants a different story. In his story, a small insignificant people throws off the greatest military power in the world. But the story turns out to not have a Hollywood ending.We, the Jewish people, are sent wandering into the wilderness, not near Be’ar Sheva, but over almost the entire planet; all of G-d’s creation. We sometimes prosper, but too often suffer, at the hands of a King who knows not Joseph.

The theme repeats itself for almost two thousand years, so often it seems that is has itself become the complete story. In a serious vein, the situation becomes labeled “The Jewish problem”. On a lighter note, is has become an oft-repeated and well-known holiday time joke. What’s the theme of the holiday? “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.”In 1875 a German journalist – Wilhem Marr – publishes a pamphlet and forms a society whose purpose is to combat the alleged threat to Germany posed by the Jews and their influence. The society is called “The League of antisemites.” Let’s not spend any time on their story, because we know it all to well and we know how they proposed to deal with “The Jewish Problem.” At more or less the same time, Jews are deciding to change the story on our own. The heck with waiting for the Mashiach to bring us out of exile, let’s just get up and go – to Palestine. One such group pretty much adopts that as its name – Bet Ya’akov L’Chu V’Nelchu – the BILU movement. It means “House of Jacob, let’s get up and go”. Their solution, articulated by the early Zionists? That the Jewish problem would be best solved by creating a jewish country, a normal state like all others. How is a normal state defined? One well-known saying, ascribed to David Ben Gurion among others, is that there would be a Jewish country that was normal when a Jewish cop chased a Jewish criminal down a Jewish street. Well… that ship sailed a long time ago. There is street crime, and there are Jewish cops, in Israel.  But that didn’t make Israel a normal country, judging by how Israel is looked at and treated around the world and most especially in certain world forums that don’t need to be named. So like economists in the past year looking for signs of “green shoots” in the economy, I went on a search for signs of Israel being “normal” and treated in a normal way on the world stage.  Where Israeli public figures could go around and not be subject to protests, agitation and being singled out for “special treatment’. Living in the Bay Area we are accustomed to a high level of criticism directed at Israel, to the point where in a community not too many miles away the current Prime Minister of Israel could not even give a speech because of the threat of conflict.  So I went looking for “non-controversial” Israeli figures. I eliminated politicians and religious figures right off the bat.  The the SF Jewish Film Festival and the protests around the Toronto film festival celebrating Tel Aviv made me rule out the fine arts.  Academics in the UK have been in the forefront of discriminating against Israelis, so I had to rule that out. Even an organization like Oxfam – on all its webpages describing its good works – has one page that is not like all the other pages, so I had to let them go. The search for normality was not going too well.  Remembering Rabbi Bloom’s comment about watching MTV to stay in touch I decided to consult my favorite secular magazine – Sports Illustrated – and being a red-blooded male (praise HaShem and rabbinical authorities for having a healthy attitude toward sex) in particular the Swimsuit Issue.  And who should be on the cover – last February – but none other than arguably the most well-known Israeli in the world, supermodel Bar Rafaeli (sorry guys, no links to pictures here ) .  And when the NBA draft came around in June and the Sacramento Kings drafted Omri Caspi in the first round, I looked into him as well. Sports Illustrated (thank you Chris Mar) reported that in the three years that Israeli models have appeared in the swimsuit issue they have not received so much as one protest letter.  The Sacramento Kings Director of Basketball Operations told me that they drafted Caspi and didn’t give a second thought to his being Israeli. They don’t expect to require extra security, and they don’t expect protests for having an Israeli on their roster.  (Good thing they don’t play in an arena in Berkeley!) Finally!  Two Israeli figures safe from protests.  Well, only one, because Bar Rafaeli has been protested by Israelis (remember – two Jews, five opinions…minimum) for dodging military service.  So that left one… Omri Caspi… as an example of a citizen of the one Jewish country in the world, who could answer my search for “normality” among the Jewish people. (Added after Yom Kippur – we were watching the TV show “NCIS” when it occurred to me that this show has an ongoing plot line involving not just an Israeli but a Mossad lisason agent as an ongoing character. but I’m not going to attempt to ascertain if they have received protests from the usual suspects because it is clear that “normality” is not something the Jewish people or the Jewish country should aspire to or ever will be.) The only problem left was… what’s so great about being normal?  Is being normal what Moshe led us out of Mitzrayim for?  Is being normal why we have the Torah? Do Jeremiah and Isaiah issue ringing prophetic calls for Israel “to be normal”? And… does anyone really think the Jewish people or Israel will be treated like any other people; like any other country?  I don’t think so. “Normality” is not the story of the Jewish people; I don’t think it ever will be. We are special. Dare we say it, we are “chosen”.  We are a light unto the nations. So if not normality how about hope?  Hope for living in the world that is the blueprint of the Torah, and in the Torah that is a blueprint for the world.  Or in the words of the Alenu prayer (in translation of course). “On that day the Lord shall be one and His Name One”.  (even to secularists and atheists). I found hope on a bicycle ride in the Negev, at a place in the Negev desert, at a place where Jewish Israelis, Palestinian Israelis (a new term, see the September/October edition of Moment magazine, Palestinians and Jordanians all study together and form lasting friendships without giving up their own stories. I’m going back for another Israel bike ride in October 2010. I hope some of you will join me.  You know who you are, but maybe I don’t know who you are, so contact me and help me form an East Bay or even a California team. May we all be inscribed in the Book of Life for a healthy, peaceful and holy year. Hatimah Tova

Arava Institute Happenings

Last night I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Michael Beyth, the current Board of Directors chairman of the Arava Institute at the home of Eric and Danielle Berzon. Eric and Danielle were one of the five couples who originally founded Kibbutz Ketura (where the Arava Institute is hosted) back in 1970.  Another of the founding couples was there as well. There were also two alums, Moriah Cohen and Maya Negev (2004-5). (I can put their names here because they were kind enough to write them down for me.) By the way, I had asked Moriah and Maya to share their thoughts with me, and this just came in via email from Maya , “after living together at the Arava Institute, we, the alumni, know no borders. (this is what we always learn about the environment, and it is true also for people). During the war, Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian American and European Alumni are in touch by mail, phone and meetings, caring about each other and mourning together. Just like in other families, also in the Arava family when we don’t agree, we still listen and understand. Each in his or her own unique ways, we keep working for green peace in the Middle East”. Hearing from Dr. Beyth was fascinating; he has been involved in many important projects in Israel, including the not-yet-started but long discussed canal from the Gulf of Eilat (Red Sea) to the Dead Sea.  It took me a few mentions to figure out what he was talking about, as everyone else sitting at the table (small group) was saying the “Red-Dead” project.  Dr. Beyth said the idea dates back at least until 1840. (that is not a typo)  Things sure move fast in that area of the world <rueful grin>.  Peace must be right around the corner (we should live so long!)

As readers probably know, the Dead Sea is rapidly shrinking because most of its historical flow (from the Jordan River) is diverted for agricultural and drinking water.  The Red-Dead (got it now!) project would include a massive desalination effort as well, so it’s a lot more than just filling the Dead Sea so tourists can float in the salt water. (which, by the way, is quite an experience; you really do float at the top of the water). The ‘Friends of the Arava Institute” trustees are getting more involved in recruiting  bike riders for the ride. (this means you!). They are also looking at creative methods of fund-raising that might be (oh… maybe I’m not supposed to talk about those yet).  As you might guess, I volunteered to help any way I can. It looks like after 2009 the primary, perhaps only ride, will be November, so I won’t be getting a chance to challenge the Negev heat in a May ride.   (Of course if you’ve just won the lottery and want to sponsor me 100% for the ride in May, I’ll go… uh.. I’m not holding my breath for that one). In my fantasy (well, one of them), we have a big team from the Bay Area; a bunch of people from Temple Beth Abraham, and at least one rider from every shul in the Bay Area.  Interested? call me, or comment herein and I’ll call you). What does this have to do with Torah study? You might be wondering.  Tikkun Olam b’malchut Shaddai says it all. Just think – you could have your picture – in an Israel Bike Ride jersey, right here.

Gonen Sagy on his life-changing experience at the Arava Institute

Gonen with his son

I mentioned Gonen in an earlier post.  One of my favorite moments of the entire trip was Gonen chasing me up the big climb on day three (I think) when I was out ahead of the Tsofim group simply to give me some encouragement.  I also rode with him for awhile and had a wonderful experience listening to him talk about the impact that the Arava Institute has had on his life.  This recording – the last one of the trip, at the final Monday night party – gives only a taste of that conversation, but its worth a listen.  And here’s a picture of Gonen with one of his kids.

Here’s Gonen talking about his experiences.

More Voices from the Israel Ride

JoJo and Gil on the plane from Atlanta

Gil and JoJo Meyers talk about the ride.
Gil Eplan-Frankel and JoJo Meyers – the two youngest riders – talk about their experience. That’s JoJo on the left and Gil on the right. JoJo wants to be a pilot in the Israeli air force. Both of them are planning on doing the ride again in 2010.

David Lehrer - Director of the Arava Institute

David Lehrer on the Arava Institute
David Lehrer is Director of the Arava Institute.

Here he talks about the experience of having a long conversation while riding, and his aspirations for the Arava Institute and the impact it could have.

Newly engaged couple Noam Dolgin and Velerie Levitt talk about the ride and the Arava Institute.  And what it was like to hear Noam announce to the entire gathering on Erev Shabbat that “the lovely Valerie Levitt” had agreed to become his wife.

Noam Dolgin and Valerie Levitt talk about their experience, and what it’s like to get engaged in the middle of the Israel Bike Ride.

Voices from the Israel Ride

Nancy Lipsey

Nancy Lipsey on the Israel Bike Ride
Here’s Nancy talking about how she got involved in Hazon. Nancy is the Hazon Director of Outdoor Activities and took care of all of us with grace, style and a big smile.

And here is Rabbi Mario Karpuj on his experiences with the Bike Ride.

Rabbi Mario Karpuj

Rabbi Mario Karpuj talks about why he came back for a second ride
This is Mario’s second ride, this time as part of a nineteen person team from Atlanta.

And finally, for this post, Rabbi Marc Soloway from Team Boulder.

Marc Gelman gets in trouble at Eilat Airport

So… some people went to Petra, and other people planned to go home. Marc Gelman planned to take Roy Levinson’s luggage home with him, so Roy could make the Petra trip. Little did Marc know, that the security people at Eilat Airport frown upon bringing OPL (other people’s luggage) with you on the plane. So Marc arrived early and got the full security workup. Marc is allowed to takehis luggage on the plane, but Roy’s luggage… well, that’s another story.  Hopefully, Roy and his suitcase will be reunited for the next flight.

Sitting here with us in the waiting lounge are Doug Stanger, Sara Meyers, Stuart Meyers, and all-star rider, young Jo Jo Meyers,  Andy Dannenberg,  me, and Carol, with more to follow, we certainly hope.  For example, Jim Lando, who is on this flight as is Craig Frankel and Gil Eplan-Frankel, and who knows who else.  Party? Perhaps? Who knows.

That’s סוף החדשות from the beautiful Eilat airport in beautiful (wishful thinking there) downtown Eilat.

Wow… and wow… and wow again, or I survived at 39 MPH

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Coming to you – alive – (baruch hashem) - from the Isrotel on the beach in Eilat, after an amazing and scary downhill kamikaze ride on the approach to Eilat from 2650 feet above speed level (Freudian slip – I mean sea level).  We can skip the part about how I stopped three times to let my brakes and wheels cool off, and to let my heart pounding pulse calm down, and let my hands rest from squeezing the brakes – or not  If you don’t squeeze the brakes, pretty soon you’d be going fifty, or sixty or more miles per hour down the two lane curving road. Plus, you would miss all the incredible scenery.

This has been “the experience of a lifetime”… except that I am already planning on returning to Aretz Yisrael in 2010 and doing it again.  The people that we met, the sights that we saw, the rides together that we had, the Shabbat that we experienced; all of these things will remain with me for a long, long, time.

Some of you out there are bike riders, supporters of Israel, or both.  Come join me, and stand ankle deep in Yam Suf at the end of a physically – and even moreso spiritually – uplifting and exhilarating five day trip that lasts forever and is over way too, too soon.

We Stayed With the Mother of Methuselah – Guest Post by Carol

This morning I hiked on the rim of Machtesh Ramon. Just walking from the hotel to the machtesh was an experience – a family of four ibexes were hanging out by a garbage bin. I watched the daddy ibex (I could tell by his huge horns) climb up on the bin and knocked some garbage to the ground with his nose. The rest of the family came over and ate breakfast. This was an obvious sign of accomodation between wildlife and the town. The machtesh is impressive – a huge canyon with beautiful desert coloring.

Meanwhile Art left with the tsofim. They rode through the machtesh, up the hill, down the hill, around the serpentine curves. He said later that he doesn’t mind uphill or flat, but downhill can be intimidating.

I met Fran, the wife of one of the riders, for breakfast, and then she joined me on the ride to Kibbutz Keturah. I tried to time it so we would catch up to the riders at lunch, but it didn’t work. Instead we passed all riders on the way to the lunch stop. It was very scary passing them, especially on uphill curves. So we left lunch early – before seeing our husbands – as I didn’t want to have to pass the riders again.

We arrived at the kibbutz and hung out while the riders arrived. We did some shopping in the gift shop and ate dates (dates are a third of the income of the kibbutz). And we cheered as the riders arrived.

I was not able to pay to be a guest at the kibbutz, but last summer we had the incredible good fortune of meeting Michael at shul. Michael and his wife live on the kibbutz, and they graciously let not only me but Art stay with them. Elaine has many accomplishments, but while not necessarily the most important, her sprouting of “Methuselah” is the best known (hamavin mavin, or read http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=826167).

Michael led a tour of the orchard for the riders, and it was fascinating. The kibbutz grows two types of dates and also has numerous research projects. The research focuses on medicinal plants, plants requiring less water and others with commercial potential.

I learned that the kibbutz has an innovation program – that is, members can make proposals, and if the kibbutz agrees to the idea, it is funded for a time. And that is how the Aravah Institute was started. There was a proposal to do horseback riding or an environmental educational institute, and the person heading the kibbutz at the time said (approximately) “you don’t know anything about horses, but you do know environmental law, so let’s do the institute.” And the rest (after much work) is history!

We had dinner together in the sukkah (which was huge and beautiful and had not yet been taken down). Afterwards we were both tired, so we fell asleep.

Shabbat in Mitzpeh Ramon – Guest Post from Carol

The first ride did not include Shabbat. Instead the riders rode from Sunday to Thursday. Nigel of Hazon gets the credit for suggesting the change in schedule to include Shabbat. This is more than just a schedule change – it is one of the reasons that the ride is not just a sporting event, but instead is a physical, emotional and spiritual growth event.

I left late on Friday and ended up meeting up with the riders at Avdat. For the riders, Avdat was just a pit stop. For me, it was a magical morning as I had the entire site to myself until a tour bus arrived just as I was leaving. I have always been fascinated with archaeology, and Avdat is particularly interesting. My first activity was to watch a movie about the Nabateans, since Avdat was an important Nabatean city. The movie described their role as nomads who made their living as the intermediary carrying perfumes and spices across the desert to the port of Gaza. I spent the rest of my visit hiking around the ruins of the city. The Nabateans were adept at water management, and I was particularly intrigued by the remains of their sewer system and cisterns. The desert is beautiful but harsh, so water management made the difference between life and death.

Mitzpeh Ramon is not a particularly impressive town. The population is an interesting mix of Moroccan immigrants, Black Hebrews, Russians and New Age/hippies. Its main claim to fame is its location next to a very impressive natural crater, Machtesh Ramon. The hotel was converted from an apartment building, so the rooms are small apartments. Unfortunately there is not an elevator, so bringing luggage up the stairs was tough after the long ride. We certainly did not expect to find a top quality chef in this town at this hotel – but the food was unbelievable.

Shabbat started with wonderful Kabbalat Shabbat services in the nearby community center led by two riders – Rabbi Mark and Rabbi Amy. Our joy was increased further when two ride participants – Noam and Valerie – announced their engagement at dinner.

This morning we went back to the community center for Traditional Egalitarian services (isn’t that an oxymoran?). Art read the third aliyah, and it was a long one! He felt good about learning such a long aliyah in only a week. After services, Art led a text study session, focusing on extracting meaning from the specific wording of the text.

Lunch was another spectacular meal – another all you can eat buffet, with salads, chicken, beef, fish, desserts etc. After lunch Arava Institute graduates participated in a panel discussion. The crew is staffed by the graduates, so we have had the chance to know them during the ride. Each student spoke about where they came from, why they went to the Arava Institute and what they are currently doing. The graduates include Jews from Israel, the U.S., London and Canada, Palestinians from Israel, Palestinian areas and Jordan and Jordanians. All graduates spoke of the challenges to their identity/narrative that occurred as a result of living and learning with their fellow students. One of the visions of the Arava Institute is that in the future Israel, a Palestinian State and Jordan will work together on environmental issues because their ministers of the environment will be fellow graduates of the Arava Institute.  A Palestinian Israeli graduate is currently the head of Air Permitting for the Israeli Ministery of the Environment, so there are steps in this direction. The graduates have developed personal friendships as well as professional relationships, and their ongoing connection is facilitated by an alumni organization and professional conferences. As one graduate states “You can check out, But you can never leave.” Their connection to each other and to co-existence was clear.

Toward the end of the day, we walked to Machtesh Ramon. The canyon is beautiful, particularly at sunset. Riders shared thoughts about what they have gained from participating in the ride, and some of the graduates expressed their gratitude for the riders’ support. This is key, because it is the funds raised by the bike ride that support the scholarships for most of the students (American students pay their own way).

We looked to the sky, watching the sun set and the stars appear. When three stars were visible in the sky, we made havdalah. Noam and Valerie led havdalah together after expressing how much it meant to them to become engaged in this place in this community. Afterwards we sang and danced in celebration. And then . . . another briefing session, spectacular dinner and bed! All in all, a Shabbat experience that we will both remember as a highlight of the trip.

I survived three days of riding

In this week’s parshah there are many stories, including the story of Akedat Yitzhak, the near sacrifice of Isaac. As the story goes, after being told of what he is to do, he gets up early, saddles up, and takes Isaac on a walk. The walk a long time.  Imagine that Isaac had never been on a walk of any length before because, after all, he did not make the trek from Haran, nor did he go down to Egypt; he was born when his family was more or less settled.  He walks the first day, he walks again on the second day.  Why is the trip three days long?. is it to prepare Isaac for what was about to come down upon him. (warning, story shift coming). I don’t know about Isaac, but on the morning of the third day of this incredible bike ride, I was hurting. When told about the climb we would make to make it into Mitzpe Ramon, and feeling the hurt in my quads, my neck and my “where the body meets the seat”, all I could think was “kill me now, at least then I won’t hurt any more”.

On the first day of the ride, once we got to Ashkelon and the hotel, all I wanted to do was sleep… and sleep… and sleep more.  On the second day of the ride, once we got to Kibbutz Mashabim, I wasn’t feeling that bad, but after dinner all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

Today started out hard and hurting. After we left Kibbutz  Sde Boker, I started feeling better.  At the rest stop before we were to start the long hard climb, I got smarter.  Took off my camelback with its (don’t know how many pounds of) water, and put it in the lead truck.  I felt lighter, and the climb was much easier.  I had permission from our lead rider and my new friend Gonen and lead rider (graduate of the Arava Institute, as are all the ride staff – there will be an interview with him, hopefully Sunday) to attack the hill ahead of himand the pack. (It’s easier if you attack; either you attack the hill, or the hill attacks you).  So I got off to a great start, and eventually went through all the gears and was going about six miles per hour.  I could see in my mirror that there was some distance between me and Gonen and the people behind him. (I’m not trying to brag, keep reading, you’ll see the point of all this.)  As I was laboring up the hill, and thinking I was about a quarter of the way up (they had warned us that we would keep thinking we were almost done, but would come to a turn and find out there was more to climb), Gonen came up right behind me and said “you’re doing great Art, you’re seventy per cent done”).  Wow, what a relief.  A minute later I looked behind me, and Gonen was back a ways behind me.  He chased me up the hill just to give me some encouragement!! I’ll have to find out how to say “what a sweetheart’ in Hebrew.

The entire experience has been like this; people looking out for each other, wonderful conversations with your newest old friends, incredible scenery and history.  I’m already hoping to organize a Bay Area (maybe California) team, get some sponsors, and come back in May 2010.