Summer Vacation

Summer vacation in Israel is not just vacationing - it is connecting past, present and future.

We stayed in a campground in Yavne'el - in a cabin named "naftali".   The eleven cabins and the owner's house are named for the Shevatim, Binyamin conveniently being  the owner's surname.

We went to Giv'at HaMoreh - and reviewed the story of Gid'on.   And, because our children go to school in Israel, our daughter who just finished grade 4 has already learnt the story .  Oh, yeah, I also re-learnt it when I taught Tanach in a "secular" grade 4 classroom two years ago.   

We went to Tzfat to enjoy the cool air.  And to read the beautiful placards detailing the history of various sites.  We looked into ancient Batei Knesset.   We saw the davidka, which repeated the miracle of Gid'on by being useless as a weapon, but loud enough to make the enemy think we had the A-bomb and run away.  And, of course, the City of Tzfat has etched in stone Torah quotes next to the davidka.  

We went to Tenuva in Elon Tavor, which is closed from Friday morning to Saturday night every week.  ששת ימים תעבוד...

We ended our trip with a water-hike in Nahal HaKibbutzim followed by a bbq - which started with minha at the spot, and  ended with Arvit - a minyan made up of guys in bekeshes, guys in tzitzit but no shirt, and every form of clothing in between.   Someone screams out "tefilla be'od 50 sheniyot", and within ten minutes, you have a minyan of about 20 guys.  Love!! (and our E was sheliah tzibbur)