Appreciate. Rejuvenate. Transition.

Let’s talk appreciation. The most impact often comes on the heels of transition. Moving quickly from one experience to the next. We experience that often in our Judaism through our holidays and unique days. Kippur to Sucoth. Tisha B’av to Tu Ba’v. Fast of Esther to Purim.
Let’s shift. How about from tents to beds.  From faucet to private showers :). And perhaps the most dramatic. . From the constant moving, waking, hiking to Shabbat.
The Pioneers experience their first ILEAD Shabbat this past week with a new appreciation of what it means it means to Rest. What it means to Disconnect which allows them to Reconnect.
They prepared the prayers, Torah reading, learned about themselves through discussions and enjoyed delicious meals in a beautiful setting up north.
And as soon as Shabbat ended, it was transition time back to action!

See below blog post from Raymond Betesh & Lilly Benzaken on their activities from Sunday, their appreciation and rejuvenation.

“Today marks our first full week on the ILEAD experience and it was just as challenging yet exhilarating as the other days. Today we woke up at around 5:30 AM and had Minyan at 6:00 AM promptly. After Minyan, our counselor Shmuel gave us an interesting class on Pirkei Abot. After class we had a multitude of volunteers help the counselors with the breakfast and lunch as we prepared to embark on our eight, and I repeat eight hour hike! However, some people were left behinds as a result of ILEAD’s no tolerance policy of prompt attendance.

At around 8:30 we finished breakfast and started our long journey. We hiked up and down the Golan Heights near the Kineret. The hike was a grueling yet exciting climb that strengthened our endurance and our minds. After the first three hours of the climb we all had jumped in an extremely refreshing waterfall along the pathway of our hike. There were amazing cliffs we were able to jump off in a safe fashion that helped us relax and take our minds off the heat. Then we climbed back up the large mountain and went in yet another beautiful waterfall. The hike was one of the best hikes yet, we all cant wait for whats next in store.
We got back to our rooms at around 6:00 and showered and got ready for Minha and dinner. We would like to thank the hostel of Alon Tabor for providing us with exquisite meals here on our 3 day stay. Dinner was followed by a summary of the day and free time until bed. We can’t wait to head to the Kinneret tomorrow for raft building!”

Click here for Pics from July 10th

Unified & Strong,

THE ILEAD TEAM