Wake.  Shabbat. Capture. Fast. Hike. Creative!

 7/3-7/6

ILEAD Parents –

I had the privilege of spending a few days with the ILEAD Pioneers. Please see below blog post spanning over 4 days. I apologize for the legnth but 4 days on ILEAD is equivalent to 4 weeks! Pics at the end. Enjoy.

FRIDAY:

They embraced the concept of waking up the day as opposed to the day taking them by surprise (no promises when they are back in school in September 🙂 –

After a Friday morning 4am hike up Har Tabor each Pioneer accepted their own Tanach understanding that the Tanach is not an history book, rather a roadmap for their journeys and a deep connection back to who they are and their roots.

SHABBAT:

Shabbat prayers took place with a view of Har Tabor, the mountain they climbed 12 hours earlier right in front of them. They were empowered and proud of their accomplishments. The Shabbat tefilot was lead by the Pioneers themselves and were beautiful and inpiring. Throughout the day conversations and issues were discussed such as free choice, the opportunity for Shabbat to reflect and goal setting for the summer. I spent time with the group in one of the conversations and was inspired by their questions, deep thought and curiosity.

Saturday night came and the Pioneers were set up to play Capture the Flag. Moshiko (Shilo’s dynamic younger brother) gave the groups tips on stealth behavior. The Pioneers learned efficenies in clothing, placement and  camouflage for your body and face. The Pioneers were divided into 3 teams and learned by experience successful attacking strategies. This lead to reflective conversations afterwards about what they could have done differently to have been more successful. Perhaps just as exciting was the Pizza waiting to prepare the Pioneers for the 17th of Tammuz fast.

SUNDAY:

The fast day was educational with an opening class by Ephraim Setton on the nature of 17th of Tammuz and the avodah of the day. Experentially the Pioneers learned and visited burial caves from the times of the Mishnah.. Back then, the bodies were buried in a sarcophagus. On the sides of the sarcophagus images were carved representing who the person was as well as any images the people of that time may have found important. Interestingly, there were images of Zeus and other mythological figures carved on. This led to an interesting conversation about the influence of the outside world on our thinking back then, and in current thinking. The times of the Mishnah represented a shift in Jewish history before the beginning of the exile. 17th of Tammuz furthermore had a lasting impact on our nation. Looking at the timeline is Jewish history helped give perspective on the day.

After visiting these caves, the Pioneers returned back to the hotel to relax. They broke the fast on fruit and rugulach. Later on we were surprised by a meat dinner. Not the typical sambousak and bagels back home. 🙂

MONDAY:

Monday represented a total shift from the more relaxed nature of Sunday. The Pioneers went on a 6 hour hike up north in the Zavitan. The holing included a swim in a natural pool,flowing water with silver fish, green trees blooming with bright pink flowers, and towering mountains as far as the eye could see. The climb back up the mountain put our endurance and sensitivity to Team building to the test.

Through working together and supporting one another in our climb, recommending the easiest paths, waiting for a friend that needed a break, reminding each other to drink, we all made it to the top in record time. The cohesiveness of the group and care that we have for one another enabled us to have time for another activity.

The Pioneers visited a place called derech haetz… Given many different wooden puzzles to solve put their creativity to test. Finding their way through a human size wooden maze and using communication skills with careful planning showed their success by exiting the maze.

Pics: July 3-6 Pics & Vids

More to come. More to learn through experience.

Unified & Strong,
RC & The ILead Team