Sunday, 29 January. The weather was not so great over the weekend, but that didn’t stop the CAARI group! They shopped, walked, visited friends and relatives and enjoyed a lovely Shabbat Dinner and Oneg Shabbat! Now – rested and relaxed we began a new exciting week to welcome in the month of Shvat! Following our morning community service, we boarded the bus for a trip to Neot Kedumn, the Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel. It is located halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. This unique Biblical setting allows visitors to see life as it was lived by our ancestors 3,000 years ago.
After a ‘biblical lunch’ our biblical expert, Ya’ir, guided us through this magical setting. The panorama view was extraordinary, as we could see the skyline of Tel Aviv, another view was the Judean Hills, with both Arab and Jewish communities. As we walked through the nature reserve, Ya’ir discussed the various plants, trees and shrubs and their biblical reference. For example, hyssop, which we know as tasty za’atar is mentioned several times in the Bible. Ya’ir, surprised us with mortar and pestle for us to grind the fragrant hyssop. We learned about the importance of water in the times of the Bible and the seven species – which we all can now name!
We loved seeing the blossoming almond trees, which is a sign of spring in Israel! In Israel, the almond trees are a better predictor of spring than the groundhog!
Several of the CAARI participants will be leaving tonight and 9 new participants will be joining the CAARI family!
