Sde Boker and the Negev

On our tiyul to the Negev on July 23rd, we started off the day with a seemingly easy hike with some pretty pools. We then continued this hike past the water, and it turned into something much harder than before. The hike was Masada-like: extremely steep stairs and even some ladders. I personally loved the hike itself. It was a beautiful area and the hike was both fun and challenging. However, the scorching sun made it almost unbearable. I could barely make it to the end and I got so tired.

After cooling off in the bus, we drove over to the site of Ben Gurion’s home on a kibbutz. We ate some ice cream and lunch before continuing on to some presentations about Ben Gurion’s life and ideas for the future of Israel. We explored his house and had a conversation about what some things showed about him as a person. Someone noticed that he lived a simple life and stayed modest despite his wealth and power; he could easily flaunt his position, but he instead lived in a small shack in the middle of the desert. This made him seem like just a regular guy. We then went to his grave site in the middle of the desert and looked out at the beauty of the Negev around us. - Emma