Shalom l’kulam. My blog debut comes about because we were without Jeremy for 2 days after a wonderful physical and spiritual refuelling over Pesach in Jerusalem. This is because he was busy competing in the Israeli National Ultimate Frisbee championship – where he became an Israeli national champion, mazultov Jeremy.
After getting a bus back to the trail, Jonathan, Simon (another Englishman who was joining us for a day) and I embarked on our first ‘night tiyul.’ We climbed into the mountains on the outskirts of Jerusalem near Even Sapir, the path lit only by the light of the near-full moon and found a place to camp for the night. Camping out on a hill on the way into Jerusalem for Pesach, I realised that thousands of people must have camped on that very spot on their way into Jerusalem, to bring sacrifices and join in the festivities when the temple still stood. Now on the way out I was excited to be making my way towards the desert, where our ancestors were forced to flee just after Pesach 3000 years ago. I’ve never been attached to Israel or the Jewish people so much – I was always pulled east to the mystical Hilmalayas and mind and martial training of Japan, Thailand and Korea. However this trip is really helping me connect to this land and its people and history, which I am coming to realise is my land, people and history – and I am playing a role in the continuation of the story.
We arose early in the morning, were joined by Brandon, and were promptly hit by 2 days of Chamsin – heat wave. Somehow we managed to battle it out, invigorated by the rolling, forested hills stretching out for miles around, and the stimulating stories from Simon, who had a rough night having almost turned into a werewolf (for the full story - http://travelpod.com/z/gouldy/israel_nov_07/1209323820). At one point the heat was so bad we had to duck down into a village, Mata, just off the trail, to hose ourselves down and refill our water bottles. The trail to Tel Azekar wound down through forest paths covered in wonderful smelling pine cones, from trees that aren’t native to Israel at all. All these forests were planted by the JNF, what a great job they have done in bringing life back to the country. Nearing the end of a sweltering and exceedingly tiring day, we came out of the woods and were faced with Tel Azekar – and the steep ascent to its summit. I somehow found the strength to run to the top in time to daven mincha before the sun set over the Mediterranean. The view from the top was stunning, as we looked out over the field where David defeated Goliath. As we set up the tent and had a bit to eat, we too felt some of the the sense of achievement of the young man who managed to conquer the huge challenge facing him.
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