July 23rd MBI Update Part 2

Today the MBIers woke up and headed out to to a hike at Hazuri. It is actually one of the more challenging hikes on the whole MBI tochnit(program). The hike took them over three hours and involved a lot of uphill and downhill hiking and at a few points some minor rock climbing. Everyone was a bit worn out by end the hike but the rewards of the beauty and overcoming the challenge of the hike was apparent.

Afterwards they went to Tel Hai where they had a siyur(tour) of the city and delved into its history and significance to Israel. They learned about its place in pre-state history and the story of Trumbeldor and how he fell in its defense. Tel Hai is also significant in its role in securing land for the state of Israel before and after its creation.

In the afternoon the MBIers headed to Kfar Blum which is both the first Kibbutz founded by Habonim members as well as being the launch site for kayaking and rafting on the Jordan river. The whole group had a blast as they got wet as a group and employed the kayaking and rafting skills they had learned during Machatz and before arriving in Israel.

After dinner they had a peula(activity) by bus exploring Tel Hai, its significance and exploring it as a metaphor for the the role they can play in the future. Part of looking at Tel Hai is to explore how certain actions have shaped the future of Judaism and the Jewish people and the MBIers discussed their role and the impact they can have in shaping the future of the Jewish people.

Tomorrow the MBIers will be departing from Tel Hai and heading south a bit with a stop on the morning in Haifa. There they will stop at the Ha'apala(Illegal Immigration) Museum and also get a tour of the Bahai Gardens. They will then head down to Jerusalem for an Israel Experience(our program provider) Mega Event with participants from all their programs in Israel. They will get to meet other participants their age, get see a little bit of the Old City, and as part of the event there will be a concert with the Israeli band Gaia, who sings among other songs Yahad, which is sung at many if not all the Habonim Dror camps.

A couple final notes. First some over-excited counselors had read out loud some Guestbook messages to their buses in a moment of short-sightedness. This practice has been addressed and will not happen again on the program. Also please keep in mind a few things when posting messages on the Guestbook. First off it is a great way to pass along pressing and relevant information to your MBIer. Please keep in mind that on top of the many responsibilities to programming and safety that Leon and Sarah(our techni/technical director) are always keeping on top of, the process of printing out the message can be time consuming, especially in the case of posting whole chapters of books as messages. Please continue to use the Guestbook as a speedy way to keep in touch but please try not to abuse its ease of use in order to not overburden our already hardworking tzevet(staff).