Palm trees loom in the distance as the tent comes into view. Heat waves blur the edges of the tent, as one trudging step after another in the hot sand we make our way to our destination. Avraham Avinu’s tent is there to greet us. Full of welcome chesed after the long journey in the desert. This story came to life today as we had another amazing day in Israel with camel riding, Masada, Ein Gedi, the Dead Sea, talent show, and last minute trip to the Kotel. This day was truly an iconic day to have so near to the end of our trip.
Our first activity of the day was rising early, davening and camel riding. At the early time of 5:45 we woke up to greet the morning. Davening took place just outside our tent as we looked to the sun rising over the mountains. It was very pretty despite the early time. After that the true gem of the day started, camel riding. We all walked over to where the camels were held and watched an informational video about riding the camels. Once informed, we headed over and saddled our camels. Many of us named our camels. Names included: Sandy, Camolita, Lola, Carlos, and many more (ask your daughter what she named her camel¡) Many of us stayed hydrated and drank from our camelbaks on the camel’s back. After a grueling journey of 40 years in the Midbar being led by Moshe Rabeinu (and his Bedouin friends), the yidden (Aka give nation) returned to the Bedouin tents to eat breakfast, schmooze with Yad B Yad, Jolt, and British people, and pack for our next activity.
Our next activity was experiencing Masada. Thankfully we didn’t have to hike at as it was very hot today. We boarded the cable cars and enjoyed a stunning view of the mountains and the Dead Sea. Once on top of the mountain we heard the story of the last Jewish stronghold against the Romans. Our tour guide showed us around the synagogue they used and told us how they kept their Judaism strong even with the pressures of the romans. Those Ro-men weren’t messing around when they built that ramp.
After that we travelled to Ein Gedi were we saw the namesake of those 1.5 liter bottles. The hike was hot but totally worth it once we got to the cool and refreshing water fall. Everyone had tons of fun splashing around and schmoozing by the waterfall. Though I didn’t see any of those cool gazelles, it was a pretty fun experience. (Ein Ged)I’d love to come back and see the waterfalls again but hopefully when it’s less hot.
The next stop was the Dead Sea. Personally, I am not a fan of the Dead Sea so I just chilled by the sea shore. Everyone still had a great time- for a sea that was dead it was pretty lit. After that we took the voyage back to Jerusalem. Many of us slept which was awesome after the sleep deprivation of last night.
Our night activity was a talent show. Many girls showcased their talents of singing, dancing, and playing instruments. It was so cool to see girls I’ve known for a month show off their talents. Some were funny, others were serious but they all were greeted with huge applause as we were so proud of our friends.
Next, we went to a meaningful last trip to the Kotel. Girls poured their hearts out in prayer as we tearfully said goodbye to our homeland. I personally was very sad to leave such a meaningful place but am excited to come back home and share my experiences. Seeing such a meaningful place for the last time in a while was sad, but I knew I would return one day.
To conclude, a story: Arriving at the tent, we are greeted with open arms by Avraham Avinu, the pillar of chesed he greets all with upmost respect and love. On Give, as it comes to a close we learned from our forefathers about chesed and the land of Israel and we got to experience both of those things this summer. Today, was such an iconic day that many trips experience so I am so glad that we go to experience it near to the end of the trip.
I’d like to thank NCSY for having Give in Israel and giving me an amazing experience, I’d like to thank my parents for supporting always, I’d like to thank Michal for giving me today to journal about and keeping the tradition about writing about Bedouin tents alive. I’d like to thank My friend for letting me use her phone and giving me puns to use, I’d like to thank HaShem for He is the source of all blessings, and finally I’d like to thank all of you for reading to the end even though this is probably the longest and strangest blog post ever.

Madeline Hartranft

Sunday August 6, 2017

Today we went to the blind museum. We got to experience what it is like to be blind in different settings. Then we went to the mall and did a scavenger hunt where we had to find our advisors while they were dressed up. Then we headed to the Bedouin tents where we would be staying the night. We learnt about the culture and how they live. For night activity we played human pacman and had a bonfire.

 Sheva Feldman

This was our last shabbos, and it was incredible. We started shabbos off by davening Kabbalat Shabbat at the kotel. As we sang and danced, others at the kotel joined. We danced in circles and as time passed more and more people joined- it was amazing. After dinner we went back to the kotel and there were hardly any people. Some of us sat on the floor and started singing, and I was over come with inspiration. Our voices all came together as one while we sang our hearts out to Hashem. Then we had a nice long stroll from the kotel back to our base. Once we arrived we had our final tisch. Shabbos morning we woke up and davened and ate (as usual). We had chaburas and we learned about getting inspired and staying inspired. I think the chaburah was very appropriate due to the fact that we are going home and won’t have constant inspiration to motivate us to take on more mitzvot. Then we had menucha and after that there was a Q&A panel with our amazing advisors. Then we had open Beit Midrash and then Suedat Shlishit. Then as shabbos came to an end we had ebbing and havdallah. Ebbing is always my favorite part about Shabbat, it’s so meaningful and inspirational. Shabbos was overall amazing, as usual.

Caley 

This Friday, Give Nation closed the week off with a fun-filled day of shopping. First stop was Meah Shearim, where we bought gifts, clothing, and even potato kugel! Then we came to Ben Yehuda for more shopping and for lunch. That night, we davened a beautiful Kabbalat Shabat at the Kotel followed by dinner at Netiv Aryeh and a walk back to the base to cap an amazing day and week overall!

Ellie Zisblatt 

After partying hard at Yom NCSY, the we came back to the base and had Color War Breakout. The two teams were Red – Ha’aretz and Blue – Shamayim. On Thursday morning, color war began. We spent the day participating in the apache race, cracking eggs on their heads, playing line up, and creating beautiful songs, posters and dances for the night activity. Our last chessed also took place on Thursday, and we spent an hour at the Lone Soldier Center making food for the soldier’s for Friday night dinner. When we returned, we had cake wars and created four cakes, each depicting a different theme. At dinner, we performed our amazing cheers which we spent all day preparing. Later, we played a crazy game of fear factor, where everyone did gross activities such as braiding their hair with jelly, putting peanut butter on their faces, and drinking “mystery drinks” made by the advisors. After fear factor, the Color War closing ceremony began, and we presented our amazing posters depicting our team’s theme, performed dances and sang our beautiful songs. At the end of the night, the Red team was announced as the winner, although in the end it didn’t matter who won because both teams had a great time.
Kayla Weinerkur

Wednesday August 2
Today, we began by heading to habayit shel susan, an organization which helps troubled teens. We heard from the manager who told us about how habayit shel Susan began. There, we were able to see how each teen has a job in the art shop. We had the chance to buy unique pieces that the teens make. After that, we went to the gush katif museum. We heard about the history of the gush katif and the trouble that the people went through when they were forced to leave their homes. For the last part of the day, we went back to base to get ready for yom ncsy! Yom ncsy was super fun! We got there and had an all girls barbecue with NCSY Michlelet and Give Roots. We reunited with all our friends from other programs. After, we headed to the stadium where we heard speeches, watched videos and danced to Mordachai Shapiro. When we got back, our madrichot broke out color war at 1:30am!!!
Shira Knapp

Today, we were able to wake up at 10 o’clock because of the fast. We said kinnot in groups and each learned something special about the kinnot with an advisor. After we finished kinnot we had a break for a few hours and we were able to watch The Book Thief. After the break and the movie, we watched two inspirational videos and then discussed it with groups. We then went to the kotel. There we prayed and some of us sang with other women in a circle. We then went to a cafe to break our fast and had delicious food.

Becky Coopersmith

Give nation started the morning with a meaningful trip to Har Herzel where we visited the graves of influential Israeli pioneers such as B Z Herzel and Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president. We were greatly impacted when we paid our respects to fallen Israeli soldiers, among them, Michael Levine, a lone soldier from Philadelphia who fell in the Second Lebanon War. After bagels in the beautiful Tayelet Armon HaNatziv overlooking Jerusalem, we went to Kever Rachel where we davened mincha and prayed with Rachel Imenu’s merit. After Kever Rachel, we returned to the base for some rest time before the start of Tisha Be’av. Tisha Be’av began with a beautiful Eicha, read by Sam Dratch, and then a meaningful program lead by Sari and Miriam where we reflected on the terrible hardships that Jews have experienced throughout our history.

Ellie Goffman 

July 30th
we started the day by touring around the de karina gourmet chocolate factory. Not only did we get to try samples, we also got to make our own chocolate creations. They were so delicious. Afterwards, we hiked up Har Ben Tal which overlooks the Golan Heights, Lebanon, and Syria. Our tour guide explained to us the importance of the Golan Heights as a place under Israeli control. We walked through bunkers inside the mountain and it was so cool. The evening activity was a Give basketball game against Michlelet at their campus. We arrived and ate dinner with all the Michlelet girls and then heard their director speak about the importance of feeling empathetic for others. After that, the exciting game of basketball started. Unfortunately we did not win but it was okay because it was a night full of achdut and fun.
Shira Kusnetz

This week was our unity shabbos with roots. It was so exiting to meet new girls and see some of my really close friends. We stared off shabbos with singing Kablat shabbos and we started to feel united into one Give. Then we had a delicious meal together where we socialized with more girls from Give Roots. We parted our ways and had our own tisch. On shabbos morning we were granted with late wake up at 10am!!! Once we woke up we Davened Shacris and did an activity with Give Roots. We had an early lunch which gave us more time to socialize with Roots girls. We had a night activity that was different than any other night activity we have done yet on give, התבודדות. It was to make our connection stronger with G-D.
Rebecca Sherman