This week began with a buzz of excitement as we prepared for our five day tiyul, Lech lecha, a trip we heard so much about that exceeded our expectations by far.

We scrambled out of bed at two in the morning just in time to arrive at the Negev desert to daven shacharit at sunrise. We then split off into our assigned groups for the trip and proceeded to a nine (!) hour hike.

Our groups foster a warm and safe environment where we can all share our thoughts and feelings about the year. During the hike we focused on discovering ourselves and who we want to become. Throughout the day we saw the group unite together and conquer our fears. The hike was definitely a challenging one, harder for some then others; but with a positive attitude and group encouragement we all completed it together.

Afterwards, we went to the campsite and had a team cook off for dinner. This challenge introduced the theme of the next day, our relationships with other people.

The next morning, Wednesday, we did team building exercises which showed us the importance of working together and later that afternoon, we went to Eilat and did banana boating, kayaking and paddle boating.

We are having an incredible experience. We can't wait to see what the rest of lech lecha has in store! 

Daniella Azose and Allison Barak