Hike, planting trees and Latrun -- oh my!!

Today we started off with our first big hike of the trip on the Masrik Trail. It was a wonderful way to start the day and really get the blood flowing. From there, we had the opportunity to plant trees at Naot Kedumim (http://www.neot-kedumim.org.il/) where every participant and staff member had the chance to plant a tree in Israel. Many of the ISTers were planting in honor of a loved one who passed, for a friend or simply for the mitzvah of planting a tree in Israel :)

After a delicious lunch, we went to Latrun which is the tank museum in Israel where participants had the chance to check out actual Israeli tanks which have been retired. Afterward, the students had a special surprise by being led of the bus blindfolded and then opening their eyes to see the magnificent view of Jerusalem in late afternoon and truly understand why it is called the city of gold. We sang the shehechiyanu, danced, sang and celebrated this amazing view all together as one community.

We will be camping in the desert the next few nights so may not be updating the blog for a few days. Time to really disconnect and sleep under the stars as our forefathers & foremothers did many years ago :)

Hike on the Masrik Trail