Sunday, 29 January. The weather was not
so great over the weekend, but that didn’t stop the CAARI group! They shopped, walked, visited friends and
relatives and enjoyed a lovely Shabbat Dinner and Oneg Shabbat! Now – rested and relaxed we began a new
exciting week to welcome in the month of Shvat!
Following our morning community
service, we boarded the bus for a trip to Neot Kedumn, the Biblical Landscape
Reserve in Israel. It is located halfway
between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. This unique Biblical setting allows visitors to see life as it
was lived by our ancestors 3,000 years ago.
After a ‘biblical lunch’ our
biblical expert, Ya'ir, guided us through this magical setting. The panorama view was extraordinary, as we
could see the skyline of Tel Aviv, another view was the Judean Hills, with both Arab and Jewish communities. As we
walked through the nature reserve, Ya'ir discussed the various plants, trees
and shrubs and their biblical reference.
For example, hyssop, which we know as tasty za'atar is mentioned several times in the Bible. Ya'ir, surprised us with
mortar and pestle for
us to grind the fragrant hyssop. We
learned about the importance of water in the times of the Bible and the seven
species – which we all can now name! 
We loved
seeing the blossoming almond trees, which is a sign of spring in Israel! In Israel, the almond trees are a better predictor of spring than the groundhog!
Several of
the CAARI participants will be leaving
tonight and 9 new participants will be joining the CAARI family!
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