Route of the Patriarchs, דרך האבות

Yesterday after noon, Pardes took a mini-tiyul/trip, to Gush Etzion.  It is a group of settlements that fell into Jordanian hands on May 13, 1948, the day before Israel declared independence. The dates that they were re-established are listed below. (Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gush_Etzion#Re-establishment) 

Name	Founded	Population (EOY 2008)[28]	Type
Alon Shvut	1970	3,400	Communal settlement
Bat Ayin	1989	900	Communal settlement
Beitar Illit	1985	38,800	Independent municipality
Efrat	1983	8,300	Independent municipality
Elazar	1975	1,706	Communal settlement
Karmei Tzur	1984	700	Communal settlement
Kedar	1984	960	Communal settlement
Kfar Eldad	1994	120	Communal settlement
Kfar Etzion	1967	820	Kibbutz
Gva'ot	1984	75	Communal settlement
Har Gilo	1968	570	Communal settlement
Ibei HaNahal	1999	50	Outpost
Ma'ale Amos	1982	270	Communal settlement
Ma'ale Rehav'am	2001	40	Outpost
Metzad	1984	380	Communal settlement
Migdal Oz	1977	440	Kibbutz
Neve Daniel	1982	1,883	Communal settlement
Nokdim	1982	1300	Communal settlement
Pnei Kedem	2000	100	Outpost
Rosh Tzurim	1969	560	Kibbutz
Sde Boaz	2002	90	Outpost
Tekoa, Gush Etzion	1975	1600	Communal settlement

We got dropped off in Beit Daniel and walked on the Route of the Patriarchs which ended at a lone, 600 year old tree. The tree was one of the only survivors of the war, along with just four people.  The road was the way road that the patriarchs travels from Jerusalem to Hebron, to Beer Sheva, (and technically all the way to Egypt.)  On the way we saw Roman ruins, and other signs of our ancestors living the area, like this mikvah (ritual bath). 

Me coming out of the mikvah! All clean and pure!! ;-) 

After our fun hike/stroll, we got to eat dinner at our teachers' houses in the area. I got to eat at Michael Hattin's house. He is my Tanakh teacher and my academic advisor for PEP. I had Shabbat at their home before, so I knew their family. It was such a wonderful opportunity to return with my classmates (about 10 of us) and have a discussion about how Michael and his wife ended up in Israel and how Michael made his way to Pardes! (Such a great story and such luck for the Pardes students!) As before, Michael's home was warm and welcoming and overflowing with Torah! I can't wait to go back for another visit! Thanks Michael and Rivka for hosting us! 

Issue of Hugs

At Pardes, all my teachers are orthodox, which means they don't touch people of the opposite gender. This doesn't really seem to be an issue, except, I love my teachers! And sometimes, I really want to give them a hug. They are the best!! I can't explain to you how wonderful they are as people, mentors, teachers, (sometimes they feel like parents, in a good way) and even friends. When I returned from student teaching it was so exciting to see all of them after two months away, but can I hug them? Not the male teachers! But I could hug the female teachers. And in a way this made their hugs even more meaningful. (Because I know they don't pass them around frivolously) And to be honest, if I could only hug the male or the female teachers, I'm glad I get to hug the female teachers!! (No offense to any of the teachers!)

Last night we went to Gush Etzion to hike Derech HaAvot (the path of our forefathers) and then go to dinner at one of our teacher's home.  Well, I had the honor of going to one of my favorite teacher's home. (I had been there before for a Shabbat earlier in the year, so it wasn't my first time meeting his wife and family.) And I got to hug his wife (who is amazing in her own right)!!!!!!!!!! And it was wonderful to express my gratitude and love to her. And I'm sure that my teacher knows how appreciative I am of his teaching and guidance without giving hugs, but it was still nice to be able to express it physically to her. Maybe it is more for me, that I want to express my appreciation, but whatever it is, it's something to think about. And I was really happy to be able to hug her!