Actually nothing, but it feels like the month of December was
hijacked with all the activities and turmoil swirling around the school and the
holidays, starting with, I think, the arson attack on the 29th of
November. Fresh from a wonderful
Thanksgiving week that included Shabbat “Thanksgiving” dinner with a co-worker
and her family, we were stunned by the arson damage to the school and the
response from, literally, the world. That
week following the attack itself is a minor blur compared to the complete
blur leading up to Hanukkah.
If you didn’t know already, in response to the attack, the
White House reached out to Hand in Hand and the result was another flurry of
activity. Suddenly, we were finding two
students from the Jerusalem school who could go to the White House for an
official Hanukkah Party and Hanukkiah candle lighting. As if that wasn’t enough, let’s make a
special Hanukkiah (Holiday Menorah for those of you who don’t know) for the
event.
I watched as the plans took form, from the base, made of a slab of olive wood
from the neighborhood of the school covered with little handprints, to the
holders for each of the candles bearing the core principles of the school; the
design, construction, and decoration accomplished by the students most directly
affected by the attack.
So just before Hanukkah began, our representatives left for
Washington, DC.
Finally time to take a breath and dive into the two big
holidays, Hanukkah and Christmas.
Yay!
I have to admit, so far? Hanukkah is my favorite Jewish
holiday. As wonderful as they all are,
and they are, Hanukkah has always had a special place in my heart, and
experiencing it in Jerusalem just made it more, well, magical for me. I can’t add outside photos for this one, because my
camera isn’t set up for nighttime photography, but imagine my candle loving delight,
riding home on the bus while candles glowed in windows and on front lawns, in
front of stores and in parks and neighborhood rotaries. On the first night, people were literally dancing
in the street celebrating, remembering and publishing the news that A Great Miracle
Happened Here!
Every night I came back to my dorm room to light my little
menorah, posting the photo on Facebook with a comment about the holiday,
including sharing this offering from the Maccabeats.
Sadly, Hanukkah only lasts a short time (although I have
candles left over and I’m still enjoying them) but I’ll always
carry with me the memories of this magical holiday.
The lights, the candles, the sufganiyot
and the latkes,
and yes even the dreidel which I now play with a new
understanding and appreciation.
Feel the need to learn more about Hanukkah?
Down the road from the Ben-Gurion sites, is another way the
desert will prosper, through the Lone Farmers, or at least that is the
hope. Lone Farms are little, self-sufficient outposts
in the Negev, dotting the landscape in a variety of form and function. From vineyards and ranches to wheat and
barley fields, with government approval,
these little ‘cottage industries’ are more than just an interesting way to
spend a day, they are a life changing, future altering endeavor. 
We drove past a variety of farms before we stopped at the
Naot Farm. Leah and Gadi Nahimov moved
from the big city, where they owned and operated a popular chain of successful
steak restaurants, followed their dream with their six children to live on a
farm and in their case, raise goats and make cheese. In October 2003 they set out to see if they
could do it and today, they are doing it quite well. Still challenged by the desert and its many
inhabitants, government bureaucracy, and the day to day issues surrounding
livestock, cheese production, retail sales, operating a restaurant, and hosting
overnight guests, the family is as sure today as they were when the set out
that this is the life they want. 
Just south of the Kibbutz is Ben-Gurion village an academic
and residential village and the University that bears his name where world
class research is done focusing on ecology and reclaiming the desert. With plenty of room for growth (at this point about
8% of the 8.2 million population of Israel lives in the Negev) whole towns are
popping up around specific industries like I.T., manufacturing concerns like
SodaStream, University towns filled with students and staff, the military has a
large and increasing presence in the desert in training facilities, and lets not
to forget the lone farms.
As we know, this is an area that plays a prominent role
several times in scripture, including passages in the book of Numbers
describing the 40 years the people wandered in the desert. From my vantage point, just paces from
Ben-Gurion’s grave, and driving through the desert, I can appreciate the challenges the Children
of Israel faced, and am left with and a stunning reminder to trust God always,
even when there are giants involved. 
