Day 25: Salad & Lessons From Sderot

Hi! My name is Atara Neugroschl and I’m from Bergenfield, NJ. This morning, we left Yeruchum and went to the Salad Trial. There, we were given a tour of the greenhouses and learned how people grow produce in the hot, dry desert. We were given the opportunity to taste the different tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs. It was delicious! We also made fresh pita and topped it with different types of oils. After the tour, we took a picture and released homing pigeons into the air. It was exciting and shocking watching the birds take flight. After leaving the salad trail, we traveled to Sderot for a delicious lunch. Then, we went on a tour of Sderot. We saw the kesam rockets and bomb shelters and learned that about the thousads of rockets that have been fired into Sderot. We saw how close Sderot is to Gaza and that despite the danger, people continue to move to Sderot and develop the city. Our tour guide showed us drawings created by elementary school kids and photographs of the aftermath of the bombs, which were incredibly devestating and inspiring. After the meaningful and enlightening tour, we went back home to Mevaseret. We ate an incredible dinner and then learned about the organization Shomar Chadash that we will be helping this week. Finally, we ended our night with an engaging and insightful question and answer session with Rabbi Katz, the director of MMY. It was an incredible, action-packed day and I can’t wait for everything else GIVE has in store for us.