Pesach in the Desert

Happy passover/Easter/spring! We just got back from spending the first half of passover in Ein Gedi —an amazing oasis in the desert near the Dead Sea—with a whole bunch of Daniel's cousins, aged 2-94. We stayed at a 'Field School' which is kind of a nice hostel owned by the Society for the Protection of Nature here is Israel. It is normally used by their rangers and guides as a base for educational trips and seminars for school groups. During the holiday they rent out the rooms and there were a few big clans of folks who came to spend some or all of the passover holiday. We ate all our meals together in a big camp or kibbutz style dining hall.

The seder itself was a bit unwieldy; even though the other families agreed to have one seder and let Daniel's cousins Steve and Jay lead it, the number of people and children and noise was conducive neither to a very spiritual experience nor to much discussion or conversation. This was a price well worth paying to be with a constellation of relatives whom we love dearly. And we had some really fun singing at the end after many babies went to bed and the crowd thinned out some.

There are many interesting hikes in the area up the various valleys to the springs' sources and waterfalls, which we enjoyed. The landscape (sorry, no pictures ended up getting taken—my bad) is breathtakingly beautiful and biblical; amazing red rock mountains and cliffs dropping dramatically to the Dead Sea, with the mountains of Moab visible across the sea in Jordan. And oodles of ibex everywhere that are not at all shy or afraid of us people. Overall, it was a great way to spend the holiday.