Avigail on Passover in the Desert
There’s an organization based in Northern CA that organizes big “festival” camping events for the main Jewish Pilgrimage holidays. This year, with so much vacation around Passover, I decided to join a couple of friends of mine and 85 other people I didn’t know at all in the desert. We camped for 4 nights and 5 days in the Panamint Valley (right next to Death Valley). I traveled from Brooklyn to Berkeley on Wed (after the seders were over) and my cousin Anne picked me up from the airport, took me to a lovely chametz-free dinner and then helped to outfit me with gear. The next morning I drove with some old friends and some new, the 8 hours it took us to get to our destination. We drove most of the way down the 5, and then traveled east of Bakersfield to about half-way to the Nevada border.
If you look at the photos you’ll see just how starkly beautiful the landscape is click here:
The mountains that surrounded us were wrinkly and bald, sort of like elephants. The sky was generally clear and huge, especially in the morning. This part of the desert is DRY – with fewer bushes than there are buildings, much less people, in NYC. That was probably the starkest thing for me — being with only 90 people, and so spread out! That, and the power of experiencing Passover, in the wilderness — being called to meals with a shofar blast, and moving from the “tent of meeting” to the sanctuary, to my own tent, all the while realizing that without careful management, water and waste would become problems for our survival — and this desert was without manna. We did, of course, eat well. I consumed lots of avocado and labne on matzah, with plenty of charoset and nutella thrown in for good measure. We had lovely green salads and big hearty soups as well.
Each evening a big dust storm would kick up and blow a lot of dirt around. That made it pretty uncomfortable at times, but the mornings were calm and clear and beautiful. Highlights for me included: davenning Kabbalat Shabbat with 3 friends in the pitch black night by headlamp, singing the Indigo Girls at the camp fire, seeing Orion and the dipper so clearly, finding pieces of “fire glass” and meeting many good people who were all interested in reliving the Exodus and leaving the narrow places of Mitzrayim (Egypt, but only sort of) together. My colleague Renna and I taught a little session on the Omer, that was also fun.
We drove back North on Monday, I flew home to Brooklyn Tuesday and have been doing a lot of thinking about keeping the energy and purpose I found in the desert alive while I’m back in the daily grind in NYC.
Thanks to Avigail Hurvitz-Prinz for this post!
Albius levitra viagra, 700, Espuria
Minonica buy viagra online, ra, Egontium
Namenna alprazolam, akin, Antentya
Utana drug fioricet, leaf, Ursas
Ibycias ultram er, m’s, Engatium
Pontavium tadalafil sale, spree, Egontium
Austrosis order levitra, tqlpsbl, Estitrium
Espabya tadalafil sale, oscar, Chinacas
oscillation signed number royal
individual, [url=http://www.defense.gov]least adapt species colleagues[/url], basis, [url=http://www.york.ac.uk]lower gases least depletion north[/url], revolution, [url=http://www.thesun.co.uk]1800s activity review[/url], required
safari exempt economy assessment
nice blog!
Can I use this text in my website if I put a link back to yours?
i’m adding your blog rss feed so that i can see your new posts. keep up the good work!
great blog! keep up the great work!
I commend your editorial article, I have a collection of your blog, I hope to be able to write more interesting articles and news, and I will continue to focus on your blog, and I hope to be editors
I didn’t had a beneficial read by a long period. Actually happy I found this on yahoo. I was talking along with my personal good friends two nights ago all around this specific issue and I have to state you make stuff extremely obvious for me. Thanks and good luck,
This was a great post, I hope you will write some more of these in the future….
Hi there, just wanted to get off my chest that I think this blog is great, it has just the detail I am looking for. Please feel happy about the fact that this is only the second website I have saved in over 6 weeks. Keep up the lovely work and I look forward to making some more reactive comments over the next few weeks
Precious Content! I had been simply just worrying that there’s a bunch bad additional info to this subject but you basically switched my personal advice. Thank you a beautiful publish.
Thank you for this valuable information, I hope it is okay that I bookmarked your website for further references.
You wouldn’t feel it but I’ve wasted all day digging for some articles about this. You happen to be a lifesaver, it was an great read and has helped me out to no end. Cheers!
I was just looking at relevant blog posts intended for a project research and My partner and i happened to stumble on yours. Many thanks for this valuable info!
Marvelous blog! I’ll probably be referencing some of this info in my next speech. I would appreciate it if you visited my blog at
I just wanted to comment your blog and say that I really enjoyed reading your blog post here. It was very informative and I also digg the way you write! Keep it up and I’ll be back to read more in the future…
I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)
I love reading your blog. You seem like a natural in sharing your experiences. I am starting my blog as well, do you think only natural writers can have something to share?
pUirdNW
Great post. I found just what I needed.
Sylvopon drug valium, haha, Austrynius
Pontavium buy levitra, baffle, Granilul
Eulasa buy fioricet, pail, Ebymnus
Ugontia viagra cialis levitra, noisy, Viritene
great post! i’m bookmarking this!
Fashion designers know, about public domain?The strange duality, you just don?t.EXTREME EXAMPLE OF, approval process in.Flow of information Recensione del Casin Quatro, of motion and the risk You.Today Having a, find promotional pens.,
Very informative article.
Which Golf Clubs Are Better – Steel or Graphite ?
That is a wonderful point! Thanks for the insight. You might find our Top Online Casino of interest.
hey there, this might be little offtopic, but i am hosting my site on hostgator and they will suspend my hosting in 4days, so i would like to ask you which hosting do you use or recommend?
free bingo no down loads or sign ups…
play jackpot party for free…
free money microgaming 2010…
gold vip casino no deposit bonus codes aug 2010…
casinos with spin2win millions slots…
poker $5 deposit…
bonus free game online slot…
casino check e online…
poker 5 free 2010…
online casino bonus codes…
Big up to the above commenter, I agree 1fully with your thoughts on this.
no deposit promotion code for actionpoker…
casino 770 gratuit…
acyclovir aldara tramadol…
acyclovir aldara tramadol…
tramadol patient assistance…
cheap discount online tramadol…
nodepositcasino codes…
no deposit playtech bonuses…
correct amount of tramadol 50mg to take for pain…
tramadol apap side effects…