We left at 7:30 in the morning for a day of sight seeing. We made our way up north to Tzfat and to Tiberius with stops along the way. The rabbis say it is a “mitzvah” to travel the country as well as visiting the graves of the great rabbis, and we did just that.

We had a wonderful time on the bus, all fifty five of us. There was story telling, joke telling and singing. We picked up our tour guide in Megiddo and he gave the history of the sights along the way as well as some insight into the rabbi’s graves we visited.

At noon we stopped in the forest for a BBQ lunch. The bus dropped off the cooks while the rest of the group went on to visit one more sight. By the time they returned the chicken, sausage and steaks and the vegetables and salads were ready. We loaded everything and everyone back up and continued our journey with full stomachs.

The important thing about these trips is that you are able to leave Sderot and enjoy a day with your friends. Even though things have been quiet here for the past few months, Praise G-D, the fact still remains that a Kassam could be fired at you at any moment, and that keeps you living on the edge of your seat.

For nine years, the people of Sderot have experienced one lull after another in Kassams being fired at them. They have also come to expect this lull to come to an end soon. Just when? No one knows. Ha Shem knows, and we hope that all will put their trust in Him.

As you walk down the street, you still keep looking for the next place to hide or the next bomb shelter to duck into. You still drive with your window down just a little to be able to hear the warning of an incoming rocket and the radio is played with the volume low. That is life in Sderot, so to have a day away from those pressures is indeed a blessing for us all. We thank the L-RD for the way He provided for this trip, and we look forward to the next time we can load up fifty five more people and do it again.