We were fortunate to enjoy a trip sponsored by the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemet) on which we saw first-hand the realization of Ben Gurion’s dream of making the desert bloom.
 Our first stop was to the Negev’s Yatir Forest which has 4 million JNF planted trees and is the largest planted forest in Israel. In addition to experiencing its beauty, we enjoyed Out Door Training (ODT) team-building exercises.

 Keeping with the theme of the day, we drove to the Salad Trail, Israel’s tastiest tourist attraction where we visited hothouses featuring world leading Israeli technology, and we picked delicious tomatoes and cucumbers grown in the desert.  We also learned about how farmers in the desert deal with Shmita and take Ma’aser from the vegetables.