Ein Lavan to Tzur Hadassah
with Al–Hashvil, guided by Avi Farjoun
Photo album: Israel Trail Hike 2025-04-24
Our hiking group, like the other groups which are now in their fourth season with Al-Hashvil, bears the name of a tree. We are the Brosh (cypress) group. In many Mediterranean cultures the cypress represents the tree of life. With its towering, evergreen stature, it symbolizes the uplifting of the human spirit and everlasting life. Indeed, that was the theme of this hike in the hills of Jerusalem.
Our hike took place on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The first break of the day coincided with the two-minutes of silence as sirens wailed at 10 a.m. Fellow hikers then shared testimony. Ron spoke of his father Itzhak Weissberg ז”ל miraculously escaping death on four occasions during the Holocaust, and played an audio recording of his father relating how his life was saved during one of those events. Hagit told the story of Francis Foley, a passport control officer at the British embassy in Berlin. At great personal risk, Foley issued 10,000 visas to British Mandatory Palestine, and saved thousands of Jews from Nazi death camps, including her great-aunt (and surrogate grandmother) Miriam Posner ז”ל .
And thus, on the Israel National Trail, we held our own zikaron basalon.
Zikaron BaSalon (זיכרון בסלון, a memory in the living room) is a social initiative of informal gatherings in private homes on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Participants listen to the testimonies of Holocaust survivors and descendants of Holocaust survivors. Established in 2011, the project continues to gain momentum and strength, serving to ensure the memory and discussion of the Holocaust will continue even after there are no survivors left among us.
The majestic Jerusalem hills, dotted with cypress trees among the pines.
Midway on the hike we crossed over Nahal Refaim, and under the old railroad track connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Then climbed up Nahal Kobi, the most challenging segment of the hike.
At several intersections along the trail, I noticed signposts adorned with memorial stickers, a phenomenon that has evolved in the past year and a half. Throughout Israel, these stickers are now plastered on lampposts, bus-stops, train stations, and other public walls. Produced by the families and friends of both civilians and soldiers killed on and after October 7, 2023, every sticker bears the face and name of the victim. Every sticker commemorates a life lost but not forgotten. (https://stickersofmeaning.org/)
As the spring temperatures rise and the wildflowers fade, the vineyards begin to burst with new growth.
Many of our group had not seen each other for several months, for numerous reasons. We were delighted to reconnect and chat. Fortunately, much of the hike was on walk-and-talk kind of trails.
The complete set of my photos in a Flickr album:Israel Trail Hike 2025-04-24
