What is a common denominator between the Super Bowl and Makhtesh HaGadol? The geological phenomenon called makhtesh מַכְתֵּשׁ is a crater, caused by hundreds of millions of years or land erosion (also called a “box canyon”). Maktesh HaGadol is a huge box canyon in the Negev and forms Israel’s largest national park. It consists of different layers of ground surrounded by a mountain range, creating the shape of a bowl.
And this brings me to the Super Bowl. Several years ago, the Orayta rabbis faced a dilemma: since we are an American yeshiva, they knew most of the yeshiva bachurs (students) stay up to watch the Super Bowl (with the 7 hour time difference - it starts at 1:30 am local time) and would miss classes the next day. To solve this problem, the rabbis organized a tiyul (trip) to the Negev to watch the Super Bowl. This way, we would be exhausted on the trip, not in the classroom.
On Super Bowl Sunday, we headed out to Makhtesh HaGadol. After a long bus ride we arrived at our hike near Dimona, a small city in the Negev known for having the "textile factory"- a euphemism for Israel's nuclear research facility. One thing I learned this year is that buses are great for naps. I fell asleep seeing the green fields south of Jerusalem, and woke up with sand and rocks all around me - just one example of how diverse Israel's geography is.
As I started walking on the trail, I saw a giant white blimp in the air. Our guide Eitan explained it had a thermal camera on it with an aerial view of the ground; If anyone stepped within a certain radius of the nuclear facility, that camera would detect it. But we did not pose a threat, all we wanted was to get to the spring at the bottom of a small canyon. I believe every hike should have a water component; if you’re walking so much, there should be a relaxing swim to look forward to. So I jumped in.
The next part of the hike was to climb Har Avnon. Walking between the mountains in the Negev was mesmerizing . The peaks of the mountains looked like cursive writing in the bright blue sky. After walking through an underpass of train tracks, we began the steep incline to the peak of Har Avnon. This was no regular incline- it was about 75 degrees on a narrow path upwards. Toward the end, each step was more grueling than the last, but my friends encouraged me to keep moving.
The view at the top was definitely worth it. On one side, I could see the Negev desert stretching miles, and on the other, I saw the Maktesh Hagadol- literally the big makhtesh, or as I preferred to call it, the Super Bowl. Because so many layers of geological rock were eroded, you can find colorful sands.
Additionally, I could see a big white dome in the distance - “the textile factory” i.e Israel’s nuclear research facility. Our guide explained Israel’s policy of deliberate ambiguity regarding its nuclear bombs. In the 1960s, in exchange for capturing the Suez Canal from Egypt, Israel received the resources from France to build a nuclear bomb. This was organized by the late Shimon Peres (then defense minister), who believed it would enhance the security of the nascent state. The policy of deliberate ambiguity was so others in the Middle East wouldn't ask for one.
However, today, what’s the point of keeping that policy in place? Everyone knows Israel has the Bomb (actually a few Bombs), so they might as well acknowledge it, and ensure it’s operating safely so we won’t have another Chernobyl or Fukushima nuclear disaster.
After getting a history lesson, we finished the hike by walking along the makhtesh, literally hiking the “Super Bowl.” We then hiked down rocky desert terrain to get to ground level, and back through a different tunnel under the train tracks. To get to the tunnel, there was a 10 foot drop. Some opted to use a metal rod to rappel down while others just slid down. In the dark tunnel, we sang zemirot, and as sunset neared, we drove down to the Kibbutz Sde Boker to watch the real Super Bowl.
You can’t have football without a bit of Torah first, so at 9:00 pm our rosh yeshiva, Rav Yitzchak Blau, gave a shiur on the literary techniques of the Tanakh. He said he’ll discuss 13 techniques (e.g. diction, repetition, parallelism) but I only made it to no. 5 and then headed to my room to catch some shut-eye before the game at 1:30 am. I woke up and headed to the room where a projector was set up and the whole yeshiva was watching. I got there in the middle of the 1st quarter. After every big play, half the room cheered and half groaned. I personally wasn’t rooting for either team, just for a good game. Instead of watching the halftime show (it is the yeshiva’s policy to avoid watching it, as there are some questionable clothing choices for a yeshiva bachur audience), we played an Orayta trivia Kahoot. Because the questions were about the staff, this had the positive effect of building camaraderie among the students and staff.
Late in the 4th quarter, when the Super Bowl reached the point of 4th down and 1, everyone stood up. I was rooting for the Bengals to convert, because I wanted the game to go to overtime or to see a game winning touchdown in the final seconds. Alas, as Aaron Donald tackled quarterback Joe Burrow and Burrows’ pass was incomplete, I (along with the Bengals fans) expressed “oh no!”, and looked with dismay at my friend Moshe Epstein, the only Los-Angelan in the yeshiva, scream with joy.
Do you remember the Haggadah story about the rabbis in Bnei Brak who stayed up all night learning until it was time for shacharit? We found ourselves in a similar situation (lehavdil) - by the time the game was over, we were ready for our shacharit.
After shacharit, we visited David Ben Gurion’s grave, hiked Ein Ovdat, and headed to the final activity of the tiyul: sheep herding.
Yes, you read that correctly.
We arrived at a farm that was founded by former prime minister Ariel Sharon near Netivot, and though I was tired from having no sleep the night before, I went in with an optimistic mind.
Before going into the field, Yarom, who works on the farm, shared a powerful Midrash about why Moses was chosen to lead the Jews out of Egypt. God looked at how Moses cared for his flock of sheep. He fed the small sheep small amounts, and the larger sheep large amounts. He showed individual care for all the different types of sheep. This is the model for a good leader - attending the needs of all in society - rich and poor, religious and secular, citizens and non-citizens, etc.
The Midrash further explained that a shepherd walks behind his flock, not in front, seeing the needs of his sheep. So, too, a leader must recognize the needs of his people and not govern in order to wield power and satisfy their ego.
At the farm, we saw this in practice. When we started watching over the sheep, the whole flock went ahead, and one slow sheep walked behind. It's a great feeling to see a Midrash come to life.
Though this experience didn’t make me want to move to a farm and care for sheep, it did teach me a profound lesson about leadership
Looking forward to Purim in two weeks!
משנכנס אדר מרבים בשמחה
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