And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested (shabbat) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made
Saturday is a sign of the covenant (that is, a symbol of the alliance) between God and the people of Israel. The Torah says: "You must observe my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; so that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you" (Ex. 31:13). The Sabbath prayers say: "and You did not give the Sabbath to the nations of the world, nor did You grant it to idolaters, but only to Israel — Your people, whom You have chosen."
This brief introduction is meant to prepare you for how absurdly life is set up on Saturdays in a modern, and not-so-religious state. A handful of Orthodox Jews holds the whole country in its fist, paralyzing life from Friday evening to Saturday evening. During this time, most shops and many restaurants and cafes are closed, almost no public transport operates within cities, and absolutely none (AFAIK) runs between cities.
This has its upsides even for a non-believer — people gather as families, spend time together, don't stress, and spend the day peacefully. But is it worth such sacrifices? Couldn't the same peace and relaxation be achieved through some other means, without forcing a curfew day on each and every person? How about free group yoga or meditation sessions, or passes for swimming pools and massages?
In total, 39 types of activities are forbidden on Shabbat. All of them, of course, could only have been invented by ancient, superstitious herdsmen and farmers, and they have absolutely nothing to do with modern realities.
Here are some of them:
- 01. Zorea (planting).
- 02. Choresh (plowing)
- 03. Kotzer (reaping).
- 04. Me'amer (binding sheaves).
- 05. Dash (threshing).
The stupidity and ignorance reach the point where the Orthodox are forbidden even to use electricity on Shabbat. As a result, you can't reach them on their mobile phones, and elevators in many buildings go up and down the floors by themselves, as if controlled by disembodied spirits — after all, pushing a button means closing a circuit where a spark will pass — which is kind of like fire, and you're not supposed to kindle that!
The adaptation about fire and electricity is the handiwork of modern obscurantists who have nothing better to do on state funding, so their spoiled brains generate ever new tricks. Naturally, living with these ridiculous restrictions is inconvenient, so equally twisted minds bypass them using formal loopholes. For example, a simple lamp in a room, which seemingly can't be turned on because it's electricity, can be replaced by a shade that covers the light-emitting element — while the lamp itself stays on constantly. In my opinion, the monstrous stupidity of such a setup is obvious even to the ultimate idiot, bearing a striking resemblance to: "Allah doesn't look in the toilet, so you can eat there during the day in Ramadan." Kindergarten, pants with suspenders. Besides being inconvenient, it's also not eco-friendly, because extra electricity is wasted.
Fortunately, the desert couldn't care less what people have made up; for it, there are no artificial prohibitions or restrictions, it has no shops or buses, it's simple and accessible to everyone. That's why I love nature, even though I'm an ardent supporter of progress and civilization in all their many battered senses.
Very quickly the descent began, one of the toughest in my wanderings
The guys got stuck and were trying to get out
From their side it was naive and stupid: further on, the road turned into something like quarries for mining building materials, it was absolutely impossible to drive on it. Let me warn you right away: poking your nose in here without a full-suspension bike means risking ending up in the hospital for half a year. I'm a risky guy, so I didn't back down, but in some places I did walk, because I vividly remember how the bones of your skeleton tremble and your skull resonates when a doctor drills your knee.
A bike on such a surface gets tossed and twisted, it's carried in all directions at once, the rider gets knocked out of the saddle, the forearm muscles turn into one big bruise, the fingers turn into Baba Yaga's claws, your neck aches, your tail falls off, but the feeling of struggle and victory is worth all these petty everyday hardships.
Here you can almost roll along
Came down from there
Interesting
The sun plays on the rocks
Down below, thankfully, it's calm and flat
For some reason, this landscape simply radiates calmness and serenity
Under the spreading canopy, motorcyclists and drivers found shelter, so I didn't pull in
The picture is a sight for sore eyes, just like on a postcard
On the road again, across the colorful loose gravel
I've loved the shades of brown ever since I visited Chicago
So in Ramon I enjoyed it to the fullest
A fun rollercoaster-style track
And this one is called the "electricity trail". Local Surveyors-cartographers are no strangers to poetry
I am close to victory, and to parting with the Negev
It gets a bit sad, but that's how life works. "Where you were happy, never return." Memory helpfully reminds you how wonderful it was here and there, but it is tied to emotions, and emotions depend on novelty, company, mood, goals, and many other things at the current moment. Don't chase the past, move forward. If I had clung to the past, this amazing, difficult, but very interesting and worthy year wouldn't have happened in my life — a year that became such largely thanks to a few people, and especially to one very close and beloved person, to whom I am immensely indebted and grateful, even if I sometimes forget it.
Now the colors have turned gray
Back on the track
When I pulled out onto the highway, a driver with his family asked me where the "colored sands" were around here. I wasn't lazy, and pulled a miracle of cartographic art out of my stash — a multicolored paper canvas for tourists with Mike's notes. The driver tried to stop me, saying I shouldn't bother so much, it probably wasn't marked on there anyway, but he turned out to be wrong. "Colored Sands" were quite close, half a kilometer away.
It turns out that colored sand from all over the area was brought here so you could gather it into those very same bottles that sometimes layer in souvenir shops. Like children, the driver, his family and I rejoiced for each other, for the hospitality of the children of the sunny country, for the amazing world of the desert, for the brightness, wonder, and diversity of our planet. Such moments in travels are the most pleasant. I not only helped a person, but he too, simply by asking me, helped me, forced me to learn more, see more, enjoy new wonderful colors of the world and overcome the laziness of my mind.