It has been some time since we shared with you, and what a time it’s been. Our sabbatical started with our youngest, Ramona, becoming a Bat Mitzvah. Celebrating that with family, friends, and so many of you was a true blessing. And exhausting! After seeing the kids off for the summer, we began our journeys.

Our first stop was Italy, where we celebrated Rabbi Sara’s mother’s retirement with the whole family. We did our best to eat all of the pasta in its many forms. We saw the sights of Tuscany, from leaning towers in Pisa to not-leaning towers in Florence. Rabbi Benjamin discovered the limits of how much Italian he could learn on Duolingo in a month. It was a beautiful stay, and we cannot wait to explore the rest of the country on our next trip.

But our adventures did not stop there. Next, it was on to Scotland, to meet up with Rabbi Benjamin’s mother and brother. We were utterly enchanted by this country. The Scottish Highlands were beautiful (if not cold and wet, but a nice change after the scorching Italian sun). We were surprised by how good the food was and how friendly the locals were. Rabbi Benjamin sampled all sorts of new foods, some he still does not want to know what they were. Rabbi Sara was the intrepid driver, and it only took her a few days to get used to driving on the other side of the road (perhaps being used to reading from right to left helped?)
After Scotland, we meandered down into England to tour the Lake District and the Cotswolds. Charming English villages, quaint shops, and curious sheep highlighted the trip. The food was, well, British and as disappointing as advertised. Still, the company was excellent and the sights were incredible.

We gave ourselves almost 3 days after returning home to rest up before our National Parks road trip. We loaded up the truck and the camper and headed out first to Grand Teton National Park. The soaring peaks of this park did not disappoint. One morning, Rabbi Benjamin shot moose in his pajamas. How he got in his pajamas, we will never know.

Next up was Yellowstone National Park. We saw geysers and paintpots and fumaroles, oh my! We also got slightly addicted to all things huckleberry.

Our last park was Glacier National Park, where we did one of the best hikes of our lives, up to Grinnell Glacier. We saw more wildflowers than even Rabbi Benjamin could photograph, we stared at impossibly colored lakes, oohed at a mountain goat mama and her baby, and ate lunch with our toes dipped in glacial waters.

They were wonderful trips, and we look forward to sharing more with you. They were also incredibly restorative. We are back from sabbatical, eager to continue our work here. Rabbi Benjamin is also incredibly excited to continue serving Temple Sinai full-time. Rabbi Sara has her own adventures and new opportunities as well. Many good things are in all of our futures, and we are delighted to share them with all of you.

Yours,
Rabbi Benjamin and Rabbi Sara Zober