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Friday September 14, 2007

For observant travelers, Shabbat in the Grand Canyon is no problem

by eric fingerhut
washington jewish week

Millions annually experience the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. To some, the visit is a spiritual one. But how many people read Torah in the canyon?

Some two dozen Orthodox Jews did just that on a recent 11-day whitewater rafting tour of the Grand Canyon that allowed them to hold daily prayer services, observe Shabbat and keep kosher.

The venture was inspired by a similar one six years ago organized by Silver Spring, Md., resident Steve Rolef — a kosher tour of the canyon’s upper portion.

That trip, however, only lasted Monday to Friday, so no Shabbat observance was necessary. But a tour of the lower half of the canyon customarily takes eight days, which meant such a trip would have to include at least one Shabbat.

Two years ago, Rolef approached the group that had run the previous tour, Flagstaff, Ariz.-based Outdoors Unlimited. Officials said if he could guarantee a full 24-person trip, they would run the tour. The tour also needed an additional raft to carry the extra dishes and cooking supplies required to keep kosher.

Originally the group voted not to take a Torah, fearing that it might be in danger on such an adventure. But one participant bought a waterproof case to protect a Torah he borrowed from his rabbi. “There’s never been a sefer Torah at the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” said Rolef.

To prepare for Shabbat, the group had to set up what was likely the Grand Canyon’s first-ever eruv, a demarcation that allows observers to carry on the Sabbath.

Shabbat required one more adjustment: Anyone who needed to find the makeshift bathrooms after dark couldn’t use a flashlight. So, on Friday evening, the guides set up a row of glow sticks to mark the route.

Rolef said spending Shabbat in the Grand Canyon harkened back to the years the Jews spent in the Sinai Desert. “God made places like this so we can appreciate what this world is all about,” he said.

The group also ate kosher food throughout the trip. Outdoors Unlimited bought new grills for the trip and purchased the food at a kosher market.

Outdoors Unlimited manager and trip leader Bert Jones already was somewhat familiar with Jewish dietary laws from leading the last trip six years ago. He learned about Shabbat and other Jewish tidbits from conversations with Lehman and by reading the “Judaism 101” Web site.

“It was enjoyable [and] we learned a lot,” Jones said. Participants “were quite willing to teach [the guides] things we didn’t know or understand.”

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