Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn held the 2019 Long Island Tribe Ride on Sunday, July 14. The ride was helmed by Cantor Ofer Barnoy and Marsha Barnoy, Morty and Rebecca Schaja and multi-year Israel Ride alum, Rabbi Lev Herrnson. Team Sholom riders completed a 22-mile, three-hour long bike ride to practice and build endurance for a much longer cycling event which will take place in Israel in November.
About 20 members from the Temple Beth Sholom participated in this past Sunday’s cycling event. The cyclists began at the Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn, continued down IU Willets Road to Store Hill Road circled around a large portion of the area and then road back to the Temple.
The ride is a fundraising event which is partnered by two organizations, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and Hazon. The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies is “a leading environmental studies and research program in the Middle East. It houses accredited academic programs, research centers and international cooperation initiatives focusing on a range of environmental concerns and challenges,” the website states. The Arava Institute offers students “the opportunity to learn from professionals while forming friendships and developing skills that enable them to lead the region and the world in solving today’s most pressing environmental challenges.”
The word Hazon means ‘vision.’ Hazon’s vision is to build a movement that strengthens Jewish life and contributes to a more environmentally sustainable world for all. According to their website, those who participate in their programs “deepen their Jewish identities, experience the connection between inherited Jewish wisdom, food, climate and the natural world and become linked with others who care about creating a more sustainable Jewish community and world.”
The Israel Ride, which takes place from November 5-12, was founded to “show solidarity with Israel during a very difficult time and to provide new avenues for supporting their critical environmental programs,” the website states.
Participants in the Tribe Ride series pay a registration fee and commit to a certain level of fundraising. For those who exceed that level incentives may include a 60-minute massage at the end of the ride, a cycling jacket, a virtual or in person visit from an Arava Institute or Hazon alumni and more. To date, the Sholom Riders have raised $3,364.
The week long ride includes an orientation, five days of cycling with a day off for Shabbat. Each day of the Israel Ride offers new cycling opportunities and challenges. The Tribe Ride covers all costs in Israel including hotels, food and ride support, though participants must cover their own transportation and expenses to fly to and from Israel.
The Tribe Rides take place all throughout the year and in many major cities across the United States such as Philadelphia, Seattle and Manhattan. For more information regarding the Tribe Ride series, visit www.israelride.org.
