Khan Be’erotayim, situated close to Nitzana and Israel’s border with Egypt, has one outstanding advantage, apart from its virgin desert views and peace and quiet: it has hardly any cellphone reception. Thus, when the fellows of Cohort 4 of the Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in Beer Sheva set out on their shared social leadership journey, they were able to make full use of the desert silence.
The theme of the program’s opening retreat was “Inspiration and Wonder.” The guiding principle of the organizers was that the ability to honestly draw inspiration and wonder from the qualities of those around us is a learnable skill. Not only that, but it is a prerequisite for worthy leadership. And it should be noted that the element of honesty is understood to be an inseparable part of the process of drawing inspiration, since a person does not deceive his or her own heart.
Imagine this: a group of people who have known each other for only two months are brought together to fully engage with inspiration and wonder, an intimately personal issue. Khan Be’erotayim, a desert inn that the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev uses regularly for retreats, served as a perfect setting and once again did not disappoint.
