By Paul Horvath
Rav Yoel Bin-Nun was one of the most memorable and exciting speakers that we've had on Nachshon. We had all read the book Like Dreamers so we knew that the man that we'd be meeting was someone who had shaped the history of Israel. But we couldn't possibly have been prepared for his experiential talk and hike. With Rav Yoel Bin-Nun we had the opportunity to walk in the literal footsteps of our ancestors. Our tanakhim in hand, we saw the places that Avraham had walked and matched them up to the psukim in the Torah. We saw the ancient mikvah that had been used in Roman times. We heard Rav Yoel Bin Nun's personal story about being forced to leave his home and then finally getting to return. He spoke about the marriage of his daughter under the tree that he was forced to leave years before. He made history come alive for us.
To me, meeting with Rav Yoel Bin-Nun was a perfect example of what I hoped to get from coming to Israel. I wanted to see the living history and walk in the footsteps of my ancestors in the Holy Land. And that day on Derech Avot, I got to do exactly that. With Nachshon we've had many speakers who have recounted their stories but few have been as powerful or as experiential as Yoel Bin-Nun. I'm really grateful to have had this opportunity with Nachshon.
