Derech Hateva is an educational organization in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 that integrates nature hikes and Jewish learning.

History

Derech Hateva was founded in 2004 by Yael Ukeles, a New York native and outdoor educator. The program was created connect Jews with Israel and to stress the connection that exists between Judaism and nature. The organization began as an outgrowth of Ukeles' earlier program Teva Adventure and was incubated by SPNI (Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel) for its first years.

Derech Hateva is modeled after environmental programs in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 like National Outdoor Leadership School

National Outdoor Leadership School

The National Outdoor Leadership School , is a non-profit outdoor education school based in the United States dedicated to teaching environmental ethics, technical outdoor skills, safety and judgment, and leadership on extended wilderness expeditions...

 and Outward Bound

Outward Bound

Outward Bound is an international, non-profit, independent, outdoor educationorganization with approximately 40 schools around the world and 200,000 participants per year...

. The idea is to create educational opportunities by placing participants out in nature without modern conveniences, creating self and group reliance.

The first two summers were only open to religious

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 Jewish teenagers. In 2007, it opened to young people from multi-denominational backgrounds in multiple sessions.

Programs

The main program is the Israel Trail Teen Adventure (ITTA), a month-long hiking program covering some 215 kilometers in northern and southern Israel. The program is divided into gender-segregated groups with each group operating independently.

Elements of the program include hiking and biking in areas mentioned in the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 along with development of outdoor living and leadership skills. Participants are taught map-reading, setting up camp and preparing meals, combined with swimming, rock-climbing and other outdoor pursuits. The participants keep kosher and observe Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

, exploring Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 through relevant biblical texts on topics relating to nature.

Other programs include smaller trips and educational programming covering topics such as water conservation

Water conservation

Water conservation refers to reducing the usage of water and recycling of waste water for different purposes such as cleaning, manufacturing, and agricultural irrigation.- Water conservation :Water conservation can be defined as:...

 education and wilderness halacha (Jewish law). The Derech Hateva program goals are to integrate teaching of outdoor skills, ecology, Leave No Trace ethics and Jewish learning.