Humans of Young Judaea Feature, by Ayal Willner

The values of Tikun Olam, the numerous lines in the Torah where we are enjoined to remember that we were once slaves in Egypt and to treat people well, along with the sayings of the prophets about taking care of each other, are all values that Young Judaea holds dear and imprints upon all who participate in the movement.  While I have always been involved in giving back to my community, I decided to step up my game in 2013.  As a Pediatric ENT doctor, I searched for a way to use my skills and experience (yup, I’m old enough to have a lot of that!), to find my corner of the world and fix it up as best I could.

I found Mending Kids, an organization whose goal is to provide medical care for children in need.  We do this by sending medical missions and sometimes solo surgeons to places where care is difficult to get, and by arranging for patients to be sent to centers of excellence to get the care they need. This is very often on different continents from where the patients live (including a partnership with Israeli hospitals). We also bring education to physicians around the world via teleconference symposia on many topics. Mending Kids has a yearly Hometown Mission, where kids from the LA area and beyond can receive care that they would otherwise have not be able to receive.

With Mending Kids, I have travelled to Guatemala about fifteen times and to Tanzania three times. In Guatemala I have led fifteen member surgical teams where I’ve treated about 100 patients and performed over 100 surgical procedures in one week.  Some cases are relatively straightforward, while others can be very complex requiring staged operations over many yearly missions to achieve the goal of helping one particular child.  Each one of the kids and their families are always so grateful for the care they receive, and each member of our team is grateful to them for allowing us to make the world just a little closer to whole.

In Tanzania, where there are physicians are eager to learn, but where surgical equipment and training is in short supply, the Mending Kids team brings both.  Mending Kids recently arranged for a $60,000 set of airway surgical instruments to be donated by the Karl Storz company to the Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, Tanzania. Over the last two missions to Mwanza, we delivered the instrumentation as well as trained the residents and attending staff on proper use of them by performing surgical cases together. We are working to secure the necessary surgical instrumentation that will be required for our ultimate goal: to have a self-sustaining program where the surgeons we train will go on to create a pool of ENT physicians that serve the 15 million people served by Bugando Medical Center.

My years in Young Judaea from 7^th grade chanich, 2 years at TY, Year Course ’79-’80, through being a madrich for the UNYS region and at TY, have all brought me lifelong friends, and helped me integrate Jewish Values into my very core. I am now a YJG board member; an opportunity to give back to such an important piece of myself, Young Judaea.

By Fanny Korman, Cyndi Schoenbrun, and Steven Rubinstein Year Course 1971

On September 22, 1971, over 70 Young Judaeans boarded an El Al charter plane with one carry-on and one large piece of luggage enroute to Israel to begin their Year Course program. They landed in Ben Gurion the next day, on September 23. Their luggage, shipped by boat, took over one month to reach them at Beit Riklis their new home on Mount Scopus, Jerusalem.

Almost exactly to the date by the Hebrew Calendar and 50 years later on September 12, 2021, 59 of our chaverim and madrichim living in 8 different time zones from California to Israel connected on Zoom to kick off a joyful celebration of this very special anniversary! Then and now, Young Judaea Year Course program is one of the top gap-year programs in Israel, run by the oldest Zionist youth movement in the United States.

The 1971-72 group was to be the last single track Year Course.  It was a relatively peaceful and unique year, only four years since the 6-Day War and two years before the Yom Kippur War. Located on Mt Scopus, Beit Riklis was located across the road from the new campus being built for Hebrew University. Members of that Year Course had access to numerous locations that are only visited these days by a select few and under heavy guard. They were able to freely travel to and from Beit Riklis to the Old City through East Jerusalem; the trek by foot to the Kotel through the Arab quarter was a popular activity on Shabbat. For example, this lucky group was able to visit the Dome of the Rock and explore the site and visit the mosque without any concerns for their safety.

The celebration began with a message from Joe Wernick, who just celebrated his 80^th birthday and was Year Course director at that time. He was followed by Adina Frydman, CEO of Young Judaea Global, who shared some warm remarks. Year Course participants were fortunate to be joined by madrichim Buzzy Gordon, Bonne Reiser and Alan Hoffman.

The event started with a slide show compiled from photos taken by and sent in by Year Course chevrei; roommates, friends, classmates, involved in educational activities, tiyulim, working on kibbutz and moshav, holiday celebrations and of course chofesh – life as it happened – during the 10-month period when this group resided in Israel, not as tourists but as students and members of a community.

A special commemorative segment paid tribute to the six chaverim that passed away sometime within the past 40 years. The connection to each other and the deceased chaverim was felt deeply as was demonstrated by the moving comments made following the tribute.

Everyone took part in breakout rooms, taking the opportunity to figure out where the last 50 years has gone and more importantly recalling the impact Year Course had on their lives then and now. The opportunity to schmooze informally was truly a highlight. It left this group of Judaeans clamoring for more time to reminisce, remember and reconnect.

It took many volunteers and a big effort to make this event happen successfully. All who participated in the planning and creation of the various aspects for the celebration gave of their time with love and gratitude for the privilege of having attended Year Course 1971-72. Plans are now being made for follow up events to continue celebrating the 50^th anniversary year throughout the next few months!

By Ariel Stein

I have always loved social media and blogs as a place of inspiration. Around the time my older daughter was born, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, looking for Jewish parenting and lifestyle ideas and I realized that I was hardly following any Jewish mom accounts on social media. Then I realized that there really weren’t many Jewish moms on social media putting out that kind of content and it inspired me to start sharing my own Jewish motherhood journey. It began with posts about my daily life with kids, Shabbat, and Jewish holiday celebrations. Now it’s been almost 5 years since I started my blog, and it has evolved into an amazing place where I have connected with thousands of people. It has been so nice to have this online space where we can share each other’s homes and family traditions to get inspiration and a sense of community, especially during the last year and a half.

Shortly after the pandemic began, my older daughter’s preschool closed and my husband began working from home. I found myself taking care of a 1-year-old and homeschooling a 3-year-old full-time from our modest 2-bedroom Brooklyn apartment, while my husband worked remotely out of our bedroom. This time forced me to get more creative with practicing Judaism at home. Without the regular programming of our local synagogues or typical family gatherings, I realized it was up to me to make the Jewish holidays and Shabbat feel meaningful for my family. Despite the fact that we had a virtual seder over Zoom for Passover 2020, I made sure to cook special recipes and teach my daughters about the holiday through fun crafts and activities. The same was true for the high holidays and Hanukkah later that year. For the first time in my adult life, the responsibility of making the Jewish holidays “happen” for my kids fell on me and not my parents or the greater community.

I was inspired to share my experiences of raising kids with a strong love for Jewish traditions more on social media and I got an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. And thus, Jewish Family Magic was born! It is an online platform that supports parents with resources to bring Judaism to life in their homes and a community where parents raising Jewish children can come connect and collaborate.

My experiences growing up in Young Judaea have influenced me as a person and in the way that I parent. I was a camper and staff member at Sprout Lake and Tel Yehudah for 7 years and was an active member of my local YJ club and region throughout high school. My time serving on my club, regional, and national Young Judaea mazkirut taught me invaluable leadership skills that I still use today. My experiences on Machon and Year Course also played a huge role in fostering my love of Israel. I majored in Judaic Studies as an undergraduate at The George Washington University, staffed a YJ Israel summer program in college and went on to earn my MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Later on, I served as the Director of Israel Programs at Northeastern University Hillel in Boston, MA for three years and got to work with hundreds of students to help strengthen their Jewish identities and their connection to Israel.

To this day, I still use the pillars I learned in Young Judaea to guide me in life –  Jewish identity, Israel, pluralism, leadership and social action. One of Judaism’s principal beliefs is that all humans are created “B’tzelem Elohim” – in the image of God, and therefore of inherent dignity and value. Every person on this earth – regardless of race, gender, religion, orientation, age, or anything else – contains Godliness within them. Now more than ever, I am thinking about what actions I can take to uphold the value of B’tzelem Elohim and being an example and teacher to my daughters. I’m committed to practicing empathy, compassion, and set a personal example for my children everyday. The Jewish value of “Tikun Olam” is the idea that the world is broken and it’s up to each of us to repair it. Our world is hurting and my prayer is that we all continue to do our part to heal it together.

“You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” -Pirkei Avot 2:21

The pillar of social justice is always at the top of my mind and heart. At times, I have felt overwhelmed with the amount of work I still need to do personally and how far we still have to go as a global community. But I’m reminded from my upbringing in Young Judaea that big, systemic change doesn’t happen overnight and we can all make small changes in our own lives everyday.

Today as a mother, online content creator and Jewish activist, I often think about my time in YJ in the work I do. I am incredibly grateful for the lessons I learned and skills I developed in YJ, which still impact me today. I hope to raise my daughters with a love of Israel, Jewish values, and to be proud of their Jewish identities and to inspire other Jewish millennials to do the same.

Named one of the New York Jewish Week’s 36 Under 36 Jewish change makers in 2021, Ariel Stein is the founder of Jewish Family Magic, an online platform designed to make Jewish living fun and accessible for the whole family. Ariel is the founder of the motherhood blog ‘Ariel Loves,’ where she shares Jewish living inspiration. Ariel is a former Camp Sprout Lake (2001-2003) and Tel Yehudah (2002-2004) camper and attended Machon (2005) and Year Course (2006-2007). She served on the Tel Yehudah Board of Directors from 2012-2016. Keep up with Ariel on instagram @Ariel.Loves, @JewishFamilyMagic, and visit JewishFamilyMagic.com.

Written by Nicole Perez, Camp Judaea and Camp Tel Yehudah Alum 87-98

I always knew that Camp Judaea was a magical place, but after what transpired this summer, I am convinced that someone spread magical pixie dust all over the campground. This is the only way I can explain how a rustic campground in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains holds so much meaning and touches so many people across the continent year after year, and one generation after another.

At Camp Judaea, it doesn’t matter if doesn’t matter if you are coming to camp for the first or second session, or if you are from Puerto Rico or Atlanta, because the moment you receive two new Camp Judaea laundry bags, you are officially part of the CJ family. From then on, the Adon Olam will be sung while playing imaginary musical instruments, you will find yourself making up silly bagel songs, and before you know it, you are already starting the countdown for the following summer to do it all over again.

This year, after months of uncertainty, Summer 2021 arrived and the gates of 48 Camp Judaea Lane opened to parents and campers full of anticipation, excitement, and smiling faces. Unfortunately, a few weeks in, sadness, heartache, and unimaginable loss flooded the gates with the collapse of Champlain Towers South. Campers of all ages, staff, and alumni were faced with a mix of emotions. Coming together was the only next logical step, because truth be told, that is what Young Judaea had taught us. Wasn’t that the meaning of Tikkun Olam? It was our turn to try to heal, and it was our own community that needed mending.

In typical Young Judaea manner, we did not waste any time and got to work. Private messages were exchanged to check on the families and friends that were personally affected by the tragedy. Messages were sent to the families offering clothing, food, and even temporary homes, anything that they needed to get back on their feet. CJ families were posting on social media messages of hope, strength, and support. Old camp pictures were posted to remind us of all the good times we had shared. Campers left camp for just one day so that they could be a shoulder to cry on for their CJ friends who were victims of the collapse.

This tragic accident has also personally brought me a mix of emotions, especially in the case of the children who lost their father in the Surfside tragedy. In the very near future, my two children will be losing their father to ALS. Every summer I see the pictures of my two beautiful kids either dancing Rikkud, screaming with excitement during Bikkurim, or playing sports, all with huge smiles on their faces surrounded by their camp friends. How will those pictures change once they lose their father? Will I see them dance again? Will they lose their beautiful smiles? Will they want to be embraced? How resilient will they really be? But after witnessing CJ’s involvement in the Surfside tragedy, I think I can take a step back, take a deep breath, and thank my lucky stars that my family belongs to the Young Judaea movement. It gave me a sense of gratitude.

This summer while in CJ, three long-time Judaeans decided to return to camp after losing loved ones to this horrific tragedy. They could have chosen to be anywhere in the world, a vast array of places to choose from to try make sense of this nightmare, but they decided camp was where they wanted to be. It was so comforting to know they had a place where they could go to be surrounded with so much love, a place their loved ones probably would have wanted them to be.

Their decision to go back to CJ also served a much higher purpose for my family and for that I will forever be grateful because it taught us one of life’s most valuable lessons, and one day, maybe not now, they will be able to fully understand what I am talking about. The three that returned to camp did not know my children prior to this summer, even though as life would have it, I went to camp with their parents. But it was destiny for them to meet, to spend time together, and to learn from one another.

In one specific situation one of them walked right next to my daughter with a big smile on their face. My daughter noticed it immediately and it made such an impact on her that she wrote to me about it. She wrote that she was so amazed that a person who had just been through such loss would have such a huge smile on their face and look so happy all because they were back at “home.”

While reading this from my daughter, I could not stop the tears from pouring out. First, I was in awe that of all the smiles she had seen in her lifetime this one had resonated with her.  I also felt a sense of relief, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. These three teens had just suffered an incomprehensible loss and they chose to be at camp with their friends, a place where they felt at peace and surrounded with such an immense amount of love from their CJ community. In the end, what happened was that we all learned one of life’s most valuable lessons and that is: whatever you think you can’t handle, you actually can, and that we have more strength than we give ourselves credit for.

I think I finally got the answers to my prayers. Yes, my children will be resilient; yes, the smiles will return; yes, they will have many shoulders to lean on when they will need it; and no, my kids will not go through life’s challenges alone. Their camp family goes beyond their eda (age group), it will be any person that at one point or another was part of the Young Judaea movement. They will be surrounded by love because that is what we do as a CJ family. And every year, from June to August, my kids will be at 48 Camp Judaea Lane, scurrying on those awesome white rocks, and wearing a big smile on their face, and who knows, maybe someone else might be watching them and need that smile on that day.

Young Judaea thank you for providing us with the most beautiful, supportive family anyone can ever ask for. And more importantly, thank you to the person that decided to spread their magical pixie dust over camp 60 years ago because now we all have a place, we can call home.

By Raffi Schieir

During my time with Young Judaea I participated in summer camps, went on Year Course in Israel and continued as a Peer Leadership Educator with Young Judaea in my early 20s. At Young Judaea we were empowered with skills to truly make a difference in our communities and my life’s mission, to prevent ocean plastic pollution at scale, no doubt stems from these critical experiences.

Research shows, if we continue on our current trajectory, the annual flow of plastic entering the ocean will triple by 2040, to 29 million metric tons. I was convinced there must be a plastic packaging solution that prevented damage to the world’s oceans and ultimately, I have made this my career.

Originally from Canada, I have lived in the UK for the past ten years. I founded Bantam Materials over a decade ago and established the Prevented Ocean Plastic program in December 2019. Our Prevented Ocean Plastic program diverts plastic away from our oceans and supports coastal communities in developing countries by assisting bottle collectors, collection centers and local recyclers based there, by paying for the collection of waste bottles and other plastic.  I am proud to say it is currently the largest ocean plastic prevention program in the world.

My work has taken me all over the world pushing for and structuring initiatives for ethics of Tikkun Olam and I have been lucky enough to meet people from every walk of life. I’ve even met with government ministers and industry leaders about national recycling policies to advise them on what needs to change based on what I have seen first-hand.

The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated to all of us how interconnected we all are. This is something I have given a lot of thought to, particularly in an environmental sense. Waste plastic from the west litters coastlines of developing countries causing pollution and harming the communities who make their livelihoods from the ocean.

95% of plastic packaging loses its material value, equivalent to $80-120 billion annually, after one time use. With programs like Prevented Ocean Plastic in place collection of these waste plastics can help support people living in poverty, by providing a reliable income, while helping clean up the natural environment and protect oceans from plastic pollution.

Humans of Young Judaea Spotlight: Dan Elbaum

“Your name is Jacob Kotsis and you are a Greek Jew. You lost your entire family in the Holocaust. Tonight, you are going to sneak into Palestine.”

I was actually a fairly pampered 11-year-old and from a northern suburb of Chicago, but I nodded solemnly and took my little cardboard identity card.

I was at Camp Young Judaea-Midwest. My fellow campers and I were participating in an activity that would make Jewish history come alive. We hid in the mud from our “British” counselors’ patrol, we joined the Haganah, and we ended the day singing Hatikvah and dancing. As we returned to our cabins, we were a lot dirtier, a little smarter, but most importantly, we had had an amazing time.

Today, as the CEO of The Jewish Agency for Israel in North America, I am sometimes asked what inspired me to dedicate my professional life to the cause of building connections between Jews and Israel. Perhaps not surprisingly, there is more than one factor. Yet I do know that it was at Camp Young Judaea where Judaism and Zionism came alive for me for the first time in a way they had not before. Israel was no longer just a country that my parents talked about every night; it was exciting and fun, and I had a personal connection to it.

I often think about my time at CYJ as I work with my colleagues at The Jewish Agency to deepen the bonds that Jews feel to the state of Israel and each other. Through our many programs, including providing Shlichim (Israeli emissaries) who serve as counselors at CYJ and other camps, and immersive experiences, we touch over 1.2 million Jews a year.

The Jewish Agency is on the ground in over 60 countries finding innovative new ways to strengthen the relationships between Israelis and world Jewry, ensuring our shared heritage unites us and that the Jewish story continues. We also facilitate Aliyah, helping any Jew who wishes to move to Israel to do so while simultaneously working to ensure that Jews around the world are safe and secure in their home countries. We make sure there is no need for other Jacob Kotsises to try to sneak into Israel.

The work The Jewish Agency does is meaningful and makes a difference. But CYJ taught me that it must also be fun. I am incredibly grateful to CYJ for teaching me that lesson. And this summer my daughter will go to CYJ for the first time. I can’t wait to hear about her experiences and the lessons she learns there. I know they’ll have a huge impact on her too.

Dan Elbaum is a former CYJ Midwest camper (1986-89). He is currently the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Head of North America and President and CEO of Jewish Agency International Development (JAID).

Humans of YJ Feature: Eli Saper

I remember the moment that I discovered that I could make a difference in the world by growing organic food. I had just finished exploring and connecting with the people of Israel during Year Course. Surging with a renewed connection to Judaism and Israel through its nature, I found myself out of place starting university in a strange land. I knew that I needed to take action to do something deeper that would change the world. My years in Young Judaea taught me that we need to care for our land and for each other. I made the decision to leave school and learn sustainable agriculture in Israel. That year changed my life forever.

My wife and I officially made Aliyah in 2012 to reconnect with our Jewish agricultural roots and fulfill our dream as pioneers.  Six months ago our family garden expanded into a small local farm, Havat Iyar.  By using organic and permaculture techniques, we are respecting and caring for the natural ecology of the land.  We started selling vegetables to neighboring communities and we are expanding to plant a large medicinal herbal tea section.

Our goal is to promote healthy lifestyles and spiritual growth by enriching people’s connection to the land.  It is not enough to just come here (to Israel); we are meant to heal the land and to allow ourselves to be healed through it.  We are creating a space where people can grow by working together and experience first-hand the incredible life force manifesting through the earth.

Young Judaea instilled the values that made me who I am today.  Growing up in the movement taught me to be who I am and go for my dreams.  It is up to us as individuals and as a collective soul, to deepen our connection to the land and in turn, discover who we are and who we can become.

Eli Saper is a former CYJ Midwest (2001-2003) and Tel Yehudah (2004-2005) camper and attended Machon (2006) and Year Course (2007-2008). 

Humans of Young Judaea Feature: Sindy Wayne

When COVID-19 hit and I witnessed the economic impact and the corresponding rise of people facing food insecurity, I began volunteering at the Newton Food Pantry, helping to prepare bags of produce for distribution to clients. Despite Newton’s image as an affluent suburb, too many of our neighbors struggle to put food on their tables. During that time volunteering, I learned about Newton Food Pantry’s desire to start a supplemental food resource for the community. In January, I agreed to take on the role of volunteer coordinator.

The Newton Community Freedge, a free outdoor refrigerator and pantry is open 24/7 for all and is a collaborative effort between individuals, organizations, and businesses in Newton, MA. Based on the operating principle of “take what you need, leave what you can”, this volunteer-run initiative opened on 3/14/21 and is being led by the Newton Food Pantry (an all-volunteer run organization) in collaboration with teams of volunteers from organizations across Newton.

As the volunteer coordinator, I set up and manage all of the processes and procedures for volunteer teams to monitor, clean, and stock the Freedge, including picking up donations from local restaurants and businesses. In addition, I manage social media and marketing to encourage individuals in the community to contribute food to the Freedge and to encourage users to take advantage of this new supplemental food resource.

My lifelong passion for social justice and activism and the skills that I use to lead and mobilize others in both my volunteer and professional life are a direct result of having grown up in Young Judaea (Central States participant and Mazkirut, camper and staff-member at CYJ Midwest and Tel Yehudah, and year in Israel with my Young Judaea kvutzah on Machon L’Madrichai Chu’l). In particular, my high school summers at Tel Yehudah fueled my desire to “repair the world” and helped me gain the knowledge and skills to put my desire into action. I am honored to “pay this experience forward” by currently serving on the Tel Yehudah Board of Directors.

Sindy Wayne is a former Central States Mazkirut (1977-81), CYJ Michigan Camper (1976-78), Tel Yehudah Camper (1978-80) and has served on the Tel Yehudah Board of Directors since 2015.