Rachel Weinstock, originally from Houston, TX, made Aliyah and joined the I.D.F after participating on Year Course in 2010. She is now beginning her first year at Tel Aviv University.

 

The word “Israel” has a unique meaning to every Jew. For me, my relationship with Israel has shaped who I am as an American-Israeli woman, and has aided me in forming my identity as a Zionist. Before I came on Year Course in 2010, I had always felt a connection to Israel and thought I understood its purpose as the Jewish homeland. But, that merely meant that I saw it as a place that Jews could live safely, especially Jews who had nowhere else to turn to.

Today, Israel represents so much more than religious acceptance and pluralism. Although in the United States I always struggled with identifying with Jewish life, I’ve become very connected to my Jewish roots here. In Israel, my new home, Judaism nourishes me to its fullest capacity. It offers me a feeling of belonging and purpose. This feeling becomes apparent in the little things I observe, and the small, insignificant interactions I have. As I walk down the street past Hebrew storefronts, and am greeted with a warm “shalom” from my neighbors, I am reminded of how welcomed I am here. It is a place where my friends have become my family, and even their families treat me like one of their own. It is a place where I do not have to hide being Jewish, and can express my identity in its entirety.

After serving as a medic in the I.D.F. after Year Course, it has become clear that my relationship to this country has inevitably changed. Israel is no longer a place I would turn to if I had nowhere else to go, but the only place I would now want to live.

After Year Course, I pictured my life going in two potential directions. The first was to go back to the United States and start college, which was expected of me as a 19-year-old American. I knew that if I chose that path, however, I would have felt as if part of me were missing. I felt as though going back to America would force me to stifle the Zionist Jew that had become such a big part of my identity. If I stayed in Israel, however, I would be taking my life into my own hands. I would be living my own life, not the one that had been set out for me by American societal standards. Here in Israel, I knew I would gain a unique, meaningful experience that would otherwise be lost.

Before living here, I didn’t truly understand that Israel’s existence was constantly being threatened. I learned during my year on Year Course that Israel’s enemies are not only trying to destroy the Jewish state, but the Jewish people. Joining the army was my way of preventing that from happening. Of course I was afraid of taking this leap of faith, but that was not important. I knew what I had to do.

I do not look at Israel as a utopia, and I do realize its challenges, especially after serving as a medic in the army. However, these challenges only drive me more to contribute to Israeli society. I never felt needed as a citizen of America, but I know that I am needed here. The land needs me, the army needed me, and the people need me to help this country flourish.

I realize that my decision to make Aliyah has its setbacks. It has been and will continue to be very challenging, and I am aware of the sacrifices I have made in order to make my life here. However, I have spent so much time reflecting on my Israeli life, and I truly believe that the sacrifices are outweighed by the rewards. I have a dream that I can build something positive, create a new life for myself, and help build and protect a country that I love. I am 22 years old, just got out of the army, and just started university here in Israel. I am constantly in search of answers to my thousands of questions in a new environment, and I am confident I will find them here.

Kislev is a month of miracles. Hannukah, the festival of lights, has always brought me hope in a time that would otherwise be darker and colder. I am about to celebrate my fourth Hannukah in Israel, my first as a university student, and the first anniversary of my release from the army. When I was 18 and on Year Course, I never thought I was capable of being so brave to have built my life here. I think it is important, especially in the face of conflict, for us to take this time to look towards the light and not allow ourselves to be swallowed by darkness and fear. We need to remember that hope comes from within, and as long as we preserve it, it is there.

 

By Dafna Meller, WUJS Coordinator

Not long ago, after six long years in my apartment (a record for a Tel Avivi), I needed to pack everything I owned and move to a new place. In the course of packing I was forced to open all of the drawers in all of my closets and inspect all of my, well, junk. Of course I knew that I owned junk, I see it every day – but still, only when I needed to pack did I really realize how many things I owned that I never used.

This closet of mine – that I was so used to, and was full of things that I didn’t even remember – somehow got me thinking that maybe I had other things in my life that I’m used to – but whose contents have become a mystery. Sometimes mystery is lying among the most common parts of our everyday life.

Take my name for example. My full name is Dafna Sarah Meller. While I know that Sarah, my middle name, honors my father’s grandmother, I rarely use it and could certainly question its utility. My great-grandmother Sarah lived in Bonn, Germany until she was sent thousands of kilometers by train from her house to a field in modern-day Russia, in order to be gassed in a truck by the Nazis. Last April I went with my family to see Bonn, my great-grandmother’s hometown. While I was there, I kept thinking about this long voyage that was forced on my family. Why send them so far just to have them killed? Wouldn’t it have been easier to murder them there in Bonn? I believe that the reason was to hide it from the citizens of Germany at the time. Their neighbors saw them leaving, but in an orderly way, not with overwhelming force. They disappeared, never to return. Do we know our own neighbors? Will we notice if one day they’re gone?

These types of questions and connections to the Holocaust can seem like a burden at times, and mostly to the children of survivors and victims. But on the other hand, I can’t ignore my connection to Sarah and to her story. Her story has shaped my identity has brought relevant questions and meaning into my life that should never be taken for granted.

There are many ways to look at the Holocaust. The lens through which one approaches this subject. In our People’s story is inevitably personal, much like the way we each relate to the proverbial junk in each of our own proverbial closets. Some see the Holocaust as a warning towards trusting outsiders, others as a justification for the merits of Zionism. I choose to see it as a call for a personal humanism in my daily life.

This perspective forces one to look at oneself in the mirror and ask some important questions. “How much do I know about the persecutions that take place in my backyard? Am I fully aware of what happens to others around me, perhaps to those without the power to cry out? What kind of neighbor am I? Am I the neighbor that looks the other way when I see injustice, or the one that fights so that these things will never happen again?”

For me, this is a beneficial way to better ourselves through tragedy. We have a problem in Holocaust education – admittedly a relatively good problem – that modern young adults hear about the Holocaust too much, to the point where the loss of six million Jews and five million others has become banal to some. As I see it, we have a big closet in our house called Hashoah, the Holocaust. We are used to its presence, its look, and its uses. As a stand-alone object, it is old and tired, and we’ve heard about it so much that our possessions have become stale junk. Or, in other words, the personal stories of millions have become mere numbers. But when we look deeply into it we find the humanity of the victims, the righteous among the nations, the by-standers, and even to some extent, the perpetrators. We remember why we’ve kept all of this baggage around.

On the last Yom Hashoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, I decided to go hear a Survivor’s story through a project called “zohrim basalon“(remembering in the living room.) It was incredible to still have the chance to listen to a real survivor telling her life story, but above all, what I liked about it was that she was so different from all that you would expect. She was a funny chain-smoker who hated Ben Gurion, and was still in love with her ex-husband. The fact that she was so different from the stereotypical survivor reinforced how personally one must approach Holocaust education. This is why Young Judaea’s Year Course held a Holocaust seminar this past week. They bring speakers, including survivors, to put a face on tragedy and to show that the Holocaust affected millions of people, like my great-grandmother Sarah. It is to show that these are individuals with hopes, dreams, and lives of their own. I sincerely believe that these two questions: A) Am I a good neighbor? And B) Can I see beyond the stereotypes? Are a good start to a personal learning of this important issue

 

In memory of :

• Yaacov Meller
• Sarah Meller
• Herta Meller
• Musia Muskat
• Ben-Zion Muskat
• Sonia Muskat
• Shlomit Muskat
• Shmuel Muskat

 

RIP

Ariana Jones is a participant on WUJS, Young Judaea’s 5-month internship program.  She has been interviewing prominent Olim (new immigrants) and will be writing a series of posts about them for a coffee table book she is working on.  Since its inception in 1968, WUJS has led hundreds, if not thousands of Jewish adults towards Aliyah.  In the past year, more than 15 of our participants have decided to stay in Israel.

Born in Manchester, Jonathan Stark is an Oleh Chadash, a new immigrant, who moved to Israel five years ago. Upon his arrival, he decided to create a way for his friends to experience some of his favorite things in Tel Aviv. Thus Secret Tel Aviv was founded.

He often browsed Facebook and noticed his friends joining various pages: Tel Aviv this and Tel Aviv that. He saw that none of these pages were concise or encompassed all the wondrous places and points of interest Tel Aviv has to offer.

From the start Jonathan saw steady progress. Everyone who joined reveled in the wealth of information available to them, and as the years passed, the community expanded rapidly, from a few hundred friends in 2009 to more than 50,000 members by 2014.

Even though Secret Tel Aviv started out as just a hobby, Stark has taken on the project as a full time commitment. In the last 6 months, he has branched out by creating an interactive website full of features to assist new Olim.

What has your motivation been while moderating this page and its members?

JS: When I first started doing it, it was just something for friends. As time went on it just changed bit by bit, it morphed bit by bit. Now I have three goals I’m trying to accomplish. The first being, I would like a place where internationals can settle in. The second would be to help the new Olim businesses here in Israel. The third goal is to help the Olim integrate with native Israelis. With the creation of this group, a lot of people have met new friends, found apartments, events, and even jobs. It basically helps a lot of people. That’s what really keeps me going. This drives me to keep creating better services for users.

Did you imagine the same success back then as you have now?

JS: I definitely had to adjust my expectations as time went on. The community just kept growing. Now I believe Secret Tel Aviv is the largest active English speaking community in Israel. I believe this is because people really want to be a part of the community. They want to live here and stay here. They just need a bit of help.

You’ve just recently launched a website, what are your favorite features?

JS: Well one of my favorites is the magazine edition. A while ago, colleagues suggested that I put more content on my website to make it more engaging and interactive. I think I’ve found a really good way to do that by utilizing the magazine feature. I choose Tel Aviv based blogs that discuss events, food, DIY initiatives, and other sorts of things. Right now the blog pools from about 20 different blogs. As I find them, I incorporate them into the magazine. I think this is a good way to expose some of the goodness that is located here. I take an excerpt, maybe the first 30 words or so from the blogs to pique interest then link the articles back to the blog. This way I help drive traffic to these Tel Aviv based blogs as well as build up the community.

The next feature that is my favorite has to be the dating feature. Everyone knows how hard it is to date in the city! A lot of people come to Israel looking for a fresh start and new relationships. I think some of the dating sites and apps out here have lost what it means to date. They offer a picture and that’s it. People want meaningful relationships so this feature gives them that. There are 350 matchmakers sifting through profiles matching participants based off of their needs and wants. There have been 23 mutually approved matches, or dates, in less than a month. Nearly one date a night can be attributed from Secret Tel Aviv dating.

What’s one of the biggest challenges you are facing with Secret Tel Aviv?

JS: This reverts back to my third goal, “integration.” This is a sufficient problem because 60-70% of new Olim move out of Israel within three years. The reasons go on but mainly because they are having trouble finding a partner or finding a stable career, maybe even both. Due to several barriers, Olim tend to stay in their bubbles and never really interact with the native Israeli population. I believe Secret Tel Aviv is opening new doorways for people. About 60% of the Secret Tel Aviv community is comprised of internationals and the rest natives. This is especially true of the dating feature. I find the majority of women are Israeli women looking for something more.

What is the next big event for “Secret Tel Aviv?”

JS: The next big event is the Olim Expo on Nov 27^th and 28^th. Located at the Dizengoff Center, 23 new Olim businesses will be premiering and generating demand within the market. Even though last year was a success we have identified more ways to make this year’s expo better. There will be professional stands and exhibits by many businesses. Right now I am in the midst of marketing heavily to people within the group as well as to people from the national community!

 

For anyone interested in discovering more about the various events and happenings around Tel Aviv, don’t hesitate to visit the Secret Tel Aviv website: https://www.secrettelaviv.com/

 

 

Note from the Teacher: Acharei HaChagim: After the Holidays

Shalom! My name is Dr. Avi Rose and I am a long-time faculty member for Year Course. Lately, I’ve been asked to add to my duties the task of overseeing and coordinating the educational efforts of our entire program in a newly created directorship. This is an exciting and daunting task in almost equal measure since there is SO MUCH learning that takes place in each of our program locations, classrooms, volunteer sites and informal spaces. It is thrilling to see with each passing day the new and innovative ways in which our multi-talented staff creates opportunities for growth and education for students. I look forward to consulting and creating with our team new and even more creative means for students to experience themselves and the unique Jewish/Israeli environment we provide for them.

Like many educators in Israel and elsewhere in the Jewish world, it feels as though this time of year is when the action really begins. Known as “Acharei HaChagim”, this post-holiday period sees us in a relatively uninterrupted period of time devoted to the learning, exploring and service aspects of our program. I relish this time of year since it means that I can really dig into the work I love the most, helping students see this land, its culture and people while learning about themselves and their connection to their heritage and homeland. I am joined in this feeling by many Israelis as for university students, members of Knesset, entrepreneurs, social-activists and many others “Achrei HaChagim” is when the month long break for Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot come to an end and we begin getting down to the earnest business of building a strong and better Israel.

For those of us on Year Course, this is the time of year when we spread out into our various campuses and service locations. At this moment, some Year Coursers are learning the work of saving lives with Magen David Adom and beginning to go out on emergency calls.  Others are involved in an intensive basic training as part of the IDF’s Marva program. In the Yemin Orde Youth Village and all over the city of Bat Yam, our young people are making a difference in the lives of many Israelis while gleaning for themselves many challenging and valuable life lessons.

On our Jerusalem campus students have already begun the intensive college-level studies that will occupy their time this fall and winter. Most days begin with our unique Hebrew language curriculum, designed to teach the fundaments and prepare students for real-life communication. Some of our time is devoted to learning the history and societal structure of Zionism and Israel, while other efforts focus on Judaic studies, the city of Jerusalem in all its complexity and the cultural diversity that makes it such a rich and unique space.

No matter where students are in our program, their learning continues in less formal but no less important ways. Our Rashei Kevutaza (Section Heads), Madrichim (counselors), service coordinators, partnership educators (the British FZY and Israeli Scouts) and even our program administrators and leaders are continually devising new experiential learning for students that will augment and diversify the education that occurs in all facets of our program. Thus, for example, students will have weekly opportunities to see different parts of Israel and connect them to social and political studies. They will meet in their apartments with staff and receive supervision and advice on everything from how to enliven their meal plans to how they can deepen their sense of community. They will be offered informal Jewish studies or life experiences by our own Rabbi Yossela Ote. Israeli Scouts offer regular helpings of their informal education and our staff will update them on the latest news and current events in Israel.

I am fond of saying that almost everything we do on Year Course is educational. Students learn to care for themselves and each-other; they give to others and to themselves; they see, experience and reflect upon a myriad of new and exciting things.  Thus, even the most seemingly mundane or routine act becomes an opportunity for growth; the most common of tasks a new chance for learning. The daily ordinariness becomes extraordinary.

Over the coming months, I have been charged with the responsibility to see, review and assess all of this learning and to advise staff on how to make the good even greater. I follow in the footsteps of our esteemed panel of graduates and professionals who began this task last year as part of a comprehensive review of Year Course. They have asked me to continue the work they began as volunteers in a professional capacity. They do so not because they saw more bad than good (quite the opposite, in fact) but because they believe that there exists an opportunity to supplement our existing work and grow from strength to strength. I am deeply honored to have been asked to lead this process and look forward to growing along with the program into its challenges and rewards.

I invite you to join me in the journey I am undertaking as I report to you over the coming months from our various field sites and campuses. I hope to introduce you to the array of talented people who form our family of dedicated staff. I plan to highlight the locations and partner organizations that offer students so much. I hope to share with you the themes, subjects and ideas that students encounter in their journey with Year Course. I also hope to be in touch with graduates of our program in order to showcase their talents and discuss with them the impact that learning on Year Course had in their lives.

The late, incredibly talented Israeli singer Ofra Haza gave us a song that has become ubiquitous in Israel about this period in our calendar. “After the Holidays” she told us “everything is renewed, the days of routine will return and be improved…you too will be refreshed”. It is with this sense of joy and possibility that I encourage you to see through my eyes the Year Course experience that I am both passionate about and incredibly proud of.  It is a program brimming with opportunity for learning, growth and challenge. It was lovingly created over several decades, yet never fails to renew and reinvigorate itself to meet the needs of new generations. It is the work that I and many other dedicated professionals have chosen to devote ourselves to, since we believe it to be an invaluable opportunity to help empower new generations of Jews. Most importantly, it has been the starting point for thousands of women and men who have benefitted from its strength and have passed that strength along to their families, communities and places of work in a multitude of ways.

B’ydidut—In Friendship

Avi Rose

by Ricky Eytan, Director of WUJS in Israel

Since joining WUJS Israel in 2008, I have had the good fortune to work with 12 different mahzorim (semesters) of participants as the coordinator and director.  Even the 13^th time around, I can still feel palpable excitement as I think about how the participants – that I have only known until now by names and email addresses – will soon be supplemented by faces, thoughts, laughs, and feelings each with a life’s worth of stories.

It is always a pleasure to watch them learn new things about this country, and see how they fall in love with it, sometime so much that they decide they want to live here forever – WUJS does that to people!

It allows our participants to see new places, meet interesting people, learn the language, work with Israelis and at the same time it allows an individual growth.

I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by alumni who are willing to talk about the program and help us bring more young people here. Alumni who have had a life changing experience and WUJS will be forever a once in a lifetime experience for them. I am fortunate to be a part of that and that is the most rewarding part in this job.

On September 8^th 2014, we opened our fall semester with 33 young adults, from all over the world, who are not intimidated by this summer’s security situation in Israel.

The WUJS Israel staff and I are excited to connect with these new WUJS participants and start another enriching journey!

Jamie Smith of Lexington, Kentucky, is a rising Junior at Henry Clay High School and one of two Leaders of Tomorrow Awards from Hadassah, which awards a full scholarship to  young women to travel to Israel with Young Judaea’s teen summer programs.  She was introduced to Hadassah through her mother who is a past president of their local chapter. As one of only three Jewish students at her school, Jamie was excited about her opportunity to join Young Judaea’s ‘Discovery’ tour  to “explore her Judaism in the context of Israel and meet other Jewish teens who are leaders in their communities.”

I’ve been home for a while now – school has started, as will swimming soon – and my life has descended back into its usual chaotic routine, but I am not the same. Everything seems so unreal now, because for me, Israel was reality. I feel like I should be devoting all my time to advocating for Israel, but instead I spend every day sitting in a classroom learning material that seems of little importance compared to the war and conflict raging in the Middle East. I chat with my friends about homework and favorite teachers, but I constantly check my phone for the latest news about tunnels and cease fire proposals. My life and daily routine has taken on a new sense of smallness, its problems paling in comparison to those halfway around the world.

So I guess you could say my relationship to Israel has changed. Most importantly, I understand what’s going on. That had always been my biggest barrier in the past- I knew the general everyone-hates-Israel idea, but I wasn’t informed about the specifics of each operation, or what had happened to break each attempt at a cease fire. I didn’t know how many rockets were being fired a day; I didn’t know the casualty counts from both sides, it just seemed so far removed from me that I didn’t bother spending time looking it up. That has changed. Now I care so much more than I used to about the safety of Israel. Near the end of the trip, my friends and I were talking about if we wanted to serve in the army. No one really wanted to, but we all agreed that if we served in an army it would be the IDF, not the United States army. It was an easy question to answer for all of us.

I miss Israel, and I do really want to go back. One of the main things I miss, though, is my friends. The bonds I developed in just a month are stronger than many of those I have here in Lexington, where I have lived my whole life. We have all been making every effort to see each other- planning college visits in cities where our friends live, visiting family near these cities-everything we can do to be close enough to see each other just for a little while. The amazing thing is that I know that if I need somewhere to stay in another city or town, I will always be able to find a friend who can help me out. Whether its New York, LA, Boston, or any other number of places around the country, there will be a familiar face there to greet me. Its so cool that I can say that I have friends from around the country- and even from a few other countries. The entire trip was an amazing opportunity to make friends that will last a lifetime.

 

Nitzachon impacted my life in so many ways, and I made memories that I will never forget. I love and care about Israel so much now, and I have tons of new friends who I know I will find a way to see again. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity to experience Israel in ways I never imagined. Though we didn’t get to see all of Israel, we really did have a true Israeli experience- probably even more so than we would have without the war. Even with all that ignored, I really will never forget my first time overseas, spent in a country I love with people I love.

Naomi Farahan of Carmel, Indiana, is a rising senior at University High School.  She is the founder and editor in chief of the U Post – her high school’s online publication, president of the Young Democrats Club and participates in a number of other activities.  Naomi has a close connection to Israel and has always been an advocate for the country.  This summer, she is traveling Israel with Young Judaea’s Discovery program, after receiving theHadassah Leaders of Tomorrow Award. This highly selective merit-based award gives two high school women the opportunity to receive full tuition for a four-week Young Judaea Teen Summer Program in Israel. 

It’s two in the morning in Carmel, Indiana. I can’t sleep. I’ve been home for more than a week now, avoiding this final blog post like the plague. Writing this means that our trip is finally over, and deep inside I know that I cannot fully capture what this summer meant to me. I can name my favorite sights, and I can tell you about the funniest moments. We can sit for coffee and I can say, as I have said countless times, that I have been moved and changed. I can explain that rather than become a different person, I became a better defined version of myself. But I cannot really put these feelings into words. This is my best attempt.

I have always been proud of my Judaism. My religion has never held me back. But before this trip, I wasn’t quite sure what being Jewish meant to me. It was passed on by my parents, and it was something I wanted to continue for the sake of my children. But I wasn’t sure why. This summer, I connected to parts of myself that I can’t quite name. I guess I call that religion. This does not mean that I returned home observing more Mitzvot, but I do feel more Jewish regardless. My friends on the trip felt the same way, as if this spirituality had awoken in us. My Jewish identity no longer exists because it’s expected of me, but because I experience it. Because I breathe it and because I feel it in everything that I do.

Those friends that I mentioned were the same ones I talked about in my very first blog. I was nervous to meet them, remember? Looking back, I had every reason to be. My life will never be the same. Every friend that I made is important to me for a different reason. I learned something new from everyone that I came across. I feel exceedingly blessed to have spent five weeks with some of the most incredible people I have ever met. We came into each other’s lives very quickly, and I hope we never leave. I know that I will never forget how they made me feel. Those things just don’t go away.

For several days after I got home, my eyes were glued to the television screen. Back in the States I feel so removed from the situation in Israel. Everyone welcomed me back with open arms, exclaiming, “You must have been so scared!” All the while, I just want to go back to Israel. I just want to go back home. I now have a much better grasp of what Zionism means to me. No matter where I am, what I’m doing, Israel is my home. As a part of the Nitzachon program, I gained the proper tools to speak out as an advocate for my home. I am a more realistic, knowledgeable ambassador for Israel.

I feel inclined to be honest here. I have realized that I am incredibly self-centered. Perhaps it’s ingrained in our “Selfie Culture,” and maybe it’s just me. But now when I watch the news, I know that there is so much more to the story. This leads to me to wonder about the millions of other stories that are happening in the world right now that I am unaware of, and suddenly my problems are so small. I have spent so much time worrying about my next step and my own future, when there are so many next steps and futures that I have not taken the time to learn about.

But none of this makes me feel small or insignificant. More than ever, I intend to harness my skills and become a leader that speaks out for Israel. None of us are small. It’s not that at all. All of our perspectives add up to be something very big, and I hope to shape someone’s perspective someday. The Nitzachon program has certainly shaped mine.

Thank you to everyone who reads these blogs. I really enjoyed sharing my summer with you. Most importantly, thank you to Young Judaea and Hadassah for such an important journey. I will carry this experience with me for the rest of my life.

Naomi Farahan of Carmel, Indiana, is a rising senior at University High School.  She is the founder and editor in chief of the U Post – her high school’s online publication, president of the Young Democrats Club and participates in a number of other activities.  Naomi has a close connection to Israel and has always been an advocate for the country.  This summer, she is traveling Israel with Young Judaea’s Discovery program, after receiving theHadassah Leaders of Tomorrow Award. This highly selective merit-based award gives two high school women the opportunity to receive full tuition for a four-week Young Judaea Teen Summer Program in Israel.  

Now that I’m back home, I feel the full force of Nitzachon’s impact. I’m a different person –  I feel it in the way I talk to people, in the way I take in my surroundings. I have grown. One of the most formative aspects of this summer was Special Interest Week.

During Special Interest Week, you are apart from your tour for four days. During this time, you join kids from other groups who have similar interests. I had the option to participate in “Gadna” army training, a “Sea-to-Sea” hike in the Galilee, and scuba diving,  but ultimately chose Tikun Olam volunteering.  These were four of the most important days of my summer.

The first community service opportunity was in a center for adults with Cerebral Palsy. This taught us about the power of body language. We spent much of our time touching hands, smiling, and singing songs. At one point that morning, my friend Dani and I caught each other laughing mindlessly, but we didn’t feel embarrassed. It wasn’t mocking or uncomfortable laughter, instead it was that the center’s members were so full of glee that it spilled over to us, making us giggle and smile. They were constantly radiating pure, genuine – and contagious – smiles. We learned from there honesty and joy.

That afternoon, we volunteered at an old age home. We were able to learn stories about the members’ childhoods as we went with them outdoors. We reminded them of their grandchildren. They reminded of us our grandparents back in the United States. We felt connected to one another on an individual level, showing how community service can help both those being served and those serving.  This is one reason that community service is a crucial part of society. We are all connected therefore we must support one another.

The next day, we collected food and money for IDF soldiers in Gaza. We got as much as we put in. The harder we worked, the more we asked, the more people were willing to contribute. In some small way, we felt like we were contributing to the men and women who were giving so much to keep us alive.

For the last two days of our special interest week, we worked with a project through UJIA called the Ethiopian Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program. This allows Ethiopian children and British children to experience the milestone of becoming Bnai mitzvah side-by-side. As a part of the Tikun Olam program, we tried to add ruach, spirit, to the occasion by singing, dancing, and joining the celebration.

Throughout the week, I kept wondering about the purpose of volunteering. Who does it actually benefit? The adults with Cerebral Palsy see new volunteers every day. I am part of the masses of people who have come to paint and sing with them. I was one of many at the Ethiopian Bnai Mitzvah. In reality, community service benefits both parties in similar ways. I was touched in ways that are bigger than words, more profound than I can express in this blog.

During this week, there were so many people who opened their arms to me. They allowed me into their lives so that we could share a few moments of human connection disguised as service. In reality, I was not helping them. Rather, I was given the chance to look into myself and reflect upon what it means to be alive. I learned something that, theoretically, I should have known all along. Life is to be celebrated. There is so much to smile about. It should not be a rare thing to catch one another laughing. In addition, community service should not be an activity kept apart from our daily lives. It should be a part of our joyousness, a part of how we relate to one another. For these realizations, I am forever grateful to the Young Judaea Nitzachon program.

Mes dos. He visto kipás, máscaras y más gatos de los que podría imaginar.

Mientras el verano israelí de a poco se deja entrever,  los gatos que llenan las calles de Tel Aviv, como ardillas -o ratas- harían en otras ciudades, dejan de dormir sobre los capots aún tibios por los motores y se mudan a los techos de los mismos autos, un tanto más frescos. Yo, aún esperando un clima más propicio para aprovechar la muy cercana playa, me sigo adaptando a este mundo siempre cambiante.

Esta ciudad dista de ser una ciudad europea o de primer mundo. Si uno escapa de las calles amplias, hermosas y genéricas de la parte adinerada y turística, adentrándose en lo que algunos llaman el ‘verdadero Tel-Aviv’, se puede encontrar edificios despintados y mal mantenidos, calles algo sucias y negocios que no distan mucho de ser simples huecos en un muro. Pero la sensación tampoco es la de un pueblo en el medio oriente, ni la de estar sumido en ‘el tercer mundo’. Hay algo atractivo en su malestar. La intermitencia entre el constante crecimiento de edificios nuevos y los viejos viniéndose a menos, entre la gente comiendo falafel en las veredas y los cientos de cafés que invitan a pasar, entre la calles minadas por los excrementos de los millones de perros mascota y las plazas o parques meticulosamente cuidados. La gente, tan agresiva y frontal pero a la vez tan agradable y amistosa, ayuda a sobrellevar la extranjería. No puedo evitar lentamente enamorarme de este lugar. Y cuando el acento hebreo satura los oídos, siempre hay alguna actividad en inglés -u otro idioma de preferencia- en la cual resguardarse. Actividades que parecieran no acabarse. Como es el caso ahora de Purim.

Desde hace dos semanas se volvió habitual encontrarse a toda hora y en cualquier lugar a alguien con una peluca, una máscara o un traje entero de una sola pieza de Pikachu, caminando por la calle y realizando sus tareas con total normalidad. Purim, una festividad comparable con el carnaval, llenó las calles de anticipación por lo que sería un fin de semana plagado de fiestas en bares, clubs y en las calles, desfiles, música y, sobre todo, disfraces. Desapegándose cada vez más de sus orígenes y volcándose a las celebraciones, Purim parece ser una de las celebraciones favoritas de los jóvenes israelíes -y de aquellos que tienen la oportunidad de estar aquí durante- y con mucha razón.

Mientras tanto entrevistas laborales aparentemente exitosas, que resultaron no serlo, y repetidas ocasiones que demostraron que en Israel responder mails y llamadas no es prioridad primera, dejaron pasar más de un mes desde mi llegada a Tel Aviv y la situación de mi pasantía seguía sin resolverse. Pero a pesar de las complicaciones y las decepciones, con un poco de esfuerzo y tomando la situación en mis manos, finalmente tuve mi primer día de trabajo. El lugar no es ideal, pero trabajaré para sacar el mejor provecho posible.

Y mientras Ulpan continúa, poco a poco voy incorporando el hebreo y comienzo a ser capaz de entender diálogos sencillos en el día a día. Indudablemente no hay mejor contexto para aprender que la necesidad, como lo es estar rodeado de carteles que me resultaban ilegibles. Ahora, en cambio, al menos puedo encontrar falafel sin mayor esfuerzo. También continúan las otras actividades incluidas en el programa. Con el grupo de arte asistimos a museos, galerías y a una histórica casa de fotografía y con el resto del programa continuamos con las excursiones optativas cada semana.

Con el día a día, los problemas, la rutina, las novedades, siento que el concepto de lo que este viaje sería se aleja, para dejar de ser un concepto, dejar de ser una fantasía, un ideal. Y siendo honesto, la realidad siempre me resultó más interesante.

Jamie Smith of Lexington, Kentucky, is a rising Junior at Henry Clay High School and one of two Leaders of Tomorrow Awards from Hadassah, which awards a full scholarship to  young women to travel to Israel with Young Judaea’s teen summer programs.  She was introduced to Hadassah through her mother who is a past president of their local chapter. As one of only three Jewish students at her school, Jamie was excited about her opportunity to join Young Judaea’s ‘Discovery’ tour  to “explore her Judaism in the context of Israel and meet other Jewish teens who are leaders in their communities.”

Israel so far has been absolutely amazing. It’s hard to believe the trip is already halfway over, but it is. Between the friends I’ve made and the experiences we’ve shared, it seems like we have lived in Israel for such a long time. At the same time, though, it has gone by so fast. This week we have done some more amazing activities in the north.

One day, we went rafting on the Jordan River. Well, most people went rafting. My friend and I got out to push the raft because we were hardly moving. So, of course, our raft decides to ditch us in the Jordan River fully clothed (shoes included) to fend for ourselves. We knew it was a three kilometer hike (as we now refer to it), and we knew that we weren’t very far in when they ditched us. At one point, there was a photographer, so we asked him how much further and all he said was “much more.” We probably ended up hiking through around two kilometers of the Jordan River, and by the end there were six of us who had been ditched by our rafts. When we saw the end, we started singing and laughing together. It was actually a really fun time (even though we showed up 30 minutes late).

Possibly the more interesting thing we did this entire week was have a coexistence seminar with a group of Arab Israeli teens. We got to talk to them for about an hour and it was fascinating to see their views on the current conflict occurring and life for an Arab in Israel in general. Many shared conspiracy theories about the kidnapping of the three Israeli boys, sharing their belief that it was planned by the Israeli government to give the media a story that would hurt Hamas in the world’s view. Even though some of the things they said were very different from our own opinions on them, it was still interesting to look from their perspective.

Something else we talked about with them was our belief in God. All of them said they did believe, and many of us said we didn’t. They seemed confused that we didn’t, and at one point one girl mentioned that she was scared of people who don’t believe in God. We also just talked about teenager stuff, like music and TV. It was fun to make connections with people who we usually see as so different from ourselves.

The next day, we got to do something similar, except this time with Israeli teens that had been temporarily relocated to youth hostels because of their proximity to Gaza and other dangerous areas. When we talked to them, they said that they hated all Arabs and wanted them all gone. It was somewhat understandable that they couldn’t see that there are innocent Arabs, given that they had been removed from their homes because of the conflict with Arabs, but it was still interesting to see how completely biased they were against all Arabs.

Finally, we were fortunate enough to get to walk around Tzfat for a little while this week. After listening to a man, Avraham, explain Jewish mysticism and his connection to it (which was, by the way, fascinating), we got to eat good Israeli food and shop in the cute little marketplace for presents for our friends and family back home. Tzfat was very spiritual and it was amazing to get to see the type of people who live there, along with the actual city itself.

These, along with several other hikes and a visit to the olive oil factory were some of the main things we did this week. We also had our free weekend, which was very relaxing and involved a lot of sleeping.  Now that we’ve had the chance to catch up on rest, we have special interest week next week, where we split up based on what we signed up for. I’ll be doing community service next week, and I can’t wait to serve Israeli society.