by Jereme Weiner, Year Course 19-20

As a lifelong Judaean – six summers at Camp Judaea, Hadracha at Camp Tel Yehudah, and participating in Machon in Israel last summer – I feel like I have spent years preparing to having a truly meaningful Year Course experience, ready to connect what I learned at camp with life in Israel.

During my Hadracha summer at Tel Yehudah in 2017, we discussed all kinds of topics during our weekly Shabbat Israel Update. One week, I was frustrated to learn during a talk on gender issues at the Western Wall that women had significantly less rights to prayer at the Kotel and were not able to read from the Torah, among other restrictions. What could I do to get involved? How could I make my voice heard, too?

Last week, on Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan (the first day of the new month), I joined seven other Year Coursers and our madricha, Sarah, for monthly prayers at the Kotel with Women of the Wall (WoW), a group whose mission is to “attain social and legal recognition of the right of  women to wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah, collectively and aloud, at the Western Wall.” We joined the group at 7am, ready to show our support, and were amazed by the amount of people who had come to protest both for and against women’s rights at the Kotel. While WoW tried for more than half an hour to bring three small Torahs into the Western Wall plaza, security guards pushed us back and didn’t allow us in, while a crowd had gathered telling us to shut up and go home. It was a disheartening and frustrating experience to feel like my Judaism wasn’t being respected, and that fellow Jews were aggressively pushing us away from praying at the holiest site in Judaism.

After leaving, I thought back to that Israel Update during Hadracha – it felt like my Young Judaea experience had drawn a straight line from education to experience, not only exposing me to important topics in Jewish life and Israel while at camp, but bringing them to life while I live in Israel for the year. On Year Course, my views on Judaism and Zionism are constantly tested, questioned, and evolving. Seeing the issues we discussed at camp first-hand has been an experience I am so thankful for, and I can’t wait to see where my Year Course journey takes me.

Hi YJ world, my name is Dr. Avi Rose and I am the Director of Academics and Education. Why the double title you ask? Because we at Year Course are doubly committed to learning. On the one hand, many students on YC seek academic credit to get their college careers off to a great start. So, we work with the American Jewish University to give those credits at the highest possible standard, with instructors who are trained and experienced in their field of expertise. On the other hand, we are a movement program, dedicated to our ideals of Judaism, Zionism, Leadership, Social Action and Pluralism. It is my job to create learning  that includes all these elements in a way that is interesting and meaningful. It’s a job I love!

I’m a relative latecomer to YJ, I joined the movement when I joined the YJ team in 2003. I’m pleased to say that ever since, I’ve done my best to bring out the best in our movement. I’ve taught hundreds of students in all those years and I couldn’t be more proud of them and their accomplishments. They are part of a huge network of Judaeans who are doing their part to change the world in large and small ways. Everywhere I go in my professional life, I always end up meeting one of those Judean alumni, they seem to be in almost every field. The one thing they all have in common is a sense of mission and purpose. Almost all of them will tell you that they got this from their YJ upbringing.

I even bought my treasured Mah Jonng set from a Year Course grad who was on the program before I was born. She answered an ad I placed online and we ended up chatting for hours about her YC and how it changed her life. I think of her and her journey every time I play.

I’ve lived in Israel since 2002, after many years of going back and forth between Jerusalem and Canada. After completing my Phd, I decided that it was time to ‘take the plunge’ and fulfill my dream of making Israel my home. A few years later, I met a great British guy and he agreed to build a home with me here in Israel. Today, we live in the capital where we are raising our twin children. Our kids love to meet “Abba’s students” so don’t be surprised if they show up on campus and ask you to play.

In my years at YJ, I’ve loved nothing more than watching students face their challenges. I’ve worked with students who dreamed of achieving educational or professional goals, overcome personal obstacles, or simply try out new directions in life. My greatest joy is meeting these students as they progress through life after YC, in college, as young professionals, parents and sometimes as colleagues.

Year Course is something that sticks with you. It’s a year that really lasts a lifetime, with experiences, learning and friendships that remain part of who you are. It’s a launch pad to a life of independence, community, commitment and exploration. It may sound a bit cliche, but I am truly proud and honored  to play a small role in this very big adventure.

 I look forward to meeting you and having join our unique community, I know you will make it even better!

My Young Judaea pedigree goes back to age 13, when my older sister tricked me into attending a YJ club meeting in Nashua, NH. I was hooked from the start and became active in my club, my region, camp and eventually Israel. After loving my Year Course experience despite a war in the middle of it, I knew I had to get back. Junior year abroad at Hebrew University and then my year as a Year Course madricha solidified my conviction that #ycneverends and I have been on a path towards never leaving ever since.

After making Aliya to Israel, I ran the theatre program at Merkaz Hamagshimim for 9 years, worked at Hebrew College in Boston for 3 and a half years, and found my way back to Year Course in 2009 where I have been happily working my way up to director ever since. As Director of Year Course, I get to navigate the intersection between education and administration of the program and see our students through a 9-month journey of personal growth, grappling with identity, and Israel adventure. My favorite part of the job is that it is always changing. Local, national and international weather, politics, culture and more (of multiple countries), can divert us from our regularly scheduled program and make for exciting challenges of how we stay dynamic and able to react to the world around us without missing out on the things we’ve already planned. It is never boring!

I hope our students are learning how to balance our history with our future. I hope they are allowing the “boring stuff that happened a long time ago” to be relevant as a lens through which they understand who and how they want to contribute to the world around them.

Young Judaea and Year Course alumnus Benji Lovitt made Aliyah in 2006 and has been working both as a comedian/writer and as a Jewish educator.  Beni has had a continued connection with Young Judaea since his childhood in many capacities.  His latest article – of a more serious bent than his usual work highlights the need to teach about Tel Aviv as a relevant centre of modern Zionist and Jewish culture.

Here is a link to the full article

http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/israel-programs-the-case-for-tel-avi

Below are some blurbs from the piece:

“From synagogue and organization missions to Masa programs, and from high school trips to Birthright, we do a horrendous job of exposing Diaspora Jews to Tel Aviv and everything it stands for: modern Israel, the “start-up nation”, religious pluralism, and Jewish peoplehood.”

“when I came on a Federation mission and extended my stay, did I finally discover this “secret community”, still mostly unknown to English-speakers in 2003. In just a few days, I managed to lie on the beach, go dancing till 5 AM, walk around staring at Israelis with my tongue hanging out of my mouth, and ask, “HOW AM I ONLY DISCOVERING THIS NOW?????” This wasn’t about bars and sand. This was about connecting to modern Israel and my Israeli peers in a way that I had not done before.”

 

“Does Masada make a bigger impact on Jewish identity than time in Tel Aviv? I would argue that it does not. Is Masada more likely to make thousands of young Jews excited to possibly return to Israel for a long-term program, date other Jews, get an internship at an Israeli start-up, or discover a connection to Jewish peoplehood which they never had before? In my opinion? Absolutely not. Now repeat this exercise for many possible sites in place of “Masada”.”

 

“This is not a suggestion of “fun” over “education”. This is focusing on exploring membership as part of the Jewish nation, a nation and people that young Jews are often “reborn” to feel part of after meeting Israelis who are like them.

Lastly, this isn’t only about the “White City”. This is about evaluating Israel programs and figuring out not only what will turn on our participants to Israel and Jewish identity but also what will not. Israel has changed over 66 years. Our programs should reflect those changes.”

 

– See more at: http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/israel-programs-the-case-for-tel-aviv/#sthash.gxWFAs3O.dpuf

and of course a little clip of Benji’s comedy

Benji Shmoozes a Taxi Driver