Dear Yallah! Israel Families,
Toward the end of the first week in Israel, I wanted to share my reflections. Crossing the ocean for those who came from North America and crossing the Mediterranean for those who came from Poland has been a challenging beginning for some given the complicated nature of air travel today. We give thanks to members of our team such as Ilana Picker, Ruby Sommer, and Amalya Sykes who helped all these pieces come together. We are highly appreciative of the extra effort and patience of families who had to deal with flight cancellations and missing luggage in an unfortunate situation.
The first couple of days were dedicated to three beginnings.
The beginning of our journey as a community striving to create an environment that supports growing friendships and safe and joyful space for self-expression. The meeting between participants on their second week after Poland and the participants arriving to Israel has been very exciting! This week we can relate to the blessing from this week’s Torah reading given from a bird’s eye view of the Israeli camp: “How good are your tents and your dwellings, Oh Israel” in Hebrew (in transliteration: “Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov, Mishkenotecha Yisrael”)
The beginning of the nation of Israel: We visited Tel Beer Sheva where we learned about Abraham’s journey and asked the campers about their own journeys. We hiked in the Tzin Desert mentioned in the last Torah reading as one of the deserts the tribes of Israel crossed after the Exodus. We asked why the desert was chosen as the platform to build a nation and discover monotheism.
The beginning of the State of Israel: With our participants coming from Poland, we visited Mitzpe Revivim, a community built during World War II by European Jewish teenagers who were sent by their families to escape the Nazi regime. By David Ben Gurion’s tomb and Desert home we touched base on the story of the first Prime Minister of Israel and his vision for the Jewish State.
In the Negev we had an amazing conversation with the President of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, who prioritized going down to the Negev and meeting every group of teens after meeting with the Israeli President and the Israeli Minister of Defense. Rabbi Jacobs reminded the participants that each one of them could be one of the great leaders of the Jewish people, the next Moses that our people need so desperately in these days.
We are now camping in the Eilat mountains, hiking, and snorkeling in the Red Sea and are so excited as we enter our first Shabbat in Israel.
Many more thanks to the all the amazing team members, to the families that entrust us with their greatest treasures on earth, and to our amazing participants that fill us with pride, and make all this experience so interesting and joyful.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ariel Fogelman,
Director of Israel Immersive Programs
