Today our journey begins! We arrived in Warsaw and joined a beautiful Kabbalat Shabbat service with the local Reform Jewish community, touching the Jewish life of the present before we start our journey to the roots of our people this coming month.
This Shabbat, we will read the Torah portion of Shlach, the first documentation we have of the Hebrew word that came into English as “tour.” Twelve representatives of the twelve tribes of Israel are sent from the desert to tour the land. In the context of this text in the Book of Numbers, we understand that the meaning of the word “tour” is to explore and ask questions.
Our teens set out on this journey representing many tribes of Israel: our camps, congregations, communities, and families. From this day on, we will be exploring, asking questions, and discovering new things about the places we visit and about ourselves.
For many of the teens, this transition, being so far from home, is not easy. We are here to support the teens and will continue to be in touch with you throughout this process of building a community of belonging.
Shabbat Shalom,
The Yallah! Israel Team
