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Twice weekly for the duration of IST 2006 Daniel Bennett, CAJE Executive Director will share IST information and commentary with you. Daniel has been to Israel 13 times, led the IST trip three times over the last twenty years, and enjoys sharing his reflections with you. All of his entries will be preserved on this web-link, with the most recent appearing first. Index to Updates:
Tuesday, July 25What a summer: meaning, connection, tradition, tension, worry, excitement… Six weeks ago I shared with you that the day our teenagers began their IST journey was one of my two best days of the year. Yesterday, with G-d’s help, all 71 returned safely – and that’s my other favorite day! This year’s celebration at DIA was especially meaningful – for it signified not only the end of a six-week IST journey that has changed our teen’s lives, forever, but also meant that our children are safe in Colorado as the situation in northern Israel continues. Yesterday for CAJE and our community partners means we have completed the task of introducing these Jewish teenagers to their homeland, to their Judaism and to themselves in a brand new way, that we've equipped them with a very important toolbox that will serve them throughout their lives as adults and as Jews. We are proud of their families and of them for choosing this experience, and we are honored to have provided it again for our community. As we stood in front of the DIA fountain with reporters and camera people from all of the major newspapers and television stations and witnessed the faces of each young man and women as they emerged, witnessed the hugs the teenagers had both for friends and parents and for each other, heard their tales, felt their excitement - we knew that these were souls who had taken a sacred step. We also knew that their bodies, on the other hand, took each step only with the aide of adrenaline – and I know that they will sleep well for a few nights, at least. Each was returning to a world they left six weeks ago that will never look quite the same to them. They now begin the long reunion schedule of formal and informal post-IST events; if past years serve as barometer, over 90% will voluntarily return on Monday nights to complete their two year IST experience and graduate from CAJE’s Hebrew High, despite demanding senior-year schedules; some will return for the academics and to prep for Jewish life on campus, all for the connections. And we will smile and weep with them at their CAJE Hebrew High graduation ceremony next spring because we will know that thanks in part to the journey of IST 2006 the Jewish world will be in loving, committed, confident, and capable hands in this next generation. CAJE has been honored to again run the Israel Study Tour, our 35th. We are successful each year due to the commitment and hard work of an amazing CAJE staff, of our vendors in Denver and Jerusalem (who are by now our family) and of our partners - the rabbis, the synagogues and the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado. I've very much enjoyed writing to you these last two months, and I hope I've helped you feel closer to the experiences of our teenagers. Please call us or e-mail me (dbennett@caje-co.org) with questions or feedback. I also invite you to visit www.caje-co.org and click on IST 2006; you can see the teens’ photos and journal entries, scan all of my directors’ reports, and recommend IST 2007 to your friends! Our prayers are with all Israelis today as she struggles again to maintain a free and Jewish nation, a homeland for us all. May peace come soon for her and for her neighbors. I hope to see you at CAJE’s 8th annual dinner celebration August 30th honoring Marlin Barad and featuring Dr. Jonathan Woocher from JESNA. Your ongoing support for CAJE helps us continue providing experiences like IST 2006 for our community. . L’shalom! Friday, July 21As I write my final communiqué before the kids return to Colorado (I always write one additional communiqué after they return), the group is winding down toward its final Shabbat. What a summer! IST’s Eilat visit always culminates with the Mt. Zefahot hike. We fully expected the teenagers to complain loudly as we awoke them before sunrise for this optional climb, but most stumbled out of bed despite the early hour and the pillow beckoning. Then they gasped as they watched the sun rise in the east over Saudi Arabia, gazed on Egypt to the west and Jordan to the north. The Gulf of Eilat stretched out to the south, its waters flowing past Sinai’s shores to the Red Sea. As they appreciated not only on the beauty and the majesty, but how much Israel is truly bound by her geography they led an inspired Shacharit service and descended to bid farewell to the Negev and have some breakfast. So, for us in Colorado, let’s ask ourselves, “What did we do before breakfast today?” Two Eilat experiences of the last days truly stand out. 1. As the war rages far to the north, IST indulged in a very normal touristy afternoon of shopping for gifts for themselves and others, enjoying free time, and taking in the I-Max movie Aliens (subtitled in Hebrew? or English? or some other alien tongue?) 2. ISTers joined with all Israelis and answered the call to help the IDF soldiers and displaced populations in Israel’s north by spending their own money buying clothing, personal supplies and toiletries to send north. I’m proud watching theses young Jewish men and women grow up this summer. After Shabbat, we climb Masada! So why end IST 2006 with Masada? "Masada shall not fall again,” became the informal slogan of the Jewish State by the 1960's. The barren mesa in the Dead Sea Region had been fortified by King Herod in the first century to protect him from enemies both real and imagined. And when Jerusalem fell to the Romans in 70 C.E., a small band of zealots retreated to the fortress. Josephus, the historian tells us that they poured water over the side to taunt the Roman soldiers who were dehydrated in the sun below. But the Romans used slave labor - mostly Jewish slave labor - over the next three years to build their infamous “ramp,” to bring their war machines to the palace walls. What they found were corpses, Jews who chose to die by their own hand rather than submit to torture and slavery. Especially this summer, I urge you to ask the teenagers when they return what, Masada shall not fall again means to them in light of the last five decades of Israeli history and in light of their summer experience and the State of Israel’s over the last few weeks with Hamas and Hezbollah. One of our main goals is to challenge our young people to ask the hard questions, and the answers are never easy. All Israelis agree that Masada must not fall again, and they wonder - as do we - what combination of strength, negotiation, compromise, determination, and courage today will best achieve that result. But Masada’s climb is a few days off. Now IST settles in for Shabbat under the clear sky and bright stars of Israel’s vast southern expanses. This is a Shabbat to reflect, to relax to enjoy each other and cherish what these eighty individuals – teenagers and staff – have meant to each other, for next Shabbat we’ll all be back in Colorado. But not quite yet… Shabbat Shalom, Tuesday, July 18Today’s communiqué is a merging of the two themes that define IST’s past week: our response to the current security situation, and the wonderful time our teenagers are having. Theme # 1 Shalom, Friday, July 14So why are our ISTers today visiting a land in a neighborhood where Jews aren’t wanted, where neighbors refuse to recognize our right to be there? Because Israel is our homeland, and every Jew has a right to experience her deeply, to meet her people, to create memories of her sunsets, her archaeological wonders, and her modern accomplishments. At the World Zionist Congress a century ago Theodor Herzl was ready to accept a homeland for Diaspora’s Jews somewhere other than Israel. Uganda was okay with him; so was Madagascar. There’s even an old joke that Moses, who stuttered, was trying to say “Canada,” but G-d heard only “Canaan,” and here we are. But the truth is that for almost all of World Jewry in Herzl’s time and today, there is only one place to call a Jewish homeland: Eretz Yisrael. Because only there can Jews be a free people in our own land, connected to our biblical roots, to our ancestral home, to 4000 years of our people’s history - whether we live there or not. As I write these words today, Israel is again under attack – as she has been so often in her short history. Today we stand united with Israel’s right to defend herself, to keep her people safe. Safety is also IST’s primary concern. IST will spend its last ten days in
Israel away from the action in the north. The news reports are frightening, but
our children are far from the action. These coming days will include the Dead
Sea Region, the Negev (the far south beaches and a wonderful visit to Ramat
Hanegev – our partnership region), and a final visit to Jerusalem before coming
back to Colorado. Our children’s safety is always our primary concern, every
year, every day, every minute. I share with you the words I wrote to our IST
families and to our community this morning: We're sure you've been keeping up to date on the news and we want you to know that we are speaking to Israel several times a day. As you know, yesterday we moved IST from Ma'alot in the far north of Israel to a hostel near Tiberas; today, the 17th of Tammuz, is a fast day so activities are low-key. Despite last night's military activities, Tiberias remains far from the action. But - with the counsel of staff on the ground in Israel we've decided to move the group south tonight to a hostel in the Dead Sea region. We have also cancelled all weekend visitations that were scheduled for this Shabbat. Why? Although Tiberias and the home visits are not near the action, we have decided that caution dictates that we keep the kids together as a group, and we feel more comfortable having them further south. Also, not only is the Dead Sea a very secure location, but there are many activities that will be fun and "normalizing" for the ISTers - including hiking, swimming, spas, and places of historical interest. Your kids are amazing; the staff is keeping them up to date as the news changes and is totally available to process with them and answer all of questions. These are not normal times in Israel, so we will continue to monitor the situation many times each day. Denverites Doug Seserman, Shaul Amir and Mark Sidell just arrived in Israel for Federation meetings, and we've spoken with Doug. He assures us that life feels normal in Israel away from the north, but that people are glued to radios and internet updates, and the country has great resolve. Doug will make a special visit to IST over the weekend to talk with them about what they are experiencing and to bring them greetings from Denver. We continue to keep the group's safety primary, and are proceeding one day
at a time; we remain available 24/7 for you - office and cell phone numbers. Shabbat Shalom, Tuesday, July 11Shalom! Welcome to IST 2006 Options Week! As I’ve stressed before, group building and group identity is a strong value of the IST program; that’s why we begin with a desert hike and build in so many activities where the ISTers rely on each other. But equally important to us is these teenagers’ individual development and choice. And so, among many other programs designed to give choices, our teens select which experience they like to have during the summer’s fourth week. Our largest contingent each year selects Gadna, always popular among our teenagers. I remember my own step-sons telling me that they could never imagine volunteering to spend a regimented three days in a paramilitary environment at home, but somehow it felt natural to them to do just that when they were on IST. Participating in Israel Defense Force training, our teenagers gladly rise with the dawn, exercise hard every day, and learn to accept even arbitrary discipline. Your kids? Honest! Kitchen (KP) duty, long hikes in poorly-fitting army fatigues – I’m sure they’ll be picturesque the day after their army overnight. For many the experience was a way to come to know what their peers in Israel will experience when they graduate high school in just one short year. For others it is a chance to try on a foreign way of life, and struggle with the question, "could I ever do this?" May the day come soon when military realities are no longer a major part of Israeli society, when "nation shall not lift up sword against nation." Each year that hope seems far away… Another very physical elective was a hike across the breadth of Israel, “from sea to sea.” Israel is a small country, but traveled on foot it seems pretty big. And it is truly amazing to see its tremendous diversity – in topography, climate, flora and fauna, and landscape. Perhaps the most sobering part of this hike is the realization that as Israel’s population increases its natural areas are shrinking under the reality of concrete, steel and stone construction. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot?” Not yet. Others could select returning to Jerusalem to experience a personal and close up look at a segment that exists in every society – those in need of the assistance of others. IST is a program designed to connect our kids to Israel. But we strive to connect them to a real nation as well as the spiritual ideal. We often forget that Jews in Israel and at home cannot escape from the ills of society – pollution, domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness; it’s increasingly important to work hard to affirm that these problems exist as much among our communities as within others. Only in that way can we begin to help those in need of intervention. Ben Gurion dreamed of a normal society for the Jews, one where even the garbage collectors and prostitutes were Jewish. For all its good and bad, such a society we now have. And as partners with G-d in Tikkun Olam it is our responsibility to keep our eyes open to reality and lend a helping hand. As I write these words I wonder if you are musing over these three options – Gadna, Sea-to-Sea, Tikkun Olam in Jerusalem. And I wonder if you are asking yourself, as am I, “which would I choose?” Shalom, shalom. Friday, July 7I’m amazed to realize that earlier this week IST reached its half way point
in Israel! We spend an entire year recruiting, worrying, working with almost one
hundred families and their teenagers, planning. We spend countless hours
counseling individual families, securing the best staff available, working with
the rabbis, synagogues, private donors and our Federation to secure funding, and
countless more working with our Israeli partners. But now as the teenagers head
to the north of Israel time seems to accelerate. It won’t be long before the
teens greet us at DIA as different young men and women than those who departed
weeks ago. Our community was privileged to have had Jackie Wong, CAJE’s Boulder Hebrew High principal, as Senior Educator on our IST trip in Poland and Israel this summer. Jackie has now returned as scheduled, and in her initial conversation with us she could not stop marveling about the kids, the program, and especially about the caring and the quality of group leader Wendy Aronson and the rest of the American and Israeli staff. Yea IST leaders! In this fast-paced world of ours, many of us yearn to discover truly spiritual experiences, ones that propel us to transcend our normal daily existence. Being in the northern Israeli city of Tzefat and watching the sun set over the ancient hills ranks up there among the best. Centuries ago those hills were filled with the spirit that brought Judaism Kabbalah, our mystical tradition. And as Shabbat descended on our IST teenagers this past Friday night, they were all a part of that tradition, together singing L’cha Dodi as they looked out over the ancient stone city. Winding north from the Sea of Galilee toward Tsfat (also called Zefat or Safed), driving through groves of mountain pines, feeling the crisp mountain air, one can almost taste Colorado. But there the similarities end. Our teenagers toured ancient synagogues, visited modern art galleries and a candle factory, worshipped in synagogues in continuous use for centuries. It’s hard to visit any site in Israel without feeling like you are part of our people’s history. In Colorado, a two hundred year-old building is preserved as historic; many of the six hundred year-old buildings in Tsfat are still in use! When they return to Colorado ask the teenagers about their Tsfat experience; it is always one of the summer’s highlights. I wish you Shabbat Shalom, a weekend of peace and rest. Smile as you picture our group relaxing in this mystical city and celebrating another Shabbat among the echoes from six centuries of Jewish spirituality. Daniel Friday, June 30This past week IST spent an interesting few days exploring Tel Aviv, the quintessential Israeli city. While Jerusalem captures our soul, Tel Aviv captures the pulse of modern Israel: fast-paced, culture-packed, modern, high-tech, fashion-conscious, and culturally-diverse. Conceived and built from the sand dunes on Israel’s Mediterranean coast by Israelis over the last century, more Israelis live here and in its suburbs than anywhere else in the country. IST visits for the culture, for the experience…and mostly for the history – an understanding of how Israel came to be less than 60 years ago. From the old city of Jaffa with its quaint art galleries to Independence Hall where Ben Gurion declared Israel’s independence after the UN resolution in 1948, our teens followed metaphorically the path the pioneers of Israel’s past traveled. It’s amazing that a nation as small as Israel is not only so geographically diverse but also so culturally diverse. Standing in the heart of Tel Aviv, we realize that only the Hebrew street and store signs reveal our location: this could be any modern European city! So, as important as a taste of Tel Aviv is for our teenagers, we devote most of our programming time each summer to areas that are uniquely Israeli. And for the purpose of seeing and feeling the country, much of our time is spent in nature, away from urban life. We left Tel Aviv yesterday, and are glad to have moved up north away from the action in Gaza. We feel confident in our security, and with the help of our Israeli staff IST is continually reassessing its movements changing some planned program locations as needed to maximize safety. It’s important to carry on, but we always err on the side of safety and caution. IST will celebrate its third Shabbat away from home this week, and its down time will be appreciated and needed by staff and teenagers, alike. No where more than on IST is the slow pace of Shabbat valued, and in many ways it is precisely that weekly rhythm that ties us to both the land of Israel and the Jewish calendar. For many of our teenagers, IST is the first time they will have experienced six consecutive weeks of Shabbat observance. Ask them upon their return what they experienced, what they learned about themselves and each other. What a week ahead - including some of the best hiking in Israel! I’ll be back to you next with many updates on July 7th, as our offices will be closed on the 3d and 4th; happy holiday! Shabbat Shalom. Tuesday, June 27As the summer goes on, it will be my pleasure to share with you several of the magical IST moments this summer, but it will be tough to top IST’s first Shabbat on Israeli soil, one that especially reaffirms for us why our community provides to our teenagers the IST experience. We won’t have another Jerusalem Shabbat until our last week in Israel, but the memory of this one will remain for some time. Even a Saturday night concert under the stars, a Sunday journey back 2,000 years on an archaeological dig, and a well-deserved dip in the cool waters of the Mediterranean Sea have not dimmed the glow of the Shabbat lights: sunset, two candles, sun rise, sunset again, and another candle. The glow of a sacred city during a sacred moment remains. As we look ahead to our next week, so we look back to our week together in Poland. How much more meaningful our trip to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum was to the ISTers after they stood just a week before in the remains of a concentration camp, and how much more equipped our teenagers were after seeing gas chambers and ghetto remains to deflect the all too manipulative arguments they heard at a staged holocaust denier lecture. And now, a commercial break! We all owe a debt of gratitude to Steve Zerobnick, CAJE's Israeli partner, the founder and director of Shovalim, the former Israel Studies Institute (ISI) in Jerusalem. Steve is truly our partner, worrying about sick teens as much as we do, concerned about security as much as we all are. Year after year Shovalim’s IST staff is the best assembled for any teen tour, and Steve's intuition and programmatic skills are invaluable. Shovalim staff love our children and feel the responsibility for their safety as strongly as we do. Indeed, without a partner like Shovalim on the ground in Israel I'm not sure IST would be as successful year after year. So what about security? The military actions in Gaza? Threats from extremist groups? After all, we in Colorado read about them in our press daily. What I can tell you is that safety is our #1 concern: we are in touch with authorities many times daily, and as a frequent visitor to Israel I can tell you that security is our most important concern. In a nation where precautions are second-nature and the army is strong, it wasn’t so absurd for bathers in the Mediterranean this week to look skyward and see Israeli Defense Forces helicopters heading for Gaza; that ISTers were among the bathers was exciting to them, not so much to us in Colorado! We head later today for Tel Aviv, the first modern Jewish city created from nothing but sand dunes…but, as I like to say, that’s another story. Shalom, shalom, Friday, June 23We've now finished the most psychologically demanding part of IST (Poland) and the most physically demanding part of the tour (the wilderness experience in Israel). One highlight was a hike through terrain that included dry river bed or wadis and barren hills. Israelis call the hills “mountains,” but that's because they've never seen Pike's Peak... This ancient wilderness for our teenagers has been formidable, and we’ve watched them bond through their challenges: they helped each other carry heavy packs, shared water (even when we told them that wasn't the healthiest practice), sang songs to lift their spirits, doctored each other through scrapes, bug bites, twisted ankles, minor dehydration and bruises, worried when one teen needed emergency medical assistance (he’s fine now!), and cheered each other on when the road seemed too long. And they did it all without indoor plumbing and toilets… The wilderness experience helps each individual to realize quickly that he or she is capable of accomplishing much more than they originally thought – which is an integral part of IST. If you've ever stood on a windswept rock ledge in Israeli wilderness with the sun setting behind you as you looked down on the hills of Jordan to the east, perhaps you can picture what our ISTers saw. If your adventure followed a dawn to dusk uphill hike during a three-day wilderness experience, you might know what they were thinking. But you'd have been a seventeen year old Colorado ISTer standing on that ledge with 71 friends to have any understanding of what they felt. For those of you who were lucky enough in your youth to attend summer camp or go on a teen tour, you know that the pace is packed and intense, that each day seems like a week, each week a month. Friendships are created quickly, and deep bonds with physical places are made quickly and usually sustained. Add to that a challenging desert experience we always place near the Israel tour’s beginning because we've found to be the best medium for group building and personal accomplishment, and you begin to appreciate the magic of IST. Israel’s wilderness is wonderful, seemingly barren but filled with plant and animal life. It is dry, but watch out for flash floods during the winter months. All signs of civilization disappear five minutes from the road. What better place to explore one's spirituality than the Israeli wilderness? What better place to do some serious group building than the very place where 3200 years ago Joshua and Caleb told Moses and the community that with G-d's help we can do anything? Our teenagers may have asked themselves the same questions Moses’ twelve scouts asked as they set out to do a reconnaissance of the land: is the journey going to be safe? what are the people who live there really like? is this place really the land for me? will I really be able to call Israel "home?" For now CAJE IST provides more questions that answers; we are proud that the framework for each ISTer to find those answers is being built as you read these words. Shabbat Shalom, Tuesday, June 20IST arrived safe and sound, incredibly tired and weary from their tour of Poland. Mostly though, we are excited to be in Israel. While the Poland portion of IST is critical for all of us to understand who we are as Jews, and we are grateful to the Colorado community that supports our teens’ Poland experience, we are equally grateful to leave that experience behind! Excitement! Our teenagers are beginning a journey as Abraham and Sarah did almost four thousand years ago. First: Jerusalem, city of gold! Our sages taught us that there are two Jerusalems: a heavenly Jerusalem in our hearts and souls, one that represents our fondest dreams and aspirations; and an earthly Jerusalem where our work is to bring healing and blessing to our world, where the daily work of repairing the world is formidable. That dichotomy will repeat itself throughout this summer. A new chapter in the lives of our 17-year olds has begun as they walk the Judean hills among the sacred stones where for four millennia the history of our people has been forged. Like Abraham and Sarah’s journey, the value of our teens’ experience this trip will be directly proportional to their choices this summer; so far we have reason to be very optimistic. Steve Zerobnick, an ex-Denverite runs Jerusalem-based Shovalim, and has been
our tour provider and partner in Israel for as many summers as we can remember.
When I’m asked to explain why CAJE IST is once again one of the largest
community-based teenage group from North America in Israel this summer, I always
include in my answer our relationship with the Shovalim staff and with Steve. We
joke that his staff is really CAJE’s eastern branch, and in many ways it is
true: not only are they among the finest educators and role models in Israel,
but they love our children and value their safety as much as we do. I hope many
of you will have an opportunity to meet them in the future. Even though it was 3 a.m. when we IST arrived, we collected our luggage,
boarded busses and went directly to Jerusalem, celebrating the new day and IST’s
arrival in Israel with Shacharit prayers overlooking the Kotel (Western Wall).
Our group is really beginning to come together, from providing comfort to one
another in Poland to sharing excitement as they read their Kotel letters – the
words of wisdom their loved-ones wrote for them weeks ago. Our counselors report
that it was a very special moment, sprinkled with a variety of emotional
responses. Students approached the Wall in awe, spent some private moments, and
then toured the City of David before finally checking into their hostel,
unpacking and getting some much needed sleep. Like Abraham and Sarah’s sojourn, ours holds the possibility of new discovery
and spiritual awakening. Stay tuned… Shalom, shalom, Friday, June 16When IST 2006 left DIA Tuesday, the day that is always my second favorite CAJE day of each year was already six hours old. And now, as the group of 72 – CAJE’s largest since 2000 – is settling down for Shabbat in Krakow, Poland, I pause to reflect and share a few thoughts with you. Rabbi Hillel Goldberg in his Intermountain Jewish News editorial of June 9 praised the community – families, teens, rabbis, Federation, synagogues, and CAJE – for helping our community keep this sacred Israel Study Tour together through difficult years so that when these 17-year olds experience the Land of Israel their “hearts will fall in love forever.” And they do. This Jewish adventure of a lifetime is sure to change them as young men and women, connect them with one another and themselves, and cement their lifelong ties to Israel and the Jewish People; CAJE is proud to be associated with such naches. The flights were uneventful, and our group of 72 has already moved through
most of its unforgettable Poland experience – a physically and psychologically
difficult way to begin a six-week journey. But there is great wisdom in
beginning by experiencing a land that gave birth and death to so much of the
20th century Jewish vision. Overnight in Lublin, and then the inevitable: the camps. Majdenek is still intact, and is so powerful an image that speaking aloud is difficult. We walked silently through barracks, showers, crematoria. How can we comprehend what to these teenagers is ancient history, but still leaves its imprint on every one of us? Each step large and small reminds us of individuals and communities destroyed by Nazi genocide. Each visit leaves questions and reminds us that human cruelty can be unsurpassed. We are also reminded – perhaps most important - that each of us has the capacity to bring healing to the world. Or - given the right set of circumstances – to become monsters and succumb to our darkest inclinations. The real message of the Holocaust, perhaps, is that our job is to flood that dark part of each other and ourselves with light so that it never becomes empowered. The American and Israeli staff speaks highly of our teenagers – already. The bond between the counselors and the kids is a vital part of the trip’s success, and Poland provides an important opportunity for bonding and mentorship. IST Poland is a deeply emotional experience marked by sadness, anger, and finally resolve. How can one visit camps of destruction and witness what happened without being forever changed? CAJE feels so honored every year to provide this life-changing Jewish Poland experience for our community’s teenagers – but we can’t wait until I can report back to you Monday, as IST 2006 visits the Kotel in Jerusalem.... Shabbat Shalom. Please check the website for updates I will write every Monday and Thursday, or call CAJE 303-321-3191 x228 for voice updates. |
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