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Twice weekly for the duration of IST 2007, CAJE Executive Director Daniel Bennett 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 31I was speaking this morning with a 20-year old former ISTer whose lifelong
connection to the Jewish community seems pretty well assured. She was among the
throng who stood at the DIA fountain Sunday night; she was there to welcome home
her sister. As she and I spoke we both realized that we couldn’t adequately
explain why our eyes tear up when we talk about IST. Somebody once told me that
we feel G-d’s presence most fully when there are no words. As each individual entered the loving embrace of friends and family, each was returning to a world they left six weeks ago that will never look quite the same to them. Most will begin the long reunion schedule of formal and informal post-IST events; most will voluntarily return to Hebrew High, despite their demanding senior-year schedules (we know that some will return for the academics, but all for the deep personal connections they made this summer). And we will smile and weep with them at their Hebrew High graduation ceremony next spring because we will know that thanks in part to the journey of IST 2007 the Jewish world will be in loving, committed, confident, and capable hands in this next generation. CAJE, Allied Jewish Federation and the synagogues are honored to provide the Israel Study Tour experience; it remains strong in part because of this ongoing partnership. And 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 hope to see you at CAJE’s 9th annual dinner celebration honoring Dr. Stuart Senkfor on Wednesday August 29, 2007. Your ongoing support for CAJE means that CAJE will be able to continue providing experiences like IST; please contact Shira Zimmerman for details, ads, and reservations (szimmerman@caje-co.org). May the remainder of your summer (which is going far too quickly!) be filled with love & blessings. L’shalom! Daniel Friday, July 20Shalom – I’ve just realized that the next time I write to you IST 2007 will be back in Colorado. While it’s far too soon to reminisce, now is a good time to consider the summer’s importance to these 98 teenagers, the staff members, and our Colorado Jewish community. From its deeply impactful week in Poland, its unforgettable first trip to Jerusalem, to its return to Jerusalem this weekend for the stretch run - it has been an amazing summer. Now, some history. When European Jews began in large numbers to settle Israel more than a century ago, the Negev – Israel’s southern region and comprising more land area than the rest of Israel combined – was seen as a backwater inhabited by camels, Bedouin, and a few crazy settlers. Even today, its potential is only beginning to be explored. I remember as a child reading the words of David Ben Gurion who proclaimed that Israel’s future lay in this vast region. IST 2007 has explored what some affectionately call, “The Republic of the Negev.” Of course that doesn’t exist, but in many ways Israel's south seems like a different county, a land far away from Israel proper, a place filled with history, sea, sand and sun. Not that our teenagers need a special invitation to enjoy things like snorkeling, sunbathing, and free time shopping on Eilat's seaside promenade This opportunity to shpatzir and shop was a welcome one for our group. I can predict with confidence that many of you will receive gifts from your children purchased in Eilat. ISTers work hard learning, touring, growing, even shopping - but they play hard, too! Eilat offers our teenagers para-sailing, swimming and snorkeling in the Red Sea, and an evening disco boat cruise in the gulf. All in all, Eilat earned its reputation as Israel's favorite port-of-call. And now, a cautious disclaimer: You know all this already. With teenagers it is important to set limits - but not too many. So IST has a clear expectation about really important things, like rules concerning alcohol and other drugs and regulations concerning safety and group dynamics. I am proud to tell you that our staff reports very few concerns in any of these areas - this is a very good group! And although we strongly discourage the practice of tattooing and piercing, and we explore with our teens Jewish law, health and societal concerns, we can not enforce rules in this area, and some see this as an IST rite of passage. So, while most of your children were mere spectators, we understand that the body-artists in Eilat are counting their profits this evening. As a step-dad of two young men who are both former CAJE ISTers, I’m available to commiserate… IST’s Eilat visit includes the magnificent Mt. Zefahot hike. As our teenagers stood on the top of this compelling summit and gazed east over Saudi Arabia, at the Sinai and 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. From there one can feel just how much Israel is truly bound by her geography! After Shabbat, 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 from recently conquered Jerusalem - 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. 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. One of our main goals is to challenge our young people to ask the hard questions. All Israelis agree that the figurative 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. After Masada and the final week in Jerusalem, it will be my pleasure to write to you one more time. Until then: shalom. Daniel Tuesday, July 17Shalom! Welcome to IST 2007 Options Week! I begin this week with a question: which of these four options would you choose for your 4th week in Israel?
As I’ve stressed before, group building and identity is a strong value of the IST program; that’s why we begin with summer with a desert hike where ISTers learn to rely on each other. But equally important to a teenager’s development is choice and individual preference. So which option did you choose? Our largest contingent this year selected Gadna, always popular among our teenagers. I remember my own step-sons – when they were ISTers - 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. That described the average Jewish Colorado kid, right? Kitchen (KP) duty, long hikes in poorly-fitting army fatigues – I’m sure they’ll be picturesque the day after their army overnight – check out web site photos next week. 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 way of life, and struggle with the question, "could I ever do this?" May we see the day when military realities are no longer a major part of Israeli society. Today that time 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?” Well, not yet. The natural beauty on the hike, the wide open areas, rival that of our own land. 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. Finally, the quintessential Israeli institution – the Kibbutz – once played a major role in Israel’s society and economy. While that role has been reduced with the erosion of socialist values, a thriving urban environment, and the emergence of 21st century individualism, Kibbutzniks still contribute more to Israeli society than their roughly 2% of population would indicate. Many of our ISTers went to live among the young settlers of Kibbutz Ketura to experience that lifestyle first hand. So - I wonder: which did you choose?
Thursday, July 12Friends: Our tour is a great balance of education and fun, using our brains and muscles, and integrating the old and the new. This week’s time in Israel’s north always has its share of fun activities – hikes, water, a bike ride, kayaking down the Jordan, playing on the beach of the Kinneret. Israel’s north is one of her main recreation areas! I’m amazed each year at this point to realize that IST has already passed 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. It seems like it won’t be long before the teens greet us at DIA as
different young men and women than those who departed weeks ago. Winding north from the Sea of Galilee toward Safed, driving through groves of mountain pines, feeling the crisp mountain air, one can almost taste Colorado. But there the similarities end. In Colorado, a two hundred year-old building is preserved as historic, while in Safed many of the six hundred year-old buildings are still in use! 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. Tikkun Olam is one of our commandments – being partners with G-d to repair the world one kilometer at a time, so to speak. So saddle up those bicycles and ride 60 kilometers as our ISTers did, and raise more than $6,000 for Israel’s ALYN Hospital. What a wonderful way to get exercise, see the countryside, learn about giving, and help this worthy cause. Many thanks from ALYN to the kids and their families & friends who made the pledges. As we head into Shabbat, I wish you Shabbat Shalom, a weekend of peace and rest. Check out the photos on our web site and smile http://www.caje-co.org/high/2007istscrapbook.htm Wednesday, July 4So as we watch fireworks and eat BBQ to celebrate our independence as a nation, what does the word “independence” mean for Israelis? Israel has literally learned to live with a siege mentality for all of its 59 years of existence. While opinion polls show that an overwhelming majority of residents of the Arab countries and territories surrounding Israel would like nothing better than to live in peace with the Jewish state, this means little in totalitarian countries where freedom and liberty are foreign words. Flash back to 1835, the 59th year of American independence. We were a nation just beginning to enter our most challenging years, those heading up to the Civil War. We had a lot of growing up to do, and most of it was painful. As Israel holds its head up high among the nations of our 21st century – with unprecedented achievements in science, medicine, technology, and the arts – we can only imagine her greatness to come. Freedom and independence ensure that the dream of a better tomorrow will stay alive. Perhaps we can even imagine a day when both of these nations will be true prophets of peace. After all, Isaiah’s words are etched in the United Nations Plaza in New York and in hearts of Jews worldwide; may they come true in our times:
It’s been five years in coming, but the partnership we have with the Ramat Hanegev region has become what we hoped it would be. Among other connections our partnership includes:
Our group was greeted so warmly by our friends in the region, and the ISTers have had a chance to meet old friends and make new ones. Activities included seminars on Jewish identity and values, swimming, and laser tag, enjoying ice cream and watermelon. Last night, under the light of a full moon, some teens went on a night hike. Tomorrow they'll visit a Bedouin tent. Some of you might remember that last summer during the conflicts with Lebanon, our group moved from Israel’s north to the safer environs of Ramat Hanegev. We assured each family that not only were the teens safe and having fun, but they each had a bed, access to a computer and a washing machine, and a Jewish mother under their roof! That hospitality has extended to this year’s group as well. My next communiqué will be on Monday, July 9, so enjoy the 4th, call us if you have questions, and continue to live vicariously through the postings on our web site. Friday, June 29Israel, as I will relate all summer long to you, is a land of stark contrasts: political, economic, religious, social. But no contrast is more stark than that of geography and topography. This little strip of land that throughout the millennia has served literally as a bridge between the cradles of civilization that is the Tigris- Euphrates Delta to the north and the Nile Delta to the south is as topographically diverse as any in the world. So now that our quickly-bonded group has finished the most psychologically demanding part of IST (Poland), we move it quickly to the most physically demanding part of the tour (the wilderness experience in Israel). Despite the 100 degree + heat and lack of showers, 98 individuals truly became a group as they slept under the stars and hiked through terrain that included dry river bed or wadis and barren hills. Israelis call these 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, and cheered each other on when the road seemed too long. The wilderness experience helps each individual realize quickly that he or she is capable of accomplishing much more than they originally thought – which is an integral part of IST. For those of us who were lucky enough in your youth to attend summer camp or go on a teen tour, we 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 at IST’s beginning – it’s 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?" Hard to believe, but here comes our first Shabbat in Israel. Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem! Daniel Monday, June 25A Yiddish saying is translated as, “Man plans; G-d laughs.” But sometimes the script unfolds exactly as it was planned. Not only did we close our Poland chapter at Havdalah time and board planes in Warsaw for Tel Aviv, (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) but after arriving pre-dawn safe and sound, incredibly tired and weary, and still excited beyond belief, 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. Eventually the physical needs kicked in, though, and rest and recovery was near at hand at our first Jerusalem guest house. Israel! I’ve used this metaphor before with past IST communiqués: our teenagers are beginning a journey as Abraham and Sarah did almost four thousand years ago. 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 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. Like Abraham and Sarah’s sojourn, ours holds the possibility of new discovery and spiritual awakening. Stay tuned… Friday, June 22As IST settles in for its first Shabbat, its introduction to Poland’s significance in the history of the Jewish world is almost complete. IST’s week has been filled with a taste of the renaissance of post-Holocaust Polish Jewry seen through the pervasive vale of the darkness that was the Holocaust. Most recently a walking tour of Warsaw included visits to the Nozyk synagogue, Mila 18, and memorials at the site of the old ghetto and uprising in 1944. Ask the Colorado teens upon their return to Denver what it was like to study this dark period of Jewish history and then to interact with Polish teens, their contemporaries half a world away. Thanks in part to the Lauder Foundation, the Warsaw Jewish community is rebuilding – yet will never regain its 1930’s prominence as one of the two great centers of world Jewry. Earlier, following an overnight stay in the southern city of Lublin, the inevitable: the camps. It is chilling that the Death Camp Majdenek is still intact, and as we walked the knowledge that it was never dismantled is so powerful 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. As we head into Shabbat there will be time for reflection, for discussion, for process. The bonds both between the teens, and 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. One of the staff’s most important roles is to help the teens process their experiences: how can they frame their visit to Tikocyn and the Lupachowa Forest – sites of both Jewish misery and Polish resistance to the Nazis? what can we learn from that unique brand of Jewish study, the legacy of chevruta made famous by the scholars at the great Yeshiva at which we studied? And perhaps most importantly, what can we learn about our own souls’ journeys from our Poland trek as we prepare for the physical journey to come to Israel? But first, just as G-d did, we rest….Shabbat Shalom**** Tuesday, June 19Shalom – Colorado’s Israel Study tour again is one of the largest of its kind in the nation! 98 teens left DIA this morning, excited to be embarking on our community’s signature program in Poland and Israel this summer. IST is possible only because of the many partnerships and collaborations unique to our community. One year ago this week Rabbi Hillel Goldberg in his Intermountain Jewish News editorial praised the community – families, teens, rabbis, Federation, synagogues, and CAJE – for helping us keep this sacred Israel Study Tour together through difficult years. He could only have guessed the challenges and triumphs that were to unfold last summer. Such is the challenge and the magic of this six-week transformation: its impact will build young adults’ character, their Jewish identities and their Zionist soul. CAJE is proud to be associated with such naches. Our group has embarked upon its unforgettable Poland experience – a very important but physically and psychologically difficult way to begin this six-week journey. But there is great wisdom in IST beginning by experiencing a land that in both life and death defined the Jewish experience of the prior century. Our staff is so very excited to guide and counsel our teens. This summer our student to staff ratio is 7:1, and an equal number of Israelis and Americans staff our group in Israel; in Poland staff is joined master-educators Rabbi Levi Cooper and Dvorah Geller. Rabbi Cooper, who has been a treasure again this year is an historical guide and storyteller who mesmerizes the teens with his Hasidic stories and historical anecdotes. Poland was the center of world Jewry just sixty-five years ago. We begin this year in Krakow, a city that physically survived the war. One can feel the presence of our ancestors in the architecture, the narrow alleys, the walls with indentations in the stone where mezuzot used to hang. Tomorrow we will walk silently from Auschwitz to Birkenau, then trudge 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 our yetzer ha-rah, our shadow, never becomes empowered. 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 I must admit that we can hardly wait Poland is in our rear-view mirror and the seashore of Israel’s coastal plain beckons. But I’m getting ahead of myself… Please check the website for updates twice weekly, and call CAJE 303-321-3191
x228 for voice updates. Daniel W. Bennett
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