Israel Advocates or Education Diplomats?

The field of teen immersive experiences in Israel is undergoing a transformation not seen since the introduction of Israel Advocacy over twenty years ago. This is not to say that we have seen the last of Israel Advocacy, but perhaps a next iteration of it or a parallel – strategic track – to it. As…

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On Passover – What is YOUR why?

Duality and contradictions are found throughout the Torah, in Jewish life, and Israel’s existence as a people and a nation-state. The book of Genesis begins with chaos seeking order, attempting to create a semblance of normalcy because life is anything but normal. Like creation, on Passover we have a Seder, an “order”, of reenacting our story…

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Leadership, Routine, Renewal

Erica Brown, on her podcast Day 129, discusses renewal and the challenges leaders face when getting stuck in routines and relying on “the way we’ve done things”. Erica shares that we don’t know we have been imprisoned until we’ve broken out. Advancing renewal results in a level of self-awareness that can unleash the full range…

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Global Zionist Citizenship, A Manifesto

Zionism, initially defined as the national movement of the Jewish People, has made a huge comeback onto Global Jewry’s agenda. Organizations across the globe, including the Government of Israel, are investing tremendous resources into the reclamation and re-education of Zionism. On the one hand the term has been hijacked by others for the purposes of…

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I’m that kid

I’m that kid that was wild, energetic, uninterested in school and just wanted to have fun. I’m that kid that wasn’t good in math or science, reading and writing. I’m that kid that preferred not raising his hand in class when I didn’t understand the material for fear of being labeled dumb, or having ADD,…

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The Long Path

English Followed by the Hebrew ב”ה שבת תשובה, פרשת וילך תשפ“ב הימים האחרונים של משה רבנו הם מרגשים, ומעלים מחשבות לגבי המסע של כל אחד מאיתנו. משה מסביר לעם ישראל:”… בֶּן-מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה אָנֹכִי הַיּוֹם–לֹא-אוּכַל עוֹד לָצֵאת וְלָבוֹא; וַאלוקים אָמַר אֵלַי, לֹא תַעֲבֹר אֶת-הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה.” אף על פי זה שמשה הוביל את בני ישראל מעבדות…

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To Be or Not To Be

English followed by the Hebrew: משפחה וחברים יקרים: אם חודש אלול חודש של סליחות, חודש של תקיעה בשופר יומית (במשנה ברורה: נוהגים לקום באשמורת לומר סליחות ותחנונים מראש חודש אלול ואילך עד יום הכיפורים – הגה: מנהג בני אשכנז אינו כן, מתחילין לתקוע בשופר מראש חודש ואילך) עובר עלינו תקופה של חשבון נפש והיתעוררות –…

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Yom Teru’ah – A Day of Everlasting Awakening!

The only biblical references to this period of these Days of Awe, beginning with Rosh HaShanna, we are about to enter is found in Leviticus/VaYikra 23:23, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of horns,…

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In Tel Aviv, we spend every night in the bomb shelter now

The Hamas rocket assault is bad for Palestinians and Israelis alike TEL AVIV — When it started, we heard the children’s school was going virtual again that day. Coronavirus again? No, rockets — 250 had been fired into Israel from Gaza overnight. By that evening, we were in the bomb shelter, as rockets were flying to Tel Aviv.…

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Opinion: Israel Education as Diplomacy, not Advocacy

We continue to commit such a disservice to our youth, putting them on the frontline to fight for our right to exist, carrying the weight of 2,000 years of exile, when they themselves don’t even know the aleph-bet of their own existence – let alone – Israel’s. Why should a teenager on their way to…

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