Kehillah 2007 Updates

August 12th, 2007 - The Final Update!

Dear Nesiya Parents and Friends,

The final update! Although July 1 and the group's arrival in Israel feel like so long ago, the end always seems to come so quickly.

As Nesiya 2007 comes to a close, we wanted to remind you that the group flight, El Al #27, is scheduled to take off tonight. There is a slight 1/2 hour delay and the flight won't be leaving until 12:35 a.m., so the new listed arrival time is 5:10 a.m. We still, however, expect the teens to be able to meet their parents in Newark by 6:00 a.m. Remember, you can check El Al's website for updated flight information.

To reiterate (and to update) the contact information I provided last time: Julie Lake, who is traveling with the group from Israel, will be available on her cell phone (212-920-1697) only after the plane has landed in the US. David Master, a Nesiya alum and former staff person, will meet the group on the ground at Newark, and will travel on the shuttle to LaGuardia and JFK airports. David's cell phone number is: 201-895-4057. Phil Gassel and Molly Pollak, alumni parents, will also be available in Newark to help participants with their connecting flights.

The last few days of the program were very special ones for the groups. On Wednesday and Thursday, all the participants presented their personal projects following a 3-day period of intense work and reflection. The presentations began Wednesday afternoon with an opening led by the staff and continued through Thursday morning. Each participant and counselor/educator presented a personal project to their Kehillah, either alone or in a small group. After every few presentations, the audience was given the opportunity to respond to the presenters through comments and questions.

Your children created amazing works of art—songs, paintings, drawings, creative writing, movement, original music, photo galleries and slideshows, sculptures, personal interpretations of traditional texts, and more—and shared their projects movingly and eloquently. The projects related to experiences the participants had over the summer, including thoughts about places they visited, reflections on religious, cultural, and political experiences, and questions about what they want to take home with them from this journey. The participants were open and honest as they used the space of personal projects to reflect on what they learned, how they grew, what challenged and inspired them. Your children were also a remarkably attentive audience, as they listened closely to each of their peer’s projects and asked probing questions. The caring and support of the audience enabled all of the participants to bring themselves to the group fully in their presentations.

The Ein Gedi nature reserve provided a beautiful backdrop to the final projects. The final projects began as the sun set behind the mountains of the Judean desert and the moon rose over the Dead Sea. Then, on Thursday morning, everyone awoke at sunrise for the first session of presentations. Many participants chose to use the amazing scenery to enhance their project, presenting outside with the Dead Sea and the desert mountains as their backdrop.

We've begun to post pictures of the final project presentations on the web, and will continue to add more over the next few days; be sure to check the photo album to see your child's work.

Thursday afternoon, after taking some time to rest, the groups ventured down to the Dead Sea for swimming and mud baths. After dinner in the field school they went out 'into the field' to sleep under the stars near the base of Masada. Friday morning they again awoke early and climbed to the top of Masada in time for sunrise. They spent the morning exploring this site of ancient ruins through participant-led activities, before returning to Ein Gedi for their final Shabbat together in Israel.

Friday afternoon, before lighting Shabbat candles, the entire group gathered on the lawn for an original Nesiya '07 concert. A selection of the participants who had written songs or musical pieces for their final projects shared their work with the entire group. The experience served to highlight the close community that the entire group has become as they appreciated each other's talents and shared together in the beauty of the music and place.

The final Shabbat allowed the participants to further explore how to take home what they gained this summer. The Friday night alternative prayer options included Orthodox and egalitarian minyans, a combined 'double-mechitza' service, a storytelling workshop, and a Sephardic piyyut (religious poem) learning session. As there are no local prayer options in Ein Gedi, the variety of prayer and alternative options on Friday night and Saturday morning were prepared and run entirely by participants and staff; and the meals were accompanied by spirited and energetic singing.

On Shabbat morning, the group studied the Biblical story of Jacob’s ladder, used as a trigger to explore the challenge of having inspirational experiences and finding ways to incorporate them into our ongoing lives. In the afternoon, participants and staff shared personal stories of their own moments of receiving blessing and then striving to share those blessings with others. Saturday night each group conducted its own havdalah service, emphasizing not only the separation between Shabbat and the rest of the week, but the separation between their experience with Nesiya and their return home. They then joined together for a festive evening that included a barbeque and jam session.

This morning the groups concluded their time in Ein Gedi by completing evaluations of the program, which both allowed them an opportunity to reflect on their experiences of the summer and also provides Nesiya with valuable feedback to use when planning future programs. They then packed the buses, ate lunch and returned to Park Canada, the spot they visited six weeks ago when they first got off the plane! Each Kehillah met for a closing circle before joining together for a big closing circle with Charles Herman. Charles shared moments of his and his family’s Jewish journey, and also spoke about the theme of relationships among diverse Jews. He concluded the session by inviting participants to join him in appreciating the extraordinary dedication and professionalism of the Nesiya staff who are primarily responsible for the success of this summer’s program.

The groups are now eating a delicious catered meal and soon the Americans and Israelis will say their goodbyes. The North Americans will get on the buses to the airport and the Israelis (along with those of your children who are staying on for a short time) will board a separate bus to continue on to their homes around the country. I am sure that the friendships forged between groups, nationalities and cultures will ensure that these will not be their final farewells.

We wish you a joyful reunion with your children, and will be in touch soon to let you know about follow-up programming in America for your children. We want to let you know what a pleasure it was for all of our staff to be able to spend time with your children this summer and to be a part of their journey through Israel.

On a personal note, it was truly a privilege for me to serve as your eyes and ears into the Nesiya experience, and to get to know many of you through our correspondence. I very much hope you stay in touch as you and your children continue to be involved with Nesiya in the future.

l'shalom,
Mollie