There is nothing like sharing a Masada sunrise with your best camp friends.
By Emily Andes
Every summer close to 40 Israelis bring their smiles, skills, and culture to GFC. They come to see the US, gain new experiences, and educate campers about what life in modern day Israel is really all about. As valuable as having this large Israeli delegation is, nothing can replace the amazing opportunity of actually going to Israel and experiencing the holy land first hand. Greene has a program called Garin Greene in which incoming 11th graders spend their summer together in Israel rather than at camp. Sometimes though, for various reasons, going on Garin Greene doesn’t work out for everyone. Luckily, it’s not your only chance to go to Israel with your GFC friends.
Taglit-Birthright Israel is an amazing program that gives young Jews aged 18-26 a trip to Israel for FREE. You read that right, thanks to generous supporters, the trip is completely FREE. Unfortunately if you have been on another organized trip like Garin Greene you do not qualify, but if not Birthright Israel could be the perfect trip for you.
Within the Birthright organization you get to choose which organized trip you take (Hillel sponsored, movement based, etc.) Kesher is the young adult branch of the Union for Reform Judaism and by choosing to travel with Kesher you have the opportunity of traveling with other GFCers and this winter even having your trip lead by Assistant Directors Stefani and Scott!
Several years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Israel with Birthright and Kesher and it was a once in a lifetime experience. Being in Israel with my closest GFC friends made it that much more meaningful and was a unique experience we’ll always have to look back on together.
The following is an excerpt from a d’var torah my sister delivered at her Hillel following our return from Israel. In it, Sarah captures what it was like to visit a Israeli reform congregation for Shabbat Services. To me, it really describes what made the Kesher experience unique. How amazing it was to be somewhere foreign yet so familiar, with my closest Greene friends.
“We were headed, they informed us, to a small Progressive congregation in Modi’in, a relatively new town evenly distanced between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Upon arrival all 42 of us shlepped off the bus and filed into not a typical sanctuary but rather a converted kindergarten classroom. After finding our seats amidst the cramped rows of folding chairs, we listened to a representative from the congregation welcome us and invite us to worship together. He explained that though the congregation was growing, they could not yet afford their own sanctuary so improvised by hosting religious services in what facilities they did have, classrooms which housed their six pres-school and kindergarten classes.
We had been forewarned that the entire service was in Hebrew. And, exhausted after a busy week, we were more than happy to sit back and take in the experience freed from the task of following along in the siddurim. We chimed in at familiar prayers but frequently the tunes would change and us non-Hebrew speakers would slip back into silent observance.
Then the Mi Shebeirach began. My fellow group members immediately perked up, eager to participate in the singing of this familiar tune. And so we all sang together in Hebrew, joyous and reverent and united. Suddenly, our harmony ended as the Israelis’ voices carried on, singing a verse we are accustomed to singing in English in their native tongue. Such should have been expected. But we joined right back in at the next familiar Hebrew verse, reluctant to be discouraged. And instead of sitting silently the next time the unfamiliar Hebrew verse came around, some of my trip mates exchanged nervous glances and sang their English version softly, as a complement to the lovely Hebrew sounds. And the harmony was beautiful, the two languages intertwined into one melody, the two cultures transcended into one people. It took this prayer for healing to soothe my anxious soul and remind me that we all shared a single past, faced a common challenge, and hoped for a brighter future, together and in peace.”
To learn more about traveling to Israel with Kesher, click HERE.
