Teens for Tzedek 2007

by Melissa Lovitz

            This summer I went on a trip called Teens for Tzedek. To describe this trip would be impossible because the experiences had during the six weeks are too intense to put into words. What I can tell you though is that Teens for Tzedek, different from other summer Israel programs, combines social justice, social awareness, advocacy, and intercultural exchange into one big pot in the middle of Haifa, Israel, with about 15 Israeli teens and 15 American teens, mixes it around for about six weeks then spits you back out at the Boston University dorms sometime in the end of July. And then ends in Western Massachusetts sometime in the middle of August.

            Every day for a week in Israel and a week in Boston we were split up into field placements. In Israel we could volunteer at a children’s hospital, an educational zoo, a school for children who are disabled, a senior center and an Arab-Israeli day camp. In Boston we volunteered at the Bell foundation branch, which is a summer educational program for children coming from low income families and performing below grade level in Boston public schools. Also we spent time at the Golda Meir house, which is a Jewish senior center; we also had one track which focused on Hunger and Homelessness and another one which focuses on AIDS/HIV. After a morning of field placements we would generally have a lecture or discussion with guest speakers about different topics relating to social justice or social awareness. At night we did things like go to the mall or go karting or see Blue Man Group or have a yoga instructor teach a class. We even spent a Shabbat and a day in New York where we saw RENT and had a workshop with the cast member, Mark.

            Teens for Tzedek to me, was the best experience of my life… and I’m not just saying that. Everyone on Teens for Tzedek brings their own goals, attitudes, and perspectives to the table like one big feast. We all try a little bit of everything and take in the good and spit out the bad. This does not go to say that we don’t appreciate everyone’s opinion, sometimes we even appreciate them too much and those are the types of conversations that make you realize why Teens for Tzedek is so special. The entire atmosphere, everything that goes into Teens for Tzedek is what sets it apart from everything else… it’s what litereally makes everything in life that preceded it worth the while.

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Post Trip Journal Entry, August 2007

by Adie Jalfin

            Sometimes certain tasks seem pointless, tedious, and unsatisfying— but when you're finished and you take a step back—then you can honestly realize how rewarding they are. And you really can’t know how much an experience has changed you until you try to live without it. In time you learn that things are not always what they seem. Though you’ve come to the conclusion that the activities in which you’re most interpersonally involved are those that truly exhilarate you, you eventually stumble upon the recognition that the background work is just as important. And there are times when you want to skip the discussions and continue to jump in and lend a hand, but you’re forgetting the most important part—that sometimes, before you can help others, you need to be able to help yourself. And the things you learn about yourself along the way are priceless. The journey you go on is a path that leads you to self-understanding, during which you discover places deep inside of you that you never knew existed. And it all comes back down to it—the work you’re doing and the people you’re doing it with. It’s all part of the experience. And gradually the weeks reveal your true potential. They show you how much you’re capable of handling on your own, and that it’s really quite a bit, but that there’s always a breaking point. And you can’t keep it all inside and just deal—not forever. There comes a point when you need to let other people in, and that’s okay. And you would have never learned all this if you were home, because it took six weeks away from the person or people who have always taken care of you. However easy or hard those weeks were or seemed to be, they taught you how to do the little things (and the big things) on your own. You adjust to that sort of lifestyle, whether you want to or not, and once you adjust, it’s hard to leave. Because sometimes when you do something or stay in the same place for a while, you get stuck in this sheltering bubble—a comfortable, safe place within all the chaotic schedules and dramas. And when it all ends, you break through your bubble’s surface and you enter the real world—and it’s incredible to see how different it feels than the last time you were there. Everything feels like it’s changed. But it hasn’t. You have. And the whole adventure you just went on was one enormous risk. And the little bit of heartache you get when it’s over, that’s definitely worth it, because if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more. Imagine the person you would be had you not gone on Teens for Tzedek. Relaxing in your own home and having a break from everything and everyone feels great, but it’s amazing how much you miss the smallest things. But what’s most miraculous about it all is how one summer can make such a gigantic difference…

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September 2006 - Submitted to the Ohabei Shalom Tidings

by Amy Plovnick

When I tell people that I was in Israel this past summer, the most common question they ask me is “What was it like being there with the war going on?” And although I can spend a lot of time talking about what it was like leaving Haifa after the first missiles hit there, or coming home and seeing news about Israel all over CNN, that is not the first thing I want to say about my summer. That’s because the things that influenced me the most this summer were meeting an amazing group of Israelis and Americans, and making a difference with them.

            Teens for Tzedek, the program I took part in, is a cultural exchange and community service program for teens from Haifa and the Boston area. Over the course of three weeks in Israel and three weeks in the United States , I got to know so many different types of people- Orthodox Jews, Ethiopians, secular Israelis, Americans more and less religious than me, and everyone in between. But it wasn’t long before I forgot about these labels and started thinking of these people as my friends. Of course, it was hard bringing two very different cultures - and people who don’t speak the same native language - together. It wasn’t perfect, but who expects 31 teenagers to live together for six weeks and get along perfectly the entire time? Because we spent so much time together, I got to know the kids in my program extremely well, and I hope to remain friends with them for a very long time.

            Well, what were we doing during our six-week program? When we were not touring around Israel or the United States , we were participating in community service placements. In Haifa , I volunteered at a school for disabled children called Ofakim. This was very difficult for me at first because not only had I never worked with disabled people, but I also couldn’t even speak the same language as them! The Israelis helped me with the language barrier, and I soon realized that the kids at Ofakim were very similar to the preschoolers who I had worked with at my school the year before. They liked to be smiled at, they liked when I made funny faces at them, and they loved to sit in my lap. Once I realized this, I was able to interact and communicate with the kids much more.  I hope I made a difference in their lives, and I know they certainly made a difference in mine.

            In Boston , my field placement was working with homeless people. We helped out at several different homeless shelters, and for a few days we sold a newspaper called “Spare Change”, which is usually written and sold by homeless people as a source of income. It was very difficult to sell this paper on the street because people would walk by without even acknowledging me. In an hour, each person in my group only sold a few newspapers. This made me change the way I treat people begging for money on the street because now I actually know how they feel. Even if I do not give money, I try to look at people and say “Sorry” or “Not today” because I know how difficult it is to be ignored. From talking and working with homeless people, I know that anyone can become homeless - things can even happen to people with good jobs and families that cause them to lose their home and end up on the street. My field placement opened my eyes to the magnitude of the problem of homelessness and how important it is to try to fix it.

             When we had been in Haifa for a little over a week, and the first rockets hit there, we left the city late at night and went to Jerusalem . I was pretty scared when we found out what had happened, but then I realized that the Israelis in my group have to live with things like this all the time. That doesn’t make what happens any less sad or scary, but Israelis just take it as a fact that these kind of bad things happen in Israel . They call home to make sure everything is okay, and then go on living their lives. I truly saw this when we got to Jerusalem at three in the morning; when we got off the bus, all of the Israelis started singing a song about Jerusalem at the top of their lungs. A few hours later, we were standing at the Kotel, the Western Wall, a place where Jews from all over the world have been coming for thousands of years. I saw this as a sign of hope - that even though unrest and war happen in Israel , this place will always be here for Jews.

            The first day I got back from my trip, I asked my parents if I could go back to Israel next summer to see my friends and just visit the country again. I don’t know if that will happen, but until I do make it back to Israel I will keep emailing my friends halfway around the world and remembering the amazing summer I had with them. 

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Speech For Yom Kipur Service 2005 - Cong. Kehilath Israel, Brookline

by Dalia Shapiro

        In the fall of 2004, I was trying to decide what I would do for the upcoming summer.  I had just returned from an adventure in Costa Rica a few months earlier where I did community service.  Along with several other teenagers, we taught English to children and adults, painted murals, cleaned the town and began building a kindergarten and an old age center.  I had gone through somewhat of a culture shock when I returned to Boston, and I
highly doubted that the next summer could be any better than the one that
just ended.

         But I tried to remain positive while looking for other programs, even though I may have been slightly skeptical.  Then, my mom told me about Teens for Tzedek, a social justice program in Israel and Boston.  I learned that the first week in Israel would be based in Beit Rutenburg, the University of Haifa, while we did community service in the morning.  The rest of the time would be spent traveling throughout the country.  In Boston, we would stay in Boston University dorms and end the trip in New York City.  However, the detail that truly persuaded me, that was something I truly wanted to do, was the opportunity of living with Israelis the entire time.  I couldn’t pass up the chance of seeing Israel from an Israeli’s point of view and not just as
a tourist.

         As the year went on, my excitement seemed to be building almost every day until it got to a point where all I could think about was my upcoming summer abroad.  When the stresses of school finally gave way to the summer heat, I hopped on a plane with my ten American friends and madrichim or counselors whom I had just met.  Once we finally arrived at Tel Aviv airport after what seemed like a million hours later, eighteen excited teenagers bombarded us with posters, gifts, and hugs.  The car ride to Haifa was filled with bonding games and storytelling.  The excitement of the Israelis was contagious and our exhaustion disappeared.  It was only the beginning of a summer filled with more games and storytelling, inside jokes that only made sense to us, and memories that continue to penetrate my daily thoughts. 

         One of the most memorable experiences in Israel was our first Shabbat together at Yemin Orde, a boarding school for teenage immigrants where six of our tzedeck teens live throughout the year.  It is a strictly religious community located in the Carmel area thirty minutes outside of Haifa.  As we sat together, still getting to know each other, waiting for the leader of Yemin Orde to talk to the community right before Shabbat services, my breath
gave way as I looked out across the Carmel onto the sea as the sun was setting.  It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen, and at that moment I felt some sort of spirit floating above us all.  The breeze from the sea, the light of the sun, the calmness that surrounded us--I had never felt such peace and comfort.  I was completely at ease.

         Later, we heard from Dr. Chaim Perry, the founder of Yemin Orde.  After we had been having an intense discussion about what is k’lal ysrael, he talked to us about what it means to live.  His talk truly inspired me to rethink my entire life and future goals.  I walked out of the room, almost crying because his words buried under my skin, and continue to rest there.  He told us what he tells his students almost everyday.  He said that life isn’t about what our job consists of, or what our yearly salary is, it certainly doesn’t matter what college we attend, it is about what we do with our lives and how we affect other people.  He told us stories about some of his previous students who had gone to him after they left Yemin Orde and were having a difficult time adjusting to outside life.  He said they complained that no matter how much they try to help people, what one person does, doesn’t matter.  One person’s actions don’t change the world, they said; they barely change anything.  Dr. Perry responded by saying, of course it matters.  Making a difference in one person’s life can change everything, no matter how small the difference.  He also told us that yes, he has a doctorate in education, but to him it means nothing.  What matters to him is his kids, and how he changes and affects them, not his title, or how he got it.  He believes it is useless.  His empowering words and gentle manner cause me to think more about the daily things in my life, which make me who I am today. My friends and family are the priorities in my life, not the grade I got on some test, or my future job.  It is only how we affect people and the imprint we leave on their lives, which will be remembered.  Those imprints last forever.  Your SAT score doesn’t.  While Dr. Chaim Perry’s words truly moved me, Israel itself also altered my belief system.  

          While I grew up going to Soloman Schechter, learning all the traditions and prayers, I never really had a strong sense of Judaism.  But when I went to Israel, where everyone is Jewish, I felt such a different connection.  Everyone there has his own way of looking at Judaism, which makes it so special. For some, it is the daily prayers and the blessing over the tzitzit and the keeping of kashrut.  For others, it is simply the spirit that lives with them everyday and keeps them functioning.   While in Israel, I found my connection to Judaism, which continues to evolve and become a part of me.

         When I was in Jerusalem, I got a ring with the skyline of Jerusalem and my name engraved in Hebrew on the inside.  On the outside, it says in Hebrew “If I forget you, oh Jerusalem, forget my right hand.”  It means that if I ever begin to lose y Jewish heritage, then I will lose a part of me and forget who I really am.  This old saying has become such a part of me and reminds me everyday of how vital my heritage is.  Israel changed my life.  Yes, Boston Latin teaches me the quadratic formula and how to decline a first declension Latin verb, but Israel taught me who I am today.  Where I’ve come from, where I am, and where I can go.  The people I met and the experiences I had guide me through everything.  Honestly, it wasn’t only Israel that did this, but it was truly the program that I
participated in that mattered so much to me.  My friend always describes the trip as the most amazing trip of her life.  After she goes into a long explanation about how she volunteered in Israel as a counselor at an Arab Israeli camp, she says that if she had been on any other trip, then the closest she would have come to such an experience if she had gone on a teen tour was MAYBE driving past the friendships she made with her campers.  Yes, I could have gone on any trip to Israel, but it really was Teens For Tzedek that brought me to the connections I have today, and it would be impossible to forget the best experience of my life.

          Imagine spending a summer with 30 people your own age, living, breathing, and becoming enthralled with the Israeli culture. Now think about that same situation, only now, 18 of those people actually live in Israel, and know the culture on an everyday basis. Spending 5 weeks in this situation, really affects a person.  I know this first hand.

          This summer, I traveled to Israel on a program called Teens for Tzedek where I got to live with Israeli teens, stay out way past my bed time, learn to drink coffee, eat falafel and of course, tour Israel. But on top of those typical things, I was a part of one more amazing experience that I will never forget. This is my story.

          I was presented with the opportunity to go to Israel and do community service through social justice, to try to repair the world, one step at a time. As a part of this project I spent one week working at a school, Ofakim, in the city of Haifa. This was going to be awesome because I had always wanted to be a teacher. But it was also going to be a challenge, because I don't speak Hebrew and also, children in the school all had some form of cerebral palsy, some cases worse than others. When I walked into that school for the first time, I'll admit it, I was scared when the first noise I heard was a child screaming. What had I got myself into? But the fear evaporated when I walked into one of the classrooms. Those faces, all smiling, something inside of me just clicked, like I knew this was the right place for me. There was one boy who truly touched my heart. He would come up to me everyday and give me a high five, and everyday I was around him, I became so much more amazed by him and this school. That five year old was awesome, and I will never forget him because we made this bracelet together. But I could go to a school in America and probably be touched by disabled kids here as well, so what makes this school so different? Was it the fact that I was in Israel? Maybe that was part of the reason, but not all of it. This school not only educates children that are Jewish and Israeli but also children who live in the Palestinian villages in Israel. That boy lived in those villages. I then realized that perhaps this was one of the very few places in the world where the two cultures live and learn peacefully together. It was the spiritual, emotional, and political awareness I experience that made it so special.   

          While climbing Masada in flips flops and discussions going into late hours of the night are both memorable, it was the unity of the school that impressed me most. So as of my blessing, I'll bless all of the people in Israel, because I learned the true meaning of peace from that school, and if that little spark that the school had could only be passed on to all the differing countries and cultures, the world would be a better place.