What Transformative Experience Means
When I started working at the Jewish Agency in 2017, I revived this old blog to share my reflections during international travels.
I was blessed to visit 13 countries, taking the time to meet with Shlichim, future Olim, Masa participants and see firsthand the activities of the Jewish Agency.
Then came March 13th, 2020, a global halt to travel. We all went inwards and I have not used my passport to cross any border since then. Much has happened since then, a global response, a new reality and a new position for me. As the Regional Director for the Southeast, I oversee operations and relationship for an entire area.
In the world of Jewish organizations involved in the connection between Israel and Jewish communities many programs have adapted, closed or have simply been put on pause. Most of our programs have remained intact, if anything Jewish communities around the world need us more than ever.
August is supposed to be a time for planning, repurposing or cleaning up files...that's why many take vacations.
However, at the Jewish Agency August means something very different: it's a time to put into action transformative experiences. I have noticed the adjective transformative being overused so I decided to share a few examples:
Around the world, it's pictures of families making Aliyah before the beginning of the school year. It means closing the last files so that this last family on the list can spend Rosh Hashana in Israel.
Take for instance Cantor Jennifer Duretz Peled who moved her family from Wellington, FL to Israel. Now in Haifa, along with her husband Rabbi Peled they are starting a new life, bringing with them a rich experience, a beautiful voice and connection to Judaism.
It's also pictures we see on social media of our best and brightest shlichim, saying lehitraot or goodbye to their families at Ben Gurion to spend time in a foreign country with the sole purpose of connecting their new Jewish communities to Israel.
Take for instance Sigal Kanotopsky, my counter part in the Northeast who is currently moving to Philadelphia. She is the first Ethiopian Israeli in a senior position as Regional Director and won the Rappaport prize in 2018. Or former MK Gadeer Kamal Mreeh, the first Druze Israeli woman in a senior shlichut position, once again breaking the glass ceiling.
It's not just families, it's the future leadership in Israel and around the world.
Thousands of Masa participants who are choosing to spend a gap year, internship programs or volunteer opportunities in Israel in record numbers. It's 145 shinshinim (young emissaries) going around the globe to serve 36 communities before enlisting in the IDF. It's 1,300 shlichim in summer camps who will come home after working so hard with masks and social distancing.
The irony is that the impetus to create this blog was my own "transformative experience," a Masa journey with Israel Government Fellows in 2008. Each one of those individuals at the airport waving goodbye will build a journey and impact lives. Please join me in wishing them behatzlaha!
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