By Elana Pogal
Several weeks ago, we had the privilege of hearing from Yossi Klein HaLevi, a famed journalist and the author of the acclaimed book, Like Dreamers. In his book, HaLevi tells the individual stories of the group of paratroopers who liberated Jerusalem during the Six Day War. As evidenced by his book’s structure, HaLevi is a firm believer that it is impossible to have one unified narrative. When speaking to our cohort, he even stated, he had to “become a part of the mess of Israel” to truly understand the complexities of the country.
As a participant on the Nachshon Project Fellowship, this was something that spoke to me. All too often, the way Jewish organizations speak about Judaism fails to recognize that there is no unified narrative of Judaism. Once we label all Jews as the same, we fall prey to the dark realities that we are unable to learn from each other. On the Nachshon Project, we all come from different backgrounds, and we all recognize our differences so that we are able to learn from one another. This is a blessing and this adds value to our experiences, and it encourages all of us to be proud of who we are. But, this is just the beginning.
We learn from HaLevi that we can coexist as a Jewish people, and that this coexistence will lead us to success. Just like the contrasting characters in Like Dreamers, we too can come together to create a dynamic group of leaders for tomorrow. It is irrelevant whether we agree whole-heartedly with each other, as long as we are able to work together to accomplish a common goal. While the paratroopers’ goal was liberating Jerusalem, it is our responsibility to discover our common goal as the Jewish leaders of tomorrow.
Once we understand our goals as a group, we can work more effectively.
