By Alyse Feldman
After a long day of learning about different companies from large, well established ones to small start-ups, it was time for us to think about our own visions and how we will someday achieve them. It was nice to finally each have a chance to put our own ideas into words, although for many of us this proved to be difficult. With so many possibilities, I found it tough to figure out how to articulate exactly what I wanted to change about Jewish life in North America. Rabbi Zeff challenged us to take some time thinking about, and putting into words, both “what” we would want to change and “why” we would want to change it. This was quite a daunting task, especially for only our second day of the opening conference of the semester long Nachshon experience. I expected to explore these vast questions and big ideas at various points during the few months in Israel, but to do so during the first few days was a difficult task, yet a rewarding experience.
For me, it was easier to start with “why” than “what”. In thinking about my life and how my connection to Judaism has played a role in my life I was able to figure out why I think it’s so important that young people find theirs. This took some time to think through, but I think our setting, sitting among other serious people in the cozy, relaxed and quiet office of Mind Space, was conducive to figuring it out.
After a while of being with our own thoughts and visions, we came back together and had some times to read one another’s ideas and plans anonymously. There were so many different ideas, but there was also definite overlap. It was easy to see that many of us were passionate about young people and cultivating a love of Judaism from an early age. Some of the ideas really spoke to me and made me think of ways I could better my own practice.
It was really special to be able to dig deep within ourselves and then be able to share with one another. I think this was a great way to start our semester and set the tone for the types of dialogues we will have as the weeks progress. I can’t wait to revisit these papers in due time to see how the new things we’ve learned will impact our visions as time goes on.
