By Anina Dassa After listening to the wonderful Rabbi Tamar of Kehillat Tzion speak earlier that week, we were privileged to get a taste of what Tzion’s lively services are like with Mizrahi Musician Hadas Pal Yarden. Not only did we get to listen to their music, but it was also part of our Kabbalat […]
By Simon Luxemburg For many of us Nachshon Fellows, one thing that strongly characterizes our Jewish identities is ruach-filled singing. Stemming from our Jewish-camping experiences, many of us have a deeply engrained love for spontaneous shira sessions at all hours of the day. Yet, just like any true Jewish camp kid knows, there is no […]
By Sam Balogh I always love discussing and participating in activities which are so often overlooked, but are so enriched with meaning. This was the case when we visited the Zeff household and had the opportunity to bake and learn from Aliza Zeff (our very own Rabbi Zeff’s wife). Besides from the three sentences of […]
By Chantal Rubin On the plane on route to Israel for the semester I experienced a moment of humility, honesty, and excitement as I was about to embark on a journey for which I was certainly excited, yet utterly unprepared. Upon acceptance into the Nachshon Project, I was looking forward to the opportunity to sort […]
By Ashley Englander Each one of us inched forward in our seats. Our ears opened, we hoped to hear something positive about the future of the Jewish people. Professor David Passig, an “Israeli Futurist,” is a modern-day fortune teller for Jewish leaders. His book 2048 focuses on the future of Israel and the Jews by […]
By Samantha Agranoff Rabbi Silverman was the first female rabbi to come speak to the Nachshon fellows this semester and I could feel a difference in the atmosphere. Not only is Rabbi Susan a woman, but she is also the rabbi that has most resembled the rabbis from my community back home. Right off the bat I felt comfortable and a […]
By Shayna Roth On Monday, January 23, we said a bittersweet goodbye to Shefayim; sad to leave the incredible week of learning and team building but excited to make Jerusalem our home for the next five months. The eager jitters among us were evident, and not even the large volume of unanticipated traffic seemed to […]
By Anina Dassa With all of the excitement of meeting new people, seeing new sights and trying some new delicious foods, we finally sat down for some reflection in Tel Aviv’s “Mindspace”. We needed to remind ourselves of why we were chosen for the Nachshon Project, and set our goals for not only the next […]
By Simon Luxemburg Before the opening conference in Shefayim, we were all given the task of reading the book Start-Up Nation by Dan Senor & Saul Singer. The book effectively prepared us for the first theme of the semester – innovation. One of the first activities that we did in Shefayim was discuss this text […]
By Syd Holt Coming from a very secular family in St. Louis, for the majority of my childhood my Jewish identity only consisted of celebrating the main holidays. Although my interest in Judaism grew as I got older, I lacked a lot of the basic Jewish knowledge that a lot of kids my age had […]
