By Leora Lindenbaum
Upon arriving in Israel, I had no clue what was to come for me as I studied abroad and participated in the Nachshon Project. I think many of us (Cohort 6), and personally myself, came in with hopes of discovery of new foods, adventures, careers, and even ourselves. Little did I know how early in this program, I would be given the chance to understand more about myself in ways I had never been able to before. Through discussions with our cohort members, we helped each other click down to our core values through an incredible program led by Rabbi Cohen.
This program was such an amazing way to start off my experience here in Israel, during the opening conference in Zichron Ya’akov. In this program, we were given 3 questions to focus on. We were partnered up with another cohort member, and together we helped each other unravel deeper values of our own than what’s on the surface. To do this, one partner was the listener, while the other would begin to answer one of the three questions revolving around their thoughts about their Jewish community (camp, Hillel, Chabad, etc.). The listening partner would then focus on a word that the duo could dive into deeper and help discover a core value of that word through this discussion about their Jewish Community.
I was skeptical at first, but it was amazing how well we were able to break down our thoughts, especially with someone I had met just two days before this program. It wasn’t just the discovery or path to discovery of our core values, but the understanding me and my partner had for one another, even though we came from different backgrounds; we were able to help each other unravel our thoughts and support one another. Because of this program, I was not only able to walk away with a stronger understanding of my core values, but I also gained a stronger relationship with my cohort and a stronger understanding of each fellow in the group. The program allowed us to gain insight about ourselves, which only helped us build on our beliefs in the incredible programs and activities that followed.
