By Hannah Gilfix
“If you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t stop working for it.” –Michael Jordan. This is a quote that Zeev Ben Shachar shared with us that has really resonated with me. Throughout this semester we’ve been given the opportunity to hear from a wide variety of speakers, travel Israel while learning about its history and geography, delve deeper into the North American Jewish community, and learn how to tie all of these elements together. JerusalemU, the organization that Zeev was representing, focuses on creating ways to teach American youngsters about Israel through a unique and creative lens. This session really had a focus on the concept of taking Israel and zooming out to teach bigger picture ideas.
As someone working at a pluralistic camp that focuses on teaching Judaism through Jewish values, having the opportunity to hear from someone who uses this concept to not only teach about Judaism, but to teach Israel, really sparked an interest in me and allowed me think more in-depth about the most effective way to teach about Israel to kids who may have never visited. This conversation led me to really thinking about how I can bring Israel back to camp and how I can connect Israel education to the Jewish education that we are already teaching.
Zeev posed the question, “What’s one thing that you can do regularly to keep the fire going?” which I think really led myself and the other fellows to think about how we can keep our learning going after returning home from Israel. To regularly keep our fires going after we get home from Israel is going to take a lot of adjustment and a lot of intentionality. Whether it’s starting conversations about Israel, or staying in touch with the friends we’ve met this semester, or spreading our knew knowledge to help others become more educated, it’s important that we keep that fire burning after our time here ends.
Not only did Zeev provide us with new ways and resources to teach about Israel, but he really allowed us to think intentionally about how we can apply this information at home and to think about how important teaching about Israel is to each of us individually. Knowing that I have the amazing opportunity to spread Israel education at my camp this summer, the quote that Zeev shared with us, and that I began with, has really stuck with me since hearing him speak. “If you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t stop working for it.” Throughout this semester, this session, along with our other amazing speakers, have helped me to find my passion and have helped me to see the importance of pursuing the things that I am truly excited about.
