By Betty Soibel
Neve Schechter, located in the Tel-Aviv neighborhood of Neve Zedek, is a young organization dedicated to creating a space for Jews from all walks of life to come together over a shared passion for arts, culture, and Jewish learning. Wandering into the courtyard of the beautiful building following lunch in hectic, central Tel-Aviv, it was clear from the moment we entered that the community we were visiting was created with particular intentionality. As a cohort of Jewish leaders from vastly diverse backgrounds joined by a passion for active Jewish life, it was especially interesting to visit a center devoted to creating a similar type of bond.
We began our time at Neve Schechter by playing some warm-up acting games, a type of activity that comes as almost second nature to all of us with counselor backgrounds. However, it was enlightening to see how each one of us approaches participation versus leadership differently in group settings, as we all took a step back to let someone else lead the activity. After finishing our ice breaker, we launched into a text-based conversation focusing on the concept of making choices concerning the rigidity of law and forgiveness. As we went around the circle and read the Talmudic story, I couldn’t help but think how applicable the ideas we were discussing were to the community that we were attempting to build as new “Nachshonites”. As a cohort made up of so many different types of Jews, we were destined to come to crossroads where the way we decided to behave as a community would reflect our the way we communally viewed our Jewish values. After all, what really happens when you make people who have opposing views on many pillars of Judaism join and attempt to forge a bond over a common identity?
Some voices may be heard more than others, while others not heard at all. Some values may be given priority, while others forgotten. However, the ultimate test of a community is its ability to create a strong network of support for every member, no matter the differences; a test that we could only pass by working together.
Of course, as Talmudic tales tend to go, the story did not have a happy ending. However, the instructor of our activity requested for us to split into groups, focus on a particular value from the story, and reconstruct it to be applicable in the modern world via several minute improv. performance. Though there was an unsurprising number of hilarious references to Mean Girls, the activity was truly successful in showing how a group can take away so many different meanings from one story. And this ability for creativity and open thought, I believe, is reflective of the unique strength of our young Nachshon Cohort 2 community.
