By Pamela Kekst
Just over a month ago, cohort four of the Nachshon Project met altogether in person for the first time. In the frenzy of meeting everyone, each of us learned how to give a quick introduction. We identified ourselves and our stories through key words—what camp we worked at, what university we attended, what number visit it was for each of us in Israel. But as the weeks have progressed, we have each learned that there is so much more to a story, and to our stories, then the buzz words we begin with. Storytelling, and the art of sharing yourself with others takes effort, intention, and practice.
That is why so many of us were inspired to meet Mishy Harman, creator of Israel Story. Mishy shared with us the concept behind his podcasts, and the power of using stories to introduce people to new ideas and circumstances. Mishy described many relationships he has built through witnessing and sharing others’ stories and discussed the elements and tensions that bring stories to life.
Then, he practiced this art before our very eyes. Our group traveled to Tel al Ful, an abandoned Jordanian castle located over the green line in Jerusalem, and told us the story of the site. It is associated with layers of Biblical and Talmudic era stories. It was the site where King Hussein of Jordan liked to hang out when he was in Jerusalem. Subsequently, it was used as a battleground during Six Day War and has been untouched since then. Through creating a podcast on the site, Mishy met many of teenagers who use the abandoned fortress to drink and play, as well as the commanders who fought there in war. In doing so, he painted a picture of Tel al Ful as a microcosm of the tensions that define Israel: a place rich in history, with multilayered narratives, and resting in stagnation, but with potential for future growth.
In the elements of his storytelling, each of us could see ourselves. We were given the opportunity to think about our own stories and how we want to share them with others. As one fellow explained, Mishy’s lesson is to ask questions and not make assumptions. Rather than using buzz words to describe ourselves, we owe it to each other in this experience to look deeply at the angles and narratives of our stories and practice storytelling with the intention Mishy exhibits.
