By Meital Gewirtz
Earlier this semester we heard from Shalom Orzach, a senior educator at iCenter for Israel Education where he works at developing Israel educational resources for Jewish educators. Shalom aims to create experiential programs to teach students about Israel and the role it may play in shaping one’s Jewish identity. Shalom joined us for an hour and a half long program on a Wednesday morning to help us learn how to teach Israel to future campers, students, and constituents.
As a Jewish educator himself, Shalom knows the value of teaching through interactive programming. He began by drawing a triangle on the board and putting in each corner one of the following words: Eretz (land), Am (people), Medina (state). We were instructed to imagine the room as the same triangle and place ourselves such that we were standing nearest the word that we most identify with when we think of our relationship to Israel. The fellows were scattered around the room, each with a distinct idea of what Israel is to them.
I stood somewhere in the middle of the room, closest to both Eretz and Am. With the few people standing near me, we considered the history of the Jewish people (Am) in the land (Eretz) of Israel. This history, dating back to Abraham, we felt was so significant that we could not ignore the relationship that as a result existed between both the land of Israel and the people of Israel. While we did discuss the importance of the state of Israel, we recognized its relatively recent significance, and felt that the 2000 years prior were perhaps more notable to our history and connection to Israel the 70 years since the creation of the state. I felt that as a Jew living in North America and not a citizen of Israel, I have a far easier time connecting to Am and Eretz, than to Medina.
When we came back together to come as a group, people from around the room shared their opinions.
Individuals standing in the Medina corner explained that it was precisely because they live in the diaspora that they feel the strongest “connection” to Medina. When thinking of the word Israel, the first thing to come to mind is the State of Israel. The concept of the State of Israel is something that is discussed heavily in different settings even outside of the country. Precisely because we do not live in Israel, the concept of the Medina is something we are constantly forced to grapple with.
Hearing different opinions allowed me to further consider my relationship to Israel. My initial notions about my relationship to Israel were both challenged and solidified over the course of the activity. As a result of this exploration, I now feel better equipped to approach these complex questions with the different communities I engage with in North America. As current and future leaders in the Jewish world, the role that Israel plays in our Jewish lives is an important thing to be regularly reflecting on. In order to assist future constituents in tackling these questions for themselves, we must be comfortable in confronting them.
As someone learning to be an effective Jewish educator, I must be able to captivate an audience. Far too often, the importance of hands on activities in teaching is forgotten. This activity, while enabling us to confront complicated issues, was also engaging. The lesson of how to creatively engage an audience in a teaching moment is just as important a take away from this session as the Israel content. Several weeks after the class I am still able to look back and recall specific conversations and takeaways from the activity. While frontal style lectures are employed as a teaching method in many settings, they are far less effective in reaching their educational goals. Shalom, as a Jewish educator himself, was able to show us, rather than tell us, how to effectively teach Israel.
