Natalie Perach
Natalie Perach
April 18th, 2012
A Story in the Tapestry: Celebrating Life in the Depths of Hell

As we commemorate the great losses suffered during the Holocaust this Yom Hashoah, we share with you a thoughtful reflection from Natalie Perach, an alumna of the 2011 REALITY Israel Experience for Teach For America corps members program. In December, Natalie used a Make It Happen Project micro grant for REALITY Israel alumni to travel to Poland and Budapest on a trip sponsored by the Jewish Resource Center at the University of Michigan. Having lost family members in the Holocaust, Natalie wanted to explore the vibrancy of Jewish life as it once was, the magnitude of the loss and the seeds of rebirth.

“You’re a sick man,” a member of the trip said to Tzvi, our England born, Israel-residing tour guide, half jokingly, half trying to break the nervous energy that grasped our group. “Scheduling a trip into Treblinka at eleven thirty at night on New Year’s Eve. You’re a sick man.”

Rabbi Lynn (the leader of our trip), passing nearby, overhead my remark. “Welcome to hell,” he commented.

Hell it was. And hell it is. Read More »

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Lisa Eisen
Lisa Eisen
March 22nd, 2012
People of the Book, Community of Action: The Case for Jewish Service-Learning

What is Jewish service-learning? Why is it important? How can it help strengthen our community while also deepening our impact on the world?

This week, Repair the World and the Jewish Communal Service Association released People of the Book, Community of Action: Exploring Jewish Service-Learning to look at these questions and many more through the lens of experts from organizations like American Jewish World Service, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Agency for Israel and countless others who have been working to advance the field everyday.

Read More »

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Julie Oxenhandler
Julie Oxenhandler
February 17th, 2012
A Story in the Tapestry: Putting the Rest Back in Weekend

Julie Oxenhandler is a Teach For America alumna and is currently teaching in Baltimore. She participated in the 2011 REALITY Israel Experience for Teach For America corps members program. Julie recently used a Make It Happen Project micro grant for REALITY Israel alumni to host a her first Shabbat dinner for 19 teachers.

As a teacher, Friday afternoons mark the start of many occasions: the weekend, a time to catch up on grading or lesson planning, or simply a night where you go to bed, knowing that you can sleep in the next day. Many of us, deeply absorbed in our work weeks, see the weekend as a time to get caught up or ahead on work.

We are less likely to use our time for rest with the alluring nature of being overly prepared for the week ahead. Thankfully, Shabbat gently reminds us of the true purpose of our time away from work—to rest, to reconnect and to rejuvenate our minds and bodies. Read More »

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CLSFF National
CLSFF National
February 14th, 2012
Happy Generosity Day!

Across the nation, people are rebooting Valentine’s Day as Generosity Day. They are taking the pledge to make the day about love by forgoing the greeting cards in favor of giving back. In just three easy steps, you can honor your loved ones with a $14 gift that will keep on giving. Read More »

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Lynn Schusterman
Lynn Schusterman
January 16th, 2012
An Open Letter For Martin Luther King Day: Give Back and Pay it Forward

On the occasion of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, I am honored to share an article of mine that ran in The Huffington Post. It looks at the connection between Martin Luther King’s call to action and the Jewish narrative, suggesting that at a time when our country and our world are so polarized, it is the passion and idealism of the next generation who will return us to the sense of purpose and values inspired by both MLK and Jewish tradition.

In the spirit of the challenge I issue in the article, I am also making a pledge. In the coming year, I will create and support more opportunities for young people to serve real needs in meaningful ways. I am looking at a variety of models, including partnerships with secular service and Jewish organizations, expanding service-learning experiences and supporting innovative efforts, like Repair the World’s Campaign for Jewish Service, focusing on literacy and educational equity in the United States and Israel. I welcome your input and suggestions on experiences that interest you.  Read More »

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Adam Simon
Adam Simon
December 14th, 2011
Learning From Teach For All

A month ago, I sat in a classroom with 60 kids in Mumbai, India. I was on a site visit as part of the Teach For All annual conference, a gathering of 200 people spending four days deeply engrossed in discussing how to build a global movement that will end educational inequality in the next 50 years.

The meeting brought together representatives from Teach For All affiliates in the two dozen countries that are replicating and adapting the well-known and highly regarded Teach For America model. I was privileged to be among the social entrepreneurs and funders in attendance from places like Mexico, Germany, Afghanistan, Israel, Lebanon, the UK and Columbia. Read More »

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Chris Harty
Chris Harty
December 2nd, 2011
A Story in the Tapestry: Rosetta Stone Hebrew in Israel

Chris Harty is a Teach For America alumnus who taught first grade in the small town of Clinton, Louisiana. He is also a 2011 REALITY Israel Experience participant and part of the OTZMA Israel Teaching Fellows. You can follow his blog on JewishinStLouis.com.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said that “Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.” Blood of the soul?! That’s some pretty heavy language (excuse the pun) used to describe language. Although I’ve never thought of language in such terms I, like Holmes, believe that language is incredibly important.

“How am I going to learn the language?” This was one of the many questions racing through my head after I decided to move to Israel in August. Three months ago, I moved to Petach Tikvah to join the OTZMA’s Israel Teaching Fellows (ITF) program. As a member of this program, I am volunteering as an English teacher’s assistant at an Israeli public school, Amir Elementary School, where I help teach students (grades 1-6) how to speak, read and write in English. Read More »

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Aviva Rosman
Aviva Rosman
November 18th, 2011
A Story in the Tapestry: You Gotta Be the Book!

Aviva Rosman is a 2011 REALITY Israel Experience alumna and a second-year corps member in Chicago, where she teaches 9th-grade literature and leads a pull-out reading class for special education students. Aviva recently used a Make It Happen Project micro grant to attend the 35th Day of Reading Conference, a day-long series of workshops dedicated to the informal and formal exchange of ideas related to literacy. Aviva’s experience not only gave her practical skills to improve her work in the classroom but re-invigorated her to do the important work she does every day.

“You’re all going to need to go undercover,” Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm said to a room full of high school English teachers last Saturday at the Secondary Reading League’s Day of Reading Conference. “We are receiving reports that there is a drug being passed around the local high school that can make people fall in love. We need you to investigate this drug, and then report back on how it’s used, what are its advantages and any other possible side effects. Now, before I send you out on this mission, I will now accept any preliminary questions about this so-called love drug.”

Forty high school English teachers were suddenly on the edge of their seats. Read More »

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Liv Anderson
Liv Anderson
November 4th, 2011
A Story in the Tapestry: Shabboat!

Liv Anderson is a Teach For America alumna and is currently a Kindergarten teacher at Morris Jeff Community School in New Orleans. She participated in the 2011 REALITY Israel Experience for Teach For America corps members program.

We had already canoed to our site, set up two tents, and now we were waiting at the park’s entrance for the four other campers to arrive. It was 5:00, just the time the second group was supposed to arrive. Then it was 5:10 …  5:30 … 5:45. Still no second car.

The sun was dipping closer to the horizon, and we needed to canoe back to our site before the sun set. I tried to call the other four participants from the office phone. One phone still had service. All I understood between the crackling was “armed standoff.” So far this trip that had been planned for relaxation and recharging was anything but … 6:00 … 6:10. The car pulled up. Read More »

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Leora Sher
Leora Sher
October 19th, 2011
A Story in the Tapestry: Jewish At Heart

Cross-posted from JUF News.

It was dusk on a Shabbat evening in the Old City of Jerusalem. Dressed conservatively, I walked toward a pile of ancient bricks, piled 25 feet high in the air, creating a magnificent wall. I stared hesitantly and pondered, “Could this really be anything more than a wall?”

As I entered, I was overwhelmed: women praying, crying and divulging their deepest hopes, prayers and wishes, and placing them into the deep crevices between rocks where the mortar has been chipped away. I was also skeptical—but that skepticism was masking a deeper desire to feel something, anything that would lead me to tears. Read More »

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