Educator Mission to Israel
Here you will find a Journal written by ENGAJE Israel Seminar members. We invite your comments. Please click here and follow the directions to join the ENGAJE Long Island Israel Seminar discussion.
In the PACT Center we learned how many agencies are trying to educate both parents and children. They are trying to have children reach their “potential” instead of filling in the gaps for the Ethiopian Jews as well as Russians etc. There are classes in language as well as culture.
An army base converted to a nature preserve. Experience the Talmud – the Talmud becomes “alive” by experiencing the land!
Alon was our guide when we reached this beautiful national park. A short bus ride brought us to many caves being excavated. After looking down a deep hole, he informed us that was our way in – a steep ladder which most of us went down, led us to the caves, cool the temperature around 65-70. After explaining the history of the caves to a group of 
Our theme of the day in the founding of the Jewish state with Shellie focused on as she read to us about the tone in New York as we entered Independence hall. We saw a short and fascinating film about the creation of Israel, starting with sixty-six Jewish families building homes in the sand dunes. These homes were the start of Tel Aviv. We met Shira Simchovitch, who will be our early childhood “window” for the next few days. Felicia spoke to us in the modest room where independence was declared 60 years ago. The walls came to life representing the despair and hopes of the Jewish people. We learned about the events leading up to independence as a portrait of Theodore Hertzel and his vision entranced us. Emotions were high as we listened to the recording as independence was declared and Hatikvah was sung.
The afternoon was spent on Sde Eliyahu. The group was divided according to the age group you most associate with. We then were led towards early childhood classrooms. We were immediately struck by the nature of the junkyard playground and because of our “finely tuned” protective nature; we immediately reacted with skepticism and fear. I cannot speak for my colleagues, but what I saw were dirty toys and a potential for danger. Admittedly I felt concern about how the classroom might be, yet when I entered the classroom we were greeted with color, texture and design. This classroom exuded creativity and life. The children’s artwork was clearly displayed all over the walls, and you had a true sense of how much the teacher loved her students, and alternately how much the students loved their teacher. We snapped pictures for potential ideas and we all took this as an opportunity to examine our own teaching practices. Cela had a question/answer session with the group and we began to gain a truer understanding of the theory behind “Junkyard Playground.” Enabling the child to build upon experience, to foster independence and to develop self-esteem and self-worth are intrinsic in this program. These skills are important and should be integrated into our curriculum, but our own culture demands more academics. I think that it would be an interesting understanding to develop curriculum that integrated academic skills with a particular “junkyard” activity. 
Meeting Malka Haas was an extraordinary experience. She is the founder and inventor of the idea of the “junkyard playground.” She and Shira presented the history of the playground from when Malka made aliyah. We also learned about the philosophy and developmental appropriateness of the junkyard playground. Fascinating and inspiring! 
After we rode to the wonderful city of Tzefat. We learned that Tsafat is a very poor community. We also learned that means anticipation. We also learned that L’Chai Dodi was written here. We saw a beautiful Orthodox synagogue. After we saw a Bar Mitzvah marching through the streets of Tsafat to another synagogue. The group was from Miami. What a fabulous was to become a Bar Mitzvah. We got to watch some of the ceremony. After my group went to see Avalon Lowenthal. He is an artist of Kabbalistic Art. He was originally from the United States. After reading many books on Kabbalah he found his true calling. (Others visited with Noah Greenberg the creator of the Tree of Life Shetnder.)
Our cab driver Moshe stopped on a bridge so we could have our first look at Jerusalem at night. We entered the Old City through the Jaffa Gates. We passed through security, gave tzedakah and saw hundreds of people on the plaza. Mona spoke about her 1st time here and asked the question “What is the definition of a wall?” The prayer she read was beautiful. We saw a group of paratroopers that had just completed their basic training. Standing at the wall, listening to the prayers and whispers was an incredible experience. Standing with this group of women and touching this wall that I had only seen in pictures was amazing. Our guide Jeffrey was very interesting and informative. He told us Herod built this temple 3800 years ago. He knew it was on the Syrian Rift and used technology to withstand an earthquake. It remained the same for about 2000 years. After the destruction of the temple, when the Muslims controlled the mount they filled in the valleys around the walls raising the level of the city outside in order to better defend themselves. This preserved the outside walls. The city underneath was discovered in the late 19th century, but was not excavated until Israel gained control of Jerusalem in 1967. Tourists have only had access for about 15 years. 
After driving next to the tall Judean Mountains on one side of the road and the Dead Sea on the other, we arrived at Ein Bokek. We walked into the spa and were greeted by a gentleman. He explained about the massages you could get (aah!), the fresh water pool, salt-water pool, and of course the Dead Sea! 
Our bus arrived at Eretz Breishit on schedule. Josh’s (he’s so cute) instruction was to remain on the bus. Of course all of us were so anxious to meet our four-legged friend that we immediately exited. We were gently reprimanded. There we began our journey and traveled back in time 3000 years. There we met our host who would escort us by camel back to Abraham’s Tent. Abraham welcomed us into his home. He was generous and gracious. It was a feast. Our plates were filled and quickly the food was replenished. It reminded me of my own Jewish hospitality – to give and make my guest feel welcome.
On the road again. Next stop – The Southern Wall excavations. Although it’s been 40 years for me The Kotel has even more of an effect on me. Learning the history of Israel and it reinforces how much I have to learn. Marching with Shira and singing, even though I was the bull whose fate does not end well, it was fun. But the climb up the stairs to the place where the sacrifice was given was very emotional. The ability to visualize what really happened was very moving.
Our last activity of our ENGAJE trip was so much fun. The hands on experience we all got was a wonderful way for children to learn Bible stories. Sitting in the ark with the cheetah hood on my head and listening to Noah, the dove and the raven made it so easy for anyone to understand the story.
