So firstly let me apologise for being a little tardy in response time on the blog. The last few weeks have been an exciting time for Shnat 08-09, and i guess with all that excitement comes a bunch of work to keep me busy too. Nevertheless, the chaggim are now behind us, and boy oh boy did we have some memorable experiences on Shnat.
It all started three weeks ago with our 3 day tiyul through the harsh and unforgiving terrain of the Judean desert. The shnatties hiked together, cooked together, ate together, and slept out under the stars together. The group walked about 25 kilometres over the three days, from the beginning of a beautiful valley in the judean desert hills, through Masada, and finally ending on the beach of the Dead Sea. The tiyul was shared with the North American workshop group, and was a straight hiking and camping experience in the serene Judean Desert hills. That's right - no buses or hostels! And while everyone was fittingly exhausted by the end, and in desperate need of a shower, the group had a fantastic time and gained an intimate understanding of the desert beauty of Israel.
The following week, the shnatties were back on Ein Dor for another week of classes on Boneh. The week's general educational theme was based around the diaspora history of Judaism, from the Bar Kochba revolt to the period of global enlightenment and Jewish 'haskala'. The classes examined such topics as the Bar Kochba revolt and the beginning of modern religious Judaism, the enlightemnent period in general, the French revolution, Jewish European emancipation, the beginning of the Reform movement of Judaism, and 19th century Judaism and it's challenges in Russia. The shnatties also got a chance to plan and run chuggim (creative workshops) for themselves and the North American workshoppers during the week, which was a great avenue for them to take ownership of the educational and experiential content of their week, and empowered them within the community of Boneh. Some of the chuggim for the week including a re-telling of some of the famous stories of the village of Chelm, Rikudei Am (Israeli dancing), and a special viewing of 'amazing things that cats can do' (with special help from the youtube website).
The week ended with the Boneh project time, and the task that befell the shnatties this week was to create a 'facebook' profile for one of the famous historical figures that they learnt of through the week (for those unfamiliar with facebook - it is an internet website for personal and social networking). Shnatties were split into groups of 3 and were given a character to research and create a 'profile' page for. Then all of the characters were put together in a group, aptly named the 'Habo Workshnat Shtetl." Some of the characters include Bar Kochba, Moses Mendelsohn, the Baal Shem Tov, Shalom Aleichem, and even Tevya the Dairyman from Fiddler on the Roof. The activity gave the Shnatties a really strong insight into the fundamental changes and revolutionary ideas that have been a part of Judaism for the past 2,000 years, and continue to influence Jewish life today.
For a final treat for the week, the chanichim went on a siyur (guided tour) to the Diaspora museum in Tel-Aviv university. The museum traces back the history of rituals, expressions, and geographical influences of world Jewry over the past 3,000 years. It includes the backgrounds on many acts and concepts that are prevalent in the day-to-day lives of the shnatties in their communities, in a vibrant and dynamic visual way. Needless to say, it really solidified the educational understandings that they had discussed over the previous week.
Arguably the most memorable event of the past few weeks (although i guess on Shnat every event is memorable!) was Yam le Yam, Habonim Dror's annual walk from 'Sea to Sea' during Sukkot. The tiyul started at Achziv beach, slightly north of Nahariya, with the opening tekkes, and the filling of the ceremonial bottle of water from the mediteranean sea (the first of the two seas in 'yam le yam'), before heading off to park Goren to begin the actual hiking. The shnattie were joined throughout the tiyul by not just the North American workshoppers, but also the Shnatties from the Australian, South African, and New Zealand Habo movement. We had over 100 hikers, not even including the tzevet!
The first night was spent in the camping area of park Goren, and the shnatties revisited one of their most memorable meal options from the Judean desert tiyul two weeks earlier - the poike!
After a solid night sleep under the stars, the shnatties spent the next challenging day of hiking climbing up Israel's second highest mountain, Mt Meron. Har Meron is one of the most significant and symbolic sites in the Galil area of Israel, so to not just learn about it's history, but also conquer it, was a huge achievement for our up-and-coming hiking professionals!
That night they slept out in The Amud stream camping area, and all of the campers were treated to a big medura (bonfire), full of singing, talking, and something which no bonfire would be complete without - Marshmallows!
Our final day of hiking had the shnatties hiking down from the Amud Stream down to Ginnosar Beach, which is on the kinneret (the second sea in 'yam le yam'). After a heavy morning of walking, the group finally arrived to the beach, and had lots of fun eating together, and then swimming together in the beautiful and tranquil kinneret sea.
But all good things must come to an end, and at around 4pm on the final day we had our closing tekkes, which included the transfer of mediteranean sea water to the kinneret as a symbol of our huge tiyul achievement. The shnatties said goodbye to their new made southern hemisphere friends, and got back on the bus. Of course, no Habo event would be complete without some kind of souvenir, so now every shnattie can proudly display their own 2008 'yam le yam' t-shirt, as a sign of their fantastic and unforgettable tiyul experience.
I feel like i have already bored you all, but as you can see, the Shnat 08-09 journey is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. This time I guarantee to write again sooner, and you should all be hearing from me next week.
Next weekend all of the shnatties will be taking part in the 2008 Rabin Seminar, which is going to be attended by all English speaking Shnat groups (North America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa), as well as the Spanish speakers (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico). That's going to be over 170 participants! And the seminar will be rounded out by attending the annual Rabin memorial rally in Kikar Rabin in Tel-Aviv, which is usually attended by anywhere between 70,000 and 100,000 people. It's going to be an awesome experience for the shnatties in understanding Israel and the society of Israelis.
Until next time,
Leon Schneider
Shnatties soaking up the Judean Desert sun
Shnat 08-09 - what a feeling!
Shnatties enjoying the view from Masada
The world famous spinning chickens of Yam le Yam!
