Students from UMass-Amherst Hillel wrapped up their time in Israel last week. Here’s a reflection from Hannah.

Hannah (left) painting with Aviv at the Mishol in Ramla

Jackie B. checks in from Ramla.

Scene from our celebration at the Garin last night!

Last night we all got to experience some Ethiopian culture first hand. The Garin prepared a traditional meal for us and also shred their cultures dance and history. It was really amazing for me personally to look around the room and see pictures of earlier generations back in Ethiopia and listen to their stories and then realize how far they have come. They have such beautiful and rich traditions and I was honored to have felt connected to them on such a meaningful level.

The Garin then showed us a slide show of the work they have been doing through out the years. The community seems really involved and family oriented which is great. They also have been preserving their Ethiopian heritage and not only teach their children Hebrew, but Amharic as well.

All in all, last night really was awesome. Eating and dancing with the Garin really made me feel apart of the community and taught me so much about this community – a community I knew nothing about before this trip.

I LOVE RAMLE!

Coby checks in from Ramla, where he’s serving with UMass-Hillel and JDC Short-Term Service.

Coby (front, center) with the group in Ramla

We recently spent the afternoon working with children in Ramla.

I along with seven others was fortunate enough to help out in an afterschool theater class. The kids were between the ages of 8 to 12 and showed us their knowledge of English by singing a song which encompasses the alphabet, days of the week, prepositions, and a few verbs. This was amazing to see a group of children know more English than many of the people on our trip knew of Hebrew.

Afterwards they performed two plays. The first was Cinderella and the second was the biblical story of the golden calf. These were inspiring to see. Even though I couldn’t understand the words the children were saying I was still able to follow the performance with my knowledge of the stories.

Finally, we played some other theater games with the children. When asked about the experience I immediately said “life changing”. This was the only way in which I knew how to explain the small time we had with the children. Even with a huge language barrier we were able to interact with the children and by the end have a unique experience that seemed to affect us as well as the children.

What amazed me was that even in a city that’s not economically stable they still find a way to run art programs such as a theater class for both boys and girls in the community. This inspired me and showed me how a community will work together in order to enhance the lives of each other and especially the children. So far the trip has been full of great experiences and can’t wait for all the others I’ll get to have.

Dan D is serving with UMass-Amherst Hillel and JDC Short-Term Service in Israel.

Dan D, left, takes a moment to pose for the camera after planting a coffee tree

Planting a tree in Israel is something that every American Jew is familiar with.

From a young age my mother told me that planting a tree in Israel was a very important mitzvah to do. When I was born, she said, our family friends bought a tree that was planted in Israel in my name.

As a child, I couldn’t comprehend the significance of this, let alone understand what I had to do with Israel. My picture of Israel was only the one painted by my Sunday school education which was of a very religious land far far away. But as time past and as I grew up, my connection to this far far away place grew. I eventually found out that in addition to having a lot of family in Israel, my parents lived there and had a life there.

To make a long story short, I traveled to Israel on a Birthright trip last May and experienced the country my parents fell in love in and where their life started together. On my current trip, through the JDC, unlike the Birthright trip, we are doing community service, working in an underserved community outside of Tel Aviv. The work included painting inside apartments, planting trees, working with kids, and becoming educated on other JDC projects throughout the country.

It was on the third day of work, when I planted a coffee tree, that it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was actually planting a tree in Israel. Unlike before, the tree that was planted in Israel 20 years before, I actually planted a tree in Israel with my hands! It was this mitzvah that my mother had mentioned to me so many years ago that had coming to life. It made me think about her, and her mother who pioneered the land in a Kibbutz in the north. How I was continuing my family’s connection to the country and to the land itself.

Dan L. checks in from Ramle, Israel where he’s serving with UMass-Amherst Hillel and JDC Short-Term Service.

Only success like that achieved today could have eclipsed the satisfaction felt by the whole group after a hard day’s painting, followed by the toasting of gelatin-free marshmallows at night.  If yesterday was successful, today’s activities truly began to shed light on the true nature of our mission, and our ability to create change here in Ramla.

My day began with the planting of coffee and lemon trees along with various other smaller plants outside the Taveja center-our home base in the city- with my comrade Daniel Dovev, while the others did the same close by while engaging in a short-lived singing of Disney Princess songs (with an unfortunate emphasis on the Little Mermaid).  At the end of 3 hour’s work our group of 16 volunteers had cleared immense amounts of trash from the property around the apartment building painted the previous day.  In its place we planted somewhere around 40 trees and bushes.  The result was dramatic! In addition to the satisfaction earned as the result of a job well done we could gaze upon the newly beautified plot of land with pride.

Lunch: chicken, hummus, olives, hummus.  Delicious.

Next came a sort of romp:  Our team split off into two groups, one going to play dodge ball with a group of young teenaged students while the other went to participate in an after-school theater class comprised primarily of 8-year olds.  Here, the significance of the language barrier all but evaporated, as the main form of communication manifested itself in universal facial expressions and hand motions: Mainly smiles and waving.  There were also translators.  Even the student’s 10 minutes rendition of Cinderella recited entirely in Hebrew was easy to follow as the result of the kid’s impressive commitment to expressive movement.

The end of the day featured probably one of the most important experiences I’ve had in Israel to date.  The team walked through the thunder and rain to the mediation center in Ramla where we met a group of Arab and Jewish Israelis to learn first hand how they have been working together to address the social and cultural issues facing the city.

Coming to Israel as a foreigner, it was refreshing to see a group of people composed of two factions notorious for intolerance toward one another, coming together to achieve a common goal through discussion of important issues. Assuming that Ramle is a pioneer in such intercultural cooperation as seen in mediation programs like this, it is ironic to think that a city with such a “stigma” attached to it –according to Jasmine, the 19 year old Arab mediation committee member- should very well be serving as an example for the rest of Israel.

I think the group has a reasonable sense of accomplishment so far, as well as a more holistic understanding as to the context of our service here.  We have a greater comprehension of the challenges facing Ramla today and how we are able to help.  Most importantly, however, I think we have a grip on what more there is to learn about the community.

Check out some pictures from our time here so far below.

After a long flight, during which we experienced turbulence, 4 AM davening, and delicious airline chicken, the exhausted, yet excited group arrived at Kibbutz Nachshonim. We were greeted by friendly kibbutznikim and homemade falafel accompanied by fresh vegetables and the hummus of heaven’s doorstep. After that we sat down in a circle, reflected on our feelings thus far and discussed JDC and the Mishol program. For those folks out there who do not know what  Mishol is, the word means path, but there is also a deeper meaning, which we would realize the following morning. We all agreed that the air in Israel tasted and smelt sweet and special. Giddy on the emotions of the day, we went to bed in anticipation of the morning.

Several students woke up well before the sunrise, maybe due to jet lag, maybe due to excitement. We walked into the vibrant sky as the sun rose, gazing out upon Tel Aviv’s night lights, as Kibbutz dogs sauntered by. After a breakfast of more veggies, hummus, eggs, toast, cereal and more we jumped aboard our bus, overalls in hand and headed to Ramle. The group met with Givte, Eyal, Moshe, and other leaders of the Mishol program (see JDC’s website for more info) who gave us an itinerary of the week and then directed us to our work sites.

We split into three groups to paint the interior hallways of four-story apartment buildings in the city of Ramle. Ramle is a low income, but culturally thriving center of immigrant life. As we painted the walls a vivid white, we worked alongside locals who taught us proper painting techniques. A couple of groups were even invited into their guides’ apartment, met their families, and took a break for tea and cakes.

After 3 hours of painting, and a good dousing of ourselves in paint splatter, we headed to a delicious lunch of schnitzel, grilled chicken, veggie salads galore, potatoes, rice, and (you guessed it) more hummus. Over lunch we got to know each other a bit more, discussing everything from movies to past Israel experiences. We thought about the idea that in many of our past trips to Israel we felt like we were taking in Eretz Israel and all its splendor without giving back, as this JDC trip does.

We then moved on to the second activity of the day. Half the group worked outside painting two murals in a small commercial area with children. We worked as the sun set behind us, painting a bright blue sky with a dove soaring through it on one wall, and a budding field of fruits and vegetables on the other. These paintings represent the optimism we hope to bring to the community of Ramle.

The other group created colorful tile mosaics which will be hung as entrance signs for the apartment buildings in the area. The children grew giddy as they made the signs to their own homes, gaining a palpable sense of ownership and pride for their community. We  communicated in a mix of Hebrew, English, and song. Teaching each other words such as team “tzevet” and friends “chaverim”. One girl said “I will never forget you” as she invited a JDC team member to skip off with her to check out the other teams work.

After a long day’s work, we boarded the bus for Nachshonim. During a delicious spaghetti dinner (hummus still included) we discussed the pervasiveness of technology in todays culture, plans for after graduation, and ways to spice up our lives on campus at Hillel and with other organizations. Though the group is from all class years, disciplines, and backgrounds, we never fail to find a deep conversation to delve into.

The fun continued as we made s’mores over the grill, ate chocolate with pop rocks, played with the Kibbutz pets, and sang songs in Hebrew and English as a few of the more musically inclined led us with the guitar. Conversations lingered on well into the night as we gazed at the stars, but our beds beckoned with the call of tomorrow’s volunteer work and fun.

UMass Amherst Hillel will be traveling to Israel in January 2012! The students and staff will be starting the New Years out with some community service in Ramle, located outside of  the metropolis of Tel Aviv, with the JDC Mishol/Path Program. We will be learning and living together while helping Israeli immigrants from Ethiopia and Russia. We’ll help to build and beautify their physical environment through projects such as painting, and gardening. We will also help to enrich their (and our) social structure by interacting with children and young adults. In addition to working hard, we will relax in the evenings and share meals at Kibbutz Nashonim. We’re also planning interdenominational Shabbat festivities, and a trip to culture-ladden Jerusalem! Stay posted for more details of our adventures!