Aviv Community Program: Last Week in Ra'anana

The final week of community program could not have gone quick enough for some as the most frequently used terms in the Ra’anana camp somehow managed to be “anxiety” and “I’m done” by a long haul thanks exclusively to the females residing there. As the countdown to our final volunteering session at Leket pushed into overdrive the excitement to move on to an exciting new chapter of the program peaked, for some, Ra’anana had transformed from the world’ greatest location into a never-ending hellhole. Sunday was Yom Hashoah, the day in which Israel nationally recognises and mourns the 6 million Jews who perished in the holocaust, Ra’anana’s commemoration was nothing short of remarkable as almost the entire population turned out in Yad Levanim, the town centre, for a moving service. Despite it being conducted entirely in Hebrew it was still unbelievably relatable and emotional.

Monday Tuesday and Wednesday all began in the same way, featuring volunteering at Leket dividing various fruits into their places and divvying up orders, following this we headed back to the Mircaz Klita (absorption centre). Monday night saw our first peula in the lead-up to our impending trip to Poland in which we addressed some harrowing statistics about the holocaust and discussed our thoughts and feelings about Poland and the holocaust itself. We were also assigned the biography of a real person whom we could relate to throughout our emotional journey. Tuesday was a special day in which the madrichim treated us to a lavish lunch at Bleecker Bakery at the Raanana Mall, food which plainly and simply made the food which we had been making ourselves seem like complete and utter tasteless filth; later that night we were further treated to a movie. Wednesday night, our last in Ra’anana featured a peula run by Amir about the Israel’s history focusing mainly on its many wars and their effects on Israeli society.

When Thursday finally arrived the girls could hardly contain their excitement, our final session of Leket was over before we knew it and the excruciating task of packing up our apartments came and went; until finally we were allowed our final leave of absence. Some headed to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem whilst others dispersed to various other destinations across the country, as the curtain closed on a great month in Ra’anana on community program.

I don’t usually share the nuisances of my own personal free weekend however I have chosen to make an exception this weekend due to the unbelievably amazing surroundings which I found myself in. Myself and three school friends (Sam, Eli and Haim) from Sydney managed to find accommodation smack bang in the centre of the old city of Jerusalem, a 5 minute walk to the Kotel, which I found myself attending at each and every opportunity including in the middle of the night. Friday night was particularly special as we found ourselves joining in dancing and singing with soldiers at the Kotel before participating in a kabbalat Shabbat service with many other Australian gap-yearers, Shnat people, IBC and many others; as we looked around at where we were I was absolutely struck by the amazingness of my surroundings, the kotel, a place of ground-breaking spiritual gravity. We had arranged to be sent to a Shabbat meal at a family following our visit to the kotel, and soon found ourselves at a dinner in the middle of Mea Shearim (Jerusalem’s most religious neighbourhood) alongside a rabbi, his family and roughly 20 yeshiva students. At first, I was quite uncomfortable in such a foreign environment but quickly enough we got into the conversation and soon found out these were just people like anyone else. It was an amazing experience and an awesome weekend, one which I simply felt I had to put into writing and share.

Another awesome week down, 56 days to look forward to!

Thanks for reading!

Jake

Aviv Community Program - Week 1 Ra'anana

Independent living is something which most 18 year olds dream of but when thrust directly into this situation some thrive whilst others struggle. Aviv’s community program attempts to teach our mixed group of 20 participants (some from group one and some from group two) how to live without the aid of madrichim or parents in an apartment setting with our peers in which we cook, eat, sleep and live independently. Our group, based in Ra’anana, consists of 15 girls and 5 boys, whilst two other groups reside in Kiryat Yam and Tiberius respectively.

As our free weekend concluded, most were appalled as they were informed that we were expected to board a public bus to Ra’anana along with their baggage. The bus ride which ensued is considered as one of the least pleasurable ever taken, by both ourselves and the members of the public who were bombarded and blocked by our suitcases at every opportunity. We eventually survived and arrived in Ra’anana and were soon shown to our apartments, and again some were distinctly unhappy, this time with the prospect of sharing a room with strangers for the next month. Lunch was soon enjoyed together by all in a nice grassy space just outside our apartments, sandwiches were on the menu and soon after completing them, designated members of each apartment headed out to the supermarket to do a plus-sized shop for the next week. All returned gradually after roughly three hours some happier than others and eager to see if they had made decisions which would see them and their roommates well-nourished for the next week. The madrichim who are accompanying us in Ra’anana, Daniella and Tracey have decided to split their budget amongst each apartment and have been rostered to eat with various groups for every meal of every day, other than breakfast. Dinner was had in our various apartment groups, with the two boys apartments combining into a group of 5 for all meals, some meals were better than others as most set the standard for their meals for the next month, the delicious-looking shakshuka made by Bec, Daena, Erin and Prielle definitely took the cake (mind the pun) as the best meal of the day. The day was rounded out by a quick chat about volunteering and the receiving of information regarding our volunteering schedule for the coming week.

Monday saw an early wakeup and individual breakfast followed by a bus ride to the offices of Leket, an organisation which facilitates the growing, picking and distribution of fruit to/for Israel’s less fortunate. Our services were engaged to help put together mail-outs to Leket’s donors which included a letter, newsletter and return envelope. It was a largely menial task, however someone had to do it and we went about doing so with aplomb. Come 1PM we were released and handed an exorbitant amount of free time which most used to chill out and relax. Bed time was quickly upon us and heads hit pillows exhausted. The next day featured more volunteering for Leket, this time at their factory hand sorting fruits into their various places and packing orders which were to be sent out to various soup kitchens and the like. Chill time followed and I split off from the group to meet up with some friends who had recently arrived in Israel, who coincidentally have a blog of their own, follow them at http://wrublewskisam.wix.com/thethreeamigos (yes, a shameless plug, I’m sorry…), it was great to see some of my old mates again after a two month absence! Any who, I soon re-joined the group midway through a peula about volunteering and the psychological connotations which accompany it.

Wednesday saw the beginning of 9 of our 20 person group’s just over a week at Natanya’s Wingate Institute, for those who don’t know, Wingate is the Israeli equivalent of the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra (AIS). Wednesday featured an anatomy class, an hour of TRX (suspension training which stretches muscles) in the gym as well as a cut-short session about nutrition. Whilst Thursday included a hands-on orienteering lesson from Israel’s third best orienteer which was not as highly participated in as could have been due to soreness from the previous day’s intensive TRX session. Wingate has been highly enjoyable and educatory and only comes with one negative, the double bus ride which must be taken in order to arrive at the campus. Whilst we are at Wingate, the rest of the group have been volunteering at Leket in the mornings and riding bikes with disabled people in the afternoon.

Friday was a suitably relaxed Shabbat. The morning included a chat about the army from Daniella’s cousin and some of her brother’s friends who informed us of their individual functions in the IDF as well as other surrounding issues in general to do with the Israeli army. Following lunch we headed off to a nearby park where scout meetings were taking place and were invited to take place in their misdar ceremony in which they dance and sing. In Israel scouts is a youth movement very similar to Habonim Dror in Australia however on a much larger scale, with over 60,000 chanichim (kids) nationwide. Madricha Daniella felt right at home as a former chanich and mardicha of the movement, whilst some Avivians got into it more than others. Our final outing of the day was to Daniella’s house where her parents cooked us up a delightful BBQ, the best meal we had consumed for a while as we all briefly remembered the taste of home-cooked food. It was a very nice evening and the hospitality we received was unbelievably overwhelming.

Saturday featured a much-needed late wakeup, the day began with a group lunch outside on the grassy patch as each individual brought their own meal with them. Following lunch we headed out to a nearby park and engaged in a peula which raised issues of assimilation and Judaism, and the topic of inter-marriage and Jewish continuity as everyone was encouraged to question their own beliefs and future actions.

It was a great first week in Ra’anana as we grapple with the expectations of individual living, especially in the kitchen, as the stereotype that girls cook better than boys is proven correct time and time again. But mark my words, at some point the boys will get it right!

Another awesome week down, 86 days to look forward to!

Jake