Our efforts to support victims of domestic violence continues to make a real difference. For anyone looking for public ways to show support in the fight against domestic violence, there are two statewide events coming up that you might be interested in. 1) White Ribbon Day in Massachusetts. White Ribbon Day is the statewide call to men and boys to be allies in the work to end violence against women. In truth, there are usually events scheduled across the state throughout March. On March 1 and at Faneuil Hall, Jane Doe Inc, Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, will host the 10th Annual White Ribbon Day Event. It’s always a very cool and inspiring event and it’
We started the last day with a beautiful hike on the beach. We all sat near the water, talking and laughing about all of the fun times we had on the trip. Some even went into the water to cool off after lying in the burning sun. After the gorgeous beach weather we all went to the mall to have a quick bite to eat. The meal included some classic Israeli delicacies. All of the shops were closed due to Shabbat, so we all went home and quickly changed for the beach. Once we were all on the beach we took pictures, played fútbol (soccer), and drank iced coffee. After, we all had to go and pack up 12 days worth of clothing, gifts, and food (chocolate and bamba). After packing, we reconvened
Today was a very physically tiring day. We kicked off our day by exiting our hostel and moving on to climb Mount Arbel. We had a very easy way up to the top of the mountain but, the way down was much trickier. We had to maneuver our way around big rocks and boulders to make our way down to the bottom of the mountain. We then continued our journey into an Arab village where we enjoyed a delicious hummus lunch. From there we all went back to our wonderful host families, and prepared for Shabbat . We then went on to visit a very cool reform synagogue and had a wonderful Shabbat service with amazing singing and great Challah. Then, back to our host families for an amazing Shabbat dinner and an e
We woke up in our respective homes, where we ate breakfast. Then, we met up with Noam at Alliance before hopping on a large bus (with wifi!). We, along with all of the Israelis, drove to a place in Beit Lehem HaGlilit where we got on some bikes. We then took about a two hour bike ride, with periodic breaks and some people getting in the van halfway through and ended up at a beautiful stream. Then, after a short bus ride, we arrived at Kibbutz Harduf, where we fed calves and chickens and collected eggs from the chickens. Then, we drove to a large vegetable farm where we split up into groups to prepare our own lunch. Some of us picked fresh herbs, some of us cut ingredients for the salad, some
Today, we woke up relatively early to go to the Alliance school. We all met up in the room that we had originally met in yesterday. We then played a short lived version of the Amazing Race which essentially served as a tour of the school. We then played some Israeli-themed board games that consisted of learning about prominent Israeli figures/holidays/places. We then played a more extended version of the Amazing Race, in which the first destination was the highest point of Haifa University, which had an amazing view of all of Haifa. At the top we also had to identify a ton of different buildings around Haifa. We then took the bus to Carmel Center and visited the Baha'i Gardens. We continued
We had yet another amazing, jam-packed day here in Israel. We kicked off the day off the day with an exciting hot air balloon ride. The hot air balloon beautifully overlooked the city and landscape of Tel Aviv. We were given a real perspective on how large the city is. We then continued our journey up to a poor Arab village called Jisr Az-Zarqa. We were given a wonderfully guided tour by a woman by the name of Genevieve. Genevieve is a Jewish French woman who made aliyah three years ago to Israel. She is getting a graduate degree in conflict management and her project is the village. The project is about how an Arab and Israeli got together to create a guest house to show how both groups of
We started the day with a rushed Israeli continental breakfast and then continued our journey to south Tel Aviv. We were greeted by an Israeli who would take us on a tour of the graffiti in the neighborhood. After some quick introductions, we learned he grew up in Newton and attended Newton North High School. It really is a small world! After the tour, we drove to the Carmel market, where we had lunch and shopped for a while. We then walked to the Israeli Independence Hall and made a quick stop for milkshakes. We ended the day with an "escape the room" adventure and dinner at Sorona.
Today had an impact on each and everyone of us, and made us all realize what it was like to be truly changed from what we usually know. We started off the day by waking up and taking a quick coffee run to Aroma of course. We then packed up all of our stuff from the hotel rooms and got onto the bus to start our influential and mind opening day. We then went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem. Noam took us through the museum and carefully explained what each room displayed and how it impacted the Jews at the time. The museum was set up in long hallway that showed what happened in chronological order. At the beginning of the museum a video of Jews before the Hol
Today we woke up in our new hotel in Jerusalem. This hotel was basically an Israeli Marriott. We started the morning off strong with one of my favorite things in the world - continental breakfast consisting of various breads and spreads. From the hotel we hopped in the van and headed over to Mount Olive which is an unbelievable view of the entire city of Jerusalem. It is also where some Jews believe that the Messiah will see Mount Olive first when he enters Israel. From Mount Olive we piled back in the van and headed over to a market in the Arab corner of the city where we saw some really cool touristy items and met some very cool people. We also learned how to bargain on prices from some ex
Today we woke up and finished packing our bags. At 7:30, we were treated to a breakfast of bread, veggies, and make your omelettes (which I personally didn't like). The farm people took our bags down and we were on our way. Soon after, we were off to Bedouin Disney where we rode on the backs of camels, 2 people per camel. The ride led us to a spectacular view at the top (and a little bit of pain). After a quick coffee stop, we left the Negev and entered the Judea desert (not before passing Israel's largest nuclear power plant) where we discussed how the Dead Sea was formed. Then, we hopped in a jeep and took a long, bumpy, and (at times) scary ride through the desert. We licked some salty ro
Today we were woken up at 8 to having breakfast delivered to us at our door. Breakfast consisted of eggs, cheese, bread, cereal, pancakes, lemonade, and an assortment of spreads. After breakfast, we walked down to the main building where we met our guide for the week, Noam. Noam then drove our group to go biking in the desert, which was awesome except for the fact that it was incredibly windy and cold. We then went to Ben Guiron's tomb and talked about Zionism and kibbutzim. We then went to Aroma for some more "iced coffee", where we ran into some stray puppies. We then made our way to a Bedouin settlement, where we talked about the history of Bedouins in Israel. At the settlement we had an
After catching up on our sleep, we drove south to the Negev desert- a place of beginnings, wildlife and different cultures. We visited Sde Boker and Ben Gurion’s grave and memorial site. The spectacular view of the Tzin riverbed from this location is breathtaking! We hiked along the Ein Avdat spring and enjoyed the beautiful waterfall. We also went to a Nabatean cave, the “house” of an ancient Nabatean family, took in the view from their “terrace” and learned about the people of this fascinating kingdom, who populated the Negev hundreds of years ago! We had an amazing Bedouin hospitality experience including a personal encounter with a Bedouin family at a local, rarely visited village. We
With a blessing, hugs, and good weather, our TBA 10th graders are off to Israel! The building was buzzing today with chatter about Israel. TBA’s Early Learning Center sent off two teachers today for their own Boston Haifa adventure with other early childhood educators. Upstairs in our 2nd-5th grade classrooms, students and teachers wrote notes and prayers to go in the Kotel in Jersualem and heard from Rabbi Stern about how excited he is to travel with them to Israel when they reach 10th grade. This afternoon our religious school, 10th grade parents, community members, and staff shared a blessing for our Israel trip participants wishing them a nesiya tovah, a wonderful journey. It truly is
Several our congregants, otherwise known as hardy New Englanders, joined forces at TBA yesterday afternoon to cook for The Second Step. They weren’t letting a Nor’easter stop them! Bev Marcus, Bunny Aronson, Alison & Jeff Tarmy, Mary Balsam, Jeremy Goldfarb and Jessie Rosen joined forces in the TBA kitchen, under the direction of coordinator Mark Rosen, to make a variety of homemade items. The finished products made for The Second Step were chicken enchilada casserole, mini-cheesecakes and salad. They also purchased some peanut-free cookies to add to the delivery. Thank you to this awesome crew!
Our grade 7 students had a fun time shopping for others on Monday night. Under the direction of Lori Rosen, they went to Bed Bath and Beyond in Dedham, MA. They bought sheets, towels, pillows, cleaning supplies and many more essential items for a family. The recipient family is moving from The Second Step to transitional housing and our students were thrilled to help pick out items that they will need. The Bed Bath and Beyond store manager remarked at not only how well behaved our students were, but also what big hearts they had!
Another awesome day for our students in grades 4 and 5. They cooked for The Second Step, made Mishloach Manot Purim bags for Family Table, and preemie baby blankets for newborns yesterday. These students never cease to amaze us in their quest for bringing positive change to others. #CaringIsSharing #SocialJusticeForAll
