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May 10, 2002/Iyar 28, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 34
To my friends, family and fellow Jews...
Ashley Jacobson, a 16-year-old from Scottsdale, sent this letter to Valley Jews from Israel.
In February, I left for Israel on a program based in Jerusalem, Tichon Ramah Yerushaliam (TRY), which is affiliated with the Ramah Conservative Jewish summer camp. The purpose of this program is to get America's Jewish teens to experience real life in Israel first hand. This year, TRY has 18 16- and 17-year olds hailing from Seattle to Massachusetts and many places in between.
We have classes nearly every day, and when we don't, we are on tiyul (field trips). This is when we go to historical monuments, museums, towns or kibbutzim to learn about how Israel works. Never before have I seen such a proud country.
We live in a place called The Goldstein Youth Village, or what we call a chava. This whole area is filled of over 450 teens from all over the world. There are Russians, French, Moroccans, other Europeans, a few Israelis and some kids from other Middle Eastern countries. When we first arrived at the chava, all of us Americans were extremely nervous and very intimidated by these kids. But, with our broken Hebrew, we were able to converse a little. It wasn't until the beginning of April that we were first officially introduced to a few of the other teens. As soon as we had just one night with one of the groups of kids, we instantly became friends.
Right before Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Ha'Atzmaut (Independence Day), our group went to all different places to learn about how Israel came to be. It made the holidays a lot more meaningful.
Yom Hazikaron started on a Monday night, and we set up a little ceremony just for our group. This holiday is to commemorate all the soldiers who have fallen in any war Israel fought. We lit candles in their memory, we sang solemn songs and at 8 p.m. sirens went off all over Israel. For two minutes, the entire country stood at attention, just thinking about how many people have died.
The following day, people all over the country had ceremonies for the soldiers, and, again at 11 a.m., the siren sounded. It was very emotional. If you were driving, you got out of your car. If you were cleaning, you stopped and stood at attention. Then the world continued after the two minutes of silence.
Right after the service, the entire chava, including my group, left for a place in northern Israel. Our group shared a bus with some of the other chava kids, and we all really got to know each other well.
We got to the kibbutz and had a huge dinner. After that, a bunch of the kids put on a show welcoming Israel's 54th anniversary.
The holidays changed so fast, but the transition was good. We had a huge party and dance and stayed up until all hours of the night.
One of the cool things I've noticed is that Israel has flags up all year round. Not just when something bad happens or when it's the anniversary.
The people who live here are here because they want to be. I - along with the 17 other teens - am here because I want to be here. The most important thing for Americans to do is remember Israel, what it stands for and that it is our state.
B'ahava v'shalom (with love and peace),
Ashley Jacobson
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