In Our Community / Ruth Rosenthal

Ruth Rosenthal is a fourth grade teacher at BHDS Marin. Here is her personal account of trip:

Holchim HaBayta
Impressions of Israel
By Ruth Rosenthal

When I went to Israel with the Bay Area educators this summer, it wasn’t my first trip or even my second trip to Israel. I had been lucky to spend a year in Israel during high school and returned as a tourist ten years later. That was in the early 1980’s. I’ve grown up during these past two decades and so has Israel. Yet, even as we touched down after an infinite numbers of travel hours, I knew I was home. Nowhere else do travel-worn passengers applaud their arrival, except in Israel.

What followed for the next ten glorious days was one thrill after another, both personal and professional. I delighted in the dynamics of our group. Without much hesitation, we melded into a caring entity. We walked in ever changing duos and trios. We ate at different and dynamic table seatings. We mixed and matched on the bus, during lectures, and in our free time. It didn’t seem to matter who was who and what our previous experiences had been; we were at once a community unto ourselves. I viewed my colleagues of over ten years in a new light. We had the common bond of shared experience. For those teachers I had not previously known, we made connections and transcended to higher and closer levels in short amount of time. I don’t think I connected so quickly and completely with a group of peers since attending summer camp as a young teen.

The daily adventures contained blended doses of physical activity and cerebral pursuit. We saw and we felt. We climbed and we swam. We discussed and we listened. We learned of our Israel today and of her painful history. We laughed and we shed tears. We experienced Israel, a land and a people of contrasts, conflicts, and conciliations. Each day was an entity unto itself. On one day we witnessed modern Tel Aviv from the lens of the first Hebrew city. Later that same day, we transcended back in time to the plight of the Yemenite Jews as we visited a Yemenite community, meeting its residents, sipping the mud-like coffee and attempting the intricate dance steps. On a different day, we contrasted the cool, refreshing waters of Ein Gedi with the saltiness of the Dead Sea. That same day, we listened as an expert in water conservation taught us of the joint water issues that both Israel and Jordan share and how the solution to these problems may be one road to peace. Each day was simultaneously broad-stroked and finely detailed with the depth and breadth of Israel.

We spend two days with teachers from two schools in Northern Israel. We had the opportunity to meet, connect, play “ice breakers,” and get to the real work. We had a “mifgash” in the true sense of the word as we made plans for the future and for our students. Many came away with “pen-pal” classes to communicate via e-mail or photographs and prepare joint projects. Some will learn the same songs. Some will read the same books. Some will send greetings for Rosh Hashanah. All began a connection that is immeasurable. The relationships are new and forming. The beginning was a success.

Since returning to this home, I have given a lot of thought to the impact this trip has had in my life. My enthusiasm for Israel has returned. My love of the Hebrew language has been rekindled. The warmth I have for my “trip mates” is supreme. I look forward to imprinting my students with my enthusiasm and love of Israel, both the land and the people and bringing them “home” with me.