A family group of high school grads from 8 different countries have just begun their journey of discovery, personal development, independence, and adventure in Israel!
Stay tuned to this blog as we follow them around Israel as they forge their paths with Kivun 5783!
Kivun is a Co-ed, experiential, 9-month Israel immersion program for the Northern Hemisphere, focusing on personal development, independent living and Jewish growth. Participants live in apartments in Jerusalem, where together with friends they learn about themselves, Judaism and Zionism through an incredible array of experiences such as Kibbutz, Volunteering, Seminars, Professional Internship, Magen David Adom, and IDF experience. For more information or to apply click here.
This week was Baruch HaShem, a great week of “work life”. The participants are showing up and displaying responsibilities beyond many of their expectations.
One of the participants shared that she was given the key to the shop where she currently interns and asked to open the shop the following day.
During our “sikum” (summary of the week), many participants shared positive learning experiences and some challenges they faced.
On Monday evening, we joined Massa in their opening event for gap year participants from programs all over Israel and enjoyed a fantastic concert by Fultrunk.
The participants held a town hall meeting where they raised the positive elements of the program as well as the challenges and came up with some creative solutions.
On Tuesday, we had our weekly session with Nefesh Bnefesh, beautifully recapped below by Jacob Lacerof. Following NBN, we enjoyed fun and games at Gan Soccer.
This week we had an evening dedicated to some of the significant events that took place in history. Starting with Kristallnacht, Adam, our Madrich, shared a presentation and some personal encounters from his Shlichut in Germany.
We spoke about Yitzchak Rabin Z” l, who was murdered by one of our own. We also discussed R’ Shlomo Carlebach, who passed away 28 years ago this week.
These events are by no means easy to discuss. However, it’s the challenge that makes us think and grow.
Ilan Oz was getting to know the group and ran some fun “speed dating” activities. Oz will continue to join us frequently, especially over the next week.
"Just in the beginning of the week, we all went to nefesh be nefesh for the second time.
Another theme was on the agenda compared to last time when we talked about Israel's history.
Consequently, we dived into what Zionism means and broke down the key parts of the term.
Other than that, we also had discussions about ethical and moral dilemas regarding traditional and modern Zionism.
Before ending the seminar we recapped and highlighted the most important parts about the different aspects of Zionism to fully understand the concept."
Shabbat Shalom!
