Oneg Shabbat, Tikkun Olam, Diller Teen Fellows and Yom Ha’atzmaut Celebrations
Wow, what a couple of special weeks we’ve had!
Starting with a trivia game for the Oneg Shabbat at the Jewish Federation (a meeting held about the Jewish programming around the community) on a Friday afternoon that sent us to Shabbat with a smile, and continuing with the J-Serve opportunity that we took part in!
We led a “Tikkun Olam” activity (since this event is all about giving back and volunteering,) in which we made tye-dye headbands, and packed goody packages for two organizations: one in Pittsburgh and one in Karmiel-Misgav, as a way of connecting our two communities! It was inspiring seeing youth in different ages, coming together to do good.
The week after, Diller Teen Fellows (a Jewish youth leadership program) had a seminar held called JCM (Jewish Community Mifgash), and a group of 20 teens from Karmiel-Misgav came to spend the week here in Pittsburgh, getting to know the community, and the Diller fellows hear in Pittsburgh! It was a great experience for us to get to know the Israeli group, as well as continue to connect with the American group here! We led a program for the teens, which discussed the question ‘what will they take away from this experience with them?’ It was very interesting talking and hearing their answers for this question, as well as trying to answer it for ourselves based on our experience here in your amazing community for the past 8 months.
We also led a pre-Yom Ha’atzmaut program at Temple Beth El, which will be followed by an official Yom Ha’atzmaut activity during May!
In the Hagada we learn that the people of Israel leave Egypt, and are no longer enslaved: they are free, and moreover- they are now one people. They leave together, as a community, even family if you’d like, and go on a 40-year long journey in the desert on their way to the promised land.
This weeks we talked about community and it’s meaning a lot. We really feel a part of this community, Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, and couldn’t be more thankful for it.
Happy Passover!
Hadar and Raz