Since the last Boneh update, the chanichim on Boneh have really gotten into the weekly routine. They had 4 full weeks of modules. The first of these weeks, they learned about Jews in the Modern World, during which they discussed what the Jewish community in Europe looked like before the Enlightenment, how things began to change for the Jews during the time of the Enlightenment, the Haskala (Jewish Enlightenment) and the beginnings of religious reform. The following week the Shnatties discussed different roots and forms of anti-Semitism. They discussed theological anti-Semitism and its roots in early Christianity, the Crusades and how they led to laws and violence against Jews, Jewish responses to anti-Semitism, and anti-Semitism in the 19th century. Following this module, the chanichim explored Zionism. During this week they read many different early Zionist thinkers and approached Zionism from many different angles. They discussed the rise of European nationalism and the beginnings of Jewish nationalism as a product of the time, the idea of Zionism as a creation of a safe haven for Jews, Zionism as economic normalization of a Jewish people, and Zionism as a revival of the Jewish people. This last week before Pesach, the chanichim discussed peoplehood and dove into various topics about what makes Jews a people historically and today.
In the course about Israeli Society today, the chanichim went through a rationale about West Bank settlements, the different reasons people live in the settlements, and their effect on Israel. They also began a learning module about the army and its role in the country. There were two guest speakers who spoke to the Shnatties about this topic. One speaker was Avner, an activist from an organization called Breaking the Silence. Breaking the Silence was founded by soldiers who served during the 2nd Intifada and felt that some of the things they did during their service were not right and that civilians should be exposed to the realities of the army. While Avner brought difficult content, many chanichim expressed that he was one of the most interesting guest speakers. The other speaker about the army was Shai Bar-Ephraim. Shai is an Oleh from Dutch Habonim who served in a combat unit. Shai discussed his experience serving in the army, bringing a unique perspective of the choice to serve in a combat unit as an oleh and the dilemmas it raised for him.
Another interesting guest speaker who came a few weeks ago was Muki Tzur, a well-known Israeli historian who has written many books about the early kibbutz movement. Muki is always a very unique speaker because as a historian he deals not only with large-scale sociological trends but also researches personal stories and can bring the early kibbutz to life through moving anecdotes.
Aside from guest speakers, the chanichim’s educational experience was also enriched with two siyurim (day trips). On the first siyur, the chanichim went to the art museum at Kibbutz Ein Harod (http://www.museumeinharod.org.il/english/). They saw an exhibition by a Bedouin Arab artist and discussed the place of minorities and specifically Bedouins in Israeli society. There was also artwork by a group of Orthodox feminists and it brought an interesting perspective of the place of women in the Orthodox community.
On the second siyur, the Shnatties visited the archeological site at Bet Shean as a means to understand Israel during ancient and biblical times. They discussed the different civilizations that have lived in Bet Shean and the importance of the land to different people. In the afternoon, we visited Nazareth and discussed the city as an example of both shared and contested space in Israel.
The last week before Pesach break had a number of unique experiences. The first was that each power course ran a peulah (educational activity) for the rest of the Shnatties about their respective topics. This proved to be an extremely meaningful way to share the different experiences and knowledge gained over the last couple of months, and it was extremely gratifying to see them leading their peers in learning and discussion with so much interest in the topics they had chosen to study in a more in-depth way.
Another unique experience to Shnat was the chanichim planning and running their own Pesach seder. The chanichim had a number of peulot about Pesach which led to them writing their own haggadah, planning a menu for Pesach dinner, creating beautiful decorations and then running an outdoor seder on Thursday night. This was truly a great way to finish off the first half of Boneh and send them off to a nice and relaxing break!
Hoping you had a chag sameach!
