Letter 1 - September 2011

Dear Parents,
Shalom! It has been one week since we met your children at Ben Gurion Airport and so much has already been accomplished.

The first few days in Israel were devoted to orientations and group activities. On Wednesday, the Nativers began the day with Tefilot and breakfast and then came together with their staff for an orientation to their year in Israel. Then, the Nativers toured the neighborhood of Beit Nativ, met their fellow group mates, and set up their rooms. Later that evening, Nativers worked together to prepare a barbecue dinner and discussed with each other their goals for the year.

On Thursday morning, studies began for the Conservative Yeshiva and Ulpan students. The Hebrew University students had their academic orientation for the Mini-Semester. This year there are 12 students studying at the Conservative Yeshiva, 68 at Hebrew University, and 11 on the Ulpan track. The Yeshiva students will be taking introductory classes for the first few days until the official opening of the year on Monday evening September 5th. Then they will be meeting the other Yeshiva students who are all graduate students pursuing various degrees, as well as second and third year rabbinical students from the American Jewish University Rabbinical School in Los Angeles.

The Ulpan students began their studies at the Mila Ulpan and the majority of the students are participating in the Alef level. The other students have joined existing Ulpan classes.

The Hebrew University students met with Yoni Kaplan, the Director of the undergraduate program at the Rothberg International School who introduced the program and the different courses available to them. Over the next few weeks the Nativ students will also be meeting with Tobi Galili their academic advisor who will assist them throughout the process of selecting and registering for classes for the fall semester which will begin on October 2nd.

During the first few weeks of Nativ, the Nativers who are studying at the Hebrew University participate in the Mini-Semester. During this time Nativers who were placed in the lower levels of Ulpan began their intensive Hebrew classes in the mornings. The rest of the students take a course called “From Zionist Idea to Israeli State” with Dr. David Mendelsson and can choose one of the following two courses:

•    Jewish Texts and Historical Context, with Dr. Alick Isaacs.
•    Jewish History Through the Eye of the Filmmaker: The Twentieth Century, with Dr. Sarah Schmidt

In addition, all the Nativ students will be taking a special course called “Jerusalem Through the Ages—The History of Jerusalem.” The course is designed to provide Nativers with an understanding of the immense history that surrounds them. The course is taught by David Keren, Dr. Shaul Sapir and JJ Jonah and follows the history of Jerusalem both through classroom lectures and tours throughout the city. David Keren is the current Director of USY Programs in Israel and was the Director of Nativ for 15 years.
On Friday morning the entire group hiked during the morning in the hills of Jerusalem. It was a beautiful day and a great hike. We ended at the Harel Mall where everyone had lunch and some time to relax before Shabbat.

We returned to Beit Nativ with enough time to prepare for our first Shabbat which proved to be an enjoyable and relaxing respite. We welcomed Shabbat through singing, lighting candles, and hearing the siren in Jerusalem, which announces the arrival of Shabbat. We then prayed Kabbalat Shabbat in the nearby Yemin Moshe neighborhood, from which we had a view of the Old City walls. On Shabbat morning, everyone experienced Shabbat Tefilot at different synagogues in the area. Later in the day, the madrichim taught the weekly Torah portion, and we had enlightening discussions on Jewish identity and Israel-Diaspora relationships. We concluded with Seudah Shlishit (the third Shabbat meal), special Shabbat songs, Ma'ariv, and Havdalah.

After Shabbat the Nativers had a unique opportunity to be a part of what has been the main issue in Israel this summer – the Social Justice movement. Over the course of the summer there have been several demonstrations around Israel calling on the government to change its priorities and increase its involvement in social justice in Israel. This past Saturday night was the biggest demonstration of all times which pulled out over 400,000 people to the streets. In Jerusalem alone there were 50,000 people and the main event took place right outside the Fuchsberg Center. The Nativers had a front row seat to watch and participate in Israeli democracy at its best and some of them even got their pictures in the paper the next day.

The next few weeks of the Mini-Semester will be very intense weeks for the Nativers. However, I am confident that they will successfully transition from high school to college as well as adapt to life in Israel and on the Nativ program.
The staff's impression, after working with your children for the last week, is that we have an excellent group of individuals this year. The Nativers are all highly motivated to experience, explore, and learn. The group is extremely excited to be in Israel.
I would like to thank you for entrusting us with your children this year. I believe that this coming year will be one of personal development and incredible life-altering experiences for all the Nativ students.

Over the year we will be sending out updates about our adventures through our website, www.nativ.org, our Facebook page (Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel) - http://www.facebook.com/NativProgram , and our twitter account, @NativIsrael. Follow us to follow your kids!


Best wishes,

Yossi Garr
Director, Nativ