Shalom, Priviet, Greetings from the Boston BJE,

As our Havayah world travelers are back home, emailing their friends in Haifa and Dnepropetrovsk, and trying to explain in words what this trip has meant to them, I thought I’d share a few thoughts with the wider Boston Jewish community on behalf of the BJE and Havayah staff, parents and our young people.

First of all, thank you for allowing this "experience" to happen – it is so very important to encourage our youth to be part of history – to be part of life- changing, informal, Jewish educational experiences and for them to be empowered to realize that they, too, can make a difference. Thank you to the parents for sharing their children with us; thank you to our donors and thank you to all of our many other supporters for believing in this program.

There are several special moments that I’d like to highlight for all of you, beginning with our young people. One of the best parts of camp was seeing the accomplishments of our Boston, Haifa and Dnepropetrovsk youth in the classroom. All of their hard "prep" work really paid off. Watching the excitement in the eyes of the Dnepropetrovsk children while our students led them through activities related to getting to know one another; 10 Jewish Values that had been chosen during training, and the leadership, confidence and strength of each teen solidified right in the classroom with the children they worked with.

Another significant moment was watching our Dnepropetrovsk teens rise as leaders in camp. This year was the second year that our Dnepropetrovsk friends were full participants in camp and the Havayah program; they were leaders in the classrooms with their Boston and Haifa partners. They were given an opportunity to run three programs on their own which they had prepared just like the Americans and Israelis. This was extremely successful and made our work together truly "global" and much more meaningful. Watching our Boston and Haifa teens, Havayah has clearly empowered the Jewish community of Dnepropetrovsk to learn how to be leaders.

Four years ago, Havayah brought a new learning opportunity to camp through the arts. Each grade learned either an Israeli, American or Ukrainian dance or song. Our closing ceremonies and performances were a time for the children to show their appreciation and their love for camp and the madrikhim they look up to with such admiration. It was so wonderful to see these children perform and feel good about something they learned during camp. It was also just as moving to observe the teen leaders watch their students perform what they had taught them in the classroom. We certainly felt appreciated, needed and a sense of belonging while in the school.

Of course, our visits to Bet Channah and Bet Baruch are always an enlightening part of our visit. Some of our teens had never worked with a child who is 'different'. But after a moment of awkwardness, our teens surprised us yet again with more heart-felt stories to share. We sang with the Bet Baruch Choir and were very impressed with the new CD they created with other choirs from Boston and Haifa. We loved our visit with the children in Dneprodzerdjinsk. They always give us a warm welcome and make us feel very much at home while we run a shortened 'camp day' with their young people. CJP, JCRC, Action for Post Soviet Jewry and other supporters in the Boston Jewish community have been behind these organizations for several years. Our teens appreciate our visits and "get" what it means to be one people and how we all have helped grow these communities.

We finished the week off with a very exciting birthday party with noise blowers, party hats and sweets, commemorating Havayah's tenth year visiting and working with the Jewish Day School. We shared our anniversary with the school's Bar Mitzvah year: thirteen years of successfully educating Jewish Ukrainian children.

The immediate impact we saw from all three communities was incredible - something indescribable and special - watching them become Madrikhim in their own classrooms and taking "ownership" of their kids and feeling comfortable enough to open up and express their thoughts and feelings during evening discussions is very inspiring. Despite language barriers at times, these teens recognized common threads within the group that formed and realized that, regardless of their home cities, they are all Jewish, and this common bond has brought them together through this wonderful program. New friendships arise (and hopefully continue); we learn to be aware of our surroundings and that we are all part of the larger world around us; we identify ourselves as Jews and that things really do work out if we all work hard enough, help each other and work together. It is really unbelievable that this two-week journey can change someone. The connection to friends in Haifa and Dnepropetrovsk has an intensity that isn't easily explained - or taken lightly.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Havayah teenagers for all of their dedication, their hard work, their enthusiasm and energy and their strength to make this the successful trip that it was. Kol Ha Kavod to all of you!

We hope you will join us for a live Havayah presentation for the Boston Community. We look forward to sharing our extraordinary experiences on March 31 from 7-9 pm at the Bureau of Jewish Education, 333 Nahanton Street, Newton, MA

Penni Moss, Havayah Coordinator 2005

Bureau of Jewish Education