Young Women's Missions to Israel: 2005
The B'ahava Young Women’s Mission to Israel, 2005
Women’s Philanthropy reached out to several women who went on the Young Women’s Mission to Israel ten years ago to learn what impact it made on their lives. We also asked them to recall their most meaningful memory. Here are their responses:
From Lisa Lisser, Women’s Philanthropy Vice President:
“I co-chaired the B’ahava Mission with Shari Bernstein ten years ago. It was life changing. My commitment and love for Israel grew by leaps and bounds. My understanding of the breadth of people we touch in Israel increased and I made lifelong friends on both sides of the ocean. I felt the power of women and the power and strength we have as Jews when we work and build together. It is the building together that is so important. Building relationships, building community, building the Negev, expanding Jewish peoplehood. It all started for me on that mission and now I have been back to Israel at least 11 more times since then.”
“What was special about that mission was that we came together as Jewish women in all different stages of our Jewish involvement and Jewish life. We were all different ages. We had incredible women to mentor us and, hopefully, the younger ones inspired our mentors. The women on that trip have become some of my very closest friends. We made the journey at a time we thought Israel needed us — less than a year after the end of the second intifada — but we learned that it was really we who needed Israel.”
From Shari Bernstein, Women’s Philanthropy Board Member:
“Although I have so many fond memories from the trip, it also had a huge impact on me. We visited Kibbutz Erez and Ofakim and we saw bomb shelters and women's shelters. We took Jeep tours and did some shopping. But it was the people that we met that were the most special. I remember having dinner with lone soldiers. But they weren’t alone that night. We shared dinner with these soldiers on a very special night. It was a program to bring in the mothers of soldiers from one of the remotest parts of Russia. These men came from Russia to Israel for a better life. They hardly identified with being Jewish yet their last names identified them as so. They left their homes as mere boys and hadn’t seen their mothers for five or six years. Their mothers couldn’t stop touching and patting them. They took food from their own plates and kept feeding their sons. As a mother of a son, it was an emotional night.”
“And of course, there was the famous sheep herding project! Actually, I can’t remember if they were sheep but I do remember the lesson learned. We were all trying to move the sheep to different points in an obstacle course, pulling them to get them where they needed to go. Trying to lead them ahead by coaxing them. All we needed to do was to give them a little push from behind. Even though we are all considered leaders, we learned that sometimes it is best to lead from behind.”
From Leslie Dannin Rosenthal, Federation President:
“I keep the picture of all of us — the one from the jeep ride — on my desk. It makes me smile every day. It is absolutely amazing to me, after G-d knows how many missions where some people stay involved and some people drift away, that every woman in that picture is still engaged with Federation. So, clearly, something happened. Maybe we were just that ‘simpatico.’ Maybe we all had that spark, the divine spark, of ahavat Yisroel, a love of the people Israel inside us and we bring it out in each other still today, just as we did ten years ago.”
“I went on the B’ahava Mission a few short months after my father, z’l, passed away suddenly. It was my first trip back in about six years, and I most remember the feeling of slipping right back into feeling like Israel is a place where I feel entirely at home. I remember feeling so terribly sad at the Kotel, and so wonderfully embraced by my friends who knew how difficult it was for me to know that I would never get to be in Israel with my dad.”
“To say that this trip impacted my participation in Federation and Women’s Philanthropy might qualify as the understatement of, well, the decade! Most importantly, as I have gone forward in leadership roles since January of 2005, the women from this mission have been the backbone of the lay leadership I have counted upon to mentor me, to lead with me, and who I expect to go on to leave their own mark on Women’s Philanthropy and Federation after me.”
From Melanie Gorelick, CRC Director:
“Attending the Young Women’s Mission was one of the highlights and transformative experiences of my adult life. The friendships that were formed by traveling to Israel with such an esteemed and wonderful group will be there for a lifetime. This is reflected in how each one of us has become a leader in the Federation system by either working inside the organization like myself or as top lay leadership. We share together the ongoing experience of our love for Federation and support for meeting its mission and goals and for participating in each other’s simchas and life experiences. Additionally, the young leaders were joined by the most wonderful mentors who have done all they can to help each one of us be the best we can be.”
“The mission itself was so amazing! I loved visiting and learning about Israel and the Federation by visiting projects and meeting beneficiaries and leaders….. This experience has helped me to be an even better advocate for Federation and how the work we do makes a difference at home and in Israel.”