Words Worth Repeating
Women’s remarks upon returning from Israel
Words can’t aptly describe how women felt about their recent trips to Israel with our Federation, but we’re going to try anyway! For our recurring “Words Worth Repeating” column, we’ve gathered comments from women who travelled with Women’s Philanthropy and Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ this past spring and summer. The trips were as varied as the women themselves – a journey to Poland and Israel, an artist’s residency and festival in Arad, and a Young Women’s Mission to Israel – but the reviews were all similarly glowing.
Mission to Poland and Israel (May 5–15)
We were able to experience the horrors of the past with sights from the Holocaust, as well as present day Poland and the gradual rebirth of the Jewish community. So many emotions were felt personally and together as a group as we visited the various sights in the country along with Ruth Ravina, a survivor who was originally from Poland. To be able to be in Israel for Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut was also an amazing experience, to go from a day of mourning to a day of celebration. Going to Israel always feels like going home, which, on this trip, took on new meaning after our experiences in Poland.
— Ann Beckerman
The Poland-Israel Mission was the trip of a lifetime! We met our group in Krakow and later went on to Warsaw, where we visited many sites of Jewish historical significance, including the only synagogue in Warsaw that was not destroyed, because it had been used as a stable for the horses of the Nazis.
Arriving in Israel on Yom Hazikaron, hearing the sirens blaring and then the silence commemorating the heroes, including my cousin Danny, who lost their lives fighting for all of us, was a very powerful and emotional introduction. Then, as the day evolved into a celebration of Israeli Independence, the sadness turned to joy with music and dancing in the streets. It was a day that will be etched in my memory as will the entire trip.
— Sarah Rosenblum
The opportunity to tour Poland with Holocaust survivor Ruth Ravina was a once-in-a-lifetime memorable experience…. Hearing her personal story while witnessing history made the trip even more meaningful…. We were fortunate to also learn about the complicated history of the Jews in Poland and the resurgence of Judaism in the third generation of survivors who are proud of their Jewish identity and committed to resurgence of Jewish life in Poland.
I was surprised at how beautiful Poland is and how Warsaw is a thriving modern city with a beautiful rebuilt old town, which looks just like it did before the war. Kraków was absolutely charming.
— Sheri Goldberg,
DesARAD 2016 Desert Arts Festival and Arad Masada Run (June 24–July2)
I lived with a family… and I ended up falling in love with the whole family and now they are my family. The first night that I was there… the husband discovered that I loved the desert so he said, “Ok, let’s go!”… We got to a plateau and … you could just see the desert for miles and miles and it was breathtaking, and we talked about deep important subjects and drank some white wine. Eventually we drove back home and the whole family and I sat and ate a delicious Moroccan Shabbat dinner at about 9:30 at night, cooked with love.
We met a lot of artists and visited their studios…. We also spent time with Israelis who weren’t artists and we sort of built a sense of community…. I enjoyed being with the Israelis. They were incredibly warm, helpful, honest, very direct, spontaneous, and I found that I could be myself in a way that felt different than here [in America].
One night we all went to dinner at Aliza’s house, a Moroccan Jewish woman who was an artist…. We talked and talked and talked. We talked about being Jewish, I talked about my son, I talked about my Jewish experience, they talked about theirs…. It was an evening of just very intimate, important conversation. I don’t even remember if I ate or not, but I felt so full from the conversation.
On nights when I wasn’t sleeping… my love of Arad just poured out of me into probably ten different paintings.
— Gail Winbury, oil painter. Gail currently has a solo art exhibition, including some of her work from Arad, in Montclair.
Young Women's Mission to Israel (July 5–12)
We saw great sights, but more importantly we met the most amazing people with incredible stories to tell.
— Caroline Goldstein
The mission this year was nothing short of incredible. We got to see the power of the dollars that we raise here in America working for the land of Israel. We got to meet some incredible women who inspired us.
— Alyssa Rabinowitz Sutton
The best part of the trip to me was getting to meet actual Israelis and getting to know them. The connections we made with these women made me feel more wed to Israel than any other trip I’d been on in the past.
— Mindunn Rose
Every place that we go we see how lives are changed, how places are built, how bomb shelters are made into art studios… by Federation.
— Chana Solomon
The people we met on the trip have become my dearest friends. The people we met in Israel are my newest friends. And the nicest thing is that we are living bridges; we will keep in touch and visit them again. But this is the only country that I call my homeland.
— June Schechner
I have heard about many of the things that MetroWest does… and I have seen pictures, but nothing beats seeing it firsthand.
— Linda Rosenthal
To see how we have made an impact on people's lives, there are communities that have been changed forever. And because of that, I have been changed forever.
— Ilyssa Tepperman
This is our past, present, and future…. You must come on a mission.
— Anita Dickman
To say this was life changing is an understatement…. If you’re looking for a truly meaningful and beautiful way to experience Israel, sign up for next year’s mission.
— Michelle Reback
Upcoming Women’s Missions
Why not sign up for a mission yourself? Women’s Philanthropy has three great missions planned for 2017, designed for women of all ages and interests:
- Heart to Heart Mission to Israel (February 2–9): On this trip, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA), you will travel through Israel with women from across the United States, meeting with like-minded women who are making the world a better place.
- Civil Rights Journey (March 5–8): Travel to Atlanta, Georgia, and throughout Alabama to explore Jewish involvement in the Civil Rights struggle in America.
- Budapest and Vienna (October 17–24): Discover Jewish life in these cities and learn about our Jewish history. In Vienna, you will meet with Hannah Lessing, Secretary General of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, to learn more about Austria’s Holocaust victims.
For more information on any of these missions contact Heidi Kuperman, Missions Director, at hkuperman@jfedgmw.org or (973) 929-3046.