Danielle V. Minson — Raising the Bar
Israel Mission Results in New Connections, Surge of Congregation and Community Involvement among Participants
By Barb Miller, Director of Community Building, Jewish Federation of Cincinnati
In the six months since 508 Cincinnatians returned from the ten-day Cincinnati Congregation and Community Israel Mission, countless new connections have been forged—among participants of the mission trip, between participants and their congregations, and within the greater Cincinnati Jewish community.
Many mission participants described the feeling of returning from the trip having gained “new family members”—people they grew close with during the intimate experience of sharing Israel together—many of them, for the first time.
“Our family’s journey was truly priceless,” said Jennifer Green, who went with her husband Zach and her son Bryce. “These forged and solidified friendships from our trip continue at home in Cincinnati.”
Green shared that every family from her Wise Temple tour bus, and some families from other tour busses, attended Bryce’s bar mitzvah at Plum Street Temple in January, without formal invitation.
“We were so touched by these gestures,” Green said. “Bryce wore the kippah and tallit that we purchased in the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem’s old city. He was clearly moved by his bar mitzvah service and was very emotional. His strong connection to Judaism and to Israel will be lifelong.”
New congregational connections
In an effort to build upon the transformative mission, the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati recently hired Marla Lisman, who went on the mission and belongs to Adath Israel, to work with each of the congregational rabbis to develop a post-trip engagement strategy for mission participants. Lisman’s position is supported by a grant from The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati.
“We have great potential here to continue and strengthen the connections that were forged during this unforgettable trip,” said Lisman, who has been working with the rabbis to plan engagement opportunities for their mission participants.
At Adath Israel Congregation, twelve religious school students who went on the Adath Israel family bus spent the first semester after they returned to Cincinnati planning programs designed to share their experiences with the rest of the school.
“It was the most amazing and beautiful place I’ve ever been,” said Leora Stern, who is in fifth grade. She and her fellow fifth, sixth, and seventh grade students created a game with clues and challenges to guide students through the cities and sites they saw on the mission. The younger students hosted an Israeli food-tasting for their classmates.
Also at Adath Israel, the long-standing idea of having an organized “Caring Mishpacha” has been realized thanks, in part, to the leadership of two mission participants.
“Over the past several years volunteers from our Sisterhood have provided meals for shiva and post-surgery as well as rides to doctor appointments as requested,” said Debbie Lempert, Adath Israel’s President. “In thinking through how to formally organize a Caring Mishpacha, we brainstormed with two excellent volunteers, also both mission participants: Betsy Goldfarb and Marsha Barsman. Together they developed this initiative: to become an extended family to congregants who have no local family members or support system.”
At Wise Temple, mission participants have engaged in many activities, including participating in, and even volunteering to lead, activities associated with Wise Temple’s Anniversary Celebrations (175 years as a congregation; 150 years of Plum Street Temple).
“Over a hundred of our Israel travelers scribed a letter in one of the two Torah scrolls that Wise Temple is writing as a part of the Wise Journey Anniversary celebration. Israel travelers were the very first congregants to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime experience, scribing the first words of Genesis,” said Kari Fagin, Wise Temple’s Director of Member Engagement and Communication.
Congregation Beth Adam recently brought in a speaker from BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change, over video conference, to teach the congregation’s Sunday morning adult education class.
“It was clear when we visited BINA in Israel that Beth Adam’s philosophy has much in common with BINA,” said Beth Adam’s rabbi, Robert Barr.
Barr said Elliot Glassenberg of BINA spoke about the Israeli secular Jewish renaissance, and that the class was well attended and well received.
“Examining Jewish identity through a secular lens enhanced our understanding of Israeli culture as well as our own Jewish identity,” Barr said.
Northern Hills Synagogue also recently hosted a speaker who wowed their mission delegation this summer. Rabbi Marc Rosenstein came to Cincinnati in January as part of the Israelity speaker series co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation to talk about his work with the Jewish-Arab Galilee Circus, which fosters cooperation between Jewish and Arab teenage acrobats. Northern Hills hosted Rabbi Rosenstein for a weekend of Scholar-in-Residence activities and talks.
Rockdale Temple has invited their mission tour guide, Keren Hananel, to join them in Cincinnati this fall as a Scholar-in-Residence. “I was approached by some of our participants while we were still in Israel about this idea. We’re hoping that Keren will bring our group together again and others will also have an opportunity to learn from her and feel the spirit of the Israeli people,” said Rockdale Temple’s rabbi, Sissy Coran. “I am grateful to our congregants for the idea and for their support in making this happen.”
Grassroots reunions “springing up”
In addition to more organized efforts on the congregational level, many mission participants have taken it upon themselves to organize grassroots reunions with their fellow travelers.
“Time flies, and our lives are filled with many competing obligations, but the mission participants from Temple Sholom have clearly developed an unbreakable bond with each other having shared this experience together, making these reunions a priority,” said Sandy Mendel, who has organized several reunions for the group.
In August, Temple Sholom travelers reminisced after Shabbat services during an Oneg sponsored by Heroldine Ukelson, who, at 88, was the oldest mission participant.
“Heroldine wanted to thank everyone for making sure she came back to Cincinnati safe and sound,” Sandy said. “We all enjoyed seeing each other and sharing pictures of the trip.”
Since then, the Temple Sholom group has reunited twice: at a group brunch in December, and over a family-style Mediterranean meal.
“We took a picture and sent it back to our tour guide! It really felt for the evening as though we were back in Israel enjoying our incredible trip again,” Sandy said. “Future reunions are in the works and will continue.”
Richard Isroff and five other travelers from Middletown, who joined the Beth Israel Congregation in Hamilton, have also made Cincinnati reunions a priority since they returned home.
“After eleven days of airports, busses, climbing, eating, and singing we became one,” Isroff said. “Upon our return, we have been able to get together several times, to share our stories and enjoy our companionship.”
The group met for a latke dinner in Middletown, and some of the mission participants from both congregations are already planning a return trip to Israel.
“We plan to keep our relationships going, and we’re hoping to participate in more events at the Mayerson JCC,” Isroff said.
A community affair
Because of their transformative experiences on the mission, several participants have taken up volunteer leadership posts in various community-wide capacities.
“A highlight of the trip was the community dinner we had in Netanya, where we got to build new relationships and see many old ones rekindled,” said Cindy Cohen, who has since joined the Federation’s Partnership2Gether committee, which helps plan partnership initiatives with Netanya, Cincinnati’s partnership city in Israel.
“Specifically, I’ll be helping to create a modern-day pen pal link between students at our own Rockwern Academy and their peers in Netanya. I hope these new friendships will encourage many visits to Cincinnati by Israelis and vice versa,” Cohen said. In addition, several other mission participants have become involved in the Federation’s planning and allocations process.
The bonds forged during the trip have also resulted in a number of new community-wide programs, specifically designed for mission participants.
The first of these was a mission reunion during the Mayerson JCC’s “Under One Roof” Sukkah Art Exhibit. The reunion featured an Israel photo contest, which solicited entries from travelers.
The winning images were prominently displayed while the other images were put on trifold boards for everyone’s enjoyment.
“These concrete displays of everyone’s experiences on the mission gave the dessert reception in the Amberley Room an Israeli vibe, as people perused the displays,” said Marla Lisman.
The Jewish Federation’s Israel Center also hosted a series of talks featuring Cincinnatians with unique personal relationships with and connections to Israel. From “lone soldiers” Leibel Mangel and Shay Edelman, who shared their stories about leaving their homes in Cincinnati to join the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), to Rotem Greniman’s interactive Israeli cooking lesson, this series opened yet another door to Israel, to Jewish peoplehood, and to understanding and practicing Jewish identity. Cincinnati’s shlicha (community emissary), Maia Morag, organized and hosted the series of seven talks, each one at a different synagogue in town. All were well attended by mission participants.
This year, the community-wide Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) celebration on Tuesday, May 2 at the Mayerson JCC will have a noticeable mission component.
“This year, I asked two women who traveled with their families to co-chair the Yom HaAztmaut family celebration,” said Lismsan.
In addition, the iconic torch-lighting ceremony to celebrate Israel’s independence will feature mission participants.
“Included in the group are multigenerational families who traveled on the mission together and older participants who were finally able to travel to Israel,” Lisman said.
Also, on March 25, mission participants and their families will gather at Adath Israel Congregation to hear visionary Jewish thought leader, Avraham Infeld, speak. Many mission participants reported that hearing Infeld speak about Jewish peoplehood in Jerusalem, on the last day of the mission, was a trip highlight. Infeld’s visit to Cincinnati, in partnership with Adath Israel, will give mission participants the opportunity to hear him speak again, and their family members who didn’t go on the mission a chance to hear him speak for the first time.
The sense of excitement and enhanced community engagement among mission participants has taken on a life of its own in a digital way, as well. More than half of the mission participants are part of a Facebook group for mission travelers only, which enabled an unprecedented level of communication during the mission and after.
“When we were in Israel, people were sharing photos and experiences on Facebook. And now that we’re back, it’s served as a great place to keep the connections going. Participants can find out about Israel engagement opportunities and events here in Cincinnati with the click of a mouse,” Lisman said.
Lisman has also created separate Facebook pages for several of the individual tour busses.
“I use these pages to break exciting congregational news, let people know about upcoming congregational and community events, and to post images and other reunion information,” Lisman said. “The trip might be over, but the connections continue. Judging by the kind of excitement and engagement you see both online and at community and congregation events—you’d think we were still in Israel.”
