No'ar Hadash PROGRAM IDEAS

January 2003: "THE SPIRITUAL VALUES OF ISRAEL"

Participants should be split into teams and set up around a large room.  (If you have a small group, everyone can work together instead of splitting up.)  In the middle of the room should be a large map of Israel.  Pieces of paper with activities will be set at Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv-Yaffo, and Tzfat (see activities below).  Each team will begin with a clue, leading them to one of the cities.  Once they guess the city, one team-member will walk to the city and pick up one of the pieces of paper with the activity.  The group will work together to complete the activity, and when finished will read the clue at the bottom of the paper to lead them to the next city (and therefore the next activity).

This program should take approximately 1 1/2 hours, which includes time for an introduction and wrap-up.

MATERIALS.  Large map of Israel; copies of activities; copies of clues; copies of prayer for Jerusalem station; copies of information for Haifa station; copies of texts for Tel Aviv-Yaffo station; paper, markers, suggestions, and example for Tzfat station.

ACTIVITIES.  Each activity is connected both to the city and to related values of spiritual peoplehood.

• Jerusalem: Spiritual Value - Kedusha (Holiness)
  Participants will work together to choreograph a prayer.  Although any prayer may be used, the Shema ("Listen, Israel: The Eternal  is our God, The Eternal One alone!") and Hashkiveinu ("Help us to lie down, dear one, our God, in peace, and let us rise again, our sovereign, to life" or "Blessed are you, compassionate one, who spreads your canopy of peace over all your people Israel and over Jerusalem") both have very strong symbolism that can be easily used by participants of any age.

• Haifa: Spiritual Values - Hohmah (Wisdom) and Dereh Eretz (Character)
  At this site of immigration, participants must make a decision about the law of return and how it impacts a group of modern Jews.  The Law of Return, as passed by David Ben Gurion in 1950, states that "Every Jew has a right to come to [Israel] as an [immigrant]." 
  Situation: The Lemba are an African people mainly from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and parts of South Africa who believe that they are Jewish and maintain that their traditions are of Jewish origin. Their flag features a Star of David and the Elephant of Judah. They practice circumcision. They bury their dead in accordance with Jewish traditions. They hold the first day of the new moon sacred.  They do not eat meat from pigs.  (Information from http://www.mindspring.com/~jaypsand/lemba.htm.)  For many years the worldwide Jewish community has said that it is not possible for the Lemba to be Jewish, because the Jews never migrated that far south.  In recent years, however, DNA research has suggested that approximately 10% of Lemba men share the Y-chromosome found in those Jewish men who are Cohanim (descendents of Aaron, the High Priest).  Since the Y-chromosome is passed from father to son through the generations, it would seem reasonable to believe that the Lemba come from the same ancestors as these other Jewish men. 
  Dilemma: Should the Lemba be let into Israel under the Law of Return? 
  Note: As far as we know, this has not been a conversation within the Israeli government.  This situation is set up merely for the purpose of interesting discussion within this program.

• Tel Aviv - Yaffo: Spiritual Values - Ziyonut (Peoplehood) and Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World)
  Here in Tel Aviv, the State of Israel was formed in 1948.  Since then there has been much hardship between Israel and her neighbors.  Given the right places to look, participants must find 3 places in the Torah where it says that we should live in peace with our neighbors.  (In other words, if given the chapter in the Torah, participants must find the chapter and look for a piece of text that suggests to them the importance of living in piece with your neighbors.)
  Exodus 23:4 - When you encounter your enemy's ox or ass wandering, you must take it back to him.
  Leviticus 19:33 - When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him.  The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens . . .
  Deuteronomy 20:10 - When you approach a town to attack it, you shall offer it terms of peace.  (Later in this chapter, in Deuteronomy 20:20, it says that "Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed" in war.  Why do you think this is the case?  What does it say about nature, and what does it say about living in peace with our neighbors?)

• Tzfat: Spiritual Value - Hidur Mitzvah (Creativity)
  Participants will make a picture using micrography.  (Micrography is the art of writing a word or phrase in tiny lettering to outline a design.  For example, a kiddush cup might be drawn using the words "borei p'ri hagafen" over and over again to complete the picture.)  Possible phrases to use are: borei p'ri hagafen (creator of the fruit of the vine), hamotzi lehem min ha'aretz (who brings bread from the earth), lehadlik ner shel shabbat (to light the candle of Shabbat), hamavdil ben kodesh l'chol (who separates between between holy and mundane), ohev amo Yisrael (who loves the people Israel).  The phrases can be used in English or Hebrew, or in any other form desired.

CLUES.  It does not matter what order the groups move in, as long as they are all working on something.  It is up to the individual running the program to decide where each group will start.  (Underlines words are particularly helpful in figuring out the location.)

• Jerusalem: Seven gates welcome you into this City of Gold where, according to legend, two caring brothers met in the night on the spot where the Holy Temple was later built.

• Haifa: As part of Israel this is a Jewish city, but overlooking the Mediterranean Sea you will also find the stunning white Bahai Temple and its beautiful green gardens.

• Tel Aviv-Yaffo: Two cities - one Arab and one Israeli - were brought together many years ago to form what is now the largest city in Israel.  But, it's not the capital!

• Tzfat: This blue city was the home of the Kabbalists, who would welcome the Shabbat bride by running out into the streets wearing white.  Today, when we sing Lecha Dodi, we remember these writers and we too welcome in the Shabbat bride.

this program was originally developed to be used at the no'ar hadash midwest regional kallah (january 2003)