Shalom Chaverim,
A large portion of my job as the National Mazkir is not only to focus on what Young Judaea is doing during my one year term, but also setting it up to succeed well after.
When I see a Young Judaea of the future, I see a Young Judaea of today.
A Young Judaea of programs like Year Course, a hallmark of Young Judaea and a huge portion of our global footprint. This program recently managed to do something borderline miraculous in the lives of 200 or so of our young adults. It gave them a vessel through which they managed to escape spending their entire first year out of high school attending college online alone in their parents basements and childhood bedrooms, as so many others their age were forced to do.
Instead of that reality, each of them, thanks to the monumental time, tenacity, and resources of the Year Course and Young Judaea as a whole staff, were able to go on a life-changing year of growth, furthered Jewish education, and new social connections in Israel, all during the height of the pandemic while managing to stay safe.
A Young Judaea where instead of continuing 'business as usual' after reinstating summer programming this past year, Tel Yehudah decided to go a step further, adapting a long standing YJ program for our eldest chanichim, Gesher, into something new. Something that allowed many of my peers to not only forge deeper connections with each other, our movement, and Israel, but to have the chance to return to Tel Yehudah as campers for the final time, an opportunity the pandemic nearly stole in our Gesher program.
This adapted program allowed a furthering of their leadership development, now not only with each other, but also with age groups slightly younger than themselves, resulting in a vastly improved camp experience for all involved, both these leaders and those they lead.
When I see a Young Judaea of the future, I see a Young Judaea of the past.
A Young Judaea who embraced a little 7 year old from Pittsburgh, who arrived at CYJ Midwest so nervous he climbed up a 20 feet up a tree by the gaga pit and wouldn’t come down for hours, and transformed him into the person I am today.
A Young Judaea that had such an impact on so many of the rising seniors in its movement that when Universities and colleges asked them to write about their best qualities and biggest transformations, more than half chose to write about how much Young Judaea meant to them.
When I see a Young Judaea of the future, I see a Young Judaea of all of you.
Whether your journey with us started at Waupaca, Verbank, Wimberley, Hendersonville, Barryville, Israel, or anywhere else.
A Young Judaea founded so many years ago with the dream that not only should we have a strong community in the land of Israel, but that we should have a strong community right here where we are today. B’yachad, ani v’ata neshane et haolam. Together you and I will change the world. With all of your help, we can make it happen.
Shabbat Shalom,
Nadav Gilboa
National Mazkir, 2021-2022
