Leadership in 2013

Cincinnati Young Leaders, the name of our group leaves room for many interpretations in regards to the mission of our trip. However, what leadership skills and qualities do we exude climbing mountains in Eilat or riding camels in Jordan? Actually, a lot. After visiting the Kotel and then having a family-oriented Shabbat dinner with leaders from Cincinnati we became inspired to discuss our own roles as leaders in the Jewish community which raised us and had provided us with this incredible opportunity. After a fun morning filled with wine tasting and the evolution of many of us as wine connoisseurs we finally broached this complex topic. A recent survey of Jewish Americans showed a growing and perhaps alarming trend in the Jewish community. The two rapidly increasing sects of Judaism in the present day are the orthodox and unaffiliated movements, the two rapidly decreasing sects, in terms of population, are conservative and reform Judaism. What does this mean for the future of the Jewish community? We discussed and debated this topic, is this a problem? What does it mean to be unaffiliated? What responsibility do we have  to the future of our Jewish community? What role does our experiences in Israel play in this? How can we change this and what can we do on both our college campuses and in Cincinnati to ensure the survival and continued growth of our Jewish identities? These are some pretty loaded questions for us to grapple with. We discussed what does it mean to be a leader? What does it mean to be a Jew? And what does it mean to be a Jewish leader? In this case is Jewish being used as an adjective or a noun and what are those differences? And what conclusions did we draw from this? As a group it was obvious there are no black and white answers. Each of us define our Judaism, our roles as leaders, our relationship with our Jewish community, our relationship with Israel, and our relationship with each other differently. While there may be no concrete answers our continued discussions and actions associated with these issues are vital. We concluded our discussion going around the circle and sharing what responsibilities we have to our home community, what we will take back with us from our trip, what our Cincinnati Jewish community means with us, and other related topics. I believe we all learned a lot from each other and the talk. As a result from what everyone shared it appears as if we have a newfound sense of self and our relationship to each other, Israel, our Judaism, and our Jewish community. Although I cannot speak for everyone I believe we all left the conversation with a new outlook on the Jewish community and our future as Jewish leaders. Jillian Goldberg 

Reflections from Participants

Shabbat Evening with Cincinnati Families Last night the group had the privilege of spending the evening with seven Jewish Cincinnati families traveling throughout Israel. The group was divided amongst tables with different couples who identified themselves as prominent leaders in the Jewish community. I had the opportunity of sitting at a table with David and Stacy Fisher, David being the new CEO of Birthright. My friends at the table and myself spent the evening asking the Fisher's questions about their Jewish sense of community and the community that Cincinnati provides. David shared with us the importance of dining together and what a great experience it was that in Israel over 70 Jewish community leaders and growing leaders could share such a special Shabbat evening in Jerusalem. Next to our table was a children's table filled with the kids of the traveling couples. David was explaining the special aspect of the Cincinnati community and that in twenty years he would love us to do the same for his children, while they are traveling in Israel. These kind words brought tears to our eyes. It was such a special evening filled with many kind words while educating the room about many of opportunities Cincinnati provides. Last night's Shabbat evening truly enhanced our trip experience. -Arielle Ingber Mom we are alive.  -Matt and Ryan  The day at the winery was a day well spent.  We had the opportunity to try all the locally made wines and had a nice Mediterranean lunch outside in the valley of Ella. It was such a change of scenery for us yet an amazing way for us to take in yet another cultural aspect this wonderful country has to offer. It was complimentary to our experience in it's entirety, and a beautiful way to spend our shabbat.- Sammy  We've learned a lot on this trip, in interesting ways.  Elliot Chodof's tour of the seamline was a great overview of how horribly, hilariously messed up Israel's borders are.  The Night Spectacular gave us a quick but beautiful look at the Old City through the ages.  And we had a surprisingly introspective Shabbat with a discussion at a wine tasting about what it means to be a Jewish leader.  I still don't have much of a taste for wine, though. --Ben Lee

Jerusalem

The group is doing well. On Wednesday we stayed at the Ein Gedi kibbutz and toured their incredible gardens, creating a beautiful oasis in the desert.  We cooled off with a float in the Dead Sea.  Then, we made our way to Jerusalem.  Our visit to Jerusalem began in the city of David with a tour through the Hezekiah tunnel and a tour of the old city with sites that most of us have never seen including a visit to the church of the holy sepulcher.  Then, we closed our afternoon with a visit to the Jerusalem campus of HUC and met two students who will be coming to Cincinnati next year to complete their rabbinic studies.  Our day closed with the phenomenal Tower of David laser light show, which presents the history of Jerusalem.   This morning we began the day with a "seamline" tour of Jerusalem with Prof. Elliot Chodof of Haifa University.  While looking out at some of the most complicated locations in Israel, he went in depth about the many challenging issues that Israel faces.  After our three hour tour we experienced the busy Machne Yehuda market.  Then we prepared for shabbat and had a wonderful Kabbalat shabbat at the very crowded wall.  We shared a delicious shabbat dinner with seven families who are very active in the cincinnati Jewish community. Tomorrow, we will be visiting one of Israel's primary wine making regions before digging our way through the underground caves in Emek Haela. Please look at Yair Cohen's Facebook page for photos. More reflections from participants soon!

Jordan to Israel

Yesterday evening we returned from our visit to Petra. All is going well and today we will ascend Masada then on to Jerusalem. We are having a hard time posting photos on the blog, so please find Yair Cohen on Facebook to view our adventures. Here are some of the comments on our trip so far. "After four days, three different areas of accommodation, and two countries, I think I've learned more about people, culture and the world than I did all of this past semester in school (sorry if you're reading this mom and dad). Exhibit A) Eilam, our Israeli tour guide, played basketball at such a high level growing up that he played for two years on the under 18 national team. When he turned 18, however, instead of continuing to play and pursuing a possible professional career, he chose to fulfill his duty as an Israeli citizen and went to the army. Given the choice (which he did have), how many Americans do you know who would make the same decision? Exhibit B) Muhammad, our Jordanian tour guide, told us about religion in Jordan being 95% Muslim and 5% Christian. That being said, the question of "what is your religion?" is a rude question in Jordan, because faith is personal. Exhibit C) Our party in camp jabal rum with the Jordanians was no different than how we celebrate in the US or as Jews, with great food, great friends, and fun dancing (and no booze, seriously). Looking forward to what is next." -Victor Kamesar A Jordanian man tried to buy me for 10 Dinar, roughly 13 US dollars... Other than that, this trip has been unbelievable. I can't believe how much we have seen so far and how much I have learned about different cultures and people.  -Jessica Melowsky I could not have asked for a better way to spend my 21st birthday than to be in Israel. Not too many other people have the chance to hike up a mountain with as beautiful of a view as Mt. Tsfachot, go to the underwater observatory, and learn about the innovating agriculture methods used at the Arava Institute at Kibbutz Ketura all in one day to celebrate their birthday. I am very grateful I got to do those with this amazing group of 38 friends I have made. Another amazing experience I have had thus far was our trip to Jordan. It was so cool to see the old city of Petra, a historic site that has been intact for thousands of years.  Also, camping out in the Bedouin village of Jabal Rum was an unbelievable experience, as I got to observe an entirely different culture from my own.  Although I have been to Israel a few times before, I have never had the chance to see such a different, intriguing culture. I loved experiencing various aspects of their culture such as eating incredible food and celebrating with them during their mock wedding ceremony. It really opens up your eyes to the rest of the world when you go out and experience a completely different culture than what you are used to.   -Zach Zakem The scenery is beautiful here.  I've done a lot of hiking and climbing and gotten some great photos out of it.  Ramon Crater, the bike ride to Aricha, Jabal Rum, and Petra were all great sights to see.  And also good ways to work off the great food we've been eating! --Ben Lee

The Negev

How fitting to start our time together in the vast land making up 60% of the land of Israel. After arriving, we shared our first shabbat together getting to know one another at the moshebai Sade guest house. Appropriately our first visit was to the graves of David Ben Gurion and his wife Pola. Ben Gurion was not only a visionary leader for the state of Israel but his final resting place serves as a reminder of the importance of knowing the Negev, so this is what we did yesterday. Together, we set out on mountain bikes traveling several miles through the desert getting to know her beauty and challenges. We rode to an "unrecognized" Bedouin village called Aricha and learned about their way of life and current challenges while breaking bread over a delicious lunch. Finally making our way back to the bus we began our journey to Eilat! We'll share some photos and more stories later!