Whats been going on in Messima: Tzevet Cholon (Karich)

In the midst of thought provoking peulot, fun chevratis, serious sichot, and many other things, I spend a great deal of my time with the rest of my tzevet where we do messima. I have blogged a little about my messima experience, however things now are different, and much improved. (not that there was any problem before, we are the best tzevet!) Seeing as we have sichot and peulot which have questioned various issues such as the roll of a madrich and why the Israeli school system is the way it is, and what we can do to improve it, recently our intensity and passion has picked up quite a lot. We have new ideas and understandings of what it means to be a madrich, as well as what it means to be on a tzevet. But these questions are constantly adressed, and then those thoughts are put into action.
In messima we write different peulot where we simply have a goal of informally educating our chanichim based on values such as equality, collective responsibility and what it means to have relationships with others, as well as many others. This past weekend was the tiyul and Pasechet, a 2 day series of peulot and extremely fun activities for the chanichim to take part in to gain a unique perspective of Judaism, and what the upcoming chag means to them. Leading up to the two events, the peulot had began to run smooth, and that was only a sign of things to come.
The tiyul quickly arrived, and I was full of new ideas. RIght off the bat, I knew that it would be tough. What i mean, is that in our kvutza we have two male madrichim, and zero female, in messima, I am a madrich for12 girls and 2 boys. I knew it would be difficult, but the challenge was worth it, and will continue to be. Immediately, weather it be by talking in Hebrew or English, playing fun games, or teaching about the flowers we passed, it was surprisingly easy to get on their good side, and I too saw how great they were.
Although things in our kvutza went well, my tiyul experience exposed me even more to some major flaws in some step in the process for the youth of Israel. Never in my life, have I seen so many rocks thrown at each other, so many fights, or so much cursing. When I asked Anat what the deal was, she told me it is just a result of not having a good enough school system, as well as other factors that lead to this behavior, and that we have a unique opportunity to change this, and improve the chanichims lives and help them help society around them. From then on, I realized how unique of an opportunity I have, and immediately I became comfortable with my chanichim on the hike and was able to connect with them and have teach them certain values I strive to carry out which they can relate to, and they taught me.
After a two day tiyul, it was time for the Pasechet. With the knowledge that this could either be an incredible experience or a disaster, (depending on the chanichim's moods) the best we could do is go into with an excited attitude, (which we always have!) and being flexible with our tochnit.

Goals:
-Learning useful english words.
-Respecting the kvutza, and learning to cooperate and work with one another.
-Starting to think about Passover, as well as seeing that the American Madrichim have the same narrative.
-Communication/teamwork.
Trigger:
Skit- Repeated by characters in Hebrew, just so chanichim understand
After skit, break up into kvutzot, and play…
-Charades: We give one kid a word and they act out the word with out talking, the rest of the chanichim guess what it is. Teach new words: Milk, cocoa, biscuits, sugar, butter.
-Each chanich that wants to have a turn will come up to the madrich and be given a word. The chanich will have to present the word, charade style.
Method: Scavenger hunt where chanichim learn skills to survive in the desert.
Scavenger hunt: Round Robin
-given letters to spell table and a picture of a pingpong ball. Must jumble letters to figure out…
-Ping pong table – ping pong thing with teams and running. Split in two groups on both sides of table one person hits ping pong ball and runs to the end of the line on the other side of the table. If they get 10 in a row, they get the clue!
-translation to spell basement Hebrew letter lines up to an English letter and spells Basement.
-Basement – puzzle with picture of basketball court
(clue from above)
-Basketball court – lay-up lines – pass the ball and next person shoots.
-coordination letters, spell out homework (Ask Sara about this clue, she wrote it down somewhere)
-Homework room – Build a fort with the pillows and fit everyone in it
”School Entrance”
-Entrance to school – build a human pyramid and sing the pasechet songà
Peula room – recipe
With each clue, you get a paper with an ingredient.
At the end, is the recipe. Make the balls together and eat!
Ingredients:
Milk – ½ cup
Cocoa – 6 tbs
Sugar – 1 cup
Biscuits – 1 package
Butter – 1 cup
Chugim #1:
Sarah and Shoshi: Cup Cakes: Symbolizing the manna the Jews had to eat in the desert.
Erez and zach: Science experiments:
-During the Israelites journey out of Israel, God performed many miracles. Our version of remembering this is by doing epic science projects.
Group peula #1:
-Tag: Chanichim/Israelites running from Pharoah.
-Regular tag. (Tofeset.)
-Partner/Link tag. (Tofeset Zoogot.)
-Chain tag: Two people start as it. Chase everyone, once you tag someone they add to the chain.
-Obstacle course with water guns: Create an obstacle course where the purpose is to make their way through the red sea.
-Singing contest: Break up into small groups. Come up with their favorite American song and present it to the rest of chanichim through dance, singing etc…

-Day one went better then we could have imagined. From the skit, to the peula, to chugim, to everything else, the chanichim worked as a kvutza and were engaged and excited, making it easier and much funner for all of the tzevet. Additionaly, it gave me a chance to step up and show that I am excited about being their madrich, so we spent a great deal of time together just hanging out.
Here was the seder yom for day 2:
Kvutza peula #2: Directions Peula; navigating through the desert!
Goals:
-Strengthen kvutza trust between chanichim and madrichim.
-Learn useful english words.
-Introduce values collective, and sharing.
-Keep the kids engaged and having fun.
Game to get them together: Sheep/I can see your teeth, roar like a lion, tofeset, achbar v' chatul.
List of words to learn: left, right, straight, backwards, turn, step over, pick up. MAKE CARDS WITH WORDS
Play Simon Says using these words.
Play the game with 4 shlavim – repeat and do as said,
Repeat and do opposite
Repeat and do opposite
Say opposite and do what was said
Method: Split into Kvutzot. Different floors in the bayit. Each location has bordered space with obstacles inside, including chairs, string, tape, etc. Split into pairs within the groups, and person A gets blindfolded. The goal is to get across the space to a “bayit dollar” under something. Person B
must direct person A, using words such as “left,” “right,” and “straight.” The idea is to work together to get 2 “bayit dollars” for the pair. After round one, the groups switch locations. Repeat with person B blindfolded.
Play the game with hitting each other! 2 teams. Blindfold. Winner gets a "bayit dollar."
Each group stands on a blanket. The goal is to flip the blanket while all standing on it. The group must work together to flip the blanket without touching the ground. Each group gets three tries. At the end, they get more “bayit dollars,” as a group (ex. 5 for 10 people).
Bring both groups together and show them a tray of cookies. The cookies cost the amount that the two groups have combined. They must figure out that they need to combine their money to get the cookies. In the end, each chanich will get two cookies.
-Chugim #2
Sarah and Shoshi: Cup Cakes: Symbolizing the manna the Jews had to eat in the desert.
Erez and zach: Science experiments:During the Israelites journey out of Israel, God performed many miracles. Our version of remembering this is by doing epic science projects.

Creation of Israeli Society Peula:
Goals:
-Get chanichim to “create” their ideal Israeli society, while incorporating their new English skills.
-Have chanichim gain an understanding that Israeli culture can only be created based on team work and group cooperation, one person cant create an entire Israel, as well as understand that it is the different roles, (tafkidim,) in Israel that make the society what it really is.
Trigger:
-Famous cats with a G, but the twist of the game is that they must have categories including tafkidim in society. Example: Famous singers, jobs, sports.)
Method: This is where chanichim are given the chance to create their society. Each chanich will be divided into four groups. Each group will have a certain tafkid.
-1)Scientists: Chanichim will need to come up with how they can use science to help add to the new Israeli society. With science project supplies from chuggim, and new supplies, chanichim will practice and learn new projects in the 30 minute period, and when everyone comes back together, we they will perform to the rest of the chanichim.
-Give chanichim a chance to think of their own ideas, and after a few minutes, the madrich of the group will give them the idea of doing science experiments.
-2)Active culture creators: (not sport!) This group will be responsible for creating some sort of active activity, and demonstrate, or play for the entire group when everyone comes together. (Madrich will be given an idea to help chanichim if they cannot think of one themselves, but they will!)
-3)Performers: Performance group is responsible for showing that its easy to create a culture of singing, dancing or acting. Group gets complete freedom to think of what they want. They can create an acting game, write a song, or perform a dance.
-When we all come back together, they can present and teach their song or dance, or they can play an acting game. (whatever they decided.)
-If chanichim cannot come up with something, the madrich will run games that involve acting.
4) Farmers: Farmers are responsible for showing that Israeli society needs to have people who make food. Idea is to have chanichim discuss ideas of how they can show farming is easy and fun.
-After a few minutes, madrich of the group will suggest planting things in cups, and show we have all the supplies. The group will do it, and be guided by the madrich.
-When everyone comes back together, the group will have a station set up where they teach how to plant a vegetable in a cup, and every chanich will plant their own vegetable in a cup.
-After all presentations, chanichim will see that they can have an active part in shaping Israeli society.
Sikkum: Eat ice cream to celebrate what they learned.
-Supplies: science supplies, ice cream, dirt, seeds, plastic cups.

-The second day was a bit more hectic More fights were present and kids had a difficult time staying engaged. Perhaps the peulot were not flexible enough to have a plan to suite chanichim who are restless. However, in the end all peulot were ran and chanichim really did enjoy them. In the final peula, they really got interested and took responsibility for their tafkid.
In the end, the Pasechet went really well, better than expected.\
Tzevet Karich, (Cholon,) became much stronger. The Workshop madrichim felt very empowered, and the relationships between madrichim grew stronger and stronger.
Chazak Chazak l Cholon!

The Three Levels of Oppression: March 8, 2010.

After a series of peulot and a siyur around Tel Aviv and some peoples devastating situation, was time to dive in even deeper, and ask the real questions. These questions were just the beginning, as the answers were a perfect opportunity to take a look at ourselves and see what our role is in all this, if we have a role. Again, going back to Herzl's vision, he dreamt of a place where the rich take responsibility for the poor, and where the government took responsibility for those who needed it, rather than selling those problems off for a profit. Maybe this will help us understand:
-The Three Levels of Oppression: Ilan Gur Ze'ev: My thoughts are at the end of every level in italics.)
The First level:
In our opinion, the first level of oppression, primitive oppression, is expressed by inflicting aggressive force (physical violence) in order to force someone to act against their will and interest. Uprising against this kind of oppression is possible with different levels of success. It is possible to diminish its influence and there is hope for liberation from this level of oppression.
In this type of oppression the oppressor is the more oppressed than the one he is oppressing.
-Gur Ze'ev is making a point that in any type of system where people are being oppressed, this oppression is for a reason. The one inflicting oppression, as he explains, in reality is oppressed by some other force that person does not know how to deal with, and this oppression is a response to their being oppressed. In other words, they are scared, they turn their fear, (fear of approval,greed, etc...) into oppression. The question that needs to be asked, is why is the oppressor oppressed? Maybe it could be a simple flaw, such as their lack of skill and care for communicating with the people whom they are leading. This oppression is limiting the leader to reach his full potential.
The Second Level of Oppression:
The second level of oppression is ideological oppression, in which the oppressor manipulates (lies) the oppressed to the point of identification, the oppressed identifies with the values and interests of his oppressor. The identification is an important element in blurring the consciousness of the oppressed to the existence of the oppression. This system lowers the oppressed self-consciousness partly because of his own actions. These actions are drawn to the system's existing movement, it straightens and sophisticates the existing order and then rebuilds its boundaries. Examples are ideological expression as a nationalism, "free initiative" and Marxism. Against this exisxisting oppression there is a hope to activate (as Marx in his time) a critical ideology (creating awareness) and to raise the oppressed to resistance against his oppressor. This level of oppression, moves from the personal level (private) to the class or group level, from the personal to the collective, it is far more efficient than the first level of oppression, because it exceeds physical oppression as the oppressors main means of manipulation. In correlation the liberation from the second level of oppression is more problematic and as usual evolves into a more sophisticated type of oppression. As long as the uprisers are weak, they will focus their actions against the systems structure. Once stronger and their control is more established, the oppressed will take over the roles of judges and legislators, and teachers and psychologists will be sent against their enemies to mainly treat the soul. Yet there is still place for hope.
Gur Ze'ev brings up a point that whether we are aware of it or not, we can all be faced with the second level of ideological oppression, being told what's right and what's wrong, without being allowed to search for other belief's. In other words, by simply by manipulation and lying, the oppressor forces his corrupt point across. Furthermore he explains, that once this propaganda becomes engrained in the oppressed' mind, they use their previous rebellious values as a new method for oppression.
Third level of oppression:
The third level of oppression, is a faceless oppression without class identification, successful enough to be accepted by the oppressed with internalization and devotion. This oppression is conditioned by the "narrowing of the dialogue" and sterilization of the antagonist dimension in the taken-for-granted well know reality, and their undisturbed actions of controlling forces in the system. Markuza is on the verge of pessimism in view of what we call oppression of the third level, in which the structure of the oppressed, up to the point of where the need or capability of rebellion will not exist. This is described as the rooting and destruction of the new: diseases, necessities and needs; illness, drugs and poisons, antidotes to create a new world of symbols that sum up the founding of "new man" that will never want or be capable of emancipation.
Strangely enough, after discussion, thinking, and arguing, seems to be very present in most of our lives. This third level of oppression is explaining that in so many cases in our life, there is a force that hangs over our heads, and dictates our lives in so many aspects, that we don't ever step back to ask the necessary questions, or even the natural questions. Somewhere down the line, something happened where norms of conformity took over, and in some cases eliminated peoples ability to not see beyond norms that could be dictating our life. This can be seen in the following lines: "Narrowing of the dialogue" and sterilization of the antagonistic dimensions in the taken for granted well known reality." To me, this is why we don't ask the questions. In some way, the dialogue has been narrowed, there is simply no dialogue, no questioning our reality. Here are some examples that came to mind: Alcohol, college, getting a job, clothing.In the society of teenagers and college students, and even in other peoples minds, alcohol is such a large part of peoples lives. Rarely, are the questions asked, until a bad decision is made. Another example is with college, or the army in Israel. There are so many other ways of living a life of education, or a life of service, but yet the norm is leaves little room choosing an alternative. Not to say the norms are necessarily bad, but the important questions are rarely asked.
-Ilan Gur Ze'ev.

Here are more of my thoughts. So many of our actions and thoughts are dictated by other peoples fortunes. Depending on how one chooses to look at it, from this perspective of Ze'ev, weather it be the tabloids we read, the movies we see, or the clothing we wear, its possible that our thoughts and actions are a result of a culture which does not necessarily stress appropriate values enough of the time. These things are taking away our ability to reach our full potential. It is even possible in some situations, that there is a force in society that is narrowing our dialogue, by using people to advertise for them. After the peula, most of us realized that there are many things in our life which do oppress us, and its important, as difficult as it may be, and as out of the ordinary as it may seem, that we are capable of stepping out of our comfort zone and asking the questions of why is our reality the way it is? or,
Is there eve a problem with the way we live? Maybe things are good how they are, but maybe not?
what is our role in this?
How can we create an alternative?
These are the question we must ask ourselves.

Chevra V' Kalklala Siyur: Tel Aviv Economy and Society Siyur

In an effort to become as aware of our surroundings as possible in order to improve the issues which face Israel, it was time to go on the much anticipated Socio Economic tour. Last weeks prep peula gave us all the prior knowledge we needed in order to ask the right questions, and think of the situations we were to see critically. In short, in last weeks peula, we were presented with Jewish values and Zionist writings by Herzl. After analyzing the writings and comparing them to Jewish values such as equality, caring for everyone, and so on. It is no suprise that Herzl, who had similar ideas, in some senses, as his predecessors took to heart all the important Jewish values when forming his opinions and writing the works such as Der Judenstaat and Alt noiland. Herzl envisioned a state where the people took responsibility for one another. Meaning, the government, and structures which were fundamental parts in the early setlements, as well as the establishment of Israel such as the Histadrut, K.K.L, JNF and Kupat Cholim were to be ran by the people, for the people. Israel was to be a place where collective responsibility was to be carried out, and values such as tzadakewere a norm.
Our siyur started in Menachem Begin Park, a well off park with basketball courts nicer than any I have seen since my days at home, a kind of pointless exercise workout jungle gym, water skies, and a beautiful grassy knoll, with a beautiful new apartment building overlooking the entire park.
Who is it that this park is meant for? Why is it so nice?
As we left the park, we walked about one hundred yards, and arrived at the begining of the second stop of the siyur. Just next to the beautiful park is Schunat Haargazim,, or neighborhood of boxes. As we looked at the map, where we were standing there was nothing. Just a white area with nothing in it. Schunat Haargazim, is a neighborhood in Southern Tel Aviv with officialy 175 people, however there are about 400 living there. The neighborhood is not recognized by the city. This means that it receives no plumbing, no electricity, no water, no garbage service, no mail service. So whats the deal? On the right of the broken up road which goes through the shack neighborhood, (so in the park,) is a wall with graffiti reading two things; "expulsion of the Arabs," and the other stating "Hachshuri the contractor is corrupt." (translated from Hebrew.) So who is this guy? Why is he corrupt? Expulsion of the Arabs? Here are all the answers.
In 1948, after the War of Independence, the Arabs who lived in the area were forced to flee, leaving everything behind. Some may call it a Nakba, or catastrophe, as Arabs were devastated and had no where to go. The area was taken over by a group of Jews, and turned into a small neighborhood. As time went on, and structures such as the maaburot had a hard time functioning due to the amount of people,it became difficult for the state to keep up with all the new immigrants and whatnot. Nothing for the new residents in the area ever improved. In fact, they never even became residents of Tel Aviv, meaning they never officially became residents of Israel. It was not until the mid 90's when something had to be done. The city of Tel Aviv sold the neighborhood to a private contractor named Hachshuri. He purchased the area for 1.2 million shekels, while the neighborhood was appraised for 17.5 milion shekels. That is not a lot of money for not only purchasing a physical space, but a space where he was taking the responsibility for these people. This made things worse. Herzl's vision was a place of collective responsibilty, where the government and other structures were to be responsible for its citizens. None of this happened. By the neighborhood being sold, the responsibility was put on Hachshuri, and rather than helping these people, he made a giant high rise, a place where the people in the neighborhood couldn't even afford to live, not to mention their many children and very tiny income. Since he was a private contractor, he had no technical responsibility to those in shcunat haargazim. In the end, Hachshuri ended up making millions from his high rise. Today, there are about 400 people living in the "box village," however only about 175 are officialy recognized, seeing as many cannot be known at this point since they are not official residents, meaning they could be taken away, or in trouble with child services. The situation is in no way improving, and the question of what to do is on us.
Our next stop was Schunat Hatikva,, or "Neighborhood of Hope." Like the previous neighborhood, there are all types of issues facing the neighborhood. While it is true that these people are officialy recognized, the poor living conditions have lead to an interesting situation. The "Shas Part," an Ultra Orthodox right wing organization has come in and provided the only way of hope. Rather than putting responsibility on themselves and doing what they can to improve their lives on their own, most residents choose to take advantage of the services offered by the party. The deal is simple. If they prey, wrap tfillin, and send their kids to places where they study all day, the party is reciprocated with a vote. The people in Shchonat Hatikva need something to believe in, and the Shas Party seems to be the best answer.
The next two stops included the central bus station area, where refugees and immigrants take refuge and are forced to live in poor unsafe conditions, and take on un-desirable and illegal jobs, while they hide, as they could be deported any day. Just across the street are the high rise buildings of the wealthy. A metaphorical sign for the position of the modern capitalist. While people suffer, there are others doing what they can in a dog eat dog world to make it to the top. Again, nothing which Herzl envisioned.
This concluded my siyur, as it was time for me and the rest of Tzevet Cholon to roll out to the Purimon at the Bayit.From now on, we all feel even more of a responsibility to go out and make a change. Weather it be through fighting to take off the Book "Torat Hamelech," from shelves or educating, or learning about poverty, the tasks remain great, but of course nothing not worth trying.