From Milken
Below are a few activities created by Milken. You can (1) complete the Intro Activity, (2) answer the Discussion Questions, and then (3) look at some Sources.
(1) Intro Activity
Which image represents the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora?
To answer the question, look at the images below. Which image represents the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora? Be sure to explain your response in a comment below.
(2) Discussion Questions
(3) Sources on Israel & the Diaspora
Thank you to Rami Wernik z’l for these sources
Read the texts below. Do you agree or disagree with what the authors say? Why?
Then, add your response to the Padlet.
Talmud Ketubot 110b-111b:
Our Rabbis taught: One should always live in the Land of Israel, even in a town most of whose inhabitants are idolaters, but let no one live outside the Land, even in a town most of whose inhabitants are Israelites; for whoever lives in the Land of Israel may be considered to have a God, but whoever lives outside the Land may be regarded as one who has no God.
A.B. Yehoshua, “People Without a Land,” Ha’Aretz (December 5, 2006):
Identity as a garmet - What I sought to explain to my American hosts, in overly blunt and harsh language perhaps, is that, for me, Jewish values are not located in a fancy spice box that is only opened to release its pleasing fragrance on Shabbat and holidays, but in the daily reality of dozens of problems through which Jewish values are shaped and defined, for better or worse.
From: Jacob Neusner, “Is America the Promised Land for Jews?” Washington Post (March 8, 198):
It’s time to say that America is a better place to be a Jew than Jerusalem. If ever there was a Promised Land, we Jewish Americans are living in it. Here Jews have flourished, not alone in politics and the economy, but in matters of art, culture and learning. Jews feel safe and secure here in ways that they do not and cannot in the State of Israel.
George Steiner, “Our Homeland, the Text” Salmagundi 66:
The text is home; each commentary a return.
From: Gershon Cohen, “Towards an Agenda for Interaction Between Israel and American Jewry” (1977):
Israel is a vital part of my Jewish body and mentality. (yet) I also find the alternative of exclusive or even predominant concern for any one of my vital parts an absurdity. I do not know which is more central to my body – my heart, my liver, my kidneys, or my nervous system. . . Does it mean that a healthy and creative Diaspora is less important than a healthy Israel? If so, I find the phrase repugnant and unspeakable.
Add your response to the Padlet below. You can "like" a post if you agree with it and "dislike" a post if you disagree. Then, add a comment explaining your answer.
From Colegio Olamí
An interview with Olamí's sheliaj
Tom and Roni Marsland, with their beautiful three kids, arrived in Mexico City in August 2023 to work as shlijim. A sheliaj's job is to bring Israel to school in a more active and experiential way. A couple of months later, Tom was called to army duty after the terrible October 7th events. This was a difficult experience for the family, which had barely arrived in Mexico.
One year later our students interviewed Tom to understand how he feels about spending Yom Haatzmaut and Yom Hazikaron far from home. Listen to the interview below.