‘Lamerhav’ held a seminar last weekend in Jerusalem for young adult program participants from Afula, which is in northern Israel. The seminar was made possible due to the support of our valued partners, the Jewish Federation of Fairfield County, and its president, David Weisberg. The goal of the seminar was for the members of the Lamerhav community to form friendships and forge deeper connections within the group.
The weekend’s activities included a visit by staff and participants to the colorful Mahane Yehuda Shuk, where they purchased ingredients for preparing their lunch, while receiving tips for smart personal financial management, followed by Kabalat Shabbat, and a visit from the actors of “Playback Theater – Bringing Real Life to the Stage”, who together with the participants turned their life stories into a stage play. On Saturday the group strolled around the Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighborhood, the Jewish Quarter in the Old City, visited the Kotel (Western Wall), and learned more about this unique and complex city.
On Saturday night the group joined the staff and Shula and Ze’evi Mozes for an open and frank discussion about Lamerhav, self-identity, and what the Lamerhav community and house mean to them. The young adults shared their experiences from the weekend and how much the seminar meant to them, describing it “as a kind of a bubble, a weekend where you can get away from the daily struggle to survive and feel like you’re just on a family trip”.
