Introductions, no wireless
August 6, 2006
Arrived today in the woods with eleven soon-to-be not-strangers and several very interesting staff members to build our team. I’d thought of this trip to Israel as a very personal junket, an opportunity to learn some Torah and make some new friends in Jerusalem. I didn’t really think of the other fellows as necessarily the people who would be my main crew. Unsurprisingly, I guess, these fellows all seem to be top-notch, interesting people, who I’d like to be my friends if so it turns out.
What is more surprising to me is that the “team-building” aspect of the group seems to be a main part of the orientation, and more of a key aspect of the year than I’d have thought. We begin our week with a hired “adventure planner,” a facilitator for corporate groups who will train us on a ropes course and help us bond. Despite his somewhat facile statements and corporate jargon, he does seem to be adept at making diverse groups bond. I had a fascinating time over dinner learning about the army stints of one of our teachers, and I do think this week will help ground me on the white space of my page in Jerusalem.
That said, I’m missing the Torah learning that Bronfman was so good at, the niggunim of Havurah Institute, the ways that short divrei Torah or little bits of text study can unify a group. I miss my context for such a retreat; I’m ready to begin my openness to Jewish learning now. I wish I had the credibility of my father or another teacher or Torah, to inject a few words into the gathering or mobilize us with a song. And I guess I also miss this week at the NHC: similar woods, very different vibe.
How the Israeli Army Calls Up Its soldiers, as told by A.:
“There’s not a bureaucrat in charge who calls up each reserve unit. It’s a pyramid: someone you’ve served with for twenty years will call you and say: My brother, I am sorry we did not spend enough time talking in cafes over the years when we were not fighting. It has been a privilege to serve alongside you these twenty years, and now I am sorry to tell you, we have been called to fight again.”
Arrived today in the woods with eleven soon-to-be not-strangers and several very interesting staff members to build our team. I’d thought of this trip to Israel as a very personal junket, an opportunity to learn some Torah and make some new friends in Jerusalem. I didn’t really think of the other fellows as necessarily the people who would be my main crew. Unsurprisingly, I guess, these fellows all seem to be top-notch, interesting people, who I’d like to be my friends if so it turns out.
What is more surprising to me is that the “team-building” aspect of the group seems to be a main part of the orientation, and more of a key aspect of the year than I’d have thought. We begin our week with a hired “adventure planner,” a facilitator for corporate groups who will train us on a ropes course and help us bond. Despite his somewhat facile statements and corporate jargon, he does seem to be adept at making diverse groups bond. I had a fascinating time over dinner learning about the army stints of one of our teachers, and I do think this week will help ground me on the white space of my page in Jerusalem.
That said, I’m missing the Torah learning that Bronfman was so good at, the niggunim of Havurah Institute, the ways that short divrei Torah or little bits of text study can unify a group. I miss my context for such a retreat; I’m ready to begin my openness to Jewish learning now. I wish I had the credibility of my father or another teacher or Torah, to inject a few words into the gathering or mobilize us with a song. And I guess I also miss this week at the NHC: similar woods, very different vibe.
How the Israeli Army Calls Up Its soldiers, as told by A.:
“There’s not a bureaucrat in charge who calls up each reserve unit. It’s a pyramid: someone you’ve served with for twenty years will call you and say: My brother, I am sorry we did not spend enough time talking in cafes over the years when we were not fighting. It has been a privilege to serve alongside you these twenty years, and now I am sorry to tell you, we have been called to fight again.”
posted by S. @ 8:17 AM
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