Gap Year

This might sound terrible, but I’m jealous of my son. Nadav, 19, is part of the current Tivnu cohort (affectionately known as the Tivnoodles) and is having a wonderful year. But enough about him (!) – this is about me, and my jealousy….

On Monday March 14, the entire Tivnu group took a trip to Seattle. We started planning weeks in advance, deciding as a group where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. It’s awesome that we get to take trips and see parts of the Pacific Northwest I might not have visited otherwise….

The scent of freshly printed pages and crinkled old papers wafts into my nose as I step inside. I stare at walls of spines and rainbow rectangles on racks as I brush wet bangs from my eyes and unzip my soaked jacket….

On February 26, we took a trip to Eugene, Oregon to get to know some college students over Shabbat. Despite a long drive in rainy weather, everyone was in good spirits and happy to go to Eugene to get to know some college students. …

I have had the great privilege of representing Tivnu as a current participant at a bunch of cool events. Most recently, I got to go to a huge BBYO International Convention (basically, just a couple thousand Jewish high schoolers in one place) out in Baltimore! …

A few weeks ago, I spoke at my mom’s shul about my experiences as an AVODAH corps member and as an employee of Tivnu. I spoke some about my own Jewish journey: about my childhood in the Jewish community of the Greater Chicago Area, about my early interest in social change, including my role as my high school youth group’s Social Action Vice President….

I am learning many new things at Tivnu. I am learning a lot about wealth and poverty in the U.S. through all of our educational sessions. For example, I got to tour Dignity Village, a community for people experiencing homeless….

After building a beautiful sukkah in our backyard using lumber lent to us by the ReBuilding Center and helping both Havurah Shalom (Portland’s Reconstructionist Synagogue) and Chabad build their sukkot, we dumped our stuff in the trunk and piled into the van….

Here are five things I’ve learned in these first few months of the Tivnu gap year program. They range from pretty concrete tips to bigger life lessons – and I’m surprised by how often the two are related….

Tivnu has had a fun and busy two weeks! We had our first full work week. I started off my week by going to Saint André Bessette, a homeless shelter that provides food, clothes, blankets, and sanitary supplies to people experiencing homelessness- all done with a smile….