Tivnu Blog

My friends in high school are my best friends, and have so much in common with me. I love those friends to death, and still keep in touch with all of them. They shaped my high school experience, and me as a person. So, going into Tivnu, I was curious how homogenous the makeup of participants would be....

I live my life with musical accompaniment. I usually have music in my head and many of my strongest memories are set to song....

My feet hit the sand, the pounding of the rushing waves roared in my ears, and tinges of relief and nostalgia cascaded over me. The sudden reality of exploring Oregon’s coast with my Tivnu friends suddenly braided together with childhood memories of my family playing on the beach and a deep sense of familiarity, serenity, and home surged through me....

Acceptance was our initial instinct and has since morphed into the foundation of our community. No one here is alone...

Being a participant in Tivnu 8 has already provided me with many fulfilling experiences, and we’re only half way through the year!...

I came from the desert, so it was like a dream to be surrounded by lofty trees reaching up into the Portland skies and to have a wide river stretching through the city. Experiencing for the first time living a short bus ride away from downtown has opened up so many adventures, and it is a thrill going through the urban terrain searching through the nooks and crannies of a city that has so much to explore....

Tivnu celebrated Hanukkah in a variety of ways. Check out some photos and stories below!...

This Thanksgiving Break, Tivnu gave us the opportunity to explore Seattle and celebrate Thanksgiving together. We relished the chance in Seattle to relax and discover a new city. Afterwards our group split up and those of us who decided to return to Portland for the holiday were added to a group chat entitled “Colonialism Sucks, Turkey is Good, Family is Important.” Our “Thanksgivnu” celebration involved discussions which touched on all of these aspects (although, naturally, the turkey was central)....

A few weeks ago, the Tivnu 8 cohort took a weekend trip to the beautiful Westwind camp on the coast of Oregon. We went to the beach, canoed, sang around the Shabbat dinner table, and slept in two rustic cabins. Here is a photo diary of our trip!...

It quickly felt very rewarding to teach kids skills that will actually help them in life, such as planting and harvesting food and cooking healthy meals from the food they pick. ...