cease to identify as Jews, our numbers will decrease rapidly through assimilation, intermarriage, indifference, and disaffection. These are the fears of those who are mostly concerned with “Jewish Continuity,” a slogan of the United Jewish Appeal of past years. While identity is necessary, it is clearly not sufficient, and “continuity” speaks lamely of “more of the same.” Creative growth—a blossoming of the Jewish spir- it—will not come from the “just Jewish” crowd. Deep literacy, a knowledgeable identification with our literature, history, and values—these are what is critical to the continuation of the creative aspects of Jewish civilization. The combination of identity and literacy will lead to pride and courage: pride in the past history, values, literature, culture, and enormous achievements of our tiny people; and courage to create a better future for the Jewish people and the wider world by continuing our track record of creative accomplishments. We have always been innovative in our ability to adapt to new circumstances. Our transition from slavery in Egypt to land-owners in Canaan was the first major adaptation, and it became a primal lesson for future life-critical and transformative shifts—from captivity in Babylon, to centur- ies of a full cultural and spiritual life in what is now Iraq; from a central faith based on a sacrificial cult in Jerusalem, to a de-central- ized local religion flourishing in thousands of communities around the world; from a pre-Enlightenment isolated and insulat- ed religion, to a modern string of secular achievements in all the disciplines and arts of Western civilization; and from a home- less nation suffering from the vilest forms of antisemitism and genocide, to a thriving “Start-up Nation,” the State of Israel. Because I am convinced that young Dias- pora Jews could be attracted to long-term programs in Israel that promote literacy, I decided to write this memoir of the year that changed my life. Thousands of young people are already taking advantage of such programs, but the challenge is both to increase the numbers dramatically and to offer quality experiences which couple a variety of approaches to Jewish identity and to profound Jewish literacy. n Seymour “Epi” Epstein has been involved in Jewish education for decades in Toronto, Montreal, and Casablanca, Morocco. From 1999 to 2009 he was director of Toronto’s Board of Jewish Education.
berg was sponsored by the Jewish Agency, not once during that time were we ever subject to any form of propaganda, nor were we encouraged to make aliyah. What convinced me to link my life to Israel and even- tually to make aliyah were two moments during that year. The first was a walk on Mount Zion, where I saw a Yemenite Jew working in a pit. We began to talk, both of us in halting Hebrew, and he asked me who I was. I ex- plained, in the negative, that I was not Israeli as an excuse for the state of my Hebrew. And he said: “And am I an Israeli?” I realized right then that my passport had little to do with who I really could be. The second incident was at Yad Vashem on Yom ha- Shoah, 1966. We had been given tickets for the annual memorial ceremony, and in the midst of the proceedings, a contingent of soldiers from
Epstein presnts photos from his time in Israel 1965-66, with his Lambretta scooter
different units converged on a floor map of Europe, taking up armed positions on the sites of concentration camps. I was initially offended, thinking that such militarism had no place in such a solemn ceremony. But in looking around me at other faces, some of which were surely those of survivors, I soon realized the significance of an army and a state that was formed too late to save millions of Jews. These two moments, together with the deep study of many forms of Jewish creativity, have linked me forever to both the Jewish people and its state. Lessons for the next generation Among the programs that can replicate that state of mind is Birthright, which offers college-age Jews around the world a free 10-day trip to Israel. It’s been a resounding success. Hundreds of thou- sands of young Jews have taken the trip and studies show that the experience does strengthen Jewish identity. Despite the fact that much of that identity will remain shallow for those participants who have not coupled the experience with some degree of Jewish knowledge, the Birthright team can be proud of their contribution to Diaspora Jewish identity. The modern fear is that if young Jews
When I used to encounter him at his favourite café in Jerusalem, I still saw the young Appelfeld, so different from Amichai. His hor- rendous Holocaust years were etched in his face and on his soul. He was quiet, reserved, and shy. Already married to one of his South American Machon students, he invited us to his modest apartment for tea. He was 35 years old and had survived the Shoah, but he was already writing the masterpieces that made him one of Israel’s most accomplished authors. We had no idea who this shy teacher really was. Meshulam Tochner, an expert on the au- thor Shmuel (S.Y.) Agnon, among the central figures in modern Hebrew literature, taught us a course on Agnon, who lived around the corner from our dormitory. While we saw the writer at the local grocery store, we never had the nerve to introduce ourselves. We once asked Tochner about Agnon’s story, “The Handkerchief” and misunderstanding us, he quoted every reference to a hand- kerchief in all of Agnon’s work. It was sad to learn that Tochner died before Agnon won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1966. Am I Israeli? While the year of study at Mechon Green-
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