THE DESERT ENCOUNTER: JEWISH AND ZIONIST PERSPECTIVES
The Department for Jewish Zionist Education
The CRB Foundation
THE DESERT ENCOUNTER:
JEWISH AND ZIONIST PERSPECTIVES
Keren Kolot Educational Foundation
Purpose: Confront issues of Jewish identity and values by
exploring various aspects of the desert in a Jewish and Zionist
context. Enhance study and mature experiences by synthesizing the
different types of educational forms.
Process: Five activities in the desert/kibbutz context:
- The desert as a source of spirituality; hike and text study.
- The desert as the cradle of the Jewish people; text workshops.
- The Bible: paradigms of humanity and nature; study Genesis.
- Zionist responses: nature and the desert in modern Israel.
- Current perspectives: settling the desert; experimental farms.
Implementors: The educational staff of Keren Kolot, consisting of
experienced Jewish educators who are also members of nearby
Kibbutzim. They hold academic degrees in Jewish studies and
Education from American and Israeli Universities.
Target Group: High school students to retirees.
No. of Participants: 15-50.
Duration of Activity: 2-4 days (flexible).
Location of Activity: Southern Arava.
Aids and Materials: Xeroxed study materials, stargazing charts.
Special Requirements: Ability to do some walking. Hike adapted to
group level.
Additional Modules
Lech Lecha: The Never Ending Story
A look at a key issue in Jewish life that dates back to the first
exile: the tension of being pulled simultaneously by the Diaspora
and Israel.
Kibbutz: Freedom and Obligation
Address freedom and obligation as central to the human experience
and kibbutz society. The reevaluation of Jewish tradition and
halacha by the kibbutz. Impact of concepts on participants' lives.
To Be a Leader: How and Why?
The dangers and rewards of assuming leadership roles. Analyze
Jewish leadership of the past, and challenge participants to
confront their own abilities and weaknesses in current situations.
Pluralism, Tradition and the Kibbutz Community
Module focuses on the tradition of pluralism in Jewish heritage;
limits to that pluralism in the texts and in contemporary Israel.
For information and orders:
In Israel
Kibbutz Ketura
D.N. Eilot 88840
Tel: 07-356436/666
Fax: 07-356465
Contact Person: Ms. Leah Kayman Rosenzweig
See: Texts
Web site manager: Esther Carciente, esthers@jajz-ed.org.il.
The Pedagogic Center
Updated: 22/06/99