Portlanders get on course for Young Judaea Israel trip

By Eleanor Goldberg

article created on: 2008-09-15T00:00:00

Instead of going to the movies, or hanging out with friends, 10 Jewish high school juniors and seniors spent the Saturday night, Sept. 6, gathered in Congregation Shaarie Torah’s auditorium toying with the idea of spending a year in Israel after graduation.

They were an eclectic group.

Some, born of Israeli parents, were fluent Hebrew speakers. Others were familiar only with a few prayers. Several had been to the Holy Land, while others would be making the trip for the first time. Kashrut and Sabbath observance are priorities for a few. Others retain a connection to Judaism through alternative cultural practices.

Despite these differences, the teens found out during the two-hour open house that—regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs—each will find a distinct niche on Young Judaea’s pluralistic and Zionistic Year Course because the organizer’s require only that participants have one thing in common: being Jewish.

Since 1956, the Hadassah-sponsored organization has given high school graduates the opportunity to take part in a three-part program.

Students spend one segment in Jerusalem taking American Jewish University accredited courses.

A volunteer segment enables participants to contribute their time and talents either to a kibbutz or an absorption center.

In the Israeli experience segment the teens are given a slew of options for their remaining six weeks. They might work, for example, at Eilat’s Coral Reef Nature Reserve or live with an Israeli family on a moshav, an agricultural community.

While Young Judaea has sustained a strong presence in Portland for quite a while, Year Course has seen a spike in interest from this city’s high-schoolers only in recent years. At the end of August, Portland sent its largest contingent to date—12 17-year-olds.

Increasing numbers of local Jewish teens are willing to delay starting university, in favor of spending a year Israel for a number of reasons.

“Pursuing the gap year before starting college is more accepted than it used to be. It gives kids the opportunity to learn how to live independently, while still being supervised. When they go off to college, no one pays attention,” Sarah Tuttle, a Corvallis Young Judaea Coordinator said.

Additionally, within the community, Zionist proponents are diligently promoting the eight-month option. Dorice Horenstein, Shaarie Torah Hebrew School Principal begins discussing the prospect of Year Course with students as young as 10.

“Six years ago I started working with the kids who are now seniors in high school. They’ll be following the largest group Oregon has ever sent, perhaps even exceeding it,” Horenstein said. “You talk and talk about it until you’re blue in the face. It’s a blessing.”

The teenagers are drawn for a number of reasons, including having the chance to take a break from the formal education environment and developing a more substantial connection to the country.

“I really felt I contributed to Israel’s well-being and also got to know her as a country and a culture. My Hebrew also improved drastically,” Micah Tuttle, 19, a 2007-2008 Year Course graduate said. “Coming into college, having had this experience, I feel much more mature and prepared than other freshmen.”

The Arizona State University freshman isn’t the least bit surprised that the program is gaining momentum among Portland’s young Jewish community.

“It has a lot to do with the increasing presence of Young Judaea in the area. People now know peers that went on Year Course, and relaying personal experience is the greatest advertisement possible for this program,” he said.

As the students enthusiastically fired questions to the Young Judaea representatives and graduates at the conclusion of the open house, Dorice Horenstein was optimistic that she will again complete her Zionist mission in the coming year.

“It’s only September and 10 kids are already interested in Year Course. If every state would give 10 kids, just imagine what would happen.”