By Heidi Baker, Director, Temple Beth Avodah Preschool, Newton In one of our last activities on our seminar we were asked to come up with “our word”.  The activity was a mind body experience and an example of an activity for children in an immigration center in Haifa for Ethiopians.  The word is supposed to…

By Kimberly Kamborian, Director of Programs, The Gelfand Family Charitable Trust On our first evening in Tel Aviv on our way to dinner at Maganda Restaurant, we happened upon happy hearts painted in a plethora of colors on a wall of a neighborhood home. In my mind, this set the theme for our journey. Thirteen…

By Nancy Kriegel, Assistant Director  CJP Initiative for Day School Excellence We arrived on Friday afternoon after a lovely morning touring the amazing Roman ruins at Tzippori – we saw intricate mosaics that gave us a sense of just how grand the buildings must have been here.  We saw the remains of a beautiful palace…

By Lindsay Harvey, Director of Yal-Day-New Day Care Center, Inc. in Brighton, MA Many of us have used a beauty product derived from the Dead Sea whether we have known the origin of the product. Today, I had the authentic experience by slathering the Dead Sea clay all over my body and floating for over…

By  Lynne Rubinger and Tina Golden Today was a day to explore Jerusalem and its people.  We began this beautiful day at Yemin Moshe at the Montefiore Windmill, which has recently been renovated using its original plans.  Walking past the Tower of David, we paused for a moment to consider the poem “Tourists” by Yehudah…

Every person, every place, every idea has a beginning. In the field of early education, every teacher will tell you about the importance of a strong beginning. It is this base that provides the foundation for the future. And this idea of beginnings was a theme I found myself returning to over and over again…

By Julie Krasker and Carol Pankin After traveling 24 hours we have finally arrived at the Metropolitan Hotel in Tel Aviv.  We made a short stop in Jaffa where we watched the sun set and ate some oranges while our tour guide, Kayla educated us on the history of Jaffa and the oranges. We stopped…