Recently, one of our alumnae who is having an incredible year at in Israel e-mailed me that she doesn't think that Ma'ayanot emphasizes Israel enough. I wrote back that it is a complicated thing for people/schools that are in America....and that clearly things come across differently once you are in Israel and actually experiencing the country first hand. I also said that there are different values that a high school may want to focus on. This girl also honestly admitted that when she was in high school she had strong feelings of "why would anyone want to leave Teaneck" and she probably would not have wanted to hear anything different.
But then yesterday I had an interesting experience when I spoke to the juniors and seniors at Ramaz about the role of a Yoetzet Halacha. Obviously the group was of a different makeup then students at Ma'ayanot (esp the boys!!) Anyway, at the end though during the questions someone asked me about my goals for the future. I began my answer by saying "actually I am making aliyah this summer" and was about to use that as a springboard to describe my plans going forward but first as soon as I said that the entire group spontaneously began clapping. I was so taken aback, so impressed and so touched....and I was left wondering if something like that would have happened at Ma'ayanot if a random speaker was addressing our students. Clearly Ramaz has instilled this value in them. After my e-mail exchange with one of our past students it certainly left me pondering....
I would love to hear any thoughts that faculty or students have on this very complex and complicated issue...
Thanks!!
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