1983-1984 Rothberg Yearbook

B,s1s Volunteer
When I heard that the yearbook staff needed 1
Program, I made sure that I was the one to write
it. I have a great success story and I want to share jg
it with everyone.
It all began sometime in October at a
meeting about the various volunteer programs for
my eye, but my first concern was my Hebrew, or
lack thereof. I decided not to worry about the
language barrier and went to a meeting to meet Wi mh
parents of prospective little sisters. To be eligible V J f ■
for the program, the children must come from a 1
family which has only one parent. The room was !I
filled with single mothers and fathers talking to >
students. I ended up sitting with two women and a
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man and after a brief introduction, found myself
talking solely to one woman about my family at !H H H B K 9 H I
home, Israel and even my dog. I now refer to this women as Eema. The meeting went unusually
well and she told me that her husband and middle daughter were killed in an accident four years
ago. She then began telling me about the rest of her family: Efra’t, 22, Nati 17, who lives on a
Kibbutz, Nir, 5, and Limor, my new sister who is ten. At that time they were only names to me.
We set up a time to meet and I left excited, apprehensive, and prepared to spend the next few days
studying verb conjugation.
The next week I boarded a No. 25 bus to Neve Yaakov, my new home for the year. I came
prepared with a few English story books, pictures of my family, and, of course, my trusty Bantam
— Megiddo Hebrew-English Dictionary. This was the first time I was ever in a situation where I had
to speak Hebrew and I soon realized that my spoken Hebrew wasn’t that bad. Limor was even more
nervous than I was but after about five minutes of talking I took out my pictures. She then ran
into the other room and brought out a stack of photo albums. After a few visits to the house, we
began to venture out and to go to movies (I couldn’t believe she never saw the Wizard of Oz!)
My relationship with her and the rest of the family soon began to change. I was no longer a
foreigner and became a part of the family. Their relatives were my relatives and my family at home
became “our family in Minneapolis.” Limor introduced me to her friends as her sister and after a
long day at school I had a real home and family to come back to. I would go “home” a few times a
week, play with Limor and Nir and when they would go to sleep I would stay up with Efrat and
Eema. I would go for Shabbat and by December, I knew all their aunts, uncles and cousins.
While my relationship strengthened with them, so did the relationship of my friends in
Israel and family in the States with my new family. Friends from the University came with me to
their house, and when the kids would come up to Mt. Scopus, my friends would come over and
play with them. My family at home began sending packages, letters, and pictures from America.
On Hanukkah, they received puzzles and books, on Valentine’s Day they received Valentines and
an explanatory letter in Hebrew about the “Holiday of Love,” as my mother called it. When my
mother was in California she bought hats from the Olympics and sent them to my family. The mail
from my mother to me virtually stopped, as her correspondence became directed towards my new
family. For Purim she sent Hamentashen and chocloate chip cookies and the kids went crazy! For
the first time they realized that Jewish Holidays are celebrated even in Minnesota. During Pesach
my brother came from the States and we spent Yom Tov with “our” family. What an incredible
experience that was! They received a package filled with Smurf (not Dardas) cups, lunch bags,
cereal, slush mugs, and crazy straws. Before my brother went back home, we all made a tape of
us singing and talking in both Hebrew and English, and we also sent more pictures. For Independence
Day some of my friends and I went to a picnic with my family and taught the kids how to
play frisbee. (I guess American toys will always be somewhat of a novelty). Basically, I shared
them with everyone I’m close to.
Although it’s difficult to fully describe what happened between myself and my new family,
it’s easy for anyone who knows me to recognize the effect they had upon me. While I exposed
them to America — through my family’s letters, and pictures they gave me an even stronger connection
with Israel. They taught me about Israel; life style, how to speak Hebrew and the importance
of family especially in a foreign country. This knowledge I never could have gained in a
classroom.
For everyone on the OYP, there will be one thing from the past year that will stand out in
memory. For me it is my new family who made this last year so special. Deciding to participate
in the “Big Sister” Program was by far the best decision I made while in Israel. When Ileave, the
bond will continue to be a strong one for myself as well as my family in the States. In fact, my
brother is considering coming to Israel next year on the High School in Israel Program and knows
that “our family” will be waiting for him, if not at Ben Gurion, at least in Neve Yaakov.
Nina Gelfand, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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