Aish Minnesota and the Minneapolis Jewish Federation are providing an opportunity for local Jewish moms to visit Israel and come back inspired and engaged
By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN / Community News Editor
The Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) has been organizing highly subsidized trips to Israel for women, primarily those with children under the age of 18, since 2008. The trips, known as T.A.G. (Transform and Grow) Trips to Israel, are JWRP’s flagship program and “empower women to change the world through Jewish values that transform ourselves, our families and our communities,” according to its Web site.
The program is nicknamed “Birthright for Moms” and since it began, JWRP has brought thousands of women from 60 cities and 12 countries to the Jewish state. In the Twin Cities, trips have been organized by Aish Minnesota and its partnership with the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, which began in 2013.
This year, JWRP has received a grant from Israel’s Ministry of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs to bring 2,500 mothers to Israel in an effort to strengthen Jewish identity.
“The Israeli government is realizing that they, coming from Israel, have a responsibility to do outreach and strengthen the Jews in the Diaspora who are less connected to their Jewish heritage,” said Rebbetzin Giti Fredman, of Aish Minnesota, who leads the local delegation. “And they did some research about what organization was doing great things for the Jews and they found the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project.”
Two trips, which will overlap by one day, will take place later this year, and 26 women from Minnesota will travel to Israel Oct. 27–Nov. 5. In all, 400 women from around the world will be in Israel together.
The trip is open to all women with children younger than 18, regardless of affiliation, and applications are being accepted until April 29.
“The trip is really an empowering, positive experience for any Jewish woman,” Fredman said. “Setting religion aside, just traveling in a group of women is very nurturing and a special dynamic.”
(A complementary trip for Jewish men will take place in November. Local participants will be led by Fredman’s husband, Rabbi David Fredman.)
Those selected to participate on the trip must cover the cost of their airfare and a $36 registration fee. Once in Israel, hotel, food and tours will be covered.
Women are required to participate in all programming, which includes two hours of learning each morning, as well as visits to historic and educational sites; most evenings are free and there are options to extend the stay in Israel.
“One of the elements of this trip I most enjoyed was the opportunity to focus on myself and my own personal and spiritual needs for a short period of time,” said Robin Neidorf, a 2013 participant. “I think a lot of moms know the feeling of always having to be ‘in charge’ of schedules, meals, everyone’s needs, but for the duration of the trip, I only had to worry about getting myself on the bus at the right time and being present to what was happening. That was an incredible gift, and even better to have it in Israel, in the company of other women seeking a similar experience.”
Women from Twin Cities also have the opportunity to tour sites that receive financial support from the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. Last year, women visited Susan’s House, which rehabilitates at-risk youth through art therapy and business entrepreneurship, and an Ethiopian immigrant absorption center in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevaseret Zion.
“That’s the beauty of giving money to the Federation, you’re reaching so many different people. You’re not giving to one charity, you’re giving to so many different causes,” Fredman said. “That really brought it home to the women, including me. I didn’t understand so well about Federation until that site visit. It gives the women a real understanding of what the Federation is doing.”
Following the visits, the Minneapolis Jewish Federation hosted a dinner for the Twin Cities women, and invited representatives to speak about its partner agencies, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI).
“It’s a great opportunity for [the women] to see the work being done on the ground level,” said Laura Taple, the Federation’s associate director of community partnerships and engagement. “For us, the hope is that women will return from this trip and, in addition to continuing their personal journey, they’ll also continue, or begin, a Jewish communal journey. Through this partnership with the Federation, the women have the opportunity to see firsthand how our community is making a difference in the lives of Jews.”
Taple took part in the trip as both a Federation staff member and a participant. As the mother of a 16-month-old daughter, she said the trip changed her perspective.
“When I returned from the trip, I definitely felt more connected to my Judaism and the desire to incorporate it more into my family life,” Taple said. “Prior to having my daughter, it just didn’t seem much of a priority and now I want those experiences for her.”
As part of the new partnership with the Israeli government, women must commit to continue their connection to Israel for one year — for example, by serving on a Federation committee, attending programming and events, and one-on-one or group Torah study.
Fredman said that interested trip participants should be open to new experiences and making new friends, and have a genuine curiosity. She said it’s an opportunity to reevaluate one’s Judaism from a grown-up lens.
“It’s going to be different for each person,” Fredman said. “I lived in Israel for seven years and my first trip that I led in 2010 was a positive, transformational trip that led to discovery and self-growth.”
Ben Pery, managing director of JWRP, told the Washington Jewish Week that the goal is for all women to be “inspired Jewishly.”
“It’s the women who decide where you are going to live, what schools you are going to,” he said. “We’re not trying to make anybody religious. The message is, there is beauty to the Torah that you probably haven’t been exposed to.”
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To register for the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP) T.A.G. (Transform and Grow) Trips to Israel, visit: www.jwrp.org. For information, contact Fredman at: gitifredman@gmail.com or 952-484-5191.
(American Jewish World, 3.14.14)
