In Israel, we use different words for goodbye. In most one-on-one conversations, we just say “bye,” like the wannabe Americans we are. The more common phrase, “yalla bye,” is a true testament to the Israeli nature of direct and hasty goodbyes, very unlike the Midwestern goodbyes I’ve become accustomed to here in Kansas City.
However, the formal, proper way to say goodbye in Hebrew is “lehitraot,” which can be translated to “until next time.”
It is hard to sum up a full year in only 800 words, so I will just say that I had so many amazing experiences working with the Jewish Experiences team, countless memories and events, from celebrating Israel’s 75th birthday to hosting teens from Ramle to J Camp and many more.
Over the past 11 months, I have been so fortunate to work with so many of the Jewish organizations around the city — weekly meetings with the Hebrew schools, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and KU Hillel, meetings with the Child Development Center at The J and various Jewish youth groups, and collaborating with Jewish Community Relations Bureau|AJC and many others in the broader community.
I have met many people in this community from different walks of life and all different political and social involvements. One thing was consistent — the care and love for Israel, that amazing relationship regardless of political opinion, the understanding that Israel has a right to exist and stand strong.
Unfortunately, those beliefs are waning within the Jewish community in the diaspora, losing their strength with every generation that follows. I believe that if we show Israel with all its layers — as a tangible, real, flawed, beautiful country — to the kids and teenagers today, we may just keep that love beating. With the media today and the struggles Israel is going through, the relationship will look different, still having the belief and love for a strong, beautiful country, but also with an understanding of the complexities and struggles that come from the reality of Israel. Most of all, that relationship will be shaped by the people, by the connections we can create.
If you ask me who can achieve those complicated conversations with the youth of today, the answer is an obvious one: shalichim (Israeli emissaries) will be able to show Israel and all its layers, sharing personal stories and experiences, creating connections to real life in Israel that you can’t teach any other way. I hope this community continues to create opportunities for that unique education and welcomes the shalichim like I was so warmly welcomed to this community that quickly felt like home.
One of the things I have learned this year is the complete lack of knowledge Israelis have when it comes to Jewish life in the diaspora. It is not many times a person is aware of what he doesn’t know, and I feel that the Israeli community doesn’t know how much it doesn’t know about Jewish life outside of Israel. We do not grasp how hard it can be, how you have to actively choose every day to be Jewish and search for Jewish spaces, and how significant those spaces are to you.
One of the first things I was told when I came here was the story of Eddie Jacobson, and how he is probably one of the key people in why I have a home today. Nobody knows that story back home. We don’t comprehend how important world Jewry is and can be in our everyday life in the Jewish state.
That is my personal mission going back home — telling as many people as I can about this amazing Jewish community in the middle of America, a community that not only exists but thrives. A community that not only supports Israel but whose history is key to our very existence. I hope to represent this community as well as it deserves.
Words cannot express how grateful I am to this community, how much I learned and enjoyed every day here. I pray that this community continues to thrive and grow, continues to learn and evolve in every aspect. I know for certain that Mika, your next wonderful shalicha, will continue to teach and engage in everything Israel related.
Still, I also want to push back and challenge each of you and ask you to also search yourself. Learn, ask questions, doubt, disagree, anger and smile at all that is Israel. Most of all — visit. You have a home in Israel with me, much like I have no doubt I will always have a home here in Kansas City.
So, this is not goodbye, and it is for sure not a “yalla bye.” I have every desire to make this the longest Midwestern goodbye because I truly do not want to leave. You have made this faraway place a home for me, one that I will always feel connected to. This is, without a doubt, a “lehitraot,” because I will see you again, and because Kansas City will always be a part of me. I’ll never be quite ready to say goodbye.
Thank you for opening your hearts and minds to me, for accepting me and helping me grow as well, for teaching me so many things and for bettering me as a person.
Todah, and lehitraot.