This study uses the pilgrimage experience in Israel as a case study to inform the process through which identification with Judaism and Israel is formed. Participants expressed their identification in response to events and experiences that were part of their pilgrimage to Israel. Participants responded to a daily prompt (ie, What thing happened today that you will remember most?) as a means of reflecting on significant experiences that shaped their understanding of their own.
This pilgrimage was primarily intended to influence young adults; to strengthen their identification with Judaism and Israel.
Place Identity and Formation
Do these internal and external influencers shape one's identity in the short and long term, and what evidence do we have to support such findings? By recognizing this, the environment becomes a salient part of identity, rather than merely providing a context in which identity can be established and developed. Twigger-Ross and Uzzell view place-seeking identity as a tool for maintaining and developing one's identity process.
34; … one participant focused her discussions on a local park, about which she told some of her most detailed stories.
Jewish Identity and Formation
Jewish peoplehood (ethnic identity, community)
According to Uzi Rebhun, author of Jewish Identity in America: Structural Analysis of Attitudes and Behaviors. It has been argued that Jewish identity depends on 'active membership' in Jewish values, communities and organizations. A hallmark of anti-Semitism is its ability to simultaneously conflate Jewish identity as unique and “other.”
A relationship with or an experience in Israel for Jewish youth is an integral part of understanding Jewish identity.
Background note on Birthright Israel
The three educational goals identified by Birthright Israel provide an opportunity for participants to connect with each other, their staff/tour guides, fellow Israelis, and the national homeland of the Jewish people. Instead, Birthright Israel recognizes an institutional responsibility as a facilitator of a foundational, pilgrimage experience for more than 650,000 young Jewish adults. So how does Birthright Israel respond to its direct responsibility to promote identity development.
What learning and planning framework does Birthright Israel rely on to facilitate ongoing identity development, not just identity exploration.
Background note on Chabad of Vanderbilt University
This has proven to be the most effective and transformative element in the Birthright Israel experience." (Mifgash, 2019). Birthright Israel is not simply a tour organizer, but an agent responsible for providing opportunities and meaningful space for considerations about participants' identity. .
Problem Description
Non-recognition or misrecognition can cause harm, can be a form of oppression, trapping one in a false, distorted and limited way of being.” (Taylor, 1997). On Shabbat you have the opportunity to choose how you celebrate, whether it is through Reform, Conservative or Orthodox services, or in a guided meditation, yoga or an alternative conversation." (Hillel, 2019). Seeing Israel through the eyes of locals and creating personal connections is what drives meaningful experiences.” (Shorashim, 2019).
Mayanot strives to find the delicate balance of presenting Israel's ancient and modern history, contemporary Israeli culture and Jewish tradition, and the vexing political divisions and ideologies all in an open and pluralistic environment." (Mayonot, 2019).
Conceptual Framework: Narratives and construction of identity
Beyond the vision of each travel provider is the social makeup of cohorts, tour guides and staff. Components of the study included qualitative and quantitative data collection and subsequent analysis. In addition, mixed methods add confidence to readers' conclusions (O'Cathain, Murphy, & Nicholl, 2010).
Another value of mixed methods is an additional layer that allows findings to be interpreted with more confidence.
Quantitative
The results from the research are used in the study to demonstrate that changes in mentality have taken place.
Qualitative
Recruitment
Note on narrative analysis and sociocultural theory
Similarly, participants also used their daily reflections to consider the value of the Jewish community in their lives – past, present and future. The daily reflections are rich, honest and deeply personal evidence of the experiences. understood by the participants in the study. For example, one of the participants described the sense of community at the Western Wall.
Third, participants began to examine and explore the power of community to assess their relationship with Judaism.
Place & Identity
I don't know, I mean, because every day my love for this country grows stronger and stronger." I want to know the language, I want to know the culture, I want to be able to be a part of culture because this culture is my own, and Judaism is something I am so proud of." He talks about the moment he found himself in customs at Ben Gurion airport at the start of the trip.
34;Welcome to Israel"… And as I stood there in line, Israel became real for the first time in my life… my second home became real." For Noah, however, the commitment to "second home" is still rooted in idealism.
Religion & Identity
His comment that he feels "natural" and "normal" that Tefillin is dawning in the religious center of the Jewish world is as much about place identity as it is about religious identity. Noah, for Noah to feel "natural" and "normal" with his religious identity, he must necessarily be in Israel; "this is something I can only find in Israel." Remember Annie, who on the second day of the trip was able to identify the profane experience of "the man playing with his pup", now commented on the sanctity of the Western Wall.
The next day, the group returned to the Western Wall to experience and celebrate the beginning of the Sabbath there. The energetic experience is quite the opposite of the quiet, reflective mood that pervades the rest of the week at the Western Wall or its square. Shabbat at the Wall was honestly one of my favorite travel experiences so far.
We danced, we sang, we lifted people up in chairs... and when I went over for my silent prayer, I had a reflection that I didn't have yesterday. Even after we outgrow some of these others – our parents, for example – and they disappear from our lives, the conversation with them continues with us as long as we live” (Taylor, 1997). It was built as a palace complex, in the classical style of the early Roman Empire, by Herod the Great, King of Judea” (UNESCO, 2020).
Many of these concepts are consistent with biblical thoughts about the purity of the Jew (Neusner, 1975). I was like, 'no, you can't; that's not something I do in my house,' and I got into a bit of a fight with her because I didn't understand that my interpretation of Judaism in my culture is different from hers.
Culture, Community & Identity
Admitting that he does not practice the religion "in a conservative or orthodox way" does not seem to diminish his sense of pride in the achievements of the Jewish people. Annie's entry on the last day of the trip sheds insight into her understanding and relationship with community and culture. The pilgrimage is so well structured, with purposeful stops that compose the telling of the Israeli national story.
The "love of music" is a genesis of their relationship, despite their divergent upbringing - both as members of the Jewish community. I was really able to feel the transition from this horrible, horrible event to the sense of unity and this beautiful creation of the nation-state of Israel. And as the words of the Israeli national anthem express: "Two thousand years of hope is not lost;" The Jews are a free people in their homeland.
The experience of minority status is forever shared with the collective memory of the Jewish people. The story of David and Goliath—arguably the most famous metaphor for triumph in common use today—is a commentary on the Israelite people's adaptability in the face of imminent danger. But in Judaism, adversity seems to be more important to the historical-cultural narrative than Hebrew—which only became a spoken language in the earlier part of the 20th century.
One of the Israeli soldiers, Mira, shared a story with the bus about how Israel felt immediately after World War II. The National Cemetery is not a historical site, despite the historical struggles it reflects; Israel continues to fight for its survival and the symbolic survival of the Jewish people as one community.
Individuality & Identity
The expression of this shared experience is viewed both from within the boundaries of the group (eg Stephen's interpretation of spirituality based on his attachment to the group) and to the Jewish people in general. Add to that the drama of Jewish history unfolding before your eyes, across some of the most famous and charged archaeological sites in the world. You belong there, and according to the name of the journey, it belongs to you" (Kafrissen, 2019).
The rationale for using short, pre-recorded curated content is to complement – not replace – the value of the Israeli tour guide. In the focus group, the participants noticed that one of the guides was much better than the other (the group was large and divided into two buses, each with their own guide). At least one attendee shared an intimate moment of coming to terms with wearing tefillin — as a proud member of the Jewish faith.
Birthright Israel's lack of specificity regarding the remaining four mandated stops is cause for concern. This image is unsettling, and perhaps one of the ways diaspora Jews value Israel is for its might. This visit to the National Military Cemetery – a state nationality – was moving for many of the participants.
However, the focus on meaningful and structured experiences may leave little room for participants to participate in discovering Israel beyond the confines of the bus. I recommend that Mifgash lasts from the first day to the last day of the pilgrimage. The Birthright Israel experience is much more than tourism; it is a deep-rooted identification with the Jewish narrative, modern Israel, and the ideas and values of the Jewish people.
Retrieved from My Jewish Learning: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/pirkei-avot-ethics-of-the-fathers-3/.
A: Solicitation Letter
B: Study Protocols
Please describe a scene, episode or specific moment in your day that stands out as something you will remember most about this day. Also, please say a little bit about why you think this particular moment stands out for you right now and what the scene might say about who you are as a person. Help me understand which of the events/activities/commitments/experiences you had during your pilgrimage in Israel had the most positive impact on your Jewish identity.
Help me understand which of the events/activities/engagements/experiences you had in Israel on your pilgrimage had the most negative impact on your Jewish identity.
C: Pre and Post Survey Bar Graphs
