By Rabbi Deborah Helbraun, Hebrew School Principal at Temple Jeremiah in Northfield, IL, and Gesher Segel
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou
If I had to choose a motto to live by when thinking about my time at OSRUI this summer, this is it. Indeed Maya Angelou’s words strike at the heart of what goes on here. (Okay, its not a “Jewish” motto, I’ll get to that wisdom later.) At OSRUI, my colleagues and fellow Segel (faculty) members, Michael Lorge, Marla Aviva Bentley, and I have the unique opportunity to make Judaism come alive through informal education and experiential learning. And so it went two nights ago in Gesher (7th-9th graders) as they began to focus in on the life of the prophets.
Signs, slogans and graffiti of the ideology of our prophets were written on the walkway and displayed on the tzrifim (cabins). Madrichim (counselors) dressed as Amos, Micah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Elijah. The chanichim (campers) were told that they were going to a secret meeting that they silently walked to on a torch lit path. They entered the theater that is all black and captures the mood of a secret place, took their seats on the stage and heard the words of a great sage who preached about the importance of the prophetic message. The mission of the chanichim was to meet the prophets who had to stay in hiding because their radical teachings put them in danger with the monarchy, governments, or citizens of Judah. At this meeting, the prophets appeared for just a moment and expressed who they were and why they needed help getting their word out to the people. As the last prophet spoke, a loud knock came as a guard came to the door and asked about their activity. In order to keep their cover, the sage told the guard that they were just a choir practicing and the group quickly began to sing as the prophets scurried back into hiding.
The next morning, the chanichim were split into groups and told to find one of the prophets in hiding. Of course each was located in a “secret” part of camp. By using a clue given, the hiding places were revealed to these select few and the groups assembled with the prophet to learn more about his life and his philosophy. The students were charged with designing an “All about Me” type webpage that would alert the public to the teachings and help the prophet spread the word to the people. Suddenly the chanichim were citizens of a far off time and were fast at work to help make change for their society.
All of this is a way to put the wisdom of the prophets in a context that is understandable and relevant. In fact Reform Judaism philosophically follows the teaching of the prophets. For example, we are told such things as “Pursue justice,” “Beat swords into plowshares,” and “walk humbly with God.” The words of the prophets ring true to our ears, but now our chanichim understand their origins and can build on that history to truly bring the prophetic mission into our times, our issues, and our actions.