‘We share the moon’

“My Faraway Friends are special to me because they live in Israel, and I love Israel.”

This is the voice of a five-year-old student echoing his peers when asked about his new Israeli friends. Their deeply instilled connection to, and love for, Israel has become evident as they recognize the flag while they enthusiastically share their knowledge of Israel as future Jewish leaders.

This year, my colleagues and I partnered with fellow early childhood educators in Israel to pilot a program that builds new friendships with our junior kindergarten (JK) students and kindergarteners in Israel. Through JUF’s Partnership Together, we collaborated with three kindergartens in the cities of Kiryat Gat, Lachish, and Shafir. Each of Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School’s JK classes were paired with a class in one of these cities, creating a community of Faraway Friends over the school year.

We introduced ourselves to our Faraway Friends by exchanging emails and ID cards, which helped students identify similarities and shared interests. The Partnership helped students learn about the Jewish community in both Chicago and Israel, as they exchanged care packages and letters, shared Jewish holidays together, and sent weekly video and photo updates to one another. The classrooms in Chicago and Israel created dedicated wall spaces where their Faraway Friends “live,” displaying an ID card and photo for each student; some photos were even taken by the students themselves, as they were studying photography as an art form. The walls also showed maps, and relics collected from the partnership.

An opportunity to “Zoom in” on Israel at a more personal level, the experience expands and deepens our connection to the land. Students connected with peers of the same age. By learning about similarities and differences, they build global awareness.

Further into the partnership, there was natural dialogue about Faraway Friends woven into our daily conversations. Students would ask “Do our Faraway Friends do Havdalah like we do?” “What kind of food do they eat?” “How do they celebrate Purim?”

We made colorful “high five” tapestries with our handprints and sent them overseas.

Each cohort developed their own themes or shared activities. One partnership’s theme was, “We share the moon,” thinking about what can unite the students universally even from across the world. Another had students use recycled materials to create Purim groggers for each other. This craft project built up anticipation for the students to see their Faraway Friends receive their gifts and vice versa.

Bernard Zell’s JK students Jewish value this year is “mitzvah,” guiding them to become models for elevating mitzvot throughout their daily learning. They learn an expansive view of the idea of a mitzvah, that it encompasses giving, sharing, listening, and learning about new people.

It is mentioned in the Talmud, “Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh,” (“All Jews are responsible for one another.”) This partnership has been a model for caring and inviting others into our local community as we continue to expand and grow our Jewish communities.

To learn more about JUF’s Partnership connection between Kiryat Gat, Lachish, Shafir, and Chicago, visit juf.org/p2g .

Rena Grosser-a Judaic Atelierista and mother of three-is an Early Childhood Educator at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School and has a background in art therapy.