RAINBOW IN THE VALLEY STUDY GROUP

Genesis

"There is no better way to create significant, meaningful contact between people of different backgrounds than by joint involvement in productive, stimulating activity."

This is certainly what Fran Immerman , the Cleveland activist-then the assistant chair of the Cleveland-Beit Shean Region Partnership 2000, and today the region's Partnership 2000 chair-must have thought when she introduced the idea for the "Rainbow in the Valley" program. The concept has indeed proved itself time and again in the programs of Partnership 2000, especially when the joint activities of Beit Shean residents, moshavnikim, kibbutznikim, and even Clevelanders, are based on the creativity of the participants involved together in a specific endeavor.

Fran got Zvi Perlman from Kibbutz Ein HaNatziv (then a Partnership 2000 Young Leadership member) interested in the idea, and together they developed the Rainbow in the Valley concept-two groups learning together the same texts, in Israel and abroad, which "meet" from time to time by videoconference. They based themselves on an existing program, "Bavli Yerushalmi," a study group that had received some publicity, in which Israelis partnered with a group from New York to form a joint and successful study group. Fran and Zvi asked the women's seminary in Ein HaNatziv, Midreshet HaBanot, and its director Rachel Keren, to take the study group under its auspices. Since then, Rainbow in the Valley has been meeting regularly (the program is currently in its third year), to the satisfaction of all its participants.

Rachel Keren : "When the request was made of the seminary, we turned to Yitzchak (Itzik) Rachamim of Beit Shean and Neria Aviyashar of Ein HaNatziv. Dalia Toren of Kibbutz Shluchot oversees the program, and together they represent the entire spectrum of the valley..."

Annette Appel , a member of the group from Ein HaNatziv, wrote the following picturesque description of the group in a booklet published after the completion of the second year of the program:

"Once upon a time, there were people of the valley who wanted to get together. They were invited to meet, open and read some texts together, and by doing so, make contact with one another.

"Little by little they began to gather, from the villages and towns of the valley, always on Wednesdays. They studied the ancient texts, explaining them in ways old and new. The first one would bring books and papers, the second one-literature and articles, the third would ask the questions, his words right on target, while the fourth would smooth the ruffled feathers, suggesting compromise and agreement. The fifth would raise the issue of the role of women, while the sixth defended the holiness and purity of the texts.

"And the teacher? He continued to teach, listening and understanding, watching and hearing as the voices traveled heavenward, and the song of learning curled and twisted through space, and a new light was formed, shining its rays like all the colors of the rainbow.

"And the spreading light shone on the differences between one person and another, and on the possibility of seeing these differences and accepting them, for that is the meaning of peace, as it is written: "And all of your children shall be taught of the Lord, and they shall enjoy a great peace."

The Group and Methods of Learning

Every other Wednesday, about 20 residents of the valley between the ages of 35 and 60, meet at Cleveland House in Beit Shean and study together. Each year they choose a topic for study, and in every meeting they learn another chapter of the selected topic, while closely following the original text.

The first year the topic was the Book of Ruth, the second year the group analyzed the stories of the Book of Genesis, and this year the group is studying the Book of Samuel. Itzik and Neria, the group facilitators, prepare for the meetings by selecting and studying a primary Biblical text, as well as other sources for learning and discussion. Such additional source material often includes an additional Biblical text, a Midrashic source, a poem, a philosophical or thoughtful article, and even a letter to the editor of a newspaper, if it's relevant.

At the beginning of any given session, the questions are interspersed with the source material on the study sheet, but they often remained unanswered at the end of a meeting. In truth, every session has a clear beginning, but not always an ending. There may be a central theme at the beginning of a lesson, but the content, as well as the direction the session takes, is very flexible. Often, the ideas flow from one session to the next, and on occasion, the discussions branch out into unpredictable territory.

The group members start meetings by learning in small groups (called "chevrutot" in Hebrew) of 2-4 participants, and together they create the direction of study, weaving thoughts and opinions together with questions and queries. After such joint preliminary study, the groups present their ideas to the general session near the end of the meeting. This summary, it turns out, is a true experience for all the participants. This is true even for the religious members of the group, who supposedly are fluent in the stories of the forefathers and the prophets, and have for years faithfully stood by the commentaries and explanations learned in their youth. They too are learning from their colleagues, and together they are enjoying shared experiences.

Immanuel Zeiger of Shluchot explains the phenomenon in this way: "What's unique here is the people themselves. A study group that brings together members of religious kibbutzim, Beit Shean residents, and members of the classic agricultural collectives, couldn't possibly be a standard learning atmosphere, based on commentaries and stories we were told in kindergarten. Here that approach just would not be naturally accepted. In this group, we must go back to the "pshat," the source itself. We try to understand what is said as it is said, and by doing so, sometimes we discover another understanding, through the eyes of someone without previous background, which, it seems, just hampers the understanding of the "pshat" ..." Toby Ne'eman of Kibbutz Tirat Tzvi seconds that viewpoint, and adds the following: "Because of the new outlook on things I learned over the course of years, I feel as if I have received the Torah anew, and for that I am grateful, and I hope many others will join us too." Q: Both the scholarly and the personal processes that the group members undergo are very interesting. As group facilitators, can you point to any specific change?

Rachel Keren: "The motto is "learning together!" Both part of that statement ("learning" and "together") have importance and meaning. Together with the meeting experience and the warm human, personal contacts that we hoped would occur, we also have a real sense of academic progress. The group has enriched itself, and learns differently now than when it was just starting out. The learning process has developed both a wider and a deeper perspective."

Itzik Rachamim : "We all live in closed circles. But here, in this group, something happened to the participants over the course of time. Another circle was opened up to them. The method of these study meetings (a short general session, study in small chevruta groups, and a summary of the issues with all the participants present) works really well. It encourages intimate study on one hand, and results in reciprocal enrichment on the other."

Q: What about the location of the sessions? Is it a good thing that the group learns together at Cleveland House?

Neria: "There are advantages and disadvantages. What the location lacks is the spontaneity of learning in a beit midrash, a study hall with total accessibility to texts at all times, and the special atmosphere that exists there. On the other hand-the meeting place has strategic weight to it, as well. When you go to a beit midrash, or to a synagogue, you cover your head. Then the lesson has a religious feel to it, which could be construed as a Torah class, and that's not our intention. The text is in fact something that we study very closely, but it's open to anyone and any interpretation."

Q: And what about the group in Cleveland?

"During the first year, a group of similar size in Cleveland learned the same subject that we did (the Book of Ruth). During that year, there were also several videoconferences between the groups here and in Cleveland. The rainbow in the valley reached over seas and oceans to connect the two communities. Unfortunately, in the program's second year, the momentum of the contact was lost. However, we recently learned that a group has gotten together in Cleveland that is interested (as we are) in renewing the personal and digital contact between us," says Rachel. She also notes that the desire to continue the program was felt very strongly when the learning partners from opposite sides of the ocean met, at the last Solidarity Mission held in late 2001.

Shlomo HaCohen, Kibbutz Nir David

Shlomo, 64, came to Nir David (then called Tel Amal) as a teenager, for ideological reasons. Shlomo came to Israel in 1951 from Morocco, and although he is now a secular Jew, his family background is religious. For years he has been drawn to Judaic studies, and over the years he has studied Jewish philosophy as well as Kabbalah.

"I did it between the cows," says Shlomo, in his typically humorous fashion. And so, between milkings, he would discuss issues with his wife-to-be, Ruti, who was studying Judaic studies and Israeli geography at the Avshalom Institute.

"The uniqueness of this study group," says Shlomo, "is the interesting human factor. It really has all the colors of the region's rainbow-Beit Shean residents, both observant and traditional; religious and secular kibbutznikim, as well as a couple of moshavnikim; and people with a wide variety of professions, such as farmers, a police officer, teachers, public activists, and more. I also like the regular nature of the group. It forces me to set aside time on a regular basis for study and dialogue, once every two weeks, on the dot. I look forward to it.

"The meetings are thought-provoking, and enrich me. I particularly enjoy the times when we go beyond the traditional commentaries of the text. This is possible during the chevruta study, when each participant can express himself, or when someone explains the scientific aspect of something, as Ranni Eilon did recently, when he discussed the historical research of the Book of Maccabees. Most importantly, the atmosphere of the group is both warm and cultured, and that's good."

Miri Davidovich

Miri, an activist of the Beit Shean Community Foundation and Partnership 2000, is also a member of the group since its inception. Her comments relate to the size of the group, the content matter, and the time involved.

"Even though we know each other very well, we don't feel as if we're repeating ourselves all the time. Academically, we renew ourselves with each topic of discussion. Even the observant members of the group feel this way. This group enriches me. It makes me open up, truly examine, and try to understand texts that I previously thought were "off limits" to secular Jews. I came to understand that no one owns exclusive rights to the Book of Books. The fact that some of the group members cover their hair and that some don't means nothing. We don't even notice anymore…"

Adar 5762 - March 2002