"The Sea of Dreams Project is an interactive art sculpture that provided the people from the communities of the Western Galilee and our Omaha mission group a shared experience. Our goal was to create an activity for meeting new people, growing new friendships, and creating partnerships while creating art.
 
To create the piece, we used the themes of Noah and the Ark (the Torah portion during the week of our mission trip), the seaside city of Akko itself, and the collecting and sharing of our dreams. As a group, we viewed and read poems from the boats made by the children of Friedel Jewish Academy in Omaha, painted a large sail, and create a rope that will link the boats together. By writing and collecting our individual dreams on pieces of paper we began creating the "sea" that the boats will ride upon.

Here are two examples of songs written by the children in Omaha:

GUESS WHO IS GOING ON THIS BOAT?
NOT WEAPONS
NOT PRISONERS
THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON,
A SMALL PERSON,
WITH A BIG GIFT.
PEACE. by max wiener

MY BOAT IS MADE OF PEACE.
IT'S SAIL IS MADE FROM RAINBOWS.
IT FLOATS ON A SEA OF KISSES.
IT IS HELD TOGETHER WITH HUGS.
HER CARGO IS ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE.
SHE IS STEERED BY TORAH.
HER RUDDER IS OUR HEARTS. by the kindergarten class

 
Just as in the story of Noah and the Ark, the boats represent safe vessels filled with important thoughts and messages. These thoughts and messages sail the sea wrapped with the love from the children of Friedel Jewish Academy in Omaha to the people of the Western Galilee.
 
Through painting the sail together, our connectedness takes action and creates momentum and energy to strengthen our bond.
 
The rope we created links the boats symbolizing the partnership between our communities, that though this link we are stronger, and the connectedness of Jews throughout the Diaspora.
 
Finally, our dreams must be the foundation of our future. Just as the boats need the sea to sail upon; our dreams must be expressed for them to ever have a chance of becoming reality.
 
The Sea of Dreams will continue to be an ongoing, interactive art project where the continual addition of new dreams will represent new energies and thoughts to strengthen and propel our hopes and bonds to a better future. The final installation of the piece will be at the Matte Asher Community Center in the Western Galilee. "
 
Kim Goldberg, Art task force chair, Omaha