Page 16-THE NEWS-June/July, 1987
Charlotte Jewish Federation
Volunteer of the Month Experiencing a UJA Mission
For April: Lorrie Colish
Lorrie is a bundle of energy
who left the state of Florida to
make a new life here in
Charlotte. In the months since
she came here, she has made
phone calls for Shalom Y’all
and done calligraphy address
ing for major Federation
events. She has been recep
tionist for Jewish Family
Services ono-day-a-week and
filled in as Federation
secretary. Lorrie has done all
this while being an active par
ticipant in JCC classes and in
Shalom Y’all programs.
Federation is proud to name
Lorrie Colish as April’s
“Volunteer of the Month.”
Lorrie Colish
For May: Jody Pinion
To Jody Pinion goes the
credit for creating Shabbat
Shalom Y’all. This is the
special service which delivers
a basket with candles, candle
sticks, wine, challah and the
Shalom Y’all brochure to
newcomers. For those moving
to town, the baskets are hand-
delivered on their first Friday.
For those who are newcomers
by virtue of being “Jews By
Choice’’, the baskets are given
as part of the conversion
ceremony.
Jody has delivered more
than 30 of these welcoming
baskets and always been
greeted with enthusiasm and
gratitude. When making the
visit she also takes the time to
have the newcomers fill out an
information form listing their
interests in affiliations. This
data is shared with all the in
stitutions and organizations
to assist the newcomer in
Jody Pinion
becoming involved.
Jody also acts as a reporter
at the Shalom Y’all parties,
and writes these interviews
for The CJN.
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By Sandra Reggelbrugge
As the 747 began its descent
to Ben Gurion Airport, and
the first strains of an Israeli
folk song filtered through the
aircraft, with a lump in my
throat and a tear in my eye, I
knew that I had made the
right decision weeks before to
join the UJA Gesher Mission
to Israel. The lump and tear
stayed with me throughout
the ensuing nine days, and
this was truly an experience I
shall always remember.
I feel so honored to have
been included in this
marvelous experience, and
shall attempt to share some of
my thoughts and feelings
about the trip with all of you.
The spirit of the people was
the common denominator in
places visited and experiences
gleaned. Our guide, Alex, cer
tainly had spirit. His face
could have been chiseled from
granite: Mount Rushmore
came to mind as he boarded
our bus and introduced
himself. He is a Sabra, has
served and fought with the
Israeli Defense Forces, and is
now a government guide with
a background in archaeology.
He has a marvelous sense of
humor. He could laugh at
himself and others, and Raffie,
our driver with a mop of silver
curls, was the perfect foil for
him. His knowledge of history
and the ancedotes and side
lights of the places we visited
certainly made everything
come alive. He projected an in
ner strength which makes one
understand how the Israelis
were able to turn the sand and
stone of the desert into a lush
green “breadbasket for
Europe” (Alex’s quote), and
will continue to do so. Spirit!
Our first activity was driv
ing to Modiim for the tree
planting ceremony. The
children’s choir had stood in
the rain for over an hour
awaiting our arrival, and as
their sweet, clear voices rose in
song, you would have thought
that they had just arrived.
Spirit! Sheep were grsizing on
the rocky hiU as a backdrop to
the young singers.
The Moshave, Neteva
Sharah, in the Negev was
relocated from the Sinai. The
young hostess-guide who lives
there, explained that the
relocation took place just at
the time the vineyards were
ready for the first harvest, and
all had to be left behind. The
new location is now producing
vegetables and flowers. Spirit!
A quick stop was made at
Kotol In th« rain. Clear skies are common over Jerusalem, but even
when it does rain the Kotel (Western Wall) has an allure.
UJA Press Photo/Donna Lee Goldberg
the Kibbutz Yad Mordechai to
view the reconstructed bat
tlefield from the War of
Liberation. School groups
were edso viewing the site, ac
companied by their guides
with ever-ready guns slung
over their shoulders. Spirit!
Beit Hatefutsoth, Museum
of the Diaspora, located on the
University of Tel Aviv cam
pus, provides a factual history
of the Jews. Spirit throughout
the ages! Interesting to see all
of the Jews who have con
tributed so much to mankind,
fun to punch the computer for
print-outs of the history of
names of Jewish friends.
These made great souvenirs to
take back to friends.
communicated in the Interna
tional language — love. Spirit!
Dinner in the dining room with
all of the families of the Kib
butz was indeed togetherness,
including the renegade dog of
one of the f£imilies. Products of
the Kibbutz in addition to
farm products are marble tiles,
vinyl tiles and cabinet doors
which are exported to the U.S.
emd Europe.
We toured the Roman ruins
in Caesarea where Alex was in
his glory telling us about the
glory of Rome. Those Roman
legions were well-traveled and
well-cultured. The am
phitheatre was in a beautiful
location overlooking the
Mediterranean, and you could
imagine the soft sea breezes
m
Building a new life through learning.
Photo/Zion Ozeri
The Kibbutz we visited was
Sdot Yam located north of Tel
Aviv near Caesarea. It
centered around a lovely park,
overlooking the deep blue
Mediterranean and dotted
with modern sculpture. Our
group of six was hosted by
Chana, the daughter of a Rab
bi from Berlin, and has been
on Sdot Yam ever since. We
met her children and grand
children; beautiful girls who
playing over the audience as
they watched a performance of
music or literature.
Lunch at the Youth Aliy ah
with refugees from Ethiopia,
and ping-pong, refreshments
and dance class with children
(Cont’d next page)
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