For educators, program's most memorable lesson isn't about classrooms...

Rutie Lifshitz sees American and Israeli teachers as different pieces of the same puzzle.

At an educators exchange program last week, she says she finally learned how to fit the pieces together as attendants brainstormed ways to share information and resources.

"This week, we found a way to connect the pieces," said Lifshitz, who teaches in Israel. "Next time we meet, the puzzle will be put back together."

It's a sentiment that was repeated over and over again by the 14 teachers who participated in the July 22-29 exchange program. Hosted by the Friedman Commission for Jewish Education (CJE) in West Palm Beach, the week-long conference was designed to give eight local Jewish educators the opportunity to share ideas with six teachers from Tzahar, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County's Partnership 2000 region in Israel.

Through Partnership 2000, federation hopes to strengthen the relationship between Jews in Israel and Palm Beach County by encouraging them to share their resources.

"It was really a great experience," Ilana De Laney, CJE assistant director, said of the educator exchange. "I felt it was very important for Israelis to understand the Diaspora and the richness of Jewish life here. And we felt it was important for Americans to understand Israelis."

Participating teachers were treated to a full week of Jewish study, ranging from "Judaism in America" to "Jewish Resources in Cyberspace."

"We talked together about the importance of Jewish text," De Laney said. "You don't have to be religious to be involved in studying."

Israeli teachers also led a seminar on "Jewish Education in Israel."
"They opened the door to really teach [about] Israel," De Laney said. She said it is especially important for teachers to become better educated about Israel "because they will go back and teach what they have learned to others."

Organizers also attempted to help the teachers learn and enjoy the local community through lunch and learn sessions with representatives of federation and its agencies, synagogue tours, social activities and a bus trip to the Ziff Jewish Museum of Florida and Holocaust Memorial in Miami Beach. The local educators also were asked to host the Israelis in their homes so they could further bond with each other.

Janie Grackin, family life educator at Temple Beth David in Palm Beach Gardens, says she was amazed by what she learned about her own community during the program.

"In [the Ziff] museum, I became aware [that Jews] do have a history here. We have made a place here in this country," she said.

But Edna Oz, an Israeli teacher, says one of the most important lessons to come out of the conference was how similar Jewish teachers are in both places.
"I learned that you can be Jewish in the Diaspora," she said.

De Laney said she hopes to expand upon that lesson by hosting another educators exchange in Tzahar next year.

"The [teachers] have told me, 'We now understand Israelis and their problems, and we have a real connection with them,' " De Laney said. "There was an exchange of ideas and skills. They were teaching each other."

During the last session before Shabbat, the teachers took time to reflect on their week together. All said they planned to continue sharing ideas and resources via e-mail.

Israeli teacher Yehudit Sade Temam said she was proud of the West Palm Beach teachers "because you are doing so much learning and teaching about Israel."

Beth David's Grackin said the exchange helped her feel closer to her Israeli counterparts. "We are all linked together," she said. "We're linked together and connected through our hearts."