MY GRUNDTVIG EXPERIENCE IN MARSEILLE Gabriel, Spain For me, the workshops and the activities during the Marseille Grundtvig weekend were extremely positive, on two levels.
First, on the 'formal' level, the activities were well prepared and had interesting and useful content. Some were even fun!
It was important for me to learn about the different processes and structures that take place in organizations on a theoretical and a professional level, and I gained a good understanding from the workshops and conferences.
On the 'informal' level, the meeting was very useful as well since I had the unique opportunity to speak with people from other countries who have the same problems, such as recruitment of new volunteers (mainly young people), fundraising, growth management and management of conflicts within the organization ... among others.
In my organization, I have implemented the one-to-one / small groups meetings we learned because I became aware that the community is growing but people don’t know each other. It was very successful: people are now closer to each other and feel more comfortable.
MARSEILLE Nina, UK
On a warm January weekend in 2013, I arrived in Marseille for my first Masorti Europe trip away from the UK. The organization was a short walk away from our accommodation and was easy to find, even though it was behind a parade of shops. I immediately noticed a similarity between this Masorti organization and my own in the UK: the building was simple and functional, providing a welcoming place for prayer and community. In Edgware, I had the chance to get to know some of the British delegates, and we were able to share and discuss the problems and note the similarities and differences between our own communities in the UK. In Marseille, I was looking forward to getting to know the delegates from the other countries. This was my first experience of visiting this kind or organization in a different country and I was interested to see that the services included both Ashkenazi and Sephardi elements. The Friday sermon took a long time as the community was at pains to translate it from French into English – with some hilarious results! We commenced our ‘formal’ learning after Shabbat lunch, and this continued on the following day; it was useful and informative, giving us a chance to share our experiences and views with the other participating communities. The weekend was a tremendous success. I learned about Massorti France and in particular the history of the Marseille Jewish community. Overall what I enjoyed most was being able to communicate with people from all over Europe, find out about their organizations, and discover that perhaps there were ways in which we could help each other grow.
REPORT ON THE L.E.T. SEMINAR IN MARSEILLE Manuela, Portugal
1. Session on Leadership This session focused on cultural and religious identity, but mainly on Jewish identity, As I understood it, the issue was whether or not we agree with the existence of a Jewish identity in the wider world (which includes other religions or cultures) and, among Jews themselves, if we believe it is right to be 'identified' as being Jews.
I think that with this issue many others arise, and it is in fact a continuation of what we learned in the previous session in Edgware: What does it mean for us to be Jews? After discussion and reflection about who we are, we can come to some conclusions about how, as Jews, we should behave and what is our position in a multicultural society.
In this session I did not have an opportunity to speak, but after viewing the film, The Other Son, I had the pleasure of discussing the matter with Laurence Jacobs and was able to share my opinion. I do not agree with being identified as Jewish in a multicultural society. I believe that there is a personal and family Jewish identity, which has to do with how we live Jewishly in our day-to-day lives and with our family. This identity is present within us and passes to the outside (or not) through our attitudes and actions, and that is what defines us. Within a community, this identity is what unites us and it is what we do to keep the community learning and growing (here I speak of spiritual growth). In society we are all human, with strengths and weaknesses, and our identity is in what we do, and we don’t ever say: 'I am so because I'm Jewish, and I think so because I'm Jewish.'
To further clarify, when someone asks us: 'Who are you?' We answer: 'I am Manuela or John.' We don´t answer: 'I am Jewish.' When someone asks why we think a certain way, we do not respond: 'I think so because I'm Jewish' but explain why we think that way.
Now it is evident that every Jew tries to act day to day according to his values, tradition and culture, and this is reflected in everything he does. There are good Jews and others who are not so good, and to be judged on the basis of our religion or group identity, we run the risk of being misidentified, such as in Catholicism when all priests are designated as pedophiles, which is not at all true. We can also run that sort of risk.
In a commentary on Parashat Bereshit from our Torah, I read that because God has created all men from the dust of the earth, there should be no pride of origin or inequality among men; we all belong to the same land. In other words, no one man is better than another just because he belongs to a particular group. That would be like seeing a mirror image of what others have done to us over the centuries.
2. Session on Self-reflection This session was a recognition of our competences, and we showed the results of the work we've done in our communities as leaders. It is very important to share with each other because we can take the best ideas and adapt some of them to our own community.
What I learned is that we still have much work ahead of us, and at this point I'm already studying the best way to consolidate the previous work and how I will involve the person who will take my place at the next meeting. As in the past, I look forward to sending the feedback on the results of this work.
3. Screening of the Film: The Other Son I think the idea of the film was to help us consolidate our ideas about cultural and religious identity. The message is that identity is essentially a humanitarian matter, showing different religions and how they interact with each other, how different cultures result in personal identity as well as social and community identities. However, this film also shows that everyone has feelings, that behind everyone's differences and their wars, they also love, and that love speaks louder than differences; if we choose it, any understanding is possible and any boundary can be overcome.
4.Speaker: Edouard Robberechts I really enjoyed this lecture. I think its message can help immensely in the arduous task ahead, and the choice of the Joseph theme was a very beautiful example. There is a need to realize what kind of leaders we are and to understand if the way we interact with others is the most favourable or not. To be a leader does not mean having power, but to empower others, and to teach what we know through the gift of sharing. It is not always easy, however: we strive to do the best we can and sometimes the way we do it is not the most appropriate; it takes time to learn how to do it well. 5. Walk to Marseille's most picturesque spots
This tour gave us the opportunity to socialize and exchange some stories about ourselves as well as to see some of the sights.
6. Introduction to 1-2-1s & Homework This session served to introduce all the work we have done since our previous meeting in Edgware.The feedback session was is very useful for all of us, not only in sharing with different partners, but in helping to set priorities common to us all for our upcoming projects.