{"id":1506,"date":"2021-03-18T16:29:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T20:29:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/?p=1506"},"modified":"2021-03-18T16:31:02","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T20:31:02","slug":"coming-to-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/?p=1506","title":{"rendered":"Coming to America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Morah Tali and Moreh Eilon on Their Motivations for Becoming Shlichim<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Minsk<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, Morah Tali Dan witnessed the reciprocal effects shlichim<\/em> (Israeli emissaries) and American communities can have on each other first hand: As a child, she accompanied her parents on two stints of shlichut<\/em>. Morah Tali explained that she wanted that experience as a shlicha<\/em> for herself and her children, which is why she and Moreh Amir spent seven years in Denver shortly after their marriage \u2014 \u201cthe seven good years,\u201d she called them \u2014 and then returned to the United States four years ago to teach in Atlanta, this time with older children in tow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was amazing to be able to integrate and to become part of a community,\u201d Morah Tali said, describing shlichut<\/em>. \u201cYou don’t just visit. On the one hand, it’s temporary so you bring full force into it. On the other hand, you’re part of the community [and] you become just like everybody else\u2026 [The community] become[s] your family.\u201d She joked that at this point, after her parents\u2019 five tours of duty and her own two, \u201c[shlichut<\/em>] is the family business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Morah Tali Dan (right), with her husband Moreh Amir (back) and their children, including alumna Noa (AJA ’19, left) and freshman Ohad (third from right). (Courtesy: Morah Tali)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Moreh Eilon Kapach, a first-time shaliach<\/em> shared different motivations. He expressed a desire to learn more about the Jews who live outside of Israel, as opposed to just hearing stories or running into tourists in Jerusalem. One major idea Moreh Eilon learned from being a shaliach<\/em> in America  came from a misconception he had: In Israel, he thought that \u201call the Jews have to come to Israel, and how can you be a good Jew if you live outside of Israel?\u201d Living here, he now understands \u201cit is complicated.\u201d From his experiences, he can relate to the struggle of adapting to a new and different culture, like Americans who make aliyah<\/em> (move to Israel) have to. Moreh Eilon explained, \u201cWhen I lived in Israel, I said, \u2018What’s the problem? Come to Israel, live in Israel.\u2019 But to do it, it’s very hard.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreh Eilon added that as teachers, he and his wife relished the opportunity to teach Hebrew and about Israel, noting that it was a different challenge than he had previously faced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the downside, Moreh Eilon acknowledged that he has had difficulties adapting to American culture. He said that Israelis speak more bluntly and don\u2019t have a taboo on discussing subjects seen as private in America, such as money. This societal divide extends all the way to the manner in which young children act when having fun. Moreh Eilon told of his discomfort when he takes his children to the park: \u201cWhen they [are] happy,\u201d he shared, \u201cthey laugh aloud and make noise.\u201d In Israel, he said \u201ceveryone [is] like this, so we feel comfortable\u2026 Here, I always have to ask them, \u2018Hey, be quiet.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From her childhood experiences, Morah Tali didn\u2019t have to face these challenges. \u201cI understand Americanism, not just English,\u201d she claimed, demonstrating a proficiency in \u201ccheerleaders and pompoms\u201d she acquired from attending public schools in American cities where Jewish schools weren\u2019t available. (AJA High School features neither cheerleaders nor pompoms.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreh Eilon acknowledged that he has had difficulties adapting to American culture. He said that Israelis speak more bluntly and don\u2019t have a taboo on discussing subjects seen as private in America, such as money.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Both times they came to America as adults, the Dans chose to take a role in education despite neither formally possessing any teaching background. \u201cWe feel that there’s something in education that holds on and carries on to future generations,\u201d Morah Tali said. She described the relationships she has with students from Denver who, years later, would visit for Shabbat, and even bring boyfriends or girlfriends for their \u201copinion.\u201d She called such a dynamic \u201cpriceless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morah Tali explained that while there is a \u201cbeauty\u201d to teaching young children, introducing them to the \u201caleph-bet\u201d for the first time, she \u201clove[s] being in high school.\u201d She said her experience as an outsider in America \u201cdefined very clearly to me who I am,\u201d and she enjoys being able to discuss those weighty matters of identity with high school students. \u201cI love having those in-depth conversations of \u2018Who am I, what does my Judaism mean to me? What is my relationship with Hashem and how do I take it forward practically into my life?\u2019\u201d Morah Tali said. \u201cIf, in any way, I’m able to connect young Jewish people to what it means to be Jewish in a positive, growing, practical way \u2014 even one \u2014 I\u2019ve done my [duty].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Morah Eilon Kapach (right) with his family. (Courtesy: Moreh Eilon)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This sense of duty strongly contributed to Morah Tali\u2019s desire to return as a shlicha<\/em> \u2014 and even her work as a conduit between the Dallas community and the Jewish Agency while she lived in Israel. Invoking the principle of \u201ckol yisrael areivim zeh la\u2019zeh<\/em>\u201d (all Jews are responsible for each other), she described, \u201cIf I want Jewish people to keep feeling connected and to have that spark, that love for Judaism, and to feel connected to the Jewish people and to the Jewish State, we all have to do our part.\u201d She was not content to sit in Israel and wonder why Jews living outside Israel no longer feel as strong a connection, which led to the decision to come back to America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Morah Tali and Moreh Eilon expressed their appreciation to the Atlanta community for taking them in. Moreh Eilon said that just before COVID-19 began, his family had moved more into the community to be able to invite families and students for meals, and he hopes to fulfill those aims in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf, in any way, I’m able to connect young Jewish people to what it means to be Jewish in a positive, growing, practical way \u2014 even one \u2014 I\u2019ve done my [duty].\u201d<\/p>Morah Tali Dan<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Although unsure if they would return to Israel after this year as planned or extend their stay another year because of COVID-19, Morah Tali looks forward to AJA students calling her in the future when they return to Israel, just like her past students. She said, \u201cI’m looking forward to these lifelong relationships, to creating those bridges that will be a forever bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Morah Tali and Moreh Eilon on Their Motivations for Becoming Shlichim – Matthew Minsk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":1507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","entry","rows"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/76921_elal787celal_631501.jpg?fit=315%2C171&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1506"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1511,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1506\/revisions\/1511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/palette.atljewishacademy.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}