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Program Details
The Four Pillars of Atid
הִתְפַּתְּחוּת אִישִׁית Personal Development
The four pillars of the Atid program are focused around the concept of Personal Development (hitpatchut ishit). Each element is designed to foster personal growth, Jewish identity, group unity and preparation for college life. Our program is FULLY INTEGRATED - participants will not do activities in stages, rather each pillar is integrated into the weekly schedule throughout the program. We believe that it is important to teach that it is possible (moreover, fulfilling and fun) to have multiple activities and obligations during one's week - one can learn Hebrew AND contribute to community. In this way, our programs are more relatable to and have more potential impact on participants' "real lives" - where obligations and activities naturally overlap. Perhaps most importantly, because our schedule is uniquely dynamic, you'll never be bored!
עִבְרִית Hebrew
Only Atid is accredited by Tel Aviv University - TAU's Hebrew Ulpan (intensive Hebrew class) will have you speaking like a Sabra! Though you will be studying Hebrew throughout the Atid journey, during your first weeks in the program you will participate in TAU's intensive ulpan - this course, which will earn you 6 language credits for college (from one of the top universities in the world), will have you speaking basic Hebrew in a matter of days. You'll be chatting up Israelis in no time!
הִתְנַדֵּבוּת Volunteering
Engage in Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) when you volunteer in Israeli communities, according to their needs and your talents. Volunteer coordinators work one-on-one with each participant to determine your passions and talents.
After careful consideration and collaboration with community leaders, you'll be placed in a site with other participants doing something you love. Some volunteer opportunities include coaching sports, teaching English, leading after-school programming, working with seniors in eldercare, and assisting in animal shelters. By paying close attention to the individual desires of participants as well as the needs of the community, we provide the optimal environment in which you can succeed in your work, really get to know Israeli society and make an impact on its citizens.
You will volunteer three times a week consistently throughout their program. This educational approach teaches that volunteer work is not isolated to a month in one's life rather a personally fulfilling obligation to one's community/nation. Additionally, in this manner we can provide consistent, serious manpower to the organizations with whom we work. Participants will be working alongside Israeli peers, all of whom are participants in the Israeli gap-year program Shnat Shirut ("Service Year").
טִיּוּל Travel
Atid Gap Year strives to inspire life-long commitment to Israel through personal exploration of sites ("living texts") in an honest and open frame. Our calendar is packed with travel: one trip every week an extended over-night excursion every month, and a trip to Europe each semester.
On Atid you won't just visit sites, you will be touring Israel as part of a comprehensive curriculum which includes weekly lectures and programming - you will understand the historical, political and natural significance of the sites you visit so that you'll feel an emotional and an intellectual connection to everything you see. Our trips are guided by the best educators and guides in Israel. Furthermore, only Oranim programs features “Israelis Inside.” Who better to plan and lead trips in Israel than the people who call it home? Just as you'd rely on a New Yorker to show you the “real New York” so too can you rely on the Israelis of Oranim to show you the real Israel - its beautiful nature hikes, its sites both ancient and modern…this is our home, and by traveling with us, you will feel right at home, too!
Every week the group will take a full-day trip, and once a month we will set out for a weekend overnight trip.
Some of our day-trip locations:
Tel Aviv-Yafo (Neve Tzedek, Jaffa, Independence Hall, Sheinkin & Nahalat Benyamin Streets, Rabin Square, Palmach museum, much more!)
Zichron Ya'akov
Jerusalem (Old City, Yad V'Shem, The Museum on the Seam, Israel Museum, Har Herzl, much more!)
Bar Kochba Caves
Archaelogical dig for a day - Beit Guvrin
Caesaria
Israeli Film School where young artists interpret Israeli culture on film
Haifa - (Bahai Gardens, German Colony, Wadi Nisnas, and more)
Ussfiya - Druze village tour and meal
Hikes - all over Israel
And much, much more!
Some of our possible overnight trips:
Camping and hiking in the Negev Desert
Lounging in Eilat, Israel's Cancun
Exploring the Galil and Golan - swim in the Kinneret and hike through waterfalls!
Shabbat in Jerusalem
Atid participants will travel abroad once a semester. Together we will uncover the roots of European Jewry's rich past, confront the holocaust through a humanist and Zionist lens, and continue to build a positive modern Jewish identity.
First Semester trip abroad: Poland
Second Semester trip abroad: Spain
לִמּוּד Learning
Learning will be woven throughout the program in the form of sites, text, and song. Because we are teaching toward building Jewish identity and a desire "Live Jewish," Jewish studies will not be remanded to classroom hours. The curriculum focuses each moment of the journey through a Jewish lens - you will learn about the values of social justice and Tikkun Olam (fixing the world) in your volunteer sites (by both learning about the Jewish values and obligations behind such activity and doing), build a personal sense of Jewish identity as you visit the sites of both ancient and modern significance to the Jewish people, using our sacred stories as mirrors into their own struggles and choices. Your first-hand experiences will be supplemented by frequent lectures, interactive programming and dialogues concerning the history, culture and religion of our people. If you are interested in earning academic credit for your Judaic & Israeli studies while on Atid, check out the Academic Track; participants in Atid Academic Track study at Tel Aviv University twice weekly and earn valuable college credit!
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