In the beginning, there was Sde Boker, with Kivunim’s student orientation in southern ISRAEL. Our first flight as fledgling travelers brought us to GREECE and BULGARIA, where we discovered ancient Romaniote and Sephardic communities off the beaten path. Their stories, unique in character and course, piqued our curiosity.
Upon return to our homeland, we immersed ourselves in the vibrancy and nuances of daily life, interacting with many different groups within Israeli society, exploring the hills, deserts, forests, and plains, and delved into the country’s layered history. Our experiences within Israel enriched our understanding of the country, diversity, and home, preparing us for what would be a wholly foreign experience: INDIA. There, we encountered spirituality and worship of a different variety. The Jews we met expanded our sense of how both our and others’ religion looks, sounds, and tastes.
Once more we returned to Israel. During this stay, we experienced another side to the Israeli reality – life in the bomb shelter. Thankfully, we were able to continue our travels as planned and explore three historic places in Europe with rich Jewish history: AMSTERDAM, BERLIN, and PRAGUE. In these cities, we met rabbis, students, and leaders who dedicate themselves to preserving memory while building a Jewish future.
Our final voyage through SPAIN, PORTUGAL, GIBRALTAR, and MOROCCO explored the convergence of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian life that continues to shape Sepharad and North Africa today. At long last, our ship docked back at our Ithaca: Jerusalem.
Along the way, our cameras became journals, each photograph marking stories, faces, and lessons. No single image encapsulates the entire year. What you see here is a community thinking out loud in pictures, an odyssey still in motion even as the exhibition stands still.
Senior Curator: Sam Eichenholz
Curators: Andrew Fox, Raquel Frankel
Writers: Daniel Weisskopf, Lindsay Chubak
Video: Lindsay Appel
Artistic Advisor: Tobi Kahn
